I think it feels sometimes as though it’s trying too hard… The kinds of words used, particularly. I know there’s a place for fabulous language – certain Denizens often take my breath away when I read what they’ve written, for eg! – but sometimes it feels laboured. As if the author thought ‘I must describe this thing beautifully to get across how beautiful it is’, IYSWIM?
Sometimes it is a naivety – an approach of ‘this is what I have to include to make a story’ rather than an ‘I know what I want to write so I’m going to write it and I’m happy with it’ kind of vibe. The latter probably comes with more experience though – I think very few writers are able to jump straight to that step with confidence (myself included!)
There’s also lots of poetry – the sort of poetry where you think ‘what?’ after reading it. Which takes me back to the use of language for language’s sake…
Of course, you have to bear in mind that some of what I’ve noted may be as much to do with me as a reader and my preferences, rather than anything that might be ‘wrong’ with the writing. Bad choice of words there – not ‘wrong’, but ‘recognisably similar’?