amelialourdes | let's talk about the writing thing.

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let's talk about the writing thing.

I'm not a writer. I don't consider myself one. I'm not really good at it. I think once upon a time I had an imagination and creativity to write but I think that I've lost it. That said, I've always received pretty high grades when it came to English, grammar, phonics, reading comprehension, language, etc. I consistently wrote in college and graduated with a degree that is based on literary and visual analysis. I think that I have a pretty firm grasp on the English language. That said, when I see badly written fan fiction? I cringe.

Bad fic? It happens. For whatever reason, people make up what they make up without any regard or consideration of the personality of the characters that they're using. They write what they write without care or acknowledgment of their own terrible spelling and grammar. They don't bother with betas because a few fawning reviews means that they have fans and it doesn't matter what the writing looks like.

That bothers me. It bothers me. Every time someone spells something wrong and it's posted for all to see, it makes the angels cry (quote courtesy of Quinn from Glee). Someone on my flist has recently spoken a lot about the writing process and writing in fandoms and her perceptions are dead on. It's refreshing to find someone who's receptive to critique and commentary about her work. Of course, it wasn't always that way. It's never that way in the beginning. In the beginning, I imagine that people do think that they're good writers and for whatever reason (I blame fawning reviews with no critique) aren't receptive to criticism.

Fandom is supposed to be fun, yes? The stories are just stories. They're not up for Pulitzers or even national writing contests. I understand that. This is just a major, major, MAJOR pet peeve of mine that I want to address for myself and to share with anyone who may feel the same. Or! Feel differently. I'm open to both ideas. I'm not having fun if a large chunk of a story doesn't make sense. I sometimes try to look past the errors to just read the story itself but then it's bad characterization that gets to me.

So, if you're a writer or if you're an active reader, what in fandom fanfiction bothers you if you're bothered by anything at all? No specific fandom here. Any fandom at all. What will turn you off of a story? If you're a writer, why do you/would you not accept constructive criticism? Are you open to constructive criticism?

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When it comes to fandom, there's nothing that bugs me more than fic that is full of grammar/spelling mistakes/has clearly not even been read over, never mind betaed, that gets endless raving reviews. This bugs me more than OOCness in their writing, because at least with that I can tell myself that everyone sees the characters differently.

True that, but I have to say I rerely see such things outside of the QaF fandom, so I am usually more appaled by rampat OCCness, which to me = character assassination

Or I could say I rarely see them....sheeesh, some folk just don't know how to use their spellcheck....lol

I agree. As stated, I do have a problem with characterization. I can see how people have different perspectives on particular characters. But the second that I see a "baby" thrown in there or Brian's some caring, compassionate person or Justin gets giggly and bouncy like a teenage girl? I'm out.

Yes! You're absolutely right. The raving reviews really, really get to me. I'd like to think that in some circumstances it's a language barrier and there are international readers but that isn't always the case. Yet they skim over those errors without any kind of recognition and I always have to ask myself ... WHY DO YOU DO THAT?!

As a fanfic writer, sometimes I do feel like people are blowing smoke up you know where. At the same time, because I also write, I can appreciate areas where I'm not as strong and praise a writer for it. For example, if writer A rocks at plotting and I can't plot for pennies, then I might gloss over the grammar and spelling mistakes. Sometimes I might even gloss over the OCCness. It just depends.

Also, I think some people only read for pleasure. Their spelling and grammar are worse so they don't care. If they feel like they haven't wasted their time, they're just going to squee.

Also, I think some people only read for pleasure. Their spelling and grammar are worse so they don't care.

Yeah, I completely agree with this. Like I said, these are just my pet peeves so certainly some people don't really mind anything that I've mentioned. Sometimes when I look at comments I do see their own errors in their replies so not observing errors in the fic makes sense to me. I think that I'm just always stunned that no one says anything. It does say something about the general audience of a particular writer.

I despise when people are OOC. I just hate it. Grammer and spelling mistakes are right up there as well. I mean...I suck at spelling. but that is what Betas and spell check is for.

I agree. I think I'm more pissed off when I see little tiny errors that could be repaired with spell check. But, it's as if they just post it without looking it over or reviewing it or hitting spell check. It's so simple and they don't do it. They immediately send it off.

And I also totally accept constructive criticism. I'm not the best writer. In fact, I think I pretty much suck, so I will take anything that might make my writing even a little bit better. people who can't take that need to just not write.

Same.with.me!!

Sorry.my.spacebar.broke.hence.the.periods.

For.me.I.get.impatient.and.want.to.post.right.away.while.not.waiting.for.a.beta!
Character.flaw.in.me!
I.do.ask.that.if.people.see.anything.wrong.to.point.it.out...

I.have.a.crazy.brain.so.I.think.crack!fic.is.my.specialty!
But.I.also.write.Molly.and.Gus.in.the.QAF.universe.and.they.weren't.very.
developed.characters,so.sometimes.I.have.some.leeway.there.

Also.Canadian.English.and.American.have.some.variations.on.spelling.so.what.might.
look.incorrect.to.an.America.is.in.fact.spelled.correctly.for.a.Canadian.

I think that that's great. I'm also very open to constructive criticism. You're right, I think that someone taking a look at your writing can improve it. I've seen some mediocre writers get better with the use of betas. I think that if you're putting your writing out there for people to take a look at then you're open to that kind of criticism because it is public.

You asked the worst question. Because I am bothered by many things.

First come those obvious you mentioned - grammar, spelling, obvious need of any sort of proofreading. But that is nothing compared to the loathing I have for 1st person narrative and switching POVs in one fic. The worst is where the POVs are not only switching, but switching every 500 words or so and where that is clearly stated. Just, HATE. In theory 1st person narrative can work, but that's in theory only. Because it never does. I used to think I hated it because it invited Mary Sueism in, but now I realize it is even worse - it invites "I want to be that character" type of mentality authors, and that's beyond bad for me.

Then we have OOCness. To be fair though, I am usually willing to accept some measure of it, especially if the writing/story is good, and provided it is not straying in some ridiculous direction - cue in sugary Brian cooing "baby" and the like. This makes my brain scream.

Then there is clumsy writing, all those "older men" "brunettes" and so on. Then there is describing everything, people, clothes, interiors, feelings, giving me far too graphic sex scenes (because balls and scrotum will never be sexy words in any universe ever). Just let the character show me things, convey, not tell me flat out, because that's not good writing. And a sex scene that relies on physical descriptions only will never be successful. I can't believe people don't see that.

Using whole lines from canon.I know lot of people like it, I don't. I don't enjoy such wink-wink, because that's lame.

Writing scenes where men can't shut up during sex. That just kills the fic right there, because it is not hot, it is fucking ridiculous. Not to mention it's where OCCness sneaks in a lot of the time. Writing dirty talk is a skill yo, and more often than not less is more.

Abusing bold type, italics - moderation is your friend. Most of the time the writing itself should convey what is important, and the reader should be trusted to pick it up. Don't spell everything out for me, I am not a moron.

Generally, there's nothing worse than a sex scene I don't believe in. And yes, I know that's subjective as hell, but there it is.

Digging in further, what bothers me are fics whose authors have no clue why they wrote them in the first place and it shows. By which I mean, they don't know who their characters are, they don't know what story they want to tell - be it plot-driven or character-driven - and we end up with a story that has been written zillion times in the fandom with absolutely nothing new to contribute. Why bother.

LOL. I was provoked :D And of course where I write "you" I don't mean you, jsut got carried away and am too lazy to rephrase everything.

You make some excellent points. If you don't mind and if you have the time to do it, I'd appreciate it if you would send me a few names of writers whose fictions you like and consider to be well written. Send them by PM so no one left out is insulted.
Thanks.

Oh, and as to being open to criticism - let's assume my one fiction so far qualifies me for this question. Yeah, I totally would accept it, in fact it is kinda sad that lj is what I feel a no criticism zone in the sense that pointing out any errors is often met with indignation, and as a result no one gives any concrit.

If my fic sucks or could be made better, please tell me. I am gonna cry inside but it might help my fic.

I also wish for peace on earth :DDDDDDD

I.agree!

LJ.seems.to.be.a.zone.where.being.truthful.can.be.met.with.hate!

Wonderful comment! I agree, of course. Although, I think just recently I've run into some really great 1st person narratives that have worked really well. Of course in the hands of a terrible author this is a terrible idea because like you said, it involves the "I am my character" mentality which I fucking hate. But, just recently I've run into 1st person narratives that completely work and only made me feel more involved in that character's thought process. Let me know if you want to try reading it and I'll give you the name of the story.

Using whole lines from canon.
Oh man, I know. This never used to bother me back in the day but right now? Now, no. Never. Stop it. Be original.

Don't spell everything out for me, I am not a moron.
Exactly. If someone bolds, there are many italics, or even capital letters in a fic? I'm insulted. I really can understand something without the extra emphasis. Sometimes? That's fine but if it's throughout it really is as if the author thinks I'm not going to understand anything.

No, no! I love long comments and responding to them as well. I definitely understand what you mean. I think that there's too much of all of this. There's especially a lot of it occurring around our little fandom that could so, yes. I suppose this stemmed from this. I don't really see many complaints from other fandoms but I'd like to know if the errors are there as well. I'm sure there are but they aren't as rampant or blatantly obvious.

The 1st person narrative is so uniquely a QaF thing. I have read/read stuff in SPN, Merlin and Star Trek, and these fandoms are virtually 1st narrative-free, which helps the fic quality exponentially. I wonder why QaF is different. You ask about other fandoms. My sad personal conclusion is that QaF is the one with fiction I find offers the least for me. Though I admit the show itself narrows down the playing field very much, so that might be largely caused by that.

But sure, link me the story, nothing better than to be proven wrong :)

For whatever reason, people make up what they make up without any regard or consideration of the personality of the characters that they're using. They write what they write without care or acknowledgment of their own terrible spelling and grammar. They don't bother with betas because a few fawning reviews means that they have fans and it doesn't matter what the writing looks like.

Your post is well stated and I agree with much of what you say. There seem, however, to be several assumptions in what you say in the following and they concern me. For example, "..without regard or consideration, etc..." Perhaps the writers think they are writing a true 'personality of the characters.' They may not know that others (or some others) don't see it that way. There may be readers who 'hear' the personality in the writing that you think is poorly done. As for betas, I don't know if everyone has a reliable person available to them to take the time and effort (and I've beta-ed some works and it does take time and effort if one is conscientious about doing it) required to beta. It might take someone such as yourself reading the work and thinking it needs some changes to offer your assistance. Some will be greatly appreciative and some will not.

I, as you do, like English. I think I have a fairly good grasp of it. (Thank you Mrs. G in 9th grade.)
Nevertheless, we can all make errors and, I agree with you again, writers would be well advised to be open to helpful suggestions. If one is seen as too critical, of course, people will shy away.
Well, that being said, I hope you won't mind if I point out 3 small things to you.

few fawning reviews means - 'few' and 'reviews' being plural, it should be 'mean.'
to just read the story - split infinitive
then it's bad characterization - correct if you mean that it is the bad characterization that gets to you but incorrect if you mean the characterization of the story (its characterization) with 'its' being possessive. I'm not certain which you meant to convey.

Edited at 2009-09-17 01:57 pm (local)

No, I agree with you there regarding the writer's idea of a a particular character. I should've clarified. I certainly agree with different characterizations. I find that I can like one character portrayed one way and in another fic with an altered personality. I don't mind that at all. I think what I'm alluding to are the really off characterizations like the "baby" that's kind of tossed around when it's never used and never should be used. Another example would be taking Brian and turning him into someone who constantly expresses his feelings at every moment. Hope that that provided some clarification!

I definitely think that betas aren't always available and people do just write something and send it off into the vast internet without proofreading or have some kind of feedback. I just think it's unfortunate when there could be some improvements. But you're right, some want it and some don't. I've run into the don't way more often than I've run into the do.

I don't mind at all! As I was writing this I said to myself, "Oh my god. I'm writing about English and I know that this is going to have a million errors in it." I am glad you may have only found three, haha. I'll be correcting them! The "means" was definitely a speed thing. As for the "it's" I meant "it is" instead of possessive. :)

... please feel free to correct anything I post, ever. I didn't have a teacher like yours. :( I was often dinged on small infractions.

Thanks for your reply and your good humor. :)
I do understand about some things being so out of character as to make one wonder if the writer ever watched QaF. I don't mind a Brian who is a little more giving/a little less guarded, especially if written in the future as even BK is able to learn. I agree, however, that a Brian who is "expressing feelings at every moment" is not conceivable so why write him that way? Perhaps some wishful thinking and fantasizing about GH/BK has some people writing him the way they'd like him to be and think he might be if he were with them. You know, like the mistake some people make when they figure marriage will change their mate?
Anyhow, I asked someone else who replied to you and I'll ask you - please recommend (in a PM) some writers you think write well. I read only a few things from a few writers and don't want to spend a lot more time reading fics - but, I'd like the ones to which I give my time to be quality ones. I know I am impatient myself if misspelled words could have been corrected by the computer's spelling tool but weren't and if a writer 'overwrites' - my term for too many adjectives, too much repetition, too much description of something that a quality writer gets you to see with phrasing and - hard for me to articulate - ways other than direct description. So, we agree on quite a few points and thanks again for replying and so soon.
And, yes, kudos to my 9th grade teacher who taught us grammar which I liked so much. I guess enjoying grammar and being taught it made a difference.
buzzie

Edited 2009-09-17 22:43 (UTC)

Oh yeah, absolutely. I think there's plenty of wiggle room for a future Brian. There's a lot that can potentially change in their future and I love when that's explored in a really interesting way. But, putting a very expressive Brian in the show seems so far off base. Maybe not toward the end but definitely in between there and ESPECIALLY in the beginning. I also agree that they're writing Brian in a way that they want him to be within the show.

I'll be more than happy to recommend some but I'm sure that you've read them all before! I'm actually in the process of reading a lot of those fics again to pinpoint why I like them. I think it'll be a more detailed fic recommendation list than the one that I have. Okay, I just checked my nostalgia posts and you haven't commented on it so I assume you haven't seen it. I have two fic recommendation posts and you can find the first one here and the next one here. Enjoy!

Personally, I'm open to constructive criticism, and I do try to give it consideration because I've learned so much over the years from concrit. However, sometimes I just disagree with the person, and that disagreement doesn't go away. So, I don't mind getting concrit, so long as the person giving it understands that I might not say, "Ah, yes, you're right. I screwed that up entirely." I will always be friendly and polite, though, even in response to concrit.

(By the way, for an example of some concrit and my response to it, this was left on my last long fic: The first one by ZAM. I didn't agree with him about what he disliked, at all, but I appreciated that he was brave enough to tell me about it, even if I was frustrated that he didn't go on to give the rest of the story a chance to see if he eventually felt as other readers did about the "interruption of flow". :) But, yes, I appreciated his criticism for what it was worth, and I seriously considered the validity of it before replying, and determined that it is likely a different strokes for different folks kind of thing.)

As for things that I can't bear to read in a story:

1. "the older man" or "the ad exec" or "the blond man" or whatever. Unnecessary! Please to be stopping that! :D

2. Voice issues and characterization issues. If I can't hear the character say the lines in my head, then there's a problem there for me. (By the way, sometimes I go back and read some of my own stories and cringe thinking, "How could I ever have imagined that character would say that?")

3. Mechanical sex scenes. Tab A in Slot B. Big orgasm. Yay.

4. Sex scenes involving little bunny foo foo. (LOL!!!!)

That kind of stuff. It just makes me insane. It actually causes me to hit a huge embarrassment squick.

I like that. I like that though there may be a disagreement and you're firm in your own opinion, that there's that dialogue happening between reader and author. I like that Zam gave you a long review too! Though you didn't agree with it, that's probably the first really critical comment I've seen. Well, I can't say that. Recently I read a certain terrible, terrible badfic and someone (out of the plethora of positive comments) someone finally had the balls to tell him that he wasn't rewriting the Bible and spell check would probably help him.

Great list! I completely agree with this: If I can't hear the character say the lines in my head, then there's a problem there for me.

Shudder to the sex mentions, hahahaha! I just ... that's when it's time to run away and never be seen again. Some people just don't write sex well. They don't.

"Baby."

Calling an asshole a "man pussy."

M-Preg.

Betas who are as clueless about correct usage, style, and show canon
as the clueless writer. And then the writer THANKS them.

"man pussy," really? I've thankfully missed that one. *snort*

Man pussy and Mpreg. Shudder. Why. It's not sexy. It makes me want to throw up a little.

Betas who are as clueless about correct usage, style, and show canon as the clueless writer. And then the writer THANKS them.
YES.

Other than the obvious like bad spelling/grammar and bad formatting (tiny invisible text, no spaces between paragraphs, etc) my number one pet peeve is rude authors. Authors who will beg for feedback, hold their fic "hostage" until they get a certain number of reviews, and authors who never say thank you for your comment. I won't read the fic if I know the author is an asshole.

YES. "If I don't have over 10 comments then I won't be posting the next chapter." Fuck you, you arrogant ass. I don't understand the no thank you thing. You spent all that time on the computer to write that story. The least that you can do is spend some more time on the computer to say thank you to people who commented.

You mean people actually do that? O.O

I remember seeing that and my young newbie heart dropped into my stomach. Thankfully, I realized that not everyone was like that. :|

There are a few fic issues that tend to irk me. Grammar and spelling are major for me, but perhaps that is because I spend my days transcribing and editing so those errors are like thorns that stick in my side, where others might just glance over them and think nothing of them. Though I'm not as grammar-gifted as Buzziecat. I wish I'd had that 9th grade teacher! The there/their, passed/past, through/threw type errors just drive me crazy and I find them extremely difficult to overlook. For me they really detract from the flow of a story. Finicky, I know.

OOCness is another sore subject, and a comment that I will try to leave for an author when a character rings true is "I could actually picture him speaking that line." It's weird to get excited about that, but lately it seems to be more of a rarity. Recently I read a fic with an Ethan/Brian scene that would NEVER have happened based on canon and everyone was commenting about how funny and cute it was and how they could just see it happening. I commented that though it was amusing I couldn't picture it actually ever happening, and got the royal smackown from the author's posse. LOL.

Even more annoying than mere OOCness, though, is the in-name only B/J fic (sorry, but I'm only involved in the QAF fandom so no other examples). I'm sure you all have read those stories too - the only way we know that the main characters are supposed to be Brian and Justin is that one has hazel eyes and one has blue. When the two characters have nothing at all to do with the ones we know I want to scream.

My final (well not really, but the last one I'll bore you with) peeve is the BNF authors who get so full of themselves that they - as Juteux alluded to above - no longer have to respond to comments, hold their fics hostage, constantly post dramatic rants designed to rally their loyal fans to stroke their massive egos and just generally suck the enjoyment out of whatever stories we all loved when they first appeared on the scene and were lesser known and more interested in good fic than in high drama.

Hey, transcribers unite! That's probably why it bothers me the way that it bothers you. It's definitely more about spelling, sentence structure, and those kind of glaring errors that are just a big red stop sign. I think that it's picky too but these are basic things, you know? It's something that we learn in elementary school and on. It's very elementary. I don't mean to call anyone names but they are lessons taught when we're younger.

I commented that though it was amusing I couldn't picture it actually ever happening, and got the royal smackown from the author's posse.
I KNOW HOW THIS FEELS. I HATE IT.

Yes! I definitely agree with this. The story looks nothing like Brian and Justin. They don't act like Brian and Justin. They don't hold conversations like Brian and Justin. Why don't you just call it an original story and name them Bob and Jim? That would actually make me want to read it.

Not bored at all with your comment! Continue on. :) Yes, I agree. I ... I still don't know why authors do this as if they're better than all this, as if their story is the new Bible. I'm sorry. It's not. Just because you don't have the number of comments you want or the reception that you want doesn't mean that you have to get on that high horse. It's frustrating, to say the least.

I am in agreement with many of your comments and many commenters' comments. One of my pet peeves, that hasn't been mentioned, is anatomical names being used during sex, e.g., my hard penis this and his anus that. That completely takes me out of the story.

And then there are fics like this one that was just posted on bjfic comm. I had a feeling it would be really bad and I was really right. This is just so far from QAF I don't even know what to say. The only good thing is it takes just a couple minutes to read. not AU, just totally fucked up (http://community.livejournal.com/bjfic/2131862.html?style=mine#cutid1)

Oh man. Someone actually uses the word "butt" in a sex scene and I burst out laughing. I just think it's a really juvenile word to use when you're talking about two grown men. I'm sure that people say it during sex but can you imagine Brian and Justin ever saying that during sex? No.

I just took a look at that story today and cringed. They lost me right about here:

”Brian, wait!” I turn around to look at Michael.

“You’re coming with us to the mall?” He asks and I shake my head.

“No, I’m going to take care of a rabbit named Bunny!” I smile widely at my friend and he sighs.

In other words, the beginning. Sigh. :(

my biggest pet peeve is commenters encouraging badfic, lol. Then again, even I sometimes read badfic and enjoy it for reasons that weren't intended by the writer. So I guess this is an important part of the fandom ecosystem, too. Oh well. Also: overhyped stories. Trying to figure out why people are literally crazy about fics that are really mediocre, just with some trendy gimmicks mixed in and superficial attempts at philosophy just to be Profound - it breaks my brain.

As for things I can blame the author for, pacing. Bad fics are usually badly paced.
This includes but is not limited to: when a character's development takes huge leaps in the span of 3 sentences that cover about 5 minutes of fic-time. Like... haha, Brian deciding he needs to sell his loft because he bought a dog and it peed on his rug. I know it's potentially logical if you explain the reasoning in between and put it in a broader perspective, but it's written in such a completely hurried, careless way that it makes totally no sense.

Also: telling instead of showing. If someone *tells* me a character is saddened, or crushed, or devastated, I'll snicker. It won't make me feel sympathetic. In fact, it won't make me feel at all.

This doesn't apply to qaf fics, because the attention to background and fleshing out of the story in them isn't overwhelming, but it's abundant in J2 fandom, or maybe just bigbang - PAGES of boring exposition before I get to know the characters and decide if I even care about them. Which I usually don't, after the long exposition that makes me think the author is a big snob. And it's not like I don't want my story to be developed; it's just that some writers seem to think that exposition is made just for the sake of it and it's there because duh, we can't start from the good stuff, can we? The exposition should make the story more interesting, too. It can be entertaining too. Especially in fanfic.

I'm a big snob <3 I'm also kinda sleepy, so that's my excuse for nit-picking and multi-editing tonight.

Edited 2009-09-18 00:26 (UTC)

my biggest pet peeve is commenters encouraging badfic, lol.
Wordy McWord.

And the badfic you read is pretty funny. So, unintentionally hysterical when you have your own running commentary through your head. I understand this.

Really? Wow. Yes, I agree. There should be some kind of direction in the story. It needs to actually go somewhere with the long descriptions. I need someone or something to be given a description for a reason. Hahaha I understand your wily ways. All easy to understand though. Many a pet peeve to be had.

It absolutely makes me cringe when I read "OMG, like I just wrote this in twenty minutes, and it is non-betaed and all the mistakes are mine...." in a heading. Does that make you really want to read something that someone didn't care enough about to spend time on doing it correctly? Not me.

I wish I could write so I could create something beautiful to payback all the amazing writers that I've read over the years.

I wish that, too. Alas, my writing would make you cringe.

I agree. Even if you did do all of that? Don't tell me. Maybe I'll think that you spent more time on it if you didn't tell me right off the bat that you didn't look it over or get someone else to look it over. Maybe you'll trick me with some great writing but maybe you won't.

I completely agree. Nothing I would write could ever compare.

If I listed all of my pet peeves this comment would go on forever. I read the earlier comment questioning your usage of the split infinitive, and have to reply to that. Many years ago it was a fad in certain academic circles to try to force English into Latin constructs, and while written English was forced into these unnatural rules, spoken English stubbornly kept to its Anglo-Saxon roots. Grammarians now are slowly admitting that perhaps the spoken and written English rules should match, and the split infinitive rule is going to go the way of the dinosaur, and good riddance.

This, of course, has nothing to do with my annoyance with all the badfic problems you brought up. If I feel energetic enough, I'll post another comment (read *rant*).

People have always said that it's really, really difficult to comprehend the English language and it's certainly in part because of conflicting rules and parts of speech, etc. But, thank you for that! I'm not really aware of that linguistic history. I'm completely enlightened and want to do some research on it, asap!

If you do post something else? Know that I'm very much looking forward to hearing what you have to say. :)

As a reader there are definitely things that drive me wild. Spelling is one of them. Grammer, not as much. Of course, if it makes no sense at all and is so badly written I can't read it. I don't. I close it and leave.

From viewing these comments, I think writer's are harder on themselves and each other than we readers are.

I enjoy many diverse forms of fan fic and clearly I don't mind stretches in characters. The only form of fan fic that I just don't get is MPREG. My mind just can't wrap around that.

Like everyone else, I smirk when I see Brain instead of Brian. There has also been more than one occasion when I wanted to explain - There - Their - They're or Then and Than.

We all have are/our pet peeves. lol

I've been told that I am too gushy about fics. *shrugs* Maybe, but I would rather be nice and appreciative as a reader. If I think it sucks mud, I don't comment. No sense in being mean. Also, since I'm not a writer, I can't speak to many issues.

My two cents....carry on...............

Closing it and leaving is often the best solution. Sometimes I feel compelled to proceed and only end up getting angry or annoyed. Leaving it alone and just walking away would be the best thing to do. I just don't always go for that option!

You think that writers are harder on themselves? You mean in everyone's critique of their own stories? You're right. I think that that saying "you are your own worst critic" is absolutely on point. But, I think that that is the sign of a conscientious writer. I admire writers who actually take the time to sit down, express something, and want to get it right for people.

I certainly think that there are different groups of readers. Everyone who's responded in this post are more active readers than passive readers. That's not to say that passive readers also overlook all of the errors but they may see them and just easily move on from them. Whereas, other people really feel like taking that red pen out and marking along the way. I'm more of a red pen type of person.

Yeah, I think that's my argument in this whole thing is why writers don't receive more constructive criticism. Like you said, if something sucks, you just back away from it. I don't consider it as being mean. If someone wants to help or suggest something for the story -- critiquing it -- I don't think that there's anything wrong with that. But, I think I'm gonna say that most people don't want that because it hurts their egos.

So, I guess it will officially be the question that will never have an answer, lol. It can go around in circles and I suppose it just depends on the person!

I've always been a believer in constructive criticism. However,over the past six years I've seen comments that make my hair curl. Constructive is one thing, downright mean another.

Since I don't feel adept at questioning a writer, I don't. Certainly, there are many times I want to say, "You have twelve spelling errors. Line, blah, blah, blah." Maybe, I would prefer to do that offline. *shrugs*

One thing is certain. I've adored QAF fan fic for years and I still want new stories. There are new voices out there. I just know it. lol

Plus I have a list of things I'd like to hear. *blushes*

Love all the writer's - ok many of you....heeeheee

i don't know if it bothers me anymore, to be honest. i stay away from stuff that's riddled with errors. i think what bothers me more is the praise they get regardless of the flaws. i don't know if the existence of the fic bothers me because i was once like that, and i got better. i don't know if i would have had people mocked me and shot me down. of course, i've removed all the offensive fic, but it was still there at one point.

i guess stuff that really bothers me are overused tropes. mary sues, honestly. overly emotional men. rape, random death. this stuff i just don't know why people include to begin with. go write angsty original fic in which your characters fall in love with their rapists. but then again, i feel like that's just common sense to be disturbed by these things.

i don't know. i think overall...it's just praise for fic that doesn't deserve it. i'm fairly okay with people doing what they want but that's mostly because i'm in rps; we can't know what characterization is right, everyone perceives what they want to perceive.

then again, this doesn't stop me from frequenting FU_fandom comms in which bad!fic is ridiculed. (btw, i have one for qaf but i've never used it...do you think that's something you'd want to take over? or do you want to contain the rants to your lj?)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

let's talk about the writing thing.

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