Last night I was the guest at a local book group that read The Fence My Father Built. Some of the members were also students of my novel writing class. We had an interesting conversation, and I came away with valuable info on what readers care about.
Writing Tip for Today: As novel writers, we place so much emphasis on our technique, making sure we avoid cliches and “ly” words and all the rest. But what do our readers really care about? Here are some things members of last night’s group mentioned as pet peeves:

• Too Many Character Names, Too Soon. A cast of thousands or even more than two or three in the opening is liable to confuse instead of add to the reader’s experience. And no glossaries! If you have to explain, resist that urge. The guidelines must be there for a reason: limit named characters to those with speaking parts, and introduce new characters a couple at a time, to give readers a chance to know them.
• Typos and Errata. One reader mentioned the propensity for electronic books to contain errors. It’s easier than ever to correct text errata, so why are they on the rise? Check, recheck and check again spelling, usage and punctuation.
• What the Character’s Motive? These readers were astute and wanted to know the logic or background of my characters, in order to understand the characters more completely. I learned that my reasoning for the character doing something isn’t always the same way the reader believes she would react under the same circumstances. Novel writers must know their characters on a variety of issues, not only just what the novel is about.