Fanfic Pet Peeves

[sbz]

What I don't understand is, you are more than likely writing in some sort of "word" type program... why don't you hit the little ABC button? I know I can't spell. That is why spell check and a dictonary (did I even spell that word right?) are my friends.


If you can't write a char. then don't do it. There is more to Teal'c than the word "indeed". I can't write him right... in my few fics he's on Chulak. There problem solved.

I think that's partially why it bothers people so much - at least it's a component for me. The spell check button is right there. You press it, choose the word, and you're done. It couldn't be simpler or involve less effort - use it!

I don't know why people find writing Teal'c so difficult. His speech patterns and word usage are the easiest for me to grasp because he's always formal. Compared to O'Neill who can go from being flip to serious pretty quickly, Teal'c's a snap. And as irritating and distracting as out of character is, I'm not sure totally ignoring the character is the best way to address that problem - it's probably partially why there is so little Teal'c heavy fic out there. With a little effort I think a fair amount of writers could learn how to write a problem character properly.

As for swearing, that's always an interesting topic since everyone always has different preferences. I personally don't swear very often but I'm realistic enough to know that the chracters of the Stargate universe would. As someone said, they're soldiers. I think a lot of people may shy away from it 1) because they don't see it on the show and therefore don't think it's canon or "in character" (which, as we've proven, is always a big deal in fic), or 2) they're young and have always been told by their parents that swearing equals bad. It's about balance; enough to punctuate the sentence or situation but, for the love of God, not every second word. I can't read that. It becomes pointless and meaningless if it's overused and I think it's a fine line.

And I have to chime in on the AU that takes the characters to the Wild West or even high school. I haven't ever read a fic like that and I never will. I want these characters, not people who just look like them. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going Wild Wild West, you might as well write something original.

[Mousie]

and the auto censor will **** out "saltwater" because it has a "****" in the middle.

That's funny.

[Alipeeps]

^I've had similar problems on some websites/forums with the word s******.

Edit: Including this one, apparently! (To clarify, the word I'm referring to another way of saying giggle or chortle )

[pilgrim soul]

^Yes that one has continually frustrated me GW was actually the first forum I've been a member of that has a language filter and I was rather perplexed the first time it happened.

[Alipeeps]

Heh. The WeightWatchers forum I used to go on used to block all sorts of words, including "bung" - which was very confusing for us Brits who were quite innocently wanting to say that you bung the ingredients in a food mixer or bung a cake in the oven!

[pilgrim soul]

Ah the differences between the English and American languages - I think the word "fanny" causes the most hilarity when I see it used by our US cousins but then I'm very childish.

Actually this does tie into fanfic. I know you, oh wonderous beta, have corrected me in the past because I've used, for example, the word torch instead of flashlight. It's very difficult for those of us who are of the non-American persuasion to get that kind of detail right sometimes.

[Alipeeps]

Ah the differences between the English and American languages - I think the word "fanny" causes the most hilarity when I see it used by our US cousins but then I'm very childish.

Oh my yes. And "suspenders" is also another one guaranteed to cause some confusion/amusement.

Actually this does tie into fanfic. I know you, oh wonderous beta, have corrected me in the past because I've used, for example, the word torch instead of flashlight. It's very difficult for those of us who are of the non-American persuasion to get that kind of detail right sometimes.

That's a very good point and, to me, is partly a matter of "research", if you will, (in terms of trying to make sure the information you portray is at least fairly accurate - both in terms of getting dialect and vocabulary right and in terms of e.g. if a US author were to reference things about Carson's home in Scotland, getting those details right) and partly of that whole thing of trying to capture the character's voices. Their choice of words goes a long way towards making that convincing.

It can be tough though - I had to go back and re-edit my very first SGA fanfic after I realised I'd used torch instead of flashlight. It gets easier with experience though, I find - both of watching the show and of writing the characters. Maybe being a languages bod helps too. I find I'm quite good these days with using US terminology.

Of course, it also works in reverse - I'm seen some cringeworthy "mis-translations" in Doctor Who fic written by US fans!

[Mousie]

That's a whole other debate. Should fic be americanised or is it acceptable to read english/non US words and euphamisms in it. Should it be written in the tone/language of the country it is made by/in? It shoudn't really matter but as a Brit I can tell you it does jar you out of the flow when you read a brit phrase in a Stargate story.

[pilgrim soul]

Oh, your mention of Carson has made me think of another pet peeve - I cannot abide it when people try and write his accent, it is invariably cringeworthy. There is no need to do it, you don't see people trying to write Mitchell's southern accent or Sheppard's Californian drawl so why do it for Carson? And there are so many writers who go completely over board on the Scottishness, it gets to the point where you wouldn't be surprised if they had him wearing a kilt and eating haggis while doing the Highland fling.

[Alipeeps]

That's a whole other debate. Should fic be americanised or is it acceptable to read english/non US words and euphamisms in it. Should it be written in the tone/language of the country it is made by/in? It shoudn't really matter but as a Brit I can tell you it does jar you out of the flow when you read a brit phrase in a Stargate story.

Well certainly any dialogue by US characters should use US words and euphemisms, to do otherwise would just be totally inaccurate and OOC, as the character would never use those words. Beyond that, I'm rather of the opinion that the language used should suit the language of the POV it's written in. If your chapter is in Sheppard's POV, the language/terminology used should reflect Sheppard's language/terminology.

Oh, your mention of Carson has made me think of another pet peeve - I cannot abide it when people try and write his accent, it is invariably cringeworthy. There is no need to do it, you don't see people trying to write Mitchell's southern accent or Sheppard's Californian drawl so why do it for Carson? And there are so many writers who go completely over board on the Scottishness, it gets to the point where you wouldn't be surprised if they had him wearing a kilt and eating haggis while doing the Highland fling.

*nods vigorously* *points* -->

Ack. A quick trawl through ffnet has just reminded me of another - hideous - fanfic peeve:

People writing Carson's accent phonetically. Aside from the grammatical issue (if you were going to write speech phonetically per pronunciaton, you should do so for *everyone*, surely?) and the, to me, concept that if you write his dialogue convincingly the accent should come across without the need to spell it out, it's also usually horrendously badly done.

E.g. "Rroh’dnii" instead of Rodney!!!
"Co’nel Sheppud" instead of Colonel Sheppard!!
"is th’urr" instead of "is there"!!

Now I have very rarely written one or two words in Carson's accent, not so much writing his speech phonetically but in instances where he uses a specific colloquial word/pronunciation - e.g. havenae instead of haven't - and even that is pushing it (and I've had criticism of it in reviews) but to write complete gibberish in an attempt to (poorly) replicate an accent just because it differs from US standard? What is it about Carson/the Scots accent that makes people feel they need to do this? You don't see people writing Zelenka's accent phonetically...

[Skydiver]

Oh, your mention of Carson has made me think of another pet peeve - I cannot abide it when people try and write his accent, it is invariably cringeworthy. There is no need to do it, you don't see people trying to write Mitchell's southern accent or Sheppard's Californian drawl so why do it for Carson? And there are so many writers who go completely over board on the Scottishness, it gets to the point where you wouldn't be surprised if they had him wearing a kilt and eating haggis while doing the Highland fling.

i would expect...jack would NEVER say 'the mission went pear shaped'...cause that's an aussie phrase. He would say 'went bad' 'went down hill' or other americanisms

basially, i can certainly live with britishisms or aussie isms in the descriptors of a fic, but when they're in the character's speech, it gets a bit discomforting.

In the same vein, Captain Jack Harkness WOULD say pear shaped. so if i were writing a torchwood fic, i should use britishisms if i'm writing in that jack's pov

However, i'm not gonna lose sleep over it. I've read aussieified or britified stuff for so many years that my mind just makes teh translation


as to teal'c...i find him easy. Just break out the thesaurus, lose the slang and think 'dry and droll humor'. I think he's incredibly easy to write now because his character is the least cluttered of all of them. Daniel has issues, so does sam and jack and vala and cameron (never written from cam's pov, and just done vala's a couple of times....the vala i write isn't quite the sex vixen that the show has so i'm taking license there)

Unless it's teh jaffa revenge thing, teal'c is very even ...and when it comes to revenge, he's ruthless.

[Katkin]

I think a (brief) description of the characters helps to "place" the story.

I can go with that... actually I should have been a tad more specific - what I really meant was the type of stuff that starts something like: 'Jack O'Neill was the commander of SG1 and was a Colonel in the USAF...' and continues with something like: 'Daniel Jackson wasn't in the military, yadda yadda. I mean the totally simplistic stuff that we do all know...

[Ruffles]

*giggles madly* Great thread!

Pet peeves:
*poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation (like the rest of you apparently). It will pull me right out of the story.
*misuse of words: their, they're, there; bare, bear; its, it's; then, than; etc.
*Sheppard is rail thin and never eats.
*Ronon has one emotion - angry.
*Sheppard downplays his injuries because he hates the infirmary.
*hateful Sheppard and misunderstood Rodney
*calm, unruffled Teyla - let the woman laugh or get angry occasionally!
*OoC situations, especially in ship stories. Seriously, they're hiding from bad guys but throw caution to the wind for a little hot sex in a cold cave?
*poor characterization - I agree with Josie - if you can't hear them say it in your head, don't write it.

What I don't understand is, you are more than likely writing in some sort of "word" type program... why don't you hit the little ABC button? I know I can't spell. That is why spell check and a dictonary (did I even spell that word right?) are my friends.

Spell check, a dictionary, and a thesaurus should be standard for everyone. However, numerous proofreadings and a good beta are a must. Some words are spelled correctly but misused. (There, they're, their). As a beta, I read the fic several times, correcting the spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors I find (and I'm a complete Nazi about that kind of stuff) first. Then I check for continuity errors, characterization, flow and various other kinds of oops then send my comments back. She, of course, can choose to accept or reject anything I've said.

That's a whole other debate. Should fic be americanised or is it acceptable to read english/non US words and euphamisms in it. Should it be written in the tone/language of the country it is made by/in? It shoudn't really matter but as a Brit I can tell you it does jar you out of the flow when you read a brit phrase in a Stargate story.

As an American, when I read Sheppard saying "I'm going on holiday" it will pull me from the fic. We go on vacation. Holidays are days off work (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc). However, Carson would go to uni not college. The really good fanfic writers I've read take the time to learn the phrasings of the different countries. To me, this applies to more than dialogue. If it's from Sheppard's POV, it needs to sound like it.

[Katkin]

Ah the differences between the English and American languages - I think the word "fanny" causes the most hilarity when I see it used by our US cousins but then I'm very childish.

OT I know, but Joss Whedeon got away with murder on BtVS as far as Spike's dialogue was concerned because of the differences when it comes to cuss words...! Having spent years in the UK it amazed me to be hearing words like w****r and b******s on prime time TV, especially since a lot of kids watched the show...

PS Aologies to all above who were complaining about asterisks!

[pilgrim soul]

As an American, when I read Sheppard saying "I'm going on holiday" it will pull me from the fic. We go on vacation. Holidays are days off work (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc). However, Carson would go to uni not college. The really good fanfic writers I've read take the time to learn the phrasings of the different countries. To me, this applies to more than dialogue. If it's from Sheppard's POV, it needs to sound like it.

^Actually I think Carson would have gone to university - uni as an abbreviation seems to be a more recent thing over here, at least its not something that I heard used a great deal until the last ten years or so - but then I live in a rather backward area of the country. College is the place you go to study at a level between high school and university.

If I'm writing from the point of view of one of the characters I do try as best I can to use the correct words and phrasing. In some ways its probably easier for those of us outside of the US because we are bombarded with so much American media but even in my favourite shows there are frequently phrases and references that go over my head.

Is there an American-English dictionary online anywhere? There's got to be surely.

OT I know, but Joss Whedeon got away with murder on BtVS as far as Spike's dialogue was concerned because of the differences when it comes to cuss words...! Having spent years in the UK it amazed me to be hearing words like w****r and b******s on prime time TV, especially since a lot of kids watched the show...

PS Apologies to all above who were complaining about asterisks!

I always remember Jason Carter (Marcus Cole from B5) saying how great it was when he went he first moved to America because he could swear like a trooper and no one understood what he was saying.