The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => LBT Fanfiction => Topic started by: Serris on February 24, 2008, 06:15:58 PM
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What are the things you absolutely HATE to find in fan fiction (any fan fiction, not just LBT)?
For me the two major problems are:
Promising fan fiction that is never completed *cough*Land Before Time: Remnants (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3892575/1/) and A Traitor in Our Midst (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2156392/1/A_Traitor_in_Our_Midst)*cough*
I cannot tell you how much this pisses me off.
Slash fiction
I hate all forms of slash unless it's really light and wrapped in a good story (Out of the Shadows comes to mind).
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The only thing that really bothers me with fanfiction if it's a bashing fanfic. I'm pretty much either neutral or interested in other types of fanfiction.
I will admit I do become disappointed if a fanfic is not completed, but it's really up to the author whether or not to continue them. Things can come up and the author could either lose interest in the story or no longer have the time to work on it.
As for slash fanfiction, I'm pretty much neutral towards them. They used to make my blood boil, but I got around to reading a few slash stories and found they weren't as bad as I thought they were.
Interesting that you brought up Out of the Shadows. That fanfic was originally going to go a bit more in depth in slash, but as I typed it, I kind of forgot about it. Any mention of slash exists I think only around the middle of the story and is reduced to a few sentences, and disappears from the story as it advances.
Hm..I wonder... would this topic go in After Midnight? Or is it all right where it is?
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Oh, I also forgot bashing fan fics.
I hate those types of fan fics even more than slash fan fics.
I can tolerate almost everything else though.
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I've seen several bashing fics up on FanFiction.net (most of which were removed because they violated the site's rules). There was only ever one bashing fic that I liked and it was only because it was done in a humorous way rather than insulting. I think it was more of a parody than an actual attack on the fandom.
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I cannot say much about fanfictions in general, but I have laid out what I dislike about most LBT fanfictions (there are but very few exceptions) in this thread (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=103.0), which certainly did not boost my popularity among LBT fanfiction writers. If we demand Universals to make better LBT movies I guess we should show it is possible by writing stories better, not worse, than what Universals has been putting out in the last years.
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Several things do not go well with LBT fanfics, such as graphic language (along the lines of the F-word), explicit sexual content and compassionate-turned-psychopathic killer-overnight phenomena (guess what that last one's referring to :angry:). BTW, this may be a bit off topic, but I was amazed at Malte's fic "The Big Quarrel." This made me feel I was actually seeing a sequel on the computer screen. Malte, if you're reading this, you're an awesome LBT writer and I'd love to find out what happens in the other fic "The Cold Time." Back on topic, I've pretty much laid out what I despise in LBT fanfics. Oh wait, my biggest peeve in a fanfic is when any of the LBT characters die, especially in a homicidal manner :(.
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Several things do not go well with LBT fanfics, such as graphic language (along the lines of the F-word), explicit sexual content and compassionate-turned-psychopathic killer-overnight phenomena (guess what that last one's referring to :angry:).
:: a little worried :: Are you referring to my fanfic?
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Oh no, not at all DH. In fact, if ya read the reply I posted in the Dino Squad fanfic topic, it should explain my opinion on your work. No, I was referring to a terribly vulgar fic on the fanfiction site. Sorry if I've stirred up any hurt feelings :unsure: :(.
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I saw your reply, yeah.
And it's okay. I wasn't upset.
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I don't like a fanfiction, where the characters from different universes meets each other. And i dislike to see the big amount of violence and blood in fanfics too, that not suitable to LBT, where all the violence where shown in the manner of the drama... And it also not suitable for me in any way.
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Those are the exact things i dislike in FanFiction too, Coyote_A
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i'm agree with all darkhououmon! :yes that will piss me off too! :angry:
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I don't like a fanfiction, where the characters from different universes meets each other.
I'm going to guess that means you don't like crossovers, am I right?
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i'm agree with all darkhououmon! :yes that will piss me off too! :angry:
If I am correct on Kjeldo's statement involving my post then ,again y'all, my apologies if I've hurt anyone's feelings :(. That statement was not intended to bash any member's fanfiction. I like the GOF 'cuz we all share a common interest and can discuss it peacefully. I was not looking to start any conflict whatsoever :unsure: :cry2.
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I thought kjeldo was referring to my first post in this topic.
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I'm going to guess that means you don't like crossovers, am I right?
Yes, you're right.
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I'll be honest, I have thought about making a Dink/LBT crossover because Dink is, in my opinion, the most compatible cartoon to cross LBT with, since Dink has similarities to LBT, takes place during the right time, and is of G level as well.
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I'll be honest, I have thought about making a Dink/LBT crossover because Dink is, in my opinion, the most compatible cartoon to cross LBT with, since Dink has similarities to LBT, takes place during the right time, and is of G level as well.
So much is true and there are other characters who have been used in LBT fanfiction crossing overs (e.g. Aladar from Disney's dinosaur). However, what is the benefit of putting the different stories together?
BTW, this may be a bit off topic, but I was amazed at Malte's fic "The Big Quarrel." This made me feel I was actually seeing a sequel on the computer screen. Malte, if you're reading this, you're an awesome LBT writer and I'd love to find out what happens in the other fic "The Cold Time." Back on topic, I've pretty much laid out what I despise in LBT fanfics.
Thank you. I'm a little surprised (but happy of course) that "The Big Quarrel" is received positively. By the time I translated it (2000 / 2001) my English was rather poor. I always meant to edit and correct the translation of both "The Big Quarrel" and "The Cold Time", but I never got around to do it. I'm not even sure if I ever posted the final chapters of "The Big Quarrel" anywhere and I'm sure I never posted more than roughly the first third of "The Cold Time". If you are interested I can send you both stories as a word document (which may be more readable than long forum messages). I also made a couple of pictures for both stories some of which I never posted. Thank you for the encouragement :yes
Oh wait, my biggest peeve in a fanfic is when any of the LBT characters die, especially in a homicidal manner.
I definitely agree. Presumed deaths, as those we have seen in LBT sequels already (e.g. Mo in LBT 9) can create some very emotional and beautiful scenes, but having them die "for real" just doesn't work for an LBT story. Once I thought about a short story from the point of view of an aged Littlefoot (older than his grandpa) recapitulating his life, possibly including the (peaceful) passing away of one or some of the other characters, but I never seriously considered writing such a story. I don't really like the idea of grownup LBT characters though this dislike of course is not based on any of the "rules" of the movies which will never let the characters grow up, but will never suggest that they are doomed with eternal youth either ;)
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Presumed deaths, as those we have seen in LBT sequels already (e.g. Mo in LBT 9) can create some very emotional and beautiful scenes, but having them die "for real" just doesn't work for an LBT story.
It doesn't? What about when Littlefoot's mother died for real in the first movie?
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Oh wait, my biggest peeve in a fanfic is when any of the LBT characters die, especially in a homicidal manner.
I interpreted this to mean one of the five main-characters, but I admit that I may have interpreted too far. Death does of course occur in LBT and once it did in a form that reminded me very much of an execution (the sharpteeth in LBT 6) <_<
But if it comes to killing Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, or Spike I really think that there are better ways to create a dark mood in an LBT story and still keep it an LBT story.
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oww yes sorry for my incorrect language, that post was for dark's first post!
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oww yes sorry for my incorrect language, that post was for dark's first post!
No worries, I realize it wasn't my post being referred to. Sorry for the misinterpretation. And Malte, I would be very interested in receiving those files. Any way to contact ya without posting my email address online? Thanks a million ;).
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And Malte, I would be very interested in receiving those files. Any way to contact ya without posting my email address online?
If you click on my profile you will find a "send email" link. If you send me a mail containing your email address I can send you a mail in return without your email address being visible to anyone else (I'm not passing it on to anyone).
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I'll be honest, I have thought about making a Dink/LBT crossover because Dink is, in my opinion, the most compatible cartoon to cross LBT with, since Dink has similarities to LBT, takes place during the right time, and is of G level as well.
So much is true and there are other characters who have been used in LBT fanfiction crossing overs (e.g. Aladar from Disney's dinosaur). However, what is the benefit of putting the different stories together?
I suppose it's not so much as benefit as it is having fun.
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* Killing off a character I REEEEEEEALLLY like (one AoFW fanfic, Adder was killed...but at least she gets to be reunited with Sinuous, but...)
* Bringing a dead character I hate back to life (like Scarface or...Bold! Then everyone is all excited about Bold and EVERYONE is ignored)
* The same type of animal in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER (I get JUST foxes EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER of some AoFW fanfictions. I write the snakes as the main characters of my fanfics sometimes, but I always ALWAYS include other animals in A TON of them. Usually, just a few chapters have just them, but not all the time)
* Pairings I don't like (In Teen Titans fanfiction, I prefer reading Terra/Beastboy and Starfire/Robin...anything else NOPE!)
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This has totally topped my list of things I hate to find in fanfiction: One has a bad day and he or she takes it out on a series in the form of a very disturbing fanfic. There's one for LBT an Fanfiction.net titled "Sometimes You Can't Change Fate." Most disturbing LBT fanfic I have read yet :x. Just to warn y'all, basically Chomper massacres the Gang then kills himself. I can take a lot of gore normally, but I actually puked after I read this :x :( :cry :cry2. If one is having a bad day, displacement is not the answer.
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Maybe you can give the title so folks know to avoid that.
I dislike feature characters acting totally different then in the original media, also them being killed off, ect. Bad writing also.
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^ She did give the title: "Sometimes You Can't Change Fate."
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Read that one, made me go into a black mood :(
Apperantly, he had a very dark mood when he wrote it. However, he isn't in such a mood every day. But I prefer not to read such ff. Makes my skin crawl.
Another thing. Hope I haven't disturbed anybody with my ffs.
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There's one for LBT an Fanfiction.net titled "Sometimes You Can't Change Fate."
Hmm. I actually liked that.
I like a good dark story in a while.
This is like a mix of Psycho and Turn of the Screw with a dash of Poe.
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:lol I like slash actually. It's not the type of stories I am used to so it's a different ground for me. And I am not that great with humor fics. Whenever I try to write something funny in my fic, I seem to only get the joke and everyone else is thininking "What????" :blink:
What I hate in all fanfics (not just LBT but all) is when the story line gets to an awkward place, when I know the author is just writing because they are bored and they have too many swear words in it. It's as if they are destroying the art of writing.
In LBT fanfics, is when the author uses swear words (once again :p) that normally the LBT characters wouldn't use. They need to be creative and use words like, "Sharp-tooth dirt!" or something like that.
I also hate it when the plot line just ends up being stale and with no depth what so ever.
I hope I didn't offend anyone :unsure: if I did I am very sorry. :slap
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Never-finished fics and bashing fics, but fics without a certain amount of detail piss me off, too.
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Hey, it's great everybody can express their feelings on fanfics. It really helps us writers out. But please, everyone keep an open mind about some things! (sorry, felt like a little rant)
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I hate:
Slash Fan-Fics unless they are humorous, like a parody of slashes.
Fan-fics where a main character gets killed off, unless done in a parody of these fan-fics.
Fan-fics where the characters behave totally different than they should, unless it is a parody.
If it is a parody of types of fan-fics I hate, I like them. Otherwise, I hate them.
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This has totally topped my list of things I hate to find in fanfiction: One has a bad day and he or she takes it out on a series in the form of a very disturbing fanfic. There's one for LBT an Fanfiction.net titled "Sometimes You Can't Change Fate." Most disturbing LBT fanfic I have read yet :x. Just to warn y'all, basically Chomper massacres the Gang then kills himself. I can take a lot of gore normally, but I actually puked after I read this :x :( :cry :cry2. If one is having a bad day, displacement is not the answer.
Oh, oh my god... Oh, god, no!! NOOOO!!!!
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Things I hate to find in fanfiction
1. Graphic scenes in childbirth; I tend to do the time skip or have the childbirth occur off screen; whether it be an animal giving birth or a human.
2. Seeing character names being spelled incorrectly on names that are easy to spell.
3. Cliff hangers; especially if it takes months before the story is updated again.
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FIRST PLACE: realization that story is not finished and would never be finished.
(that's why I started to read only after it is fully ready)
SECOND PLACE: endless crazy thread of romantic relationships between everybody. :/
rhaaaarrrrrrrrrrr
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Slash really grinds my gears. Not because of the homosexual aspect of it, but because it's usually out of character and it makes no sense.
For example, I read a story about Severus Snape teaching Harry Potter the dark arts and found it intriguing. Got impatient and skipped to the end and I found myself reading about how Snape and Harry were in bed together totally in love. And it was just freakin weird.
Anything like that is weird. Whether it be Harry and Malfoy, Sirius and Remus, etc, etc.
I once even saw a story about Shorty and Littlefoot as a couple and it made me want to vomit. They're brothers for Christ's sake!
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Ooooh boy. I did not know this was a thing, but now that I've found it, here we go!
I can forgive a lot when I'm reading fanfiction, but there is one cardinal sin that forces me to drop the hammer down: poorly-developed characters. Now granted, this applies to OCs more than anything else, since most of the characters from the shows are developed enough for writing purposes already, but I die a little inside when I see yet another cookiecutter OC. Yes, we get it. You want us to feel all the feels for your protagonist, but that's not going to happen I can't relate to the main character. Now I'm not saying all OCs should be average Joes, but when I'm supposed to be reading about some towering, silent, handsome, red and black colored hero capable of handling whatever is dealt his way as he struggles with his tragic backstory as he's wading through veritable pools of potential lovers at his feet (probably canon characters nonetheless), I simply can't get all that attached. And if I'm not attached, then I'm not invested in the character. A lot of us make these "Mary Sues" as they're called, when we begin to write, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. I, myself, was guilty of it too. But if we want to become better, there's a point where we need to leave that stuff behind. Embrace flaws. Just adding a few things to your character that aren't wish fulfillment, or that you may not find "cool" can go a long way. A good protagonist should always be a very different individual by the end of the story, one that has grown in some way. Mary Sues do not grow, no matter how many life-threatening situations or deep tragedies you dump on them. They are, in a word, boring, and I don't see my opinion on that changing anytime soon.
I was going to leave it at that, but there is something else that irks me. Not quite as terribly as Mary Sues, perhaps, but certainly irksome all the same: unnecessary edge.
Yep, edge. It's a word that gets thrown around a lot on the internet, usually in a sarcastic fashion, but it's a very real thing in fanfiction. But to say I have a problem with edge in general would be a falsehood. Some of the darker, grittier aspects of life can absolutely benefit a story, depending on the sort of tone the author is going for. It's when these situations feel shoehorned in that I think they fall flat. For example, let's consider two hypothetical situations here, revolving around a young Charcharodontasaurus who makes her first kill.
-in situation 1, she attacks her prey with brutal efficiency. The author goes into great detail about the graphic nature of the attack, practically naming every organ as they're flung about like confetti at a clown convention (which is actually kind of a disturbing image. Dangit). After the attack, she eats her fill and moves on.
-in situation 2, the same thing happens. The attack occurs, the author goes into detail, but this time we get to see the effect this has on the Charch. Perhaps she is horrified once the deed is done, humbled by her own capacity for violence, and by the realization that this is who she is. Or maybe she takes a more neutral approach, accepting that this act is necessary, and marks her place in the circle of life. Taking another approach, maybe this is the start of a terrible descent, as she realizes that she enjoyed causing the suffering that she did.
Despite which route the story takes, this approach still utilized the over-the-top violence, but also made clear its reason for doing so. It had an effect on the character. I don't believe anything in a narrative should happen without a reason, even if that reason is a small one. Throwing in something controversial just because its controversial feels shallow, somewhat like creating an essay composed entirely of buzzwords. it doesn't just apply to violence, either. Tragic scenes, swearing, even moments of sheer awesome- I have no problems with any of these. When I have a problem with them is when they don't have any effect on the narrative.
Anywho, that's my rant. Hopefully it was at least semi-coherent as I am on the verge of finding a set of sticks to prop my eyelids open with. Time for sleep for me, I think.
P.S. Slash really grinds my gears. Not because of the homosexual aspect of it, but because it's usually out of character and it makes no sense.
I agree with this one hundred percent. It's just straight wish fulfillment without any regard to canon. I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a HUGE problem when it is forced into a narrative where it makes no sense.
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I disagree if it's done right slash fanfictions aren't bad at all. So I don't mind reading those much. And I don't have any issues with homosexuality either.
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I agree completely with the last comments but I'd also add another large problem with some fanfics I've seen (though not read). Any fanfic has to make sense and strive to keep everyone in-character, regardless of the writer's aspirations. For example, in Naruto fanfics it seems to be a thing to change a group of terrorist criminals into everyone-loving people who want nothing more than to find love. :crazy Of course the same rules go for OCs even if they have more freedom than canon characters.
Also, it seems like that kind of writers (Mary Sue or slash) don't really care about plot or entertainment value at all. They seem to be writing their stories solely for themselves but they can't expect others to wish to read them with the same vigor. I can forgive fanfics having elements that may not be completely sit well with the canon but if they choose to write a fic about some franchise, they should respect the source material to their best extent.
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Copyright infringement
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Copyright infringement
Ehh, what? :huh:
In terms of fanfictions, I'm probably very close to Malte's opinion (liking mostly "pure" LBT stories with very few exceptions) just more open-minded, I guess. There are stories I would never touch (mostly crossovers and sci-fi stories) but I've also read a few incredible stories which have not been strictly LBT (rhombus, I'm totally not looking at you :smile)
As for things I hate... well, many strong arguments have been said for a various amount of fanfictions and I must say I agree with most of the views shared here. Sex is totally off-limits and so is violence just for the sake of it. What I most hate in fanfictions is simply them being poorly written. When you're presented to stories from writers who write on a level high enough to consider writing for a living (in my humple opinion, that is ^^spike) and then you read some poorly written nonsense, you just get angry because you know you've wasted your time you cuold've spent reading something GOOD or improve your own writing :lol
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well, I guess there's little excuse for poor-writing if it's very very first and probe work of author...
truth to be told, I'm afraid to post my first works because of fear to be ridiculed or hated... :(
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truth to be told, I'm afraid to post my first works because of fear to be ridiculed or hated... sad.gif
You'll never know until you try, I suppose. My offer to help you with proofreading/english language problems is still valid, just ask me ;)
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I'm a little interested to know how y'all typically define "slash fics". Does the definition include...'explicit' stuff (which I avoid myself), or just slash in general, including fluffy slash? Since...well if we're going by the latter definition, then I've written a little "slash" myself. Oops. :bestsharptooth
Well, in a lot of the fandoms I follow (6teen, Total Drama, etc) I seem to have a problem with most of the characters I prefer getting relegated to bit parts or not appearing at all. A HUGE ton of 6teen fics are mostly focused on either Jonesy, Nikki or Jude. Not much Caitlin or Jen and especially not much Wyatt. But that's not a problem with the fanfics themselves - more just the community in general.
What I don't like is when a certain character gets mistreated terribly, or demonized. There was this one Total Drama fic that completely decimated Geoff's character and made him out to be a serious *expletive* so Geoff and Bridgette could break up and Bridgette could be romantic with Cody. I really didn't care for that, I really like the Gidgette ship and Geoff as a character. And one time, I read a 6teen fanfic that KILLED Caitlin...made me feel really downbeat :cry
And I generally struggle with ships I'm not a fan of, especially if they're not written well. There was this one 6teen sequel fic that was really cool, even added Danny Fenton/Phantom as a central character...but then it hooked up Jude and Jen. And that's a ship I just can't get behind (Jude/Starr and Jen/Caitlin shipper here), so I was like "nope". Don't get me wrong, ships I dislike CAN be done well (Jupiter Queen writes excellent Jude/Caitlin fics. And in The Land Before Time, I don't care for Littlefoot/Cera but I love how "The Time of the Great Growing" does it). But it's generally an uphill battle for me with them
Those are my main examples I guess. No offense intended, of course :)petrie
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1. Redundant and clumsily descriptive writing (I've done it before in attempts at high quality, but it's neither fun to write nor to read). I like descriptiveness, but too much of a good thing is always bad. However, descriptiveness can create an interesting tempo. Snappy wording is great for fast-paced action, while greater wordiness can create a slow motion effect (too much slow mo is bad, of course).
2. When a story's summary revolves around "A young girl named _____." (Seen that a loooot, and the premise is almost invariably generic).
3. Mr E: "When stories are written in script / play form, like this."
4. Inaccurate age ratings.
5. When characters are portrayed as having certain ... um ... preferences that were in no way originally indicated.
6. Misunderstandings and fallouts between characters that should be easy to avoid, and take a long time to get resolved. "Wait, let me explain!" "There's nothing to explain! Get out of my life!"
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2. When a story's summary revolves around "A young girl named _____." (Seen that a loooot, and the premise is almost invariably generic).
I can think of one example where it was done well, and all the rest are just blatant ripoffs of that premise.
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2. When a story's summary revolves around "A young girl named _____." (Seen that a loooot, and the premise is almost invariably generic).
I can think of one example where it was done well, and all the rest are just blatant ripoffs of that premise.
Which fanfic is this? I'm curious as to what it's like.
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You know you should think twice before reading a fanfic that has no paragraphs, no line seperation, and is just this long continuos body of words.
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I don't dig humans in non-human fandoms. I'm not a fan of toxic relationships either.
The grammatically incorrect ones speak for themselves. I still think the absolute worst is when you find a fic that looks promising but someone is horribly OOC and it takes you out of the immersion. :ChomperEww
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I don't read fanfiction that much mostly because I like to read about obscure characters which never get written about.
Nah it's actually because fanfic scarred me for life. :bestsharptooth I wouldn't say there's anything I particularly hate (apart from maybe going into excruciating detail regarding certain NSFW topics), but here's a few things that put me off:
- Bad formatting and grammar. I don't care if it's the best idea in the world, I can't focus through a block of text especially if you don't know what a comma or full stop/period is.
- As Mouse said, humans in non-human fandoms. Saying that I have read and enjoyed sci-fi LBT fics that involve humans.
- Not tagging your fanfics correctly. If I come across something icky that wasn't tagged, I'm gonna... not like you very much. :p
- Character bashing. Fine if you don't like a character, but dedicating that much time to hating on them through fanfic is something I'll never understand.
- "Oh no! Anyway..." moments. I do get irked if something traumatic happens and the characters just shrug it off as an everyday thing. If a character is established as stoic then okay, but if you know the character will be affected and don't show it, then I'm going to struggle with it.
- Mary Sues. Saying that some Mary Sue fics are very entertaining.
- Making characters extremely OOC for no reason.
- Unfinished fics, especially if they're left on a cliffhanger. I understand authors lose interest or have life things going on though. It's why I now won't upload anything until I'm sure it's going to be finished. So far I haven't finished one of my fics, but then they're all pretty long.
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Just thought of another thing.
I don't like when people put their...let's just say "fascinations" in fics, especially for family-friendly mediums. One time I came across a Land Before Time fanfic about Littlefoot and Ruby "punishing" Chomper via using a giant wooden stick. And that is all I will be saying on THAT :ChomperEww
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The Mr E: "When a fanfic is written in a play script style, Shakespearean format. Minus points if there's zero wordsmithery to back it up!"
Also, inaccurate ratings.