Did the author overuse emboldened subtitles in chapters?

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Ferdinand_Otieno
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Re: Did the author overuse emboldened subtitles in chapters?

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Julie Petitbon wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 19:56
Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 08:54 From the beginning of the book, I encountered sentenses written in bold that seem to foretell too much of what was to happen. For me it felt a little bit overused since it would give away too much of the actions in the chapter.
What was your opinion on their use?
If you felt they were overused, then which chapter or scene did it for you?
(Mine was in the beginning of the book during a sexual scene between Cynthia and Sky... written as (This section is rated R) )
Yes! That was the first one that gave me pause. The subtitles definitely change the flow of the story, and, more often than not, they did not enhance the story. I think the author could have omitted the subtitles and let the story tell itself.
Very true. I think without them the book would have flowed smoother and been more enjoyable.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 23:03
Julie Petitbon wrote: 04 Jun 2019, 19:56
Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 08:54 From the beginning of the book, I encountered sentenses written in bold that seem to foretell too much of what was to happen. For me it felt a little bit overused since it would give away too much of the actions in the chapter.
What was your opinion on their use?
If you felt they were overused, then which chapter or scene did it for you?
(Mine was in the beginning of the book during a sexual scene between Cynthia and Sky... written as (This section is rated R) )
Yes! That was the first one that gave me pause. The subtitles definitely change the flow of the story, and, more often than not, they did not enhance the story. I think the author could have omitted the subtitles and let the story tell itself.
Very true. I think without them the book would have flowed smoother and been more enjoyable.
It would have definitely not forced me to stop in every single chapter and critic their presense.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Ruba Abu Ali wrote: 02 Jun 2019, 03:39 They got me to stop every now and then and did interrupt the flow of the story quite a few times.
Just by getting you to stop reading means they were not used properly and distracted from the rhythm of the book.
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Post by evraealtana »

A well written story shouldn't need them, particularly if they're intrusive to the flow of the work. I agree with previous commentators - it would have been better without, I think.
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Post by DC Brown »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 08:54 From the beginning of the book, I encountered sentenses written in bold that seem to foretell too much of what was to happen. For me it felt a little bit overused since it would give away too much of the actions in the chapter.
What was your opinion on their use?
If you felt they were overused, then which chapter or scene did it for you?
(Mine was in the beginning of the book during a sexual scene between Cynthia and Sky... written as (This section is rated R) )
This may sound lame, but I really appreciated the "this section is rated R" I don't need to read that stuff. All I need is three little words "they had sex."
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

evraealtana wrote: 05 Jun 2019, 07:16 A well written story shouldn't need them, particularly if they're intrusive to the flow of the work. I agree with previous commentators - it would have been better without, I think.
True, it should have never been used to that degree or volume. If it had been used sparingly and appeared sporadically, it could have been used to build suspense.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

DC Brown wrote: 05 Jun 2019, 09:49
Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 08:54 From the beginning of the book, I encountered sentenses written in bold that seem to foretell too much of what was to happen. For me it felt a little bit overused since it would give away too much of the actions in the chapter.
What was your opinion on their use?
If you felt they were overused, then which chapter or scene did it for you?
(Mine was in the beginning of the book during a sexual scene between Cynthia and Sky... written as (This section is rated R) )
This may sound lame, but I really appreciated the "this section is rated R" I don't need to read that stuff. All I need is three little words "they had sex."
That is a funny succinct summarization of that entire section.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 05 Jun 2019, 21:26
DC Brown wrote: 05 Jun 2019, 09:49
Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 08:54 From the beginning of the book, I encountered sentenses written in bold that seem to foretell too much of what was to happen. For me it felt a little bit overused since it would give away too much of the actions in the chapter.
What was your opinion on their use?
If you felt they were overused, then which chapter or scene did it for you?
(Mine was in the beginning of the book during a sexual scene between Cynthia and Sky... written as (This section is rated R) )
This may sound lame, but I really appreciated the "this section is rated R" I don't need to read that stuff. All I need is three little words "they had sex."
That is a funny succinct summarization of that entire section.
Why would you not want to read what amounted to a full page of the book? What was even funnier was the emboldened sentence declaring "scene end."
It somehow felt premature lol.
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Post by Shilpa Paul »

It did not bother me. I did not notice it at the beginning. Later I just passed reading it.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Shilpa Paul wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 06:46 It did not bother me. I did not notice it at the beginning. Later I just passed reading it.
Smart choice, must have been hard passing them though.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Shilpa Paul wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 06:46 It did not bother me. I did not notice it at the beginning. Later I just passed reading it.
Did it notvfeel redundant coming across the emboldened sentences and having to pretend you won’t read them? For me it was impossible to do this because I always wondered what they might reveal and I also kept hoping that they would somehow build on the suspense.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Shilpa Paul wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 06:46 It did not bother me. I did not notice it at the beginning. Later I just passed reading it.
Did it not feel redundant coming across the emboldened sentences and having to pretend you won’t read them? For me it was impossible to do this because I always wondered what they might reveal and I also kept hoping that they would somehow build on the suspense.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 22:38
Shilpa Paul wrote: 06 Jun 2019, 06:46 It did not bother me. I did not notice it at the beginning. Later I just passed reading it.
Did it not feel redundant coming across the emboldened sentences and having to pretend you won’t read them? For me it was impossible to do this because I always wondered what they might reveal and I also kept hoping that they would somehow build on the suspense.
I wonder if I should have replaced "overused" with "misused" in the topic heading.
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Post by Shelly Caetano »

I completely agree. I felt that it added to the 'choppiness' of the story. It really did not assist the flow. it also made me feel that the author was implying that, as a reader, I needed such detail to navigate the story. This is incorrect. It's quite obvious of the general location of a given scene in the book simply based on the interaction of the characters or...oh I don't know...details of the narration! Generally, I feel this was a mistake on the author's behalf that hindered the book more than helped.
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Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Shelly Caetano wrote: 07 Jun 2019, 08:24 I completely agree. I felt that it added to the 'choppiness' of the story. It really did not assist the flow. it also made me feel that the author was implying that, as a reader, I needed such detail to navigate the story. This is incorrect. It's quite obvious of the general location of a given scene in the book simply based on the interaction of the characters or...oh I don't know...details of the narration! Generally, I feel this was a mistake on the author's behalf that hindered the book more than helped.
True, the last thing you want to do as an author is to insinuate that the reader is foolish enough to need direction when reading.
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