Readers - How picky are you? (aka "Are you a FanFic Snob?")

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

While I do enjoy the occasional situation type story - generally the missing scene or aftermath type of fic, I really much prefer a story with a plot, preferably with a mystery.

I am a total SNOB when it comes to reading off-base/alien-free fic(the B-B-Q fic, the Mall fic, the bar fic <gags> - I will not go near them, no matter who writes them. I want a Stargate in my Stargate fics. Or at least a Goa'uld on Earth or some nasty NID type interference.

I prefer Sam and Jack pairing, though not necessarily in the romantic sense. I like the dynamics when good writers explore the similarities and differences between two officers, male and female. Usually, that happens within the romantic context, so I grin and bear it, but there are some few writers out there who know how to keep these two people apart yet interesting.

Branding any and all OCs as weenies:

I hate to see Teal'c reduced to an eyebrow-raising wallflower, Hammond reduced to a "You have a go" role, the other team members/SGC staff or the native-of-the-week as weak or stupid or the Tok'Ra as a group portrayed as pariahs(one bad Tok'Ra/SGC member/native is okay if it fits the plot).

[Mr Prophet]

What turns me off completely is stuff like - Daniel is contemptibly wet, Jack is a heartless git or Sam is self-centred to the point of back-stabbing. I don't want to read stories where any of the main characters are held in disdain like that.

So much for season 8, but then I knew how you felt about that already.

I hate to see Teal'c reduced to an eyebrow-raising wallflower, Hammond reduced to a "You have a go" role, the other team members/SGC staff or the native-of-the-week as weak or stupid or the Tok'Ra as a group portrayed as pariahs(one bad Tok'Ra/SGC member/native is okay if it fits the plot).

That's pretty much the whole series shot then!

[Anakin]

I've been wondering this for awhile. I have a morning ritual (at least when I have time) to search my local fanfic posting hangouts and read new updates and stories. A lot of the time, I come across newer authors and I become interested in reading what they've written.

Heres where it gets snobby.

I will refuse to read it if there are any of the following things within the first few paragraphs or page views:

1. Simple grammar/spelling mistakes.
   "Ill" instead of "I'll," "your" instead of "you're", etc. It screams to me that they either didn't have a beta and/or didn't care to run a spellcheck on their work, turning me off to spending my time reading it.
2. Stargate vocabulary spelled incorrectly.
   "Gould" instead of "Goa'uld" is my biggest beef. I won't read the story if this is mispelled. Snob Factor +10
3. Character (especially main) names spelled incorrectly.
   "Oneal" vs. "O'niell" vs. "Oneel" tan my hide. Snob Factor +20

I know I should probably be giving the stories the benefit of the doubt, but after awhile, the little things start to rub me the wrong way.

Am I alone?

All of the above AND, what's the MOST important to me in addition to that is keeping the characters and context IN CHARACTER...

We're not reading the adventures of the Marx Brothers in the Little House in the prairie. There are just things that the characters from the show wouldn't do or say, and stories that are too sappy/childish/whatever to happen.

FanFiction in my book, is taking existing characters in an existing frame, and trying to work out an original story with (maybe) original characters with those given boundaries. I'm an author myself, and that's the first thing I demand of myself before demanding it from others.

Am I a fanfic snob?... You bet!!

[ShadowMaat]

Personally, I always try to keep my stories/characters as canon as possible, unless it's a humor piece or AU.

[Mr Prophet]

I gave up any pretence at absolute canon at Sacrifices. I'd already given Rya'c one wedding, it seemed necessary to take my whole world very slightly into the alternate.

[Madeleine]

Okay, I give up-- what does contemptibly wet mean????

So 'wet' is British English only? I could say 'a sissy', 'a drip', 'a bit pathetic', 'whiny'....

'comtemptibly wet' would be an extreme version of the above.

[Skydiver]

So 'wet' is British English only? I could say 'a sissy', 'a drip', 'a bit pathetic', 'whiny'....

'comtemptibly wet' would be an extreme version of the above.

yep, it's a britism

and not as much fun to use as '******'

ya know, britisms in fic, i've gotten used to them. Jack putting on a jumper no longer confuses me and makes me mentally see him in a dress. car park, trolly, crisps, biscuits (as in cookies instead of with butter and jam), lounge room, plaster, drip, obs, trousers, telly, boot, yadda, yadda

I can mentally translate them, but it does tend to jolt me out of a fic if i see or hear jack using a britism.

Like in Trial by Fire....Jack refers to a mission going 'pear shaped'...which i know is a britism meaning 'go bad'...thing is, jack's a midwestern boy from minnesota...and take it from a midwesterner, the only thing we refer to as being pear shaped are pears.

[ShadowMaat]

I've heard "wet" before. I thought it was fairly common, but then, I also read lots of English/British authors, so I may have become hopelessly corrupted.

Which reminds me, I need to pick up Going Postal when I'm in London so I can read it in its original language.

[Madeleine]

I think 'Pear Shaped' as a synonym(?) for 'horribly downhill' stems from the fact that no woman particularly wants to be shaped like a pear.

=>=> as your bum grows.

[Mr Prophet]

I definitely use Britishisms in my fic, but I try not to have the characters say them. If I do, my noble beta usually catches them.

[astronomicalchick]

I've been wondering this for awhile. I have a morning ritual (at least when I have time) to search my local fanfic posting hangouts and read new updates and stories. A lot of the time, I come across newer authors and I become interested in reading what they've written.

Heres where it gets snobby.

I will refuse to read it if there are any of the following things within the first few paragraphs or page views:

1. Simple grammar/spelling mistakes.
   "Ill" instead of "I'll," "your" instead of "you're", etc. It screams to me that they either didn't have a beta and/or didn't care to run a spellcheck on their work, turning me off to spending my time reading it.
2. Stargate vocabulary spelled incorrectly.
   "Gould" instead of "Goa'uld" is my biggest beef. I won't read the story if this is mispelled. Snob Factor +10
3. Character (especially main) names spelled incorrectly.
   "Oneal" vs. "O'niell" vs. "Oneel" tan my hide. Snob Factor +20

I know I should probably be giving the stories the benefit of the doubt, but after awhile, the little things start to rub me the wrong way.

Am I alone?

No, I'm probably even worse a snob than you. I don't tolerate mistakes like that, but worse I won't read things that misrepresent the characters. If I were reading a shippy fic for example and Sam and Jack were acting as teenagers, then I would punt the fic into the bin. I'm fine with AU stuff, as long as the characters are unbelievable. Plus, another gripe is when people change the tense of the fic, from present to future to past all the time, that jars, or forget to put inverted commas round speech... etc etc...

Oh and if you're writing for a US show, authors should use American words like "mom" instead of "mum" and vica versa..

[Sparky13]

This is an extremely useful thread! Writers who are attempting new works might want to read every posting, since learning what an audience wants to read is perhaps more important than a writer's desire to put their ideas to paper.

That said, I'd have to agree that spelling, grammar and punctuation are the first things I notice when I began reading a story. If these three basic writing skills are inferior, I don't care what adventures are in store for "the team," it's time to move on to the next story.

I posted a little missive a while back regarding guilt as a singular plot device. Not to be a witch about it, but I'm tired of reading about how guilty the characters feel. It's okay as a motivating factor, but most adults feel and deal with guilt as a subtextual thing. We grown-ups don't walk around constantly beating ourselves up over every little thing; we accept our responsibilities and try to make things better without tearing off the wallpaper and shaving our heads in a pique of guilty panic.

In short, overt and excessive guilt is not canon because the characters are subtle about it...and I prefer stories that are true to the canon of the series.

Just my six cents...

Sparky

[ShadowMaat]

I posted a little missive a while back regarding guilt as a singular plot device.

You wouldn't like my fics, then. I love guilt, especially if it's misplaced. I can see how it'd get tedious after a while, though.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

(I wrote:

I hate to see Teal'c reduced to an eyebrow-raising wallflower, Hammond reduced to a "You have a go" role, the other team members/SGC staff or the native-of-the-week as weak or stupid or the Tok'Ra as a group portrayed as pariahs(one bad Tok'Ra/SGC member/native is okay if it fits the plot).

That's pretty much the whole series shot then!

Yes, but they are highly paid writers. I expect better from those who would entertain me for free.

[Mr Prophet]

Yes, but they are highly paid writers. I expect better from those who would entertain me for free.

That's actually why I know I'm going to remain unpaid for my efforts: I had a look at Fandemonium's writer's guidelines and they frown on competent supporting cast.