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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Discussion Fan Fic Pet Peeves?

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by alienyouthct, Jul 30, 2002.

  1. Ewok_Slayer

    Ewok_Slayer Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2004
    I wasn't commenting on her political views or her opinions. She uses words that are so big and confusing that is looked like a thesaurus blew up between the book covers. There were words that I couldn't find in the dictionary. I remember scratching my head and wondering if she actually talks this way in real life (she doesn't…or at least she dumbs down her vocabulary for interviews).
     
    serendipityaey likes this.
  2. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Then that's just more proof she uses a ghostwriter.

    In any case, my pointing that out was supposed to separate her works from fan/pro fiction for the discussion of pet peeves. Her work is nonfiction, and so any comparison wouldn't be all that relevant. Just saying.
     
  3. Ewok_Slayer

    Ewok_Slayer Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2004
    I don't know…a lot of what I read seemed pretty fictional. :p

    Seriously, I think it would be difficult to tell if a person is writing in a way that it isn't their 'voice' unless you actually know the person. Or if their writing style has dramatically changed over a short period of time.
     
  4. Admiral Volshe

    Admiral Volshe Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    No! I was discussing SW profic with another fan earlier :)
     
  5. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    Oh, that's a relief. Thanks for telling me. [:D]I do strive for a diverse vocab but I really do write how I feel.
     
  6. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    Formatting is a pet peeve to me. It's annoying to read a fic when the entire chapter looks like this:

    (Write something both fun, amusing, thought provoking, a dash of sorrow and a happy ending)​
    It will be fun!​
    A once in a lifetime opportunity!​
    Who knows it might help jump start your writing career!​
    Or​
    This is so insane to think that Molly could do​
    that.​
    I said​
    (end of examples)​
    I do have a fic where the formatting needs to be fixed in a chapter. ​
     
  7. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    My pet peeve is people trying to guilt me into reading their fic. This can be done by PMing and saying, "You were reading and commenting on my story [insert fic name here and link], but you haven't in the last few posts. I hope you are okay and get back to reading and commenting soon."

    The second way (and I don't see it here often) is the writer angrily addressing readers saying he/she doesn't know why they bother posting at this cliquish forum. Therefore making me a jerk for not reading and commenting.
     
    Falcon likes this.
  8. Skywalker_T-65

    Skywalker_T-65 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2009
    I don't think I've ever actually asked specific people to review. I will occasionally go 'where did all my readers go?' in a joking manner though (and I make it clear I'm joking).
     
  9. MsLanna

    MsLanna Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2005
    The worst I did was telling the readers (I assumed to still be there) that I had lost my drive to write the story. They could either wait until it came back and not get many updates or comment which usualy helps me get my act together and write. Not that I remember what the outcome of that was. [face_thinking]

    It is one of my greatest annoyances though: the hits-to-comments ratio. :( That anf faving everything, requesting alerts for anything and never leaving a single comment. That's ff.n though.[face_blush]

    People holding story hostage until they get a certain number of reviews immediately go off my reading list.
     
    laloga and pronker like this.
  10. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
    The only people I've ever asked specifically to review any of my stuff are people who I've known for a long time and that I trust to give me constructive feedback on the story, so that I can hopefully correct if a story's going off the rails, or suggest something that I might not have considered (though I don't take every suggestion). Even then, I'd never ask somebody to read something that I know they are not going to like (which is another pet peeve, that I've seen people do).

    And 'this' on the 'holding stories hostage for reviews' deal. That annoys me to no end and makes me definitely stop reading when I see that.
     
  11. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I've sometimes asked certain people to look over a story, but it was mainly to make sure that I didn't break any policies with soap opera love scenes, or I asked beforehand if the person could take a look at something, as I was stuck, needed something checked, etc.

    Another peeve is when an author portrays a disability improperly; either how it's acquired, how many symptoms are used (did they use every single diagnostic criteria and then some), or if it's using a Hollywood portrayal. Also, if the character is treated as utterly helpless. It's along the lines of not doing the research, so I'll just sum it up.

    Pet Peeve: When writers clearly don't do the research.
     
  12. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    This. I've seen it in both profic and fanfic and it drives me mad to no end. I'll admit, I once 'gave' a character a disability in an non-conventional way, but it was drawn from a case I had seen in the news and while I did make it clear that this was not a conventional case, I still regret doing it because it made it seem like I hadn't done my research (lesson learned). My point is, wikipedia is great for writers, so they should use it.

    Re: holding updates for hostage. While it isn't a common practice here, I have seen it elsewhere and it drives me insane. I understand the frustration on FF.net when you have a bunch of story followers and no comments, but holding an update hostage is just going to piss off the few commentors you do have. I've never seen it really successful done.

    I've only seen this in the "Classic JC boards" fan fictions, so I'm so glad this is no longer practiced, but that one reader that insists on 'bumping' a story thread even though it is obvious that the author has given up on it. I was reading this one story and because the author wasn't the most regular poster, I had to scroll through PAGES of this readers 'bumps'. The last 5 pages were all of this one person bumping the thread (which was really disappointing because I was looking for another update). Yes, it's sad when an author loses interest in a great story, but this reader needed to take a hint.
     
    pronker likes this.
  13. Skywalker_T-65

    Skywalker_T-65 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2009
    New peeve:

    Author mouthpiece characters. In other words, a character who only exists so the author can get their 'TAKE THAT!' into a fic, by making said character list off everything they hate in the context of the (canon) story. Quite annoying to read an interesting premise, just to have a character go off on some rant that is obviously the authors own opinion considering it contradicts everything in the canon story.
     
  14. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    That can be annoying if it's not their character. Yet, as a writer I feel the author has a right to express their views as the wish if it isn't using others' characters. Yet, clear negative or whitewashing of characters is extremely annoying no matter the fandom.
     
  15. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    I very nearly had a character become this in a story of mine; fortunately an editor was on call to point out the more egregious offenses. Needless to say, I trimmed them back accordingly.
     
  16. Admiral Volshe

    Admiral Volshe Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I was sort of guilty of that. I have fixed it after my beta reader pointed it out. It was not even intentional, I simply was carried away by the ideas!
     
  17. Skywalker_T-65

    Skywalker_T-65 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2009
    That I understand, and it probably has happened to me at some point. Its when its intentional bashing via-author mouthpiece that it bugs me.
     
  18. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I know I've done it unintentionally. But yes, intentional Author Avatar Tracts are irritating.
     
  19. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    I mentioned this before but when a character is believed and has amnesia and taken advantage of by a villain. So they live for x amount of years with the bad guy using them as an assassin. Then by accident the character's friends earn they are still alive and try to help them. A miracle happens and the good guy turned bad guy remembers the truth but has a hard time putting the ghosts of those they killed behind them. Nearly all of their friends say that this other person wasn't them and to move on but they REMEMBER killing those people, remember their victims terror filled faces just before snuffing they snuffed their victim's Light out forever. I am sure that a certain character from Captain America needed LOTS of counseling for what had happened to them and that you could NEVER say that it was a different person committing those assassinations. The Black Widow in The Avengers movie still was bothered by her past as an assassin when Loki brought it up.

    No one is going to bounce back from amnesia and brainwashing as if nothing has happened; unless the brain hit the reset button and the character forgot everything they did between the blows to the head.
     
  20. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    Well, said, Lady Misty. =D= Yes, the seeming 'well-intentioned' insensitivity of other characters towards a traumatic past. One can't simply forget what one has endured unless they have amnesia or it's so heinous they block it. Telling someone it wasn't them or just to get over it doesn't help anything and likely will only increase the guilt and misery. I believe very much in redemption tales and feel we need more of them. Yet, I find very few handle them with the care needed. No one is white. No one is black. All are grey. Our memories and pasts are key to our make ups. If you do writing strive to make the characters and their acs credible.
     
    Lady_Misty likes this.
  21. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    You guys just described Revan. And by that, I mean the canonical Revan.
     
  22. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Goodwood I thought the plot sounded familiar. Didn't the Jedi do some Force healing to bring Revan back?
     
  23. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Partly. The reason why they managed to even capture him in the first place was because Darth Malak opened fire on the bridge of Revan's flagship in a bid to kill him and seize the title of Dark Lord for himself. Bastila preserved his life, however, creating the bond between them in the process, and the Masters at the Dantooine Jedi Enclave finished healing him. But, at the same time, they wiped most of his memory of having been the DLotS, hoping that this "amnesiac Revan" would remember just enough to lead the Jedi and the Republic to the source of the seemingly endless Sith armadas (at the time they didn't know what exactly that was).
     
  24. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007

    That did happen to Revan but I was referring to a Star Wars AU Series in which Qui-Gon survives and Obi-Wan is thought dead after he fell down the shaft, hit his head and narrowly missed being vaporized. Sidious discovers an amnesiac Obi-Wan and decides to use him for a time. For three years Obi-Wan lives under a different name and serves Sidious with the Jedi believing him dead. Sidious gives Obi-Wan a mission to break into the Temple and steal information from the Archives on the Sith. He is detected when the computer signals that the download was complete He kills four Jedi, destroys a room, inuresat least another Jedi before escaping. The Jedi discover the attacker's identity by examining DNA evidence and are shocked. Obi-Wan is then sent after a Senator and because security was warned he killed dozens of security guards and maybe a few innocent victims before reaching the Senator and killing him. Then he goes to kill the slaver he got his information from believing that the slaver betrayed him. There he kills who knows how many guards then kills either a hundred or two hundred slaves that were between him and his target. Not long after this Qui-Gon catches up to him. Qui-Gon, Siri and Anakin try to understand why Obi-Wan was doing what he was doing and he reveals that he thought he was someone else that was wronged by the Order. I don't remember if his head was hit but Obi-Wan was inured and remembered everything. Before the Council Obi-Wan is promoted to Knight but put on probation and the fic basically ends with Obi-Wan feeling unworthy but his friends, who are happy he's alive keep telling him that he wasn't that person that killed all those people. The next fic had Obi-Wan's friends repeating the same thing until he leaves on a mission. Obi-Wan said several times he felt unworthy but they won't listen. They even threw a party for him when the Council lifted the probation he was under. They didn't care about an Initiate who was suffering emotionally because one of Obi-Wan's victims had more or less chosen them as a Padawan.
     
  25. Ewok_Slayer

    Ewok_Slayer Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 24, 2004
    Lady_Misty do you not like that plot in general or the fact that there are no realistic consequences from their actions? I don't think people in a galaxy, far, far away suffer from PTSD. You don't see Leia in therapy after Alderaan blew up. Luke killed a million people at the Battle of Yavin and I didn't see him all depressed about taking so many lives.