Fanfic Pet Peeves

[Guest]

OMG i can't believe i just found this! it was so randomly found... i can't even remember what i was looking for originally i'm laughing so hard.

The Hitchhikers Guide to Fanfiction. Entry: 23784327473467838

Where it pertains to here is in chapter three... and it regards Shipping

I'm sorry guys... but the way that's put almost knocked me out of my chair i was laughing so hard Given the fact that it's talking about ALL fanfic in general and the writer just happened to pick Sam/Jack was too funny. Alot of fanfiction pet peeves are elaborated in this story as well and it's worth it for a cheap laugh

[iamdragonrider]

OMG i can't believe i just found this! it was so randomly found... i can't even remember what i was looking for originally i'm laughing so hard.

The Hitchhikers Guide to Fanfiction. Entry: 23784327473467838

Where it pertains to here is in chapter three... and it regards Shipping

I'm sorry guys... but the way that's put almost knocked me out of my chair i was laughing so hard Given the fact that it's talking about ALL fanfic in general and the writer just happened to pick Sam/Jack was too funny. Alot of fanfiction pet peeves are elaborated in this story as well and it's worth it for a cheap laugh

OMG! That was so hilarious lol. Thanks for sharing! (I see Denise gets a mention at the end of Ch three...)


Umm...


Anyway.... I guess no one wants to really read about Jack's gas problem, or Sam being particularly hairy during a steamy sex scene... (A new form of birth control perhaps?)

but really, I dare someone to take all the stuff on Denise's list and write a really good PWP with it... I dare you....

[Rachel500]

For me, my preference with romance/ship stories is a good fic that has the characters being paired in-character and reacting 'realistically' to the twists/turns of events and the impact to their relationship.

So, while I'm delighted to see the 'happy ever after' ending, I am equally very happy if they disagree where it makes sense for them to disagree and happy to see them argue and fight over their principles or what to do next; happy if their character flaws cause realistic issues in the relationship which have to be overcome...

I think some ship authors do this very well.

But I'm personally not a fan of stories that explore the more gritty realism of being in a relationship, ie the passing of gas in bed/hairy legs/arguing over the budgets/fighting for the remote...

Would this happen if the characters got together in real life? Absolutely.

Do I want to read about it? No, thank you. Not my cup of tea. I prefer my reading time to be about escapism rather than huge doses of reality that I could get any hour of the day simply by putting the book/fic down.

[Skydiver]

I'm in there?

LOL

ok, so now i regret forgetting to take a look last night.

I'll have to check it out tonight

[EllieVee]

My pet peeve is when people are new to a fandom, not just stargate and begin writing fic as if they have seen every episode of the fandom. I have read some Twilight Fan Fiction and wondered if the author even read the books.

Is reading the books a prerequisite to writing Twilight fic? Can stories not be written because of the movie only? I've not seen the film/s nor read the books, nor do I have any interest in them, however, I imagine that some people would simply base their fic around the film.

[Cagranosalis]

Is reading the books a prerequisite to writing Twilight fic? Can stories not be written because of the movie only? I've not seen the film/s nor read the books, nor do I have any interest in them, however, I imagine that some people would simply base their fic around the film.

I think the point was the author of that fic mentioned appeared not to have the remotest clue about the subject matter at all.
I am sure there will be those who say it's fine to only see the films, but if the films differ in any major degree to the book (as the often do) then you're probably going to need to indicate which canon you are using as a base to avoid confusion. And even then you proabbly need to accept that there will be those who will dislike the film version and consider any fic based around that canon to be inaccurate. That's just fans for you.

If it were me writing Twilight fic I'd read the books too just to let myslef know what I was getting in for. Then again, I'm one of those I mentioned who hates movies that change books. I deliberately haven't seen the films yet because I intend to read the books and don't want my imagination clouded by someone else's ideas beforehand.

[Rachel500]

I can't really speak to Twilight as I haven't read the books, fanfic, or seen the film but I do think generally there is a sliding scale of how seriously each fanfic writer treats knowledge of canon/characters as important, and also a corresponding scale of how seriously each individual reader expects the writer to treat those elements within a fic.

I once read a fic where the author admitted that he/she had seen one episode of SG1 but had been inspired to write a one-shot. The result for me was that the characters were unsurprisingly OOC based only on that episode, the dialogue stilted, and I considered the fic *bad*. I don't begrudge the writer for being inspired to write, or for making the choice not to watch more of the series to get a better view of characterisation, or simply wanting to hurriedly write something for fun, but it didn't make for a pleasant reading experience for me. Still, the author received a few reviews congratulating them on the fic.

I've read a couple of Universe stories recently, where obviously the characters are still being formed and the authors are being equally inspired with very little material and the results are OK. But that could be because I haven't fully formed my view of the characters yet and so I'm being very tolerant about characterisation in the fics.

I guess as a reader and a writer, I prefer canon/characterisation to be taken seriously. As a writer I won't start writing until I've watched an entire series back to back, written my 'bible' for tracking events/character developments/motivations, and got a good feel for the character voices. Which is why I only write for two fandoms. And as a reader, the fics I generally enjoy are fics written by authors who've equally taken a serious approach and have a good understanding of canon. Sometimes I may disagree with their interpretation of a character but at least I know its rooted in canon.

[iamdragonrider]

I've seen the movie. It was good. I've read the books. They were so much better!

[EllieVee]

I've read a couple of Universe stories recently, where obviously the characters are still being formed and the authors are being equally inspired with very little material and the results are OK. But that could be because I haven't fully formed my view of the characters yet and so I'm being very tolerant about characterisation in the fics.

I guess as a reader and a writer, I prefer canon/characterisation to be taken seriously. As a writer I won't start writing until I've watched an entire series back to back, written my 'bible' for tracking events/character developments/motivations, and got a good feel for the character voices. Which is why I only write for two fandoms. And as a reader, the fics I generally enjoy are fics written by authors who've equally taken a serious approach and have a good understanding of canon. Sometimes I may disagree with their interpretation of a character but at least I know its rooted in canon.

It also has to be taken into consideration that we each have our own interpretations of characters. Rooted in canon, sure, but my Rush is always going to be different to your Rush, as an example.

[Rachel500]

It also has to be taken into consideration that we each have our own interpretations of characters. Rooted in canon, sure, but my Rush is always going to be different to your Rush, as an example.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, what everyone has in their head is their own picture at the end of the day.

But I do think that there is a blurring either side of 'my picture' where your Rush might meet mine and where we would both agree that particular characteristics belong to Rush.

And then someone else may come along and call their character Rush but in actuality he has none of the characteristics that Rush has at all in canon or some but others are strategically *lost* to make the character fit the plot or just not there at all because the writer hasn't seen enough of the show to know that they exist.

[EllieVee]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, what everyone has in their head is their own picture at the end of the day.

But I do think that there is a blurring either side of 'my picture' where your Rush might meet mine and where we would both agree that particular characteristics belong to Rush.

And then someone else may come along and call their character Rush but in actuality he has none of the characteristics that Rush has at all in canon or some but others are strategically *lost* to make the character fit the plot or just not there at all because the writer hasn't seen enough of the show to know that they exist.

I was reading an SGA list the other day and seriously, I was wondering if the writer of the email even knew who Sheppard was. Projecting herself muchly, I think.

[Pitry]

I can't really speak to Twilight as I haven't read the books, fanfic, or seen the film but I do think generally there is a sliding scale of how seriously each fanfic writer treats knowledge of canon/characters as important, and also a corresponding scale of how seriously each individual reader expects the writer to treat those elements within a fic.

I once read a fic where the author admitted that he/she had seen one episode of SG1 but had been inspired to write a one-shot. The result for me was that the characters were unsurprisingly OOC based only on that episode, the dialogue stilted, and I considered the fic *bad*. I don't begrudge the writer for being inspired to write, or for making the choice not to watch more of the series to get a better view of characterisation, or simply wanting to hurriedly write something for fun, but it didn't make for a pleasant reading experience for me. Still, the author received a few reviews congratulating them on the fic.

I've read a couple of Universe stories recently, where obviously the characters are still being formed and the authors are being equally inspired with very little material and the results are OK. But that could be because I haven't fully formed my view of the characters yet and so I'm being very tolerant about characterisation in the fics.

I guess as a reader and a writer, I prefer canon/characterisation to be taken seriously. As a writer I won't start writing until I've watched an entire series back to back, written my 'bible' for tracking events/character developments/motivations, and got a good feel for the character voices. Which is why I only write for two fandoms. And as a reader, the fics I generally enjoy are fics written by authors who've equally taken a serious approach and have a good understanding of canon. Sometimes I may disagree with their interpretation of a character but at least I know its rooted in canon.

Isn't ths what betas are for? I might be prompted to write a one shot based on something I've been exposed to but I would never dream on publishing it before it's been read by someone from that fandom.

[EllieVee]

Isn't ths what betas are for? I might be prompted to write a one shot based on something I've been exposed to but I would never dream on publishing it before it's been read by someone from that fandom.

I have never once had anything read by a beta.

[Pitry]

I have never once had anything read by a beta.

Extremely bad habit which I myself am guilty of - but I would have gone out of my way to find a beta if that were the case.

[EllieVee]

Extremely bad habit which I myself am guilty of - but I would have gone out of my way to find a beta if that were the case.

I'm sure it might well be but I'm willing to risk the occasional typo and accusations of arrogance.