What turns you off from a fanfic?
Nothing will absolutely kill any sort of story save for generally poor writing, but I was just curious what peeves people when they read a fanfic. For me:
Major Gripes
These are the pet peeves that can really destroy my interest, and cause me to stop reading altogether.
- The Ol' Switcharoo - When a fic draws you in with an interesting premise, starts off strong for the first few chapters, and then either loses sight of its original premise, or does a complete 180 on it's focus. I've seen quite a few solid stories devolve into shipfics halfway through, and a few charming romances become needlessly dark or try and take on some grander scale plot. I like to know what i'm getting into.
- For F*** Sake - Excessive swearing in a story that really doesn't need it. Swears are a great tool when used effectively, and can be utilized for characterization, emphasis, and tone, a solid example being DWK's Welcome to the Show. However, when used inappropriately, it comes off as shallow, mean spirited, and often out of character. I've found this often happens when authors write dialogue is if they themselves were speaking, and not so much the character in the story. An example being how it's used in a similar fic, Failure of Friendship.
- We Get It, You're Sad - Stories that are emotionally manipulative. You know the kind. Twilight laments that she is the last of her friends, Discord is mourning over Fluttershy's grave, the ponies fade away because the show is over and say their goodbyes, the like. These stories are just a dime a dozen. That isn't to say that they aren't well written, but it's really more of a testament to the show's ability to connect us with these characters, and less so the authors. Will they make me cry? Probably. Will they leave a lasting impact? Not really. For a good end of ponies story, check shortskirtsandexplosions' I Wrote This At the End of the Show Because I Still Exist.
- Notepad Story - Bad formatting can make it very difficult to read a story, even if it's a good one. This extends to things like grammar conventions, and even typos if they're super prevalent. Writing dialogue can be confusing as all hell, but get somebody to look over your story before you post it. People are always more than willing to help.
- Last Online March 23rd, 2018 - Absolutely nothing worse than getting invested in a story that will never be finished. I've fallen into that trap far too much. For that reason, I try to only pick up stories that are already complete, or have been updated in the past three months. I-It's just on hiatus. They'll be back. Right?
Minor Gripes
Things I won't bash a story for, but tropes I don't particularly care for.
- The Scene Where Your Parents Walk In - Okay, I get it, they're in love. But did it need a whole chapter? I feel like I need to shower.
- See? That's not me. That's an OC! - Dude, just mark it self insert. I'm sure Luna would be all over you.
- Mane Six Shipped - I was never particularly fond of any of the Mane 6 dating each other. I feel it sorta ruins the point of them all being best friends and equals. When making two of them romantically involved, they will always care more about that individual over the group as a whole. Makes the dynamic all screwy.
- SciSet - Terrible ship. Isn't Sunset like 27? The body may be different, but the brains the same, man.
- "Is that really how Trixie sounds?" - Trixie talks in the third person, yes, but not constantly. I can only read the word Trixie so many times.
- Dude, that's meta - Fandom and meta references just make me wince. One more story where Sonata mentions tacos and I might lose it.
- SciSet - Just an awful ship, really. SunDagio is way better.
- A Very High IQ - Wow, what an insightful take on human nature. A pony thinks war/greed/deforestation is wrong? Where do you come up with this stuff?
- Who's Line Is It Anyway? - There are six characters in this scene talking to each other, but it is totally up in the air as to who it actually is. Please, I know you may think it beneath you, but give me a "said Character" somewhere.
- SciSet - Just the worst.
Edit: Posted this earlier on accident, and deleted it. Sorry 'bout that.
Submitted June 11, 2020 at 07:16AM by CoopertheCamper
via reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/h0z4d8/what_turns_you_off_from_a_fanfic/?utm_source=ifttt
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