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 Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:29 am
This is a question for all readers, like me.
What are the sorts of things you absolutely LOVE in a fic, or in an author? Is there a specific trope you seem to go after more often than others? Turning a villain into a hero, redemption? Hero falling for a villain? A hero becoming a villain? A side character becoming the hero?
Or in an author, is your enjoyment of the story affected by how the author presents themselves? How they interact with their readers in authors notes, PMs, or how they portray themselves on their profiled. Are you likely to stop reading a person's stories if you don't like them as a person?
What do you look for in a story or an author?
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:44 pm
Hm. I love depth and details. My favorite fanfiction have something about them that makes them seem to have their own little "canon" place in a fandom. So I guess this means I love authors who are good at giving descriptions of things, something I can actually picture. On that same vein, I hate it when authors try to do this, but end up jamming a lot of unnecessary details into a single paragraph instead of slowly giving us pieces to a picture puzzle. I like it when descriptions of, say, a person are scattered about in the first handful of chapters, for example. Try to fit in as much as possible, but gently, if you will. Quote: "His hand was x, and the y curve of his finger caught z's eye." Something like that. So now we know that this character has an interestingly bent finger. Some personality and character, you know? Just not all at once, for crying out... There's more, but I can't think of it at the moment. I'll post again when I do.
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:05 pm
I also like a lot of detail. Also a full and diverse vocabulary. I like the word "handsome" just fine, but its not the only word in the world to describe a beautiful man. You could use chiseled, sculpted, ripped, distinguished, charming, etc. I will vomit if I have to read an entire story that constantly repeats the phrase "[Name]'s beautiful face…"
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:05 pm
Ren LehCrow Are you likely to stop reading a person's stories if you don't like them as a person? Absolutely not. I never really understood this, since I see it happen a lot. I've encountered several impolite or inconsiderate authors but they're damn fine writers, so I will brush aside their antics and focus on the stories. Other people will get their feelings hurt by someone they've never met, and consequently drop a story that they truly enjoyed reading. I'm not more likely to read a story by someone I perceive to be a genuinely nice person based purely on personality. I guess what I mean to say is that the personality of the author doesn't matter much to me as long as their writing is coherent, polished, and detailed. Now, for the other portion of your question, I love clarity in stories. I love to read about villains from an open, even sympathetic, perspective; though not necessarily turning said villain into a hero. I love to read AUs that seem like they were actually written by the original authors and not a fan, and I am obsessed with reading first-person stories. I don't know why, but I enjoy it. heart
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:25 pm
Violent Crow I love to read about villains from an open, even sympathetic, perspective; though not necessarily turning said villain into a hero. I love to read AUs that seem like they were actually written by the original authors and not a fan, and I am obsessed with reading first-person stories. I don't know why, but I enjoy it. heart I agree with everything you just said with the exception of the first person perspective. First person perspective is one thing that I just can't get into, in both fan fiction or professionally published fiction. I feel it limits the world, only allowing the reader to see it through one person's perspective -often slanted perspective. I like seeing the world and the characters from all angles, but we can't do that if we're only ever looking through one person's eyes the whole time. Other than that, I agree with everything you said.
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:45 am
Ren LehCrow I agree with everything you just said with the exception of the first person perspective. First person perspective is one thing that I just can't get into, in both fan fiction or professionally published fiction. I feel it limits the world, only allowing the reader to see it through one person's perspective -often slanted perspective. I like seeing the world and the characters from all angles, but we can't do that if we're only ever looking through one person's eyes the whole time. Other than that, I agree with everything you said. Fair enough. To each their own. wink Though what I despise in a fic would have to be weird, awkward, and (most of the time) forced pairings. I understand that sometimes people really, really want two characters to be together, and that's fine. But gradually build up to it so it seems believable. Especially if they're still considered to be "in character" and they're two characters that have a less than amiable relationship in canon. I also dislike general laziness in terms of grammar and spelling. It doesn't bother me too much if a few things are wrong, since it happens to all of us, but I hate to see glaring errors and lots of them. I understand that some people don't have a Beta (myself included) but most of those errors can be cleaned up in the first editing run. This is especially true because authors aren't allowed to post "hot off the press" stories, which should give a bit of incentive to self-edit. Let's see... there are some traits that I don't find all that appealing in an author, but those don't keep me from reading their stories. I guess that's it!
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:22 pm
Hmmm, what I love to see in fanfiction is for starters accurate character portrayal and engaging dialogue. I also love it when I find OC's involved as well. I know this is a touchy topic and many people who frequent FF net are adamantly against them because of the poorly made ones floating around. But, truthfully, when I find one that's well written, I love it. I like the different take of adding a fresh character into a fandom that would not originally be there. I like seeing their interactions and such. Even self inserts are fun if you find someone who writes a good one (yup, they exist xD).
But one thing I do hate is also in regard to OC's and that is when their character can seemingly cast a spell that causes everyone of the canon characters to break out of how they would normally act. I HATE those. One reason it bothers me is because it feels like the person is not even trying. Two, as a an aspiring author, I put a lot of thought into my characters for my book and the idea of someone taking them and completely twisting them makes me twitch. It almost feels like you are disrespecting the hard work of the author.
Granted I understand some writers are beginners which is why I try to offer constructive criticism on FF net so they can learn and maybe make something in the future that others will enjoy reading. I won't tear them apart immediately. I mean,I remember the days that I was there and had yet to fully gain my "writing muscle" so to speak.
Now if the person is a brat about it and insist that they are doing a wonderful job even after I and other people have tried to be helpful THEN the gloves are going to come off.
But yeah, that's what I like and dislike. There's more but I don't want to ramble for too long. =^-^=
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:50 pm
Night Kunoichi Hmmm, what I love to see in fanfiction is for starters accurate character portrayal and engaging dialogue. I also love it when I find OC's involved as well. I know this is a touchy topic and many people who frequent FF net are adamantly against them because of the poorly made ones floating around. But, truthfully, when I find one that's well written, I love it. I like the different take of adding a fresh character into a fandom that would not originally be there. I like seeing their interactions and such. Even self inserts are fun if you find someone who writes a good one (yup, they exist xD). But one thing I do hate is also in regard to OC's and that is when their character can seemingly cast a spell that causes everyone of the canon characters to break out of how they would normally act. I HATE those. One reason it bothers me is because it feels like the person is not even trying. Two, as a an aspiring author, I put a lot of thought into my characters for my book and the idea of someone taking them and completely twisting them makes me twitch. It almost feels like you are disrespecting the hard work of the author. Granted I understand some writers are beginners which is why I try to offer constructive criticism on FF net so they can learn and maybe make something in the future that others will enjoy reading. I won't tear them apart immediately. I mean,I remember the days that I was there and had yet to fully gain my "writing muscle" so to speak. Now if the person is a brat about it and insist that they are doing a wonderful job even after I and other people have tried to be helpful THEN the gloves are going to come off. But yeah, that's what I like and dislike. There's more but I don't want to ramble for too long. =^-^= You know me, Kunoichi, I love OCs but only when they're done right. I don't necessarily say Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu, since some of the characters do have some vital flaws, so I use different terminology when I find irksome OCs. Like the Harlot; that OC that all of the canon characters are in love with somehow. Or the Paragon; that character that everyone loves (though not romantically) and holds in high regard as an all-around good, respectable, and dependable guy/girl. And I mean everyone, even the canon characters that distrust strangers and people in general (ex: YYH's Hiei). The "Bratty Author" is actually one of those that I wouldn't read, purely because of the reluctance to accept helpful criticism. Not to generalize, though, but bratty authors also tend to be the ones to make all the mistakes that I despise, so I would stop reading their stories for those reasons before even taking into account the author's personality. sweatdrop
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Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 10:01 pm
I hate it when an author writes in first person perspective, but doesn't know how to write it in a way that lets the characters personality show. It ends up being very stiff and robotic sounding when read.
I also hate that it seems like all the fanfictions that I really like get dropped, but the ones I only sort of care about or don't like are the ones that finish at a hundred chapters.
I love when the authors expand the universe of the series or come up with in depth plot lines that really draw me in. I can forgive small, and sometimes large, errors if the characters are handled well and the plot is engaging.
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