The Faults in Our Novels ?

Well, all work isn't without fault, and at some point you have to let the book free and overlook the faults because no work is perfect.
Would I say "faults" would be an aspect of my writing or storytelling? No; if I'm seeing them as faults, I'm identifying it as a problem not a feature.

But, it sounds like the critique you received is either unclear or you're not understanding it well. If present tense is adding confusing, it might be because the reader isn't used to reading present tense--or doesn't like it--or you're not using it correctly. Present tense can be difficult for both readers and writers. There shouldn't be a fault by using present tense, but with it.

Skabr said:

In case of my novel, for instance I'm told that the present tense adds confusion, but I can't remove this "fault".

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My thought on this particular comment is that it isn't necessarily a "fault", but could be a matter of that reader's taste. I wouldn't deem it a "fault" until I had more feedback from other readers. And then it isn't so much a "fault", but perhaps I wasn't clear enough in the writing to make it clear. The choice of the tense in and of itself isn't inherently a "fault".

So I was just reading a crit on my novel's second chapter and a thought struck my mind: There are bound to be some faults in our novels, no matter how much we planned at first or how much experience we have got in writing

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We're human and not perfect by nature. It makes sense to me that things we create will also not be perfect because of this. There will always be something I write that doesn't work for someone else. To me, that isn't a "fault". If I put it in the book, it worked for me. If it stays in past the beta-readers and the editor then it worked for them. If someone out in the great readership doesn't like it, then it's their taste, not a "fault".

If I attempt something in the writing (an analogy, a descriptive phrase, a newly created word, etc.) and it just doesn't quite make it, yes, that's a "fault" because I didn't do the work correctly, but that doesn't mean what I attempted was wrong. And, as I said before, if that attempt survived all the other people reading it, then I'd still consider it a minor problem and something to be learned from for the next book.

Rare is the story that doesn't have some kind of niggles that isn't quite "proper" or whatever, if that's what you mean, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad story or demand that it be reworked or rewritten. I wouldn't consider those "faulty" by any stretch of the imagination.

Or is that not what you meant?

Like the other's said, it really depends on your reader.. was it their taste? Was it how you wrote it? etc...

But, as most of the professional writers (like myself) or successful and seasoned novelists here will tell you, part of the trade and craft of writing is learning to look at criticism objectively. Just because you like writing in first person, doesn't mean it's the best approach. If, indeed, the first person is causing confusion to the average reader, then I don't think you are well served by accepting that confusion as a "fault" in your story.

Personally, I think we should accept faults in our characters, but if the fault is in the medium of our storytelling, that's different.

If you want to really improve your writing and your initial reaction to criticism is a kneejerk emotional reaction, then that is something that you may need to work on yourself. Find a way to get some space (maybe through time, maybe through an adult beverage or a conversation with someone helpful) to look at what the critic is saying with an open mind and to see if (a) they are valid, and (b) if there is something you can do to solve the problem.

That doesn't mean that you have to give up using first person, but you should look into what specifically makes it confusing. Dialog tags? Shifting point of view? Criticism (valid or not) is always an opportunity to learn something valuable.

Ultimately, if something confuses or bores too many readers, it's a fault that needs fixing. Some people might be more kind regarding the latter, and just comment that it 'lacks tension' or doesn't seem terribly unique.

It is true that many WIPs suffer from 'death by workshop' when they try to please everybody. And some things - amounts of description, writing style, character traits, emotional distance and so on vary widely from reader to reader. A lot of times, you do have to go with your instincts. And yes, trying to get something 'perfect' means you might never try submitting it anywhere.

However, I once critiqued someone (not here!) who didn't punctuate dialogue properly, peppered her prose with '..' and flipped character POV practically with each paragraph. She then responded to my crits claiming artistic license. I refrained from responding, but the response in my mind was that I'm not an idiot and bad writing is bad writing, ignorance of basic rules is easy to spot and yes, I can tell the difference between laziness and 'style'.

I've also come across far too much self-published drivel where the author writes something along the lines of, please excuse any spelling or grammar errors I write stream-of-consiousness and edits gets in the way of ... blah-di-blah-di-blah. I don't bother going further. In between, I think a basic level of effort and competency is necessary and beyond that, it's up to you as a writer.

After publication fault is something to live with, I suppose. What was a drive-me-mad fault for me in one of my novels, prior to publication, was the whole AGE timeline. It went back and forth and followed the main character and his brother from ages 9 and 5 to 18 and 14. Oh my god I got frustrated trying to keep the ages and years in order. Every time I reread it in the editing stage I found another instance where the math was wrong. It drove me batty. I did not surrender. I corrected.

I have come across cases where I feel like something doesn't work quite the way I want, but to fix it would require introducing even bigger problems. But I don't really think of this as being a "fault." I just think of it as..."nothing can be perfect."

I do notice this particularly when I get crits on my writing. Someone will mention something that I believe is a very good point, but then I think about how to change it, and I feel like it changes my story overall in ways I don't want. But yeah, "fault" is not quite how I think about it.

There are advantages and disadvantages to the decisions we make in our writing.

Skabr said:

Hi,

So I was just reading a crit on my novel's second chapter and a thought struck my mind: There are bound to be some faults in our novels, no matter how much we planned at first or how much experience we have got in writing.

But I think we need to accept those faults and either admit them (and make peace with them) or try to remove them. I believe that these faults are part of the essence of our novel. If we remove these "faults" then I guess essence of our story will get diminished. We won't be able to feel the same about our novels if we removed those "faults".

In case of my novel, for instance I'm told that the present tense adds confusion, but I can't remove this "fault".

What do you think about the "faults" of your novels? Any thoughts on those inevitable "faults"? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Skabr

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If I really believe something is a fault, I will remove it, or change it, whatever it is, including tense.

SamCoulson said:

Just because you like writing in first person, doesn't mean it's the best approach. If, indeed, the first person is causing confusion to the average reader, then I don't think you are well served by accepting that confusion as a "fault" in your story.

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I disagree with this completely. The best approach is always to write what I like writing, and if first person causes confusion in the average reader, I need to write first person better, not change it to something else. Though I have no idea at all how first person would ever confuse the average reader?

Jamesaritchie said:

I disagree with this completely. The best approach is always to write what I like writing, and if first person causes confusion in the average reader, I need to write first person better, not change it to something else. Though I have no idea at all how first person would ever confuse the average reader?

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Though I can see how you miss-read me, I didn't mean that if it's confusing that you should switch the PoV, just that you shouldn't accept it as a fault and that you should address it one way or another to improve your product.

As I closed:

That doesn't mean that you have to give up using first person, but you should look into what specifically makes it confusing. Dialog tags? Shifting point of view? Criticism (valid or not) is always an opportunity to learn something valuable.

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I think it hinges on the word 'fault'. Perhaps if the word is replaced with 'peculiarities', then they are things that shouldn't be removed if they are a big source of your novel's voice or uniqueness. Anything that's different than the cut&paste norm is probably going to have its fair share of detractors. However, I think anything that could be identified as an actual fault -- as in, a fairly well recognized mistake or detractor -- is probably something that you can fix/remove without killing your story. And if it does kill your story, well, killing the story whose primary attribute was reliance upon an error or mistake is probably for the best. =P

Present tense is something that some readers can't stand no matter what. It may or may not be a fault in your writing. I find that I enjoy it in lit fic but seems annoying in genre fic.

I even recently read a travel book with some chapters in present tense. I don't think it worked at all, but otherwise, it was an excellent book.

Skabr said:

I believe that these faults are part of the essence of our novel. If we remove these "faults" then I guess essence of our story will get diminished. We won't be able to feel the same about our novels if we removed those "faults".

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This sounds alarmingly like Golden Words Syndrome.

Skabr said:

In case of my novel, for instance I'm told that the present tense adds confusion, but I can't remove this "fault".

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You can remove it either by improving your present tense prose so that it's not confusing, or revising it to past tense. Are you averse to editing or rewriting? If so, you may indeed be suffering a classic case of Golden Words Syndrome.

Skabr said:

What do you think about the "faults" of your novels? Any thoughts on those inevitable "faults"? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

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My current WIP has faults aplenty and I am working hard at correcting them. Doing so doesn't diminish the essence of the story or leave me feeling disappointed in it. Editing and revising are simply a part of the overall all writing process for the vast majority of serious writers.

I use to have Golden Words Syndrome. It's since gone away thankfully.
I still need to get a thick skin though.
The steps toward seeing how you can fix the faults in your work are sometimes just as bad as admitting they need to be fixed.

I thought this was going to be a Fault In Our Stars spin off.

Oh there are plenty of faults in my novels. It's more the issue of having someone go over faults I already know about. Can you tell me of any new faults please? I know there are more.

First, define fault. If it is something that makes your writing less than you want, then correct it.

If it is something that breaks certain rules, but you still like it and trust it, then keep it.

Some of the best books ever have had faults. According to 'the rules'. It was perhaps those things that made them special. Unique.

Be brave. You never know.

I guess the word "fault" does need a definition, but I don't understand why any writer wouldn't correct something they believed was a fault? If I can find any way at all of removing/changing any and all faults, I do so, whatever it takes.

To the op: writing in present tense is a 'fault?' WHAT?

Perhaps it's the reader who just isn't accustomed to reading in the present tense. There is a very real prejudice against this (among some readers.)

Get some new readers. Make certain they've read widely in your genre, and oh, if they're writers themselves, all the better.