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Nov. 18th, 2009 07:06 pmTop 5 Fanfiction Pet Peeves:
1. Get a beta reader... who actually knows the language better than you do.
Seriously, I'm guilty of this, but I also work at a writing center, so I'm pretty careful with grammar and spelling. Even with that, I mess up. Now imagine someone who isn't careful with these things; the result is not pretty. I added to this, because once I tried to be kind and said that while this author had good ideas, she might think about getting a beta reader because I noticed some technical mistakes. She replied saying she had. If people think you still need a beta reader even when you have one? Find a new one.
2. People who can't take the time to leave a proper review.
Either don't leave a review at all or take the time to write a good one. The great ones are the ones which point out mistakes and things they liked; good ones include a quote or something from the story they thought was especially good; bad ones can't even take the time to write out "very". Think I'm joking? I've gotten several reviews in a certain fandom which will not be named, and a few of them put "this is a v gd story". Really? You can't take the time to put "very good" in your review, you liked it so well? I would rather get nothing than ones where they can't take the time to type out those extra five letters.
3. Posting stories that aren't finished.
Wow, am I guilty of this one--or at least, I used to be. Okay, so here's the thing. The reason these things annoy me so much is because I used to do them. Key words being "used to". I learned from my mistakes. It's people who have been writing in fandom for fifteen years and still do this who piss me off. I am not one of those people who must finish something they start; I am perfectly okay with letting it languish into eternity while drinking mojitos and starting something new. So nowadays, I don't post a chaptered story until I finish it. I'll still post it in installments, but there's never a danger of me abandoning it. Even if you're one of those people who does always finish something, what if something happens? What if you suddenly get swamped at work and don't have time for it anymore? Don't do that to your fans. Just don't.
4. Learn that balance between 'having fun' and 'making an effort'.
This one's tricky. Fanfiction is supposed to be fun. I don't know of anyone who makes a living off of their fanfiction (no, Cassandra Claire does not count), so most of us who write fanfiction are doing so between school or work or both. Taking this in mind, I don't expect someone to spend twenty years doing research on the Civil War to find out if the button on Shawn's left lapel in that one episode of Psych where he joined a re-enactment group was historically accurate. But finding out that the Civil War took place in 1861-1865? That is something I do expect you to know.
Here's a good rule of thumb: Wikipedia. It's not really super accurate or detailed, but it will help you get the "big picture" stuff down. Unless whatever you're talking about is my specialty, I probably won't notice if you get the nitty gritty details wrong.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash myself in writer's bleach for actually recommending Wikipedia for research...
5. Author's notes in the middle of the story.
You're doing it wrong. No, really, if you have to explain in an author's note in the middle of your story, you're doing it wrong.
Top 5 Writing Peeves:
NB: Most of the people on here are in college and most of you are already great writers. I'm mainly reiterating on things I see continually in the writing center because I need to vent.
1. Have an actual thesis. Specifics are your friend.
I don't know how many people come in with thesis statements so broad, they're not even applicable. They're talking about how good is good and bad is bad. When making your argument, make it specific. My favorite example, and trust me when I say I have pulled this out more often than I should have to, is as follows:
BAD: The use of light, colors, and shapes in the painting are designed to evoke a response.
GOOD: The use of dim lighting, blue and purple colors, and rounded edges are used in X's painting "Y" to evoke a reflective, melancholic response in the viewer.
See the difference? If your thesis is a "what" type of question, ask "how" and "why" to get to the meat of your argument.
2. Word economy.
"On the other hand", "Likewise", "strongly suggests"... Re-read the sentence without them. Most times, the sentence sounds even better without them.
3. Incorporating quotes is a skill. Learn it.
The worst are floating quotes. People come in with papers where they have a sentence of their own work, then randomly, a sentence made up entirely of a quote. What? Those are the worst, but I still wince when I see how many people put twenty brackets in their quotes to make it fit. The trick is to leave as much of the quote intact as possible, otherwise you're just defeating the purpose. If you seriously can't fit it in, then paraphrase, or ask yourself whether it's even relevant to your point.
4. Yes, we all did the replace-your-passive-voice in elementary school. Yes, you still need to do it.
What can I say? It really does help.
5. Actually, most of the things you learned in elementary school about writing still apply.
I hate saying this, but it's true in some cases. I feel like I need to go back and teach some of the people who come in how to write a paper. You need a thesis statement with your argument. You need topic sentences to introduce your paragraphs, or at least have a flow of logic so I can guess where you're going to go.
When you get to a certain point in writing, some of these things fall by the wayside. For instance, really successful (and also British--coincidence? Probably not) writers will sometimes not have a thesis until the very end; they put so much evidence out there that the only conclusion you can draw is the one they want you to. In elementary, you learned a thesis should only be one sentence. Well, not necessarily. Especially when you start getting into really complex ideas, you'll just sound silly trying to force all that into one sentence.
But, and here's where I'm stepping in as your resident cynic, don't assume you're that good.
It sounds cruel, but I'm a bit chagrined working at the writing center, because people come in with papers and then get mad when I suggest these "elementary school" ideas, because they think they're above that now. And it got me to thinking, "Do I do that?" If you want to break the rules, make sure you're good enough to do it--ask someone to read it and see if it works. Tweak it. Actually work on it. If it doesn't, go back to the beginning.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and everyone grows as a writer. You don't start out being able to write like Oscar Wilde, otherwise what would be the point? Everyone also has their own style, and that's going to grow in time. Don't assume you're already the greatest: you're just doing yourself an injustice.
1. Get a beta reader... who actually knows the language better than you do.
Seriously, I'm guilty of this, but I also work at a writing center, so I'm pretty careful with grammar and spelling. Even with that, I mess up. Now imagine someone who isn't careful with these things; the result is not pretty. I added to this, because once I tried to be kind and said that while this author had good ideas, she might think about getting a beta reader because I noticed some technical mistakes. She replied saying she had. If people think you still need a beta reader even when you have one? Find a new one.
2. People who can't take the time to leave a proper review.
Either don't leave a review at all or take the time to write a good one. The great ones are the ones which point out mistakes and things they liked; good ones include a quote or something from the story they thought was especially good; bad ones can't even take the time to write out "very". Think I'm joking? I've gotten several reviews in a certain fandom which will not be named, and a few of them put "this is a v gd story". Really? You can't take the time to put "very good" in your review, you liked it so well? I would rather get nothing than ones where they can't take the time to type out those extra five letters.
3. Posting stories that aren't finished.
Wow, am I guilty of this one--or at least, I used to be. Okay, so here's the thing. The reason these things annoy me so much is because I used to do them. Key words being "used to". I learned from my mistakes. It's people who have been writing in fandom for fifteen years and still do this who piss me off. I am not one of those people who must finish something they start; I am perfectly okay with letting it languish into eternity while drinking mojitos and starting something new. So nowadays, I don't post a chaptered story until I finish it. I'll still post it in installments, but there's never a danger of me abandoning it. Even if you're one of those people who does always finish something, what if something happens? What if you suddenly get swamped at work and don't have time for it anymore? Don't do that to your fans. Just don't.
4. Learn that balance between 'having fun' and 'making an effort'.
This one's tricky. Fanfiction is supposed to be fun. I don't know of anyone who makes a living off of their fanfiction (no, Cassandra Claire does not count), so most of us who write fanfiction are doing so between school or work or both. Taking this in mind, I don't expect someone to spend twenty years doing research on the Civil War to find out if the button on Shawn's left lapel in that one episode of Psych where he joined a re-enactment group was historically accurate. But finding out that the Civil War took place in 1861-1865? That is something I do expect you to know.
Here's a good rule of thumb: Wikipedia. It's not really super accurate or detailed, but it will help you get the "big picture" stuff down. Unless whatever you're talking about is my specialty, I probably won't notice if you get the nitty gritty details wrong.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash myself in writer's bleach for actually recommending Wikipedia for research...
5. Author's notes in the middle of the story.
You're doing it wrong. No, really, if you have to explain in an author's note in the middle of your story, you're doing it wrong.
Top 5 Writing Peeves:
NB: Most of the people on here are in college and most of you are already great writers. I'm mainly reiterating on things I see continually in the writing center because I need to vent.
1. Have an actual thesis. Specifics are your friend.
I don't know how many people come in with thesis statements so broad, they're not even applicable. They're talking about how good is good and bad is bad. When making your argument, make it specific. My favorite example, and trust me when I say I have pulled this out more often than I should have to, is as follows:
BAD: The use of light, colors, and shapes in the painting are designed to evoke a response.
GOOD: The use of dim lighting, blue and purple colors, and rounded edges are used in X's painting "Y" to evoke a reflective, melancholic response in the viewer.
See the difference? If your thesis is a "what" type of question, ask "how" and "why" to get to the meat of your argument.
2. Word economy.
"On the other hand", "Likewise", "strongly suggests"... Re-read the sentence without them. Most times, the sentence sounds even better without them.
3. Incorporating quotes is a skill. Learn it.
The worst are floating quotes. People come in with papers where they have a sentence of their own work, then randomly, a sentence made up entirely of a quote. What? Those are the worst, but I still wince when I see how many people put twenty brackets in their quotes to make it fit. The trick is to leave as much of the quote intact as possible, otherwise you're just defeating the purpose. If you seriously can't fit it in, then paraphrase, or ask yourself whether it's even relevant to your point.
4. Yes, we all did the replace-your-passive-voice in elementary school. Yes, you still need to do it.
What can I say? It really does help.
5. Actually, most of the things you learned in elementary school about writing still apply.
I hate saying this, but it's true in some cases. I feel like I need to go back and teach some of the people who come in how to write a paper. You need a thesis statement with your argument. You need topic sentences to introduce your paragraphs, or at least have a flow of logic so I can guess where you're going to go.
When you get to a certain point in writing, some of these things fall by the wayside. For instance, really successful (and also British--coincidence? Probably not) writers will sometimes not have a thesis until the very end; they put so much evidence out there that the only conclusion you can draw is the one they want you to. In elementary, you learned a thesis should only be one sentence. Well, not necessarily. Especially when you start getting into really complex ideas, you'll just sound silly trying to force all that into one sentence.
But, and here's where I'm stepping in as your resident cynic, don't assume you're that good.
It sounds cruel, but I'm a bit chagrined working at the writing center, because people come in with papers and then get mad when I suggest these "elementary school" ideas, because they think they're above that now. And it got me to thinking, "Do I do that?" If you want to break the rules, make sure you're good enough to do it--ask someone to read it and see if it works. Tweak it. Actually work on it. If it doesn't, go back to the beginning.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and everyone grows as a writer. You don't start out being able to write like Oscar Wilde, otherwise what would be the point? Everyone also has their own style, and that's going to grow in time. Don't assume you're already the greatest: you're just doing yourself an injustice.
