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My FF.net pet peeves...


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#21 Nate River

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 10:14 PM

-Character bashing-regardless of the target; worse if the fic advertises this fact
-poor grammar
-bad formatting such as lack of paragraph breaks; double spacing (required for school papers, horrible on ff.net pages)
-Lemons in general
-Superman characters (mostly commonly seen with Naruto, but not limited to him)
-author self-fulfillment
-fics that read like author commentary on characters
-author notes in the body of a story
-pairing choice by democracy
-a summary stating the author sucks at writing summaries
-Naruto the super pimp especially if it's played staight, I've seen it used in comedies to good effect (Vespar's Single Ninja on the town)
-anything excessively pop culture in settings that don't call for it (I don't care what band Naruto is listening too)

#22 Konohakitten

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 10:28 PM

One thing other then the obvious bad grammar is fics that randomly have songs or poems written into them. I've always thought it was so tacky, I usually skip those parts or just stop reading in general.

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#23 Catwho

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 10:32 PM

QUOTE (desaix @ Mar 5 2012, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I don't think it was ever regarded as the "Best Ranma fanfic ever written!" (and I should know -- I was on the fanfiction mailing list, where it debuted, when it was written). It was certainly... controversial, in the best of times. The annoying thing was that the author presented it as his answer to the challenge to write a "Ranma-Akane fanfic."

For those who have never read it, Ranma and Akane do get married, but Akane eventually kills him because of increasingly violent explosions from "rage syndrome" over misunderstandings, or something of that nature.


Okay, maybe in the little Ranma 1/2 forum I hung out in back in the day tongue.gif I do know there was a faction of folks who considered it practically canon.


QUOTE (Konohakitten @ Mar 5 2012, 05:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
One thing other then the obvious bad grammar is fics that randomly have songs or poems written into them. I've always thought it was so tacky, I usually skip those parts or just stop reading in general.


That can be done well, but it's tricky. My current WIP, Fairy Tail Trance, is song inspired, but most of the time I don't have the lyrics separated. The idea was that the song fit the characters so well they could use the lyrics in an actual conversation and it'd be perfectly natural. I've pulled it off in all but one of the ten mini chapters so far.

Edited by Catwho, 05 March 2012 - 11:08 PM.

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#24 AchikaMiyu

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 12:38 AM

Everyone has some good points.

The only things I have to add are:

  • Fics that take the script and plot of another well-established story and inserts Naruto characters in their place. (i.e. Twilight, Harry Potter, etc.) If I wanted to read Twilight, I would read it. I don't need to know about how Bella could be Sakura (which she couldn't be) or who would best fit Edward. The plot's predicable and the Naruto characters are their own characters. They're not going to fit into the mold of another established work just because it sounds cool.
  • Authors that never finish what they started. I'm sure there are a bunch of stories I've read where the author updates regularly for a while and then all of a sudden drops off of the face of the earth. If they're still around and writing, then it irks me if they leave a story hanging and never finish it. If they update at least once a year, then that would make me happier than going on a hiatus forever.
  • Authors who respond to every reviewer in their A/N. It's one thing to address certain reviews or reviewers that have a question, but didn't sign-in to review. Otherwise, if they've reviewed your work and they used their ff.net account, just respond to their review via PM. It clutters up the story.
  • Using Japanese words and phrases randomly, then there is an English equivalent or translation. There are certain words that you have to use the Japanese word (i.e. sushi, kimono, ninja, ramen, bijuu, etc.) but when you start interspersing a baka here and a neko there, it gets silly. If I started writing and then going off into French, pour-quoi? J'en ne sais pas. It's annoying and disrupts the flow of the story.


That's all I can think of that hadn't already been mentioned.
End of line.

#25 Dragunov

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 01:10 AM

As for lemons............ they have to be expertly done. An author has to convey emotion, and use strong, eloquent language in order to present a acceptable part. Otherwise, they're just writing a soft-core porn.

#26 tricksie

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 02:50 AM

I'm always bugged when an author uses different styles to delineate different speakers: Bold for Inner Sakura. Italicized for Kyuubi. etc. There's always a big explanation at the beginning, which is then rendered pointless in the story because the reader can tell who's saying what just through the writing.

Also, using metalanguage in the text: "Begin flashback." "End Flashback." etc. The author doesn't realize that a place-setting entry line and exit line function the same way and are not such speedbumps for the reader.

Both of these things are writing styles that only exist in ff.net. They have sprouted up like weeds. And, unfortunately, their repeated use gives them credibility. Authors use them freely in fanfics when there is no other writing where these things would be acceptable. Ever.

Another HUGE pet peeve for me are the agressive critics and critics groups on ff.net. Sometimes it's boilerplate rule language posted as a review, accompanied by the threat of being reported. It's aggravating because, from what I can tell, ff.net has no ruling body other than these self-appointed police. (These folks hail from a critics forum where they routinely list/bash the terrible stories they've reported. Their "Good Stories" thread is remarkably empty, however.)

Other times it's a particular self-designated editor who swoops in, critiques the first chapter, gives grades and usually an unfriendly (sometimes scathing) review, then unapologetically says h/she will not be reading the rest of the story. (As they have other super-hero critiquing to do, I'm sure.) It's just crazy.

Every time I see it, I think it's like interior decorators who break into your house, redecorate, then stand on the sidewalk after you come home telling you that you have to like it. You have to love it. Because they know how to do it right and you clearly don't.

It's one thing to ask for a critique and get it. And it's a completely other thing to get bashed over the head with one. And I always wonder where these people get off giving editing advice when they offer no hint of their expertise in the field.

Anyway, I tend to read reviews before I read the story, just to see if the comments make it worth my while ("Yeah it's great" or "Ew? Harem?"). Often times I see new-ish writers getting pummelled by unjustly negative reviews. That's not to say that some of the stories can't be improved. But such harsh criticism for someone who's just starting out can kill their desire to write. And that's exactly what a good criticism should not do. But I don't think the reviewers care, for all their touting that they are doing the author a favor.

Standard disclaimer: I edit my own work. I have typos. Don't care. (Well, I do care. But it doesn't keep me up at night.) I have author's notes that are longer than most people's first chapters (*wince*), I try to thank my reviewers — all of them — in those notes if I haven't had a chance to pm (*cringe*), and I've had a terrible updating schedule lately (*hides under blanket*). But I keep those massive notes at the end of the chapter, so readers don't have to read them if they don't want. So...uh...that's a plus!

One last note...I think the culture of ff.net does not promote good writing. Which is a shame. It's such a creative outlet, but there's just no good way for beginning writers to improve. The forum system is weird and cumbersome. So they would have to take it upon themselves to look elsewhere for good writing tutorials. So I have a great deal of patience for the stories on ff.net. It's a little like panning for gold. Or finding a prince.... Expect to kiss a lot of frogs before you find him! Anyway, all of the other things listed in the other posts are also pet peeves. But I see them more as the product of immature writers/writing than remediable problems.

#27 KonaKonaFan

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 03:24 AM

The fact that my first and worst fanfic has by far the most hits, and my labor of love is barely getting noticed.


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#28 Catwho

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 04:34 AM

Not much of a writing thing, but I hate out FF.net ate their own formatting at one point, so stories posted 10 years ago are clearly missing line breaks and such. How hard is it to save RTF paragraph markers across a database migration?

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#29 Nate River

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 04:43 AM

QUOTE
Another HUGE pet peeve for me are the agressive critics and critics groups on ff.net. Sometimes it's boilerplate rule language posted as a review, accompanied by the threat of being reported. It's aggravating because, from what I can tell, ff.net has no ruling body other than these self-appointed police. (These folks hail from a critics forum where they routinely list/bash the terrible stories they've reported. Their "Good Stories" thread is remarkably empty, however.)


Is that forum the fanfiction forum? I visited a couple of time and the authors, while often very good, could be rather condescending with numerous threads to trashing fics and making fun of authors.

QUOTE
Every time I see it, I think it's like interior decorators who break into your house, redecorate, then stand on the sidewalk after you come home telling you that you have to like it. You have to love it. Because they know how to do it right and you clearly don't.

It's one thing to ask for a critique and get it. And it's a completely other thing to get bashed over the head with one. And I always wonder where these people get off giving editing advice when they offer no hint of their expertise in the field.

Anyway, I tend to read reviews before I read the story, just to see if the comments make it worth my while ("Yeah it's great" or "Ew? Harem?"). Often times I see new-ish writers getting pummelled by unjustly negative reviews. That's not to say that some of the stories can't be improved. But such harsh criticism for someone who's just starting out can kill their desire to write. And that's exactly what a good criticism should not do. But I don't think the reviewers care, for all their touting that they are doing the author a favor.


I did that once and hate myself for it. I said exactly what I thought and was rather blunt. Another reviewer did the same. The guy who wrote it immediately discontinued it and eventually pulled it. I had to send a PM to the guy telling him that I didn't intend that, but that I didn't see myself doing him favors by not telling how I felt or ignoring problems in order to spare feelings. I have done that, too, and that ends badly as well. It didn't matter the damage was done. I felt bad because I respect authors willing to improve and believe that the best way to do so is write. I don't ever want to make people quit with my reviews.

That said, my general experience is the opposite of yours. I find ff.net littered with echo chambers centered around poorly written material and abused tropes with overly sensitive authors and reviewers circling the wagons and telling each other that a legitimate critic is full of it. There is no desire to improve and it's just the same people preaching to each other with the attitude of it's just fanfiction, who care,? I've seen more than my fair share of two to three sentences stories that get reviews saying good story, please continue. I'm thinking....what story? It's a couple of sentences, this is crap.

QUOTE
Standard disclaimer: I edit my own work. I have typos. Don't care. (Well, I do care. But it doesn't keep me up at night.) I have author's notes that are longer than most people's first chapters (*wince*), I try to thank my reviewers — all of them — in those notes if I haven't had a chance to pm (*cringe*), and I've had a terrible updating schedule lately (*hides under blanket*). But I keep those massive notes at the end of the chapter, so readers don't have to read them if they don't want. So...uh...that's a plus!


I do the same and I reread my only published work every once in a while and each time I find a new typo or something wish I'd done differently. I wrote that thing in 2008 and I've never been completely satisfied with it, but I'm a perfectionist and sometimes you just got to post. That perfectionist streak has torpedoed all three of my multi-chapter efforts because it bogs me down and I never finish.

The only thing I was satisfied was the ending...which I will add that as a pet peeve...not knowing when to end a story. Either it is an unnecessary sequel (I knew I could never meet the expectations of the reviewers demanding I write a sequel; their imagitations would think up much better stuff than I could write, which is how I knew I got that right) and not cutting it off when it needs to be. Pairings fics tend to be guilty of the latter with many I have read ending up rudderless halfway through,

#30 Konohakitten

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 05:15 AM

QUOTE (Catwho @ Mar 5 2012, 03:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
That can be done well, but it's tricky. My current WIP, Fairy Tail Trance, is song inspired, but most of the time I don't have the lyrics separated. The idea was that the song fit the characters so well they could use the lyrics in an actual conversation and it'd be perfectly natural. I've pulled it off in all but one of the ten mini chapters so far.


I guess it can be done but to me a song needs to be heard not read, but that's just me. Plus it doesn't help if you're not familiar with the song. I guess the hardest part is that everyone will listen to a song and get something different out of it. So writing a story based on a song can have some challenges since everyone is different. In my experience I have yet to read a story that successfully pulled it off, then again I stay away from them so that can be a reason why XD

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#31 Greed-Sama

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 07:09 AM

QUOTE (Konohakitten @ Mar 5 2012, 11:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I guess it can be done but to me a song needs to be heard not read, but that's just me. Plus it doesn't help if you're not familiar with the song. I guess the hardest part is that everyone will listen to a song and get something different out of it. So writing a story based on a song can have some challenges since everyone is different. In my experience I have yet to read a story that successfully pulled it off, then again I stay away from them so that can be a reason why XD


Our very own Digifruit's Fly Me To The Moon is a perfect example of how a song can be integrated one more time.
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#32 tricksie

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 05:05 PM

QUOTE (Nate River @ Mar 5 2012, 11:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Is that forum the fanfiction forum? I visited a couple of time and the authors, while often very good, could be rather condescending with numerous threads to trashing fics and making fun of authors.

CriticsUnited on ff.net was the one that came to mind immediately, although most of the larger forums that tout their improvement skills for writers just end up bashing rule breakers. (Just looked through again this a.m.: Writers Anonymous, and Cabbages and Kings do seem to break the mold however.) So if a forum spends most of its time lambasting poor writers and targeting rule-breakers, then that tells me the people populating that forum really don't know a thing about grammar/language/plot mechanics, etc. They just have loud mouths.

And that song fic stuff some others mentioned? Yeah.... that's a quick way to get those Critics United people on you. Try it and see.

QUOTE
I did that once and hate myself for it. I said exactly what I thought and was rather blunt. Another reviewer did the same. The guy who wrote it immediately discontinued it and eventually pulled it. I had to send a PM to the guy telling him that I didn't intend that, but that I didn't see myself doing him favors by not telling how I felt or ignoring problems in order to spare feelings. I have done that, too, and that ends badly as well. It didn't matter the damage was done. I felt bad because I respect authors willing to improve and believe that the best way to do so is write. I don't ever want to make people quit with my reviews.

That said, my general experience is the opposite of yours. I find ff.net littered with echo chambers centered around poorly written material and abused tropes with overly sensitive authors and reviewers circling the wagons and telling each other that a legitimate critic is full of it. There is no desire to improve and it's just the same people preaching to each other with the attitude of it's just fanfiction, who care,? I've seen more than my fair share of two to three sentences stories that get reviews saying good story, please continue. I'm thinking....what story? It's a couple of sentences, this is crap.

Like I said, FF.net is a strange, often damaging environment. And you've seen that firsthand, even with the best of intentions.

It's a little different from DeviantArt, where people are more likely to say "Wow! Looks good!" and occasionally you get a real critique. Here, people are empowered to give advice when they have no business giving it. And these off-the-cuff opinions only torpedo new writers.

I would say ff.net is has a culture of criticism, not of improvement. And I'm betting it has a much larger community of readers than writers (simply because it takes so much less effort to read someone else's work (and hate it!), than to create your own work). However, the deceptive thing is that just because you know how to read doesn't mean you can instruct others how to improve their writing. And ff.net is not built to support groups or communities or individuals. It is built to facilitate searches and reviews, with an uncategorized forum page off to the side. So if you're a reader searching for a story, you're in luck. But if you're a writer looking for a community...good luck.

As for the fiction stuff, I completely agree. It is the same trope over and over and over again. But I just see it as young writers who are writing what they want/read to write about — not necessarily what I want to read.

I withhold my judgement about the improvement though, just because it is so hard to see improvement in writing without reading the breadth of the work. It's not like DeviantArt where you can eyeball their changes over several years in just a matter of seconds. I think, if someone is willing to write, maybe this is the open door to more writing. And truly, the hope is that ff.net is the springboard to original fics. But if someone produces original works, then that moves offsite. So again, ff.net is not a site that supports and nurtures writers. The message there is that if you write well enough to write your own work...then ff.net is not for you. So readers are at a loss to see improvement.

It's like ff.net is a crappy campus telephone pole where everyone staples their stories, hawking them like last year's sofa, until it's covered up by a new one. There's always interesting stuff to read, but no one hangs around for real long.

laugh.gif I'm really not bashing ff.net! It's the only game in town! But it's clear it will never expand or adequately support the community that drives it's content. It's a reader-based site. Not a writer's community. And that's a shame, because I think it could radically influence all the youg minds that are writing here, freely and for themselves, rather than writing their papers for English class.

QUOTE
I do the same and I reread my only published work every once in a while and each time I find a new typo or something wish I'd done differently. I wrote that thing in 2008 and I've never been completely satisfied with it, but I'm a perfectionist and sometimes you just got to post. That perfectionist streak has torpedoed all three of my multi-chapter efforts because it bogs me down and I never finish.

The only thing I was satisfied was the ending...which I will add that as a pet peeve...not knowing when to end a story. Either it is an unnecessary sequel (I knew I could never meet the expectations of the reviewers demanding I write a sequel; their imagitations would think up much better stuff than I could write, which is how I knew I got that right) and not cutting it off when it needs to be. Pairings fics tend to be guilty of the latter with many I have read ending up rudderless halfway through,

I understand where you're coming from completely. It's hard not to go back and tweak old stories. I think we must use a different part of our brain to process what we write/read vs. what we paint/see. Because I don't look at my old artwork and feel the need to reopen the doc and fix it. Sometimes I cringe and create a new one like it. But with old stories I am so tempted to revisit the original and change it. It's crazy, I know. So I have to tell myself to let the crap stand. It's ok. It shows me where I've been.

I think it must tap into that feeling that it's easier to go back to ground already covered rather than create new lands, new ideas through story. Because I never think, "Hey, I'll write a new story with those themes." Nope. It's always "Ooooo, I'd like to rewrite that whole chapter." Anyway, I'll go back and fix typos, but I'm forcing myself to let the rest stand. *fingerscrossed*

#33 AchikaMiyu

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 05:36 PM

I'll make this brief because I really need to get back to work sad.gif

On reviewers: I think there are some who have their set ideal for what they accept as good stories and those that are just hard-core sticklers to the rules. Those reviewers are usually the ones trolling stories to leave warnings or reviews that discourage (generally inexperienced) writers because of their own principles. In some cases, it can be good. Such as letting some writers be aware of certain rules that they didn't know about. But mostly, they do it out of a sense of superiority and when they leave their "word of advice," it comes off as condscending and rude. i.e. You violated rule x, now I'm going to report you!

If they were to take a step back and offer their advice as genuine advice and warning, then it would be different. But there are no real rules. It just depends on each individual reviewer's common courtesy, which unforutnately there isn't much.

On ff.net in general: The thing is that most of the writers that post are highly inexperienced and don't have the control or discipline to try and improve. It's a number of things: age, the community they write for, lack of a good beta, etc. There's also a lack of perspective. We often forget that what gets posted on the internet will stay forever. In one form or another. I know that I've written some stories in the past that when I look back, I cringe. But I've learned from that. When you have writers that write for instant gratification and tons of reviews, they may not have the perspective to look back and thing "is this something I can be proud of in a year or two?"

The good writers are those that have gained some discipline in their writing and have improved over the years. The bad ones are those that churn out the same-old stuff all of the time with variations on the plot.

Unfortunately, they're no true answer to solve all of it. I think in part, reviewers like Nate are beneficial. Just a little less harsh perhaps in terms of critique. Though, the writer also has to be welcome to the critque, they have to be willing to develop as a writer. If the main goal of the writer is to get as many hits/reviews/favorites as possible, then they're not a serious writer.

In thinking more about this, probably the ones that are bothered the most about all of the mentioned pet-peeves are those that are more serious about writing and actually care about the stories that get posted. But I'm ranting now and need to get back to work.
End of line.

#34 pharix

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 06:02 PM

oh yeah, another one: authors that just throw in silly Western names on OCs. FFS, if you're going to make an OC at least try to make it fit the setting.

Edited by pharix, 06 March 2012 - 06:04 PM.


#35 ciardha

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 07:56 PM

QUOTE (Catwho @ Mar 5 2012, 05:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Okay, maybe in the little Ranma 1/2 forum I hung out in back in the day tongue.gif I do know there was a faction of folks who considered it practically canon.


Ranma 1/2 fandom and X-men comics fandom back around 1992 was where I first saw this pattern amongst a very vocal minority. It was shocking then. In the fandoms I was in back in the 1970's and 80's this just didn't happen- except in Beatle fandom (and back in the 70's it was guys that were the nastiest. In the 70's they attacked both Linda McCartney and Yoko Ono for daring to be public partners to their husbands. Rather tellingly, when Linda started taking a more traditional backseat role in the 80's the attacks pretty much ended against her. But Yoko- who continued her lifelong career in art and music, continued to be viciously attacked. At that point, I started seeing more women vocally joining in on vicious levels- and the vibe was the same as what would emerge in fiction related fandoms in the 90's. Basically, anger at a woman brave enough to challenge the expected roles of women and wanting to be seen on equal footing with any male of similar creativity.

In the 1970's and 80's I never recall hearing even a whisper of hatred directed toward: Lady Oscar in Rose of Versailles fandom, Princess Leia in Star Wars fandom, Leetah in Elfquest fandom, or Saavik in Star Trek fandom. In fact, it was the female characters who played more submissive roles that got (mild) criticism-Rosalie in Rose of Versailles, Moonshade in Elfquest and Chapel in Star Trek. It was mild criticism saying the characters needed to stop being so traditional and develop some independent side to their character. (fans wanted the character to be more than just an appendage to another character and have some development/interests outside of that.)

Something strange happened in fandoms in the early 90's though- suddenly there was this small but extremely vocal segment of female fans who would obsessively rage against those strong willed female characters and laud the passive female characters who were mere appendages to other characters. They would even express a wish for a violent death for the strong willed female characters so that the male character would then fall in love with the more submissive female character.... (I was absolutely shocked the first time I encountered this, nowadays I still feel a bit stunned at that mindset, but after seeing it in multiple fandoms over the past 20 years, a level of disgust has crept in, I know to expect it...)
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#36 Rainy Daze

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 10:59 PM

Erm, geez I have a rather long list. Commencing tangent...


-Poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
-Repetitive phrases, such as "the blond" (did this) or "the raven" (did that). Those become annoying very fast, and I believe one could be a bit more creative than that.
-Obvious character bashing. That being, the author going out of their way to smite or beat down on a character that doesn't really have much to do with the story.
-Long paragraphs of author notes (though I have been known to do it myself on a couple of occasions, though mostly for introductions).
-Run on sentences (see punctuation).
-Overly-recycled plots.
-OOC characterization.
-Plotless stories/characters without depth.
-Illiteracy in general.
-Crack pairings/fics.
-Stories that only consist of "lemons" or "limes". I guess some people like those, but I am not one of those people. I especially dislike it when the author writes in big letters, "LEMON INSIDE" or "NOW WITH LEMON!" in the description, as if to assure the reader that the story is going to be x10 better with the smutty sex scene included. I can understand where this could be used as some kind of warning for an eventual sex scene, but on FF, that's usually not the case. Sadly, most just skip to the sex.
-First and second person fics. I avoid these like the plague.
-Any school-fics, really. Unless, of course, the anime/whatever is actually about school.


*scratches head*

I think I've covered everything...

Yours is the epitome of unadulterated love. You are willing to carry out an act of justice in the name of said love, and hell you are still walking around trying to get to your beloved after your head has been chopped clean off your shoulders? You sir, are a kittening winner in my book.
Congratulations.


"...my beloved Yukiteru-kun..."

#37 Greed-Sama

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 11:02 PM

QUOTE (Rainy Daze @ Mar 6 2012, 04:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
-First and second person fics. I avoid these like the plague.


I can understand second person fics because Ff.net isn't brewing with good writers who could pull it off, but first person stories can be very effective if done correctly.

So curious as to why you say that.

Edited by TheOmegaMan, 06 March 2012 - 11:03 PM.

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#38 Rainy Daze

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 11:17 PM

QUOTE (TheOmegaMan @ Mar 6 2012, 11:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I can understand second person fics because Ff.net isn't brewing with good writers who could pull it off, but first person stories can be very effective if done correctly.

So curious as to why you say that.


Mostly because, from what I've experienced, the first word I see in the beginning of every story is "I" and it's usually in a pretty non-descript sentence. From there on, it gets repetitive. Like you said, if done correctly, it could be very effective. However, I have yet to come across one that hasn't pelted me with repetition, which I should probably say is my biggest peeve of them all. Until I do though, my feelings towards first person are likely to remain the same.

Yours is the epitome of unadulterated love. You are willing to carry out an act of justice in the name of said love, and hell you are still walking around trying to get to your beloved after your head has been chopped clean off your shoulders? You sir, are a kittening winner in my book.
Congratulations.


"...my beloved Yukiteru-kun..."

#39 Dragunov

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Posted 07 March 2012 - 12:04 AM

The author doesnt seem professional. Its kinda hard to do, but im just picky when it comes to fanfics.

#40 Toasty Warrior

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Posted 07 March 2012 - 01:23 AM

I definitely have some pet peeves when it comes to stories, and they're pretty much common ones:

-Stories without a good plot or character development, I know this is usually important, but please try to deliver on some development for the character you're trying to write for.

- Grammar, and sentence structure, another big one. I usually don't like stories that have huge ass paragraphs that I have to read. Try to keep the sentences to three to four sentences.

-Bashing, this one I've always hated in stories. Come on people, try to write a story without bashing the character too much, but if it's for the lolz, it has to be done in a way that makes the character not lost any respect or dignity.

- Characters acting OOC, this is another one I truly hate. I could see if they're doing it to fit within the story, but when you have a character kill off one of the main characters simply because you don't like them, your story has no credit whatsoever. It turns into a bashfest.

- Stories that have chapters less than a paragraph long. I can understand if you're setting up with a prologue or epilogue, but please try to make the story at least a good three to four pages long for others to read.

- Misleading stories, I hate stories that are under a specific category, and then turn out to be a whole another pairing. I believe people do this just to be trolls or get lots of reviews for their stories because usually their stories suck.

- Lemons, well I'm kinda on the fence about this. I usually don't mind lemons if they're done well, or part of the story, but if they're not part of the plot or too vulgar, I avoid them at all costs.

- Harem stories, I've never been able to read harem stories because they end up being too confusing or just one big lemon story.

I think that about covers my pet peeves with stories. sleep.gif

Edited by Toasty Warrior, 07 March 2012 - 08:34 AM.

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