Please, Dear Authors

Dear Authors,

I like you, and I want you to succeed, but I hate to be the one to tell you that if your novel contains any variation on the phrase:

"You don't get it, do you?"

or

"You just don't get it"

or

"You just don't get it, (insert character name here)"

that only bad things will come of it.

That phrase and all its variations are a crutch for when you don't know how to get to where you want to be. I say this because I've seen this phrase employed time and again when an author wants a character to see something and hasn't found another way to make them see it. For me, that phrase is the equivalent of flashing red sirens and is almost always indicative of other shortcomings as well.

Sincerely,
Your humble reader