Top Reasons Why I DNF Books

Jenna Moreci
Apr 30
6 min read

HelloOoOo everybody!

Quite often I host Q&A over on Instagram, and one of the most common questions that I receive is what makes me DNF a book. If you're not familiar, DNF means “did not finish.” So basically, we're looking at the type of stuff that makes me decide that a book is no longer worth reading after I've already started it. I am happy to answer this question, but I must forewarn you I am a really picky reader! One of the pickiest readers I know.

And it's not that a book has to be of the highest caliber or quality for me to enjoy it. There have been plenty of books out there that were fluffy or had very little depth, and I enjoyed them. I'm just very easily turned off while reading, and I personally believe that life's too short to waste your time reading shitty books, so I try to avoid reading shitty books.

My list for DNF is probably too long for one video, so I will have to make a few posts to cover this topic. For now, I will list five reasons why I DNF books, and to be completely honest, I DNF around 20 books a year from point number one alone.

Quick disclaimer: When I refer to pages in any of these points, I'm referring to paperback or hardback pages, not ebook pages. If I'm reading an ebook, I base the figure on the percentage of the book completed like 10%, 20%, or something like that.

Let's get to it.

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Number 1: Grammatical Errors on the First Page

If I find a dangling participle, a comma splice, or a sentence fragment that wasn't used for stylistic purposes on the first page, I am instantly checking out. Even worse is when the error is in the very first line.

“But Jenna, that doesn't actually happen.”

Yes, it does. All the time. Unfortunately—and I hate to dump on my fellow indies—this is an issue that I see in indie books because so many of these writers are still refusing to hire professional editors. Why are you doing this to yourself?

“But Jenna, it's just a small mistake. Maybe the story’s still good. Can't you give it a chance?”

No! Grammar rules exist for readability and flow. So when your book is littered with errors, it's hard to read. I'm going to be spending my time trying to interpret what you've written rather than actually enjoying the story. And I know some people can overlook these errors, or maybe they don't notice them at all, but that's not the case for me. They are all I see. I'm not absorbing any of the story whatsoever. I read for pleasure and relaxation, not to put intellectual labor into trying to decipher your prose.

Get an editor then publish the book. Your readers will thank you.

Number 2: I’m 20 Pages In, and I Don’t Care About the Main Character

And to be clear, I don't need to be invested 20 pages in. I'm very slow to get invested in a novel. In fact, sometimes I never get invested, but I still enjoy the book. So I don't need to be 20 pages in and love the main character. I don't even need to be rooting for them. They can be a big bitch for all I care. I'm kind of a bitch myself.

But there needs to be something about them that interests me. Do they have an engaging voice? Is their dialogue fun to read? Is their goal compelling? Do they have any defining characteristics that catch my interest? Something I don't often see in the genre. And I am begging for them to have at least one teeny, tiny trait that separates them from the other main character clichés. If it's a romantasy novel and he's not a black-haired, tattooed shadow daddy, you already have my attention. It's that easy.

Mostly this point comes down to originality and just the slightest bit of personality. I just need something, anything that keeps me interested in what the character has to say. And if they're not a cliché, that goes a long way.

Number 3: I’m 50 Pages In and There Isn’t an Inciting Incident To Be Found

If this is a problem, it's usually a sign of one of two things. Either you started your book in the wrong place, which means you don't have an understanding of structure; or you don't know how to shut the fuck up, which means your book is loaded with info dumps and filler. Either way, that's not a book I'm gonna read.

Now, this is a problem a lot of writers have struggled with at some point in their careers. It happens! But I'm not reading for sympathy, I'm reading for pleasure. I don't want to sift through chapters of filler, hoping at one point the story will finally begin.

In the past, when I've given books like this a chance, I've lived to regret it. I read one book where the inciting incident occurred a third of the way through the story. I decided to give the book a chance anyway, and the structure was, predictably, a hot mess. The climax happened at the two-thirds mark, and the resolution ended up being 100 pages long. In fact, a brand new cast of characters was introduced in the resolution. For reference, a resolution should be about a single chapter long.

I could overlook some shit when I read. I'm here to have fun. But I need to know that I'm going to get what was promised to me as a reader. And at the very least, that is a properly structured story. And I can easily tell that that's not going to be the case if your inciting incident is a million pages too late.

Number 4: Graphic Sexual Assault With No Trigger Warning

When it comes to reading, I am comfortable with the threat of S.A., a discussion of S.A., or attempted S.A. But when we go into full-on assault in graphic detail, I need to be prepared. And if I'm not, I'm DNFing on the spot.

“But Jenna, if I warn you about it, it'll ruin the surprise.”

That's your idea of a surprise? Assault? S.A. isn't supposed to be a plot twist, so telling people about it shouldn't ruin the story at all.

But, Jenna, if I tell you there's a S.A. in my book, people aren't going to read it.”

Says who? People read books with assault all the time. Look at Game of Thrones. S.A. isn't hurting George’s sales. And if you need to trick people into reading your book, maybe it's not a good book.

But like I said, when it comes to books that feature graphic S.A., I just want to be forewarned. I don't think that's asking for too much. A surprise graphic assault scene genuinely pisses me off. It completely turns me off from the book, and I DNF immediately out of principle. The author’s a dumb dick and I don't like it.

Number 5: The Main Character Is a “Nice Guy”

Fortunately, I don't read a lot of books that have this issue. I think it's because I most often find this issue in books that are primarily written for a male audience. But every once in a while, these books do end up in my TBR and they get sent to the DNF bin ASAP. The minute the male protagonist starts complaining that he's being punished by society because he's too much of a nice guy, I'm checking out.

“Men don't respect him and women won't fuck him.”

I just can't keep reading. The entitlement is annoying and the lack of self-awareness is aggravating.

Now for the record, it's a completely different story if that's the point. If he's supposed to be an unlikable, unreliable narrator. That's actually kind of fun. But that's never the case. The character is always a self-insert wish-fulfillment hero who goes on to save the day and sleep with the hot chick. And I don't have time for that.

And why are these guys so fixated on being nice? As if nice isn't the lowest bar to reach. Fuzzy socks are nice. Do better than fuzzy socks. I just don't want to read about the human embodiment of fuzzy socks going off to save the day. But then again, I don't think I’m the target audience for these books. So what do I know?