it could be really small, like a missing comma where there should have been one, or a "your" instead a "you're", but it jars you out of the story and into cruising suspiciously for more missing commas/typos/whatever else. Suddenly you're questioning the characterization and wondering where this plot is going in the first place, because your sense of trust was interrupted.
The thing is, though, that mistakes like that throw the author's entire trustworthiness into debate. Some much more so than others, of course, and there are always the editors themselves to think about. But if the author isn't paying attention to the details, then one HAS to question how much he or she is paying attention to the rest of the book. Could they be cutting corners elsewhere? It's just... disruptive. And it should be, I feel. It shouldn't just be ignored or waved off.
I didn't trust her enough to make predictions like that. Predictions of that sort pre-suppose a certain level of writing, a certain expectation or guarantee of plot threads being resolved in a satisfactory manner, of character arcs following reasonable paths, of relationships going the way they began or else changing for believable reasons.
Exactly. I am now finished (to answer your other question ^_^ ), and I can see that some of my fears were definitely misplaced, which makes me grin like a fool. I happen to be grinning about other things, too, in response to how DH turned out, but... To get back to the subject, yeah, there were some places where I REALLY had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I can see where her main weaknesses lie.
Random POV switches can be so jarring... I just want to grab the author and say, "Be creative! Isn't there SOME way you can convey this through the other character? And if not, please seriously question whether it belongs in the story at all."
We're talking about someone who's had a crush on Harry since before she met him in person. Not a good start!!! I find it hard to believe that it was ever anything more than that.
I agree. Ginny told Harry that she'd told Hermione she was over him, and then in the VERY NEXT SENTENCE she basically refuted that entire argument by saying she never got over him! So I must wonder: who exactly is she pining for? Harry, or the Boy Who Lived? And as for the Weasleys themselves, one of our friends argued that Ginny gives Harry a sense of belonging, fulfills that yearning for a family that he's never had. Which is all well and good. But if that's the argument, then why not get with Bill or the twins or Ron, Charlie, Percy, etc? What is it that only Ginny gives Harry, besides the fact that she's the only girl? I can't find it. They barely even talk as it is. He can get that and the family from any Weasley. Thus, it's not a good reason to become a couple.
I would like it as a Harry/Draco shipper less, but as a reader/writer, more.
It makes perfect sense, and I agree. If the ships in canon had convinced me, I would have been all for them, if a little sad for the falling H/D possibilities. It makes me sad that the book did not fulfill me in the romantic way. It definitely could have.
Re: I like long discussions. :)
The thing is, though, that mistakes like that throw the author's entire trustworthiness into debate. Some much more so than others, of course, and there are always the editors themselves to think about. But if the author isn't paying attention to the details, then one HAS to question how much he or she is paying attention to the rest of the book. Could they be cutting corners elsewhere? It's just... disruptive. And it should be, I feel. It shouldn't just be ignored or waved off.
I didn't trust her enough to make predictions like that. Predictions of that sort pre-suppose a certain level of writing, a certain expectation or guarantee of plot threads being resolved in a satisfactory manner, of character arcs following reasonable paths, of relationships going the way they began or else changing for believable reasons.
Exactly. I am now finished (to answer your other question ^_^ ), and I can see that some of my fears were definitely misplaced, which makes me grin like a fool. I happen to be grinning about other things, too, in response to how DH turned out, but... To get back to the subject, yeah, there were some places where I REALLY had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I can see where her main weaknesses lie.
Random POV switches can be so jarring... I just want to grab the author and say, "Be creative! Isn't there SOME way you can convey this through the other character? And if not, please seriously question whether it belongs in the story at all."
We're talking about someone who's had a crush on Harry since before she met him in person. Not a good start!!! I find it hard to believe that it was ever anything more than that.
I agree. Ginny told Harry that she'd told Hermione she was over him, and then in the VERY NEXT SENTENCE she basically refuted that entire argument by saying she never got over him! So I must wonder: who exactly is she pining for? Harry, or the Boy Who Lived? And as for the Weasleys themselves, one of our friends argued that Ginny gives Harry a sense of belonging, fulfills that yearning for a family that he's never had. Which is all well and good. But if that's the argument, then why not get with Bill or the twins or Ron, Charlie, Percy, etc? What is it that only Ginny gives Harry, besides the fact that she's the only girl? I can't find it. They barely even talk as it is. He can get that and the family from any Weasley. Thus, it's not a good reason to become a couple.
I would like it as a Harry/Draco shipper less, but as a reader/writer, more.
It makes perfect sense, and I agree. If the ships in canon had convinced me, I would have been all for them, if a little sad for the falling H/D possibilities. It makes me sad that the book did not fulfill me in the romantic way. It definitely could have.