I know this is probably a common topic. For me, I’m not sure if it’s a “trope” or just totally misinformed writing, but it’s how many authors approach alcoholism. Some examples are Girl on the Train and The House Across the Lake, among HUNDREDS. If anyone else here has struggled with alcoholism, you know it’s not just "i woke up after downing an entire bottle of whiskey but was able to shower, down a cup of coffee, and solve a murder. "

  • hozieooks@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    i realllllly hate the trope of a simple miscommunication destroying everything when in reality they would have discussed it right then and there. i also really don’t like third act breakups even though they’re everywhere. i hate how little of the book is left after the resolve.

    • kernelpanic0202@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      So basically the entire premise of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin?

      Because that is what that book felt like to me.

    • HumanTea@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Man, this was the entire wheel of time. Jordan’s writing of relationships was atrocious. I’m still not over it.

    • Tazerin@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Wasn’t it Stephen King who said that his editor keeps ruining his ideas by reminding him that phones exist?

      Good job, editor.

      • bibrexd@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        Remarkably Bright Creatures has entered the chat, hasn’t read anything, and has just left before any of us could tell it

    • Violet351@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I feel wheel of Time would have been much shorter if they had just talked about stuff more

    • Telomera@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      God, this irks me so much. It was in a novel I recently read and I was like, why don’t they just… say something? It was over the top immature behavior for the characters.

    • anneylani@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      First and last Jodi Piccoult book I read was “House Rules.” The entire book is based on this trope. I wanted to scream and was so upset by this lazy writing that I haven’t read any other books by her since.

    • Spanky2k@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      This is my main gripe with Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. I’m loving it and I’m nearly through it but so much of the story ends up effectively operating around the fact that a lot of the main characters don’t know what is going on with each other. Yes, it’s a fantasy ‘medieval’ world, but it’s a world with magic and techniques are clearly available that could provide very fast, if not instantaneous transmission of messages. Magical ways but also non magical ways - e.g. horses to carry messages or homing pigeons. This isn’t just characters not knowing on what’s going on with each other over the space of a book but multiple books. Stuff has happened to main characters that others don’t find out about for like 6 books. And these are some of the longest books I’ve read so it’s literally 3-4 thousand words of narrative covering a year of time and they haven’t found out about pretty significant plot changes for their friends.