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10 things I hate about fanfic.
Mar. 23rd, 2012 12:54 pm1) Character bashing, most especially if the bashed is a woman "getting in the way" of a gay non-canonical relationship.
2) Barely means one thing. Barley means another. The placement of the 'e' is pretty vital for this word and many others. Autocorrect will only get you so far; when the word you've got wrong is a legitimate word, you have to know the word's meaning.
3) Paragraphs can and often should include more than one or two sentences. Really, it's okay. In fact, I'd encourage you to try expanding a paragraph to (gasp) five sentences. Maybe more!
4) Pants means one thing. Paints means another. I'm not sure how exactly a dude can pull on paints, and then go out in public and have no one stare at him.
5) Yes, your dialogue needs commas and quotation marks, and it also needs them in the proper places.
6) A sex scene needn't be an anatomy lesson. On the flip side, it also needn't be fifteen shades of purple.
7) Tenses. Pick one and stick with it. I think the major reason I still don't like 3rd/present so much is because it is easy to slip out of when you're writing it and/or slip into when you're not using it.
8) I understand. It can get strange and awkward to repeat names over and over again, especially in sex scenes. Still, I'd rather read Bill and Ted and know what each was doing to the other than have to do mental gymnastics to figure it out and/or laugh uproariously at epithet usage.
9) You know that ridiculous rock/artifact thing from SG-1 fanon-that-swept-the-fanfic-everywhere? I still hate it. Something like it happens in every fandom. Embrace the fanon, but know when to release it with love.
10) This one's admittedly personal: I hate it when people publish stories using relatively unique titles I've already used in the same fandom. I know it's irrational and silly, but I still hate it. MINE, hands off. ;)
2) Barely means one thing. Barley means another. The placement of the 'e' is pretty vital for this word and many others. Autocorrect will only get you so far; when the word you've got wrong is a legitimate word, you have to know the word's meaning.
3) Paragraphs can and often should include more than one or two sentences. Really, it's okay. In fact, I'd encourage you to try expanding a paragraph to (gasp) five sentences. Maybe more!
4) Pants means one thing. Paints means another. I'm not sure how exactly a dude can pull on paints, and then go out in public and have no one stare at him.
5) Yes, your dialogue needs commas and quotation marks, and it also needs them in the proper places.
6) A sex scene needn't be an anatomy lesson. On the flip side, it also needn't be fifteen shades of purple.
7) Tenses. Pick one and stick with it. I think the major reason I still don't like 3rd/present so much is because it is easy to slip out of when you're writing it and/or slip into when you're not using it.
8) I understand. It can get strange and awkward to repeat names over and over again, especially in sex scenes. Still, I'd rather read Bill and Ted and know what each was doing to the other than have to do mental gymnastics to figure it out and/or laugh uproariously at epithet usage.
9) You know that ridiculous rock/artifact thing from SG-1 fanon-that-swept-the-fanfic-everywhere? I still hate it. Something like it happens in every fandom. Embrace the fanon, but know when to release it with love.
10) This one's admittedly personal: I hate it when people publish stories using relatively unique titles I've already used in the same fandom. I know it's irrational and silly, but I still hate it. MINE, hands off. ;)
