BadFic: What makes you rate a fic in that manner ?

Although it has been mentioned before I would like to add to the bad characterization idea (and to get some frustration off).

I understand that different people have different ideas concerning how the various SW characters react/act. I personally don't think Mara would--even for a moment--give up fighting the Vong war to protect her child but that's how the NJO wrote it and, okay, it's possible.

What I cannot stand is obvious, inarguable character mutilation. If your fic has Danni Q. acting like a complete ditz or Tenel Ka gushing and acting like a fourteen year old boycrazy girl then you need to erase every mention of the character's name and give them a new one, since in actuality you are not writing about these well known characters; you are making an OC with the same name as a well known SW character.

 

What is a mary-sue if you don't mind me asking

I just read the wonderful definition provided by another poster to that question and it is all new on me.

I first came into contact with the term "Mary-Sue" in role playing circles a few years back. To us, in that situation, it refered to a character that has mysteriously sprouted up with no logical explination but is deeply entrenched with the main characters. Usulay this is a son/daughter, brother/sister, long lost best friend or old flame that has never been seen before in any existing literature or other frame of refrence.

Think Dawn in Buffy, she just sort of 'was' all of a sudden. People who created these characters were adament that you play as if they have always beent here and have every right to be involved in the personal lives of the main cannon characters. I loathed many of these characters not for the fact that they were Mary-Sues, but for the faact that they lacked any form of real depth.Mary-Sues were generally just a combination of 2 characters renamed and in farsexier clothing. (Many MS's in SW were also after young dashing Obi, not that I can blame them.)

So I guess for me, not to discount or counter anyone elses deffinition, a Mary-Sue is a poorly (if at all) thought out original character. They could be spotted by their lastname which was never changed even though they were abducted at birth and hidden away, their clingy nature to those cannon sibs, and usually an abnormally zealous need to be the center of attention.

Again, this was in my role playing circles which are more mini-novellas then anything, the Mary-Sue definition posted earlier stated was what we called God Moders, moders for short. I feel pity for anyone having to deal with them even in a story context.


My 2 cents.
with inflation it more like... 1.5

 

For me the things that make a fic bad are:

1 - Spelling and grammar. Even I am guilty of this but I do make a serious effort to make sure things sound right in my writing.

2 - Badly out of context canon characters. I tend to get some people a little off from time to time since there is just so much to remember in the EU, but I make an effort to keep things as good as I can.

3 - Poorly thought out Original Characters. OCs should be well thought out and have a little bit of a past thought out for them so you know how they act based on what hapened to them in their pasts.

4 - Too much or too litlle desription. I have been accused of both and have a hard time finding a happy medium, but even I can tell if someone is over doing it or not bothering at all.



As a side note, I can understand why Earthisms are bad, but what happens if you just can't think of a Star Warsey term for an everyday item or concept?

 

They could be spotted by their lastname which was never changed even though they were abducted at birth and hidden away

Hmm... you mean like Luke Skywalker? Hehe. I've been wondering why it took so long for Vader to discover a Skywalker living with his step-brother.

 

Poorly written scenes: What I can't stand is when a writer abruptly places characters within a scene. No lead up or any explanation as to why the scene is taking place. If no understanding is provided as to what is going on in your story, why on earth should anyone bother to even read it?

Bad characterization: Nothing is worse than seeing this. Especially when the author has convinced themselves that what they've written is a masterpiece and it's the total opposite.It turns me off the writer completely and I don't bother checking out anything else they've written because of it. Bad characterization just says the author doesn't care about the story itself, but only what attention it can get them.

Poor spelling of character's names: I would rather read an entire story filled with mistakes than read someone spelling Anakin/Anikan. Misspelling of names simply states you don't know what you're doing at all and that the reader has wasted their time by even looking at what you've done.

 

Has anyone here read Eats, Shoots & Leaves yet?
Yep! [Puts hand up.] My son bought it for me for my birthday because he knows what an obsessive grammarian I am. He has suffered, along with his sisters, from my rantings about apostrophes and dangling modifiers! LOL

Bad fiction? Hmmm. Even though I AM a little anal about grammar and spelling, I do overlook it if the story grabs my interest. I try not to be too harsh, especially if the writer is either young or not a native English speaker.

Like most writers or readers I have fairly specific ideas about what is in or out of character as far as the main SW characters go. However - if a story is AU, then I'll go along with any alterations the author makes - again - as long as the story keeps me interested.

I guess the main thing that concerns me is the actual story line. If it runs along smoothly with good transitions, then even the odd hiccup in grammar or characterisation won't stop me reading. If it jumps around all over the place with no sense of overall cohesion or purpose, then I soon lose interest. Some stories do appear to be just a series of random scenes stitched together to showcase either the writer's desire to write romance or action for their favourite characters.

Herman
Ah yes - I can't help noticing the lose/loose problem. Ally/alley is another common mistake - also a source of unintentional humour.

The one that really makes me grit my teeth is its/it's. The sign writers at the local supermarket hate me, but fortunately since I've read Eats, Shoots and Leaves, I rest easy in the knowledge that I am not alone.

 

Most of my pet peeves have been said already, but here's a few that haven't:

1. Not just bad characterization, but also messing up the relationships. I understand that it's a matter of interpretation, but honestly, there are some that just go a little too far. Probably the worst, IMHO, is messing up Luke and Mara's relationship. I think that, first and formost, they're allies. Luke doesn't look down on her, he sees her as an equal. Also, giving them an overly passionate relationship. What I like so much about L/M is that in the books, it wasn't particularly passionate or sex-based. It was more gentle and respectful, and I like that a lot.

Okay, I need to stop ranting now.

2. Not doing research. The Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia here is a wonderful thing. I don't like to create an OC or new place if there's something that only got mentioned in passing will work. (J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, is superb at this. Most of her important characters didn't get pulled out of thin air. You hear about them several times before you actually meet them. Of course, she wrote everything, but the principle is the same.)

Also under that category, I suppose, are using words like telephone, watch, and car. It's a different universe, with different technology that has different names. Phone=comm, watch=chrono, car=speeder.

3. Not using military time. I know this is really picky, but it still bugs me to no end. It's the details that are the worst.

 

Overly "poetic" dialogue. Some writers feel that if you wrap every other verb, adverb, and/or noun in flowery adjectives, it is "artistic" and "poetic" - meaning good. Too much "imagery" is a bad thing. If it starts dragging down the story, and you have to go back and re-read a sentence to understand just what the writer is saying, you know you're there.

My freshman college English teacher said the best compliment a piece of work can be given is " very readable". It is harder to get than many think.

 

Giving this thread a boost from the depths. Thought it might be useful to have this around again

Thanks, Leona for unlocking it!

 

I hate people who don't properly edit there fic, don't get my wrong, my fic is often riddled with mistakes, but i mean people who type it out and post it without even using Words spell/grammar check.

I also hate people who write people out of character.


-The Scummy-

 

I agree. Spelling, grammar and spacing can turn off a reader very fast. And it's an avoidable pitfall. If spell check isn't enough, the beta thread is helpful as well.

 

It's interesting that some people hate the present tense and switching between perspective points, while the ROTS novelization breaks both of these rules. And I daresay the ROTS novel is the best SW book I've ever read, period, so...I wonder if it's possible to pull this trick off when the author has a good dynamic.

 

For some reason, this ticks me off: when people mix up British and American spellings (i.e. Red is my favorite colour) Why? No clue. Pick one and stick with it!

 

See, Prophet, I don't see anything wrong with that. I use American spelling in my stuff but my eyes just translates British spelling into American anyway. Shrugs...

 

Even though I'm American, my spelling is generally British. (Except lightsaber. Sabre, yes. Lightsaber, no.) I don't know why I do this, but I don't notice it anymore and I can't stop. It drives my teachers crazy, however. They say it sounds "pretentious."

Most of my major pet peeves have already been stated many times in the above thread, and I certainly cannot do any better. I'll list a couple, though.

1. Extremely and implausibly OOC characters. Example: I read one fic where Kyp was siding with the Peace Brigaders and tried to kidnap Jaina. *Hopes no one recognises which one she's talking about* I can understand differences in the way the characters are read (Jacen is a good example of this: weak vs. strong) but mistakes like the aforementioned one are inexcusable.

2. Tying into #1: When an author tries to write about characters they've never read. I once read a songfic (the use of "SK8RBOI" should have tipped me off) where Callista and Mara vie for Luke. The author got basic details wrong, most of which (mercifully) have escaped me.

3. Bad songfic format. This can include huge lyrics blocks with three sentences in between each, or when the song has absolutely nothing to do with the story, or the entire song posted above the story. I've seen all three (generally only #1 here) and they always send me screaming for the back button.

I'll stop ranting now.

 

I don't--not publicly, anyway. I post something about what I did like, then keep the rest to myself unless asked to beta.

 

Oh, was this thread about what you say on the boards? I thought it was just about what you hate.

I only post if I like the story and/or actually have something useful to say.

 

I find that alot of people on these boards bash authors simply for the sake of bashing them. Unless someone is a fic writer,i don't care what he or she thinks. I hate it when people use spaces between an entire conversation. Real writers don't do that, so why would you. I do agree of blocking paragraphs, but don't exaggerate it (a lot of people do it, so it makes their post seem longer). Oh and i'm from the Netherlands and english is not my native language, but i'm doing the best i can, and if you see a mistake in my fic, PM me, point it out in a polite and normal manner, and i'll correct it. Bashing people because of a grammar mistake, proves that you are not worthy of respect. The use of grammar of a lot of americans is worse then mine!

 

Next is beginning a story in First Person, switching to Third, then back again. If you choose to write a story in First Person, keep it in First Person. It's definitely a tough one to do, I've done it twice, at least it keeps the level of mystery up.

**********************

I'd have to disagree with you on that one. I am working on a story that begins with the main character's narrative and then there is a spacer thing-a-ma-jig and the story beings...though if you are talking about this:

"Hi Luke" I heared her say.

"Hi." I responded. Luke smiled weakly and stared out at the sky. I stared at the sky until Leia caugh my attention.

***Ok that is like the worst writing ever but I needed a quick example. I agree if you mean like that

I also hate it when they write it in present tense like this:

He turns to her and stares blankly.

"Hi." he finally murmurs. She walks to him. She does the Hokey-Pokey. She tunrs it all around.

***Lol I know that was stupid but present tense is annoying.

 

One of my pet hates is when people take a main character, say like Padme and make her into a Jedi, when she is clearly not in the films or put them in a relationship with another character that is implusable, for example Padme and Obi Wan.

I really hate it when people give main characters children that they don't have in the offical EU books - I don't mind it so much with minor characters that haven't had a lot written about them as it gives you some leway to make up an history for them.

People making too many grammer and spelling mistakes in a story - I really hate it when people spell wookie with one e, when it should be two!

When people alternately use British and American spelling in their fics. Please be consistant.