a random, non-linear fic rant - cause I'm bored

[lyl_devil]

Awhile ago I reached the point in fandom where I've pretty much stopped seeking out fic to read. Not to say I'm not reading, but I'm not eagerly reaching for every piece of fic in every fandom to read.

This really started in SGA, where the sheer volume of fic is too much for a single person to read. I also found I was wading through too much crap to find a few gems. I found the same thing in SPN recently, though that one is more 'wading through the Wincest to find the Gen'.

(At this point I should note that I've pretty much given up on the Numb3rs fandom in general, because if it's not Eppescest, then it's all Charlie-based and I'm more of a Don-girl. Where's all the long, involved Don-fic that doesn't involved a borderline Mary Sue? Where's my epic Don/Coop or Don/Edgerton?? These are important questions I tell you!!)

I've become very picky in what I choose to read, sticking mostly to authors I know and like, or recs by people that I trust to only rec the good stuff. I will sometimes go looking for recs in other places, which is how I found Stele3 in SPN who created the best OFC I've ever seen in Freakboy and Dykegirl (I'll do a proper rec for this later, because it deserves some serious warnings).

I rarely deviate from this course unless I'm *really* bored or entering a new fandom.

This week I've been *beyond* bored, hence my trip over to TtH to read 3 truly horrific (and *long*) stories in a row. I didn't plan it, but I managed to hit 3 stories that bugged me in 3 completely different ways, one after the other.

This post is really about wondering how other people choose the fic they read - (and hoping for some epic story recs in return) - and what makes you hit the back button fast?

Some of mine:
- serious OOC-ness
- genderfuck (not the same as an AU where the characters are different genders)
- incest (with very, very few exceptions)
- serious canon errors
- a character suddenly becomes 'super' and goes around kicking ass and taking names and teaching everyone valuable lessons
- Mary Sues
- enough bad grammar/spelling that at every other sentence I have to stop and try to figure out what the author really meant
- a 'secret past' that completely changes how someone acts

...actually, most of these are on the Bad!Fic Bingo card I made a while ago. Hmmmmm......

The one thing I will absolutely never forgive:
- misspelling of names/places/things in a *book*-verse (HP fandom, I'm looking at you!)

I mean, honestly people!

Comments

[humbuggirl.livejournal.com]

- misspelling of names/places/things in a *book*-verse (HP fandom, I'm looking at you!)

There's no excuse - not with places like potterwords around. Never mind the Lexicon (current issues with that aside).

But yeah, I'm the same. It's why I'm signed up to newsletters and rec letters on LJ.

[dragonydreams.livejournal.com]

I second:
- serious OOC-ness
- serious canon errors
- enough bad grammar/spelling that at every other sentence I have to stop and try to figure out what the author really meant
- misspelling of names/places/things

We've agreed on these things before, I know. I've picked up new people to beta for because of some of these issues, when there is real potential for the stories to be good, if they were more accurate.

Another pet peeve of mine, is disregard for capitalization. If you can't start a sentence with a capital letter or write "I" properly, I'm not going to bother to read your story. (This bugs me in RL too. I have one friend who write in all lower case, unless she's yelling in all caps. ::shudders::)

I came across - didn't read - one story where the author did the girl's thoughts/dialog in pink and the boy's in blue, to help you know which character was speaking.

Oh, and my icon properly expresses another pet peeve.

[mzlizzy.livejournal.com]

Bad crammer and poor formatting (cramming an entire conversation into one paragraph) will send me to the back button faster than any other fault, although I won't even open up a fic with incest in the warnings.

Anything else depends on how well written the story is.

[serendu.livejournal.com]

Recs and rec lists. Which works sometimes. Every so often the reccer will list something that I attempt to read and then I find myself wishing for some brain bleach asap!

I agree with you on TTH. I've found myself lurking over there quite a bit recently (thanks to my office server deciding to block other fic websites - I was *not* best pleased) and, well, okay - I confess to writing some pretty poor fic myself - but some of the stuff on there makes ff.net look like a shining gem of fic perfection by comparison. Something that I hadn't noticed back when it was originally set up. It got me wondering whether fic sites deteriorate the bigger they become? I don't expect brilliant fic on every page... But wading through tediously boring and badly written fic to find a decent story is never pleasurable.

I can cope with most of the list you've written - as long as the writer can convince me it *works*. Except constantly poor spelling. I saw one the other day where a character experienced 'organisms' which certainly made me laugh!

[kallie-kat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been thinking about this stuff, too. I've read very little lately, and even logging in and keeping up with LJ has become more of a chore. I've *tried* reading in other fandoms, but mostly I just don't enjoy what I read. Or, I read it, but feel like I'm just going through the motions.

I found a couple of Torchwood stories that weren't too bad, but most of what I see in the comms is slash, which isn't my thing.

I'm beginning to think that I'm just losing interest in fanfic in general. But then what the heck do I do with all the time and energy I used to devote to it?

Grrr.

[draconin.livejournal.com]

The ones then particularly annoy me are when them hove used a spill checker but knot had anyone red it after too onshore that the words are correct in context.

I get most of my fics through recs from other people, although I do trawl TtH and other sites occasionally. Generally I end up fuming when I do - my turnoffs are pretty much the same as yours, perhaps with a greater emphasis on grammar. The really rewarding recs pages are where people have taken the time to provide enough of a comment that you can tell whether it's worth pursuing the link. I have a folder in my bookmarks of "To Be Checked Out" and some of the more valuable links in there are those type. Unfortunately that tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

Reading this it occurs to me that maybe what's needed is a community where you can post links to rec pages. *Not* to newsletters such as whedon_updates which contain nothing but links but to worthwhile ones with info on the fics. Perhaps allow anyone to post and just have a master format such as:

Fandom(s): *****************
Type (Gen/Het/Slash): ********
Warnings: ***********
Comment: **************

What do you think? My concern is that it would degenerate quickly and become useless.

[sulien77.livejournal.com]

I second your entire list and add the following:
- onscreen non-con or explicit descriptions of onscreen non-con (this also includes much of what too many people like to call dub-con)
- explicit torture
- any kind of bestiality or toilet sex (yes, it does need to be said *shudders*)
- sex of any variety between a minor and an adult

I'll also add extra emphasis on the OOC stories and well plotted stories with enough grammar/spelling/sytax errors that they make me want to go through the damn things using bold, red text to correct them and send them back to the author. I say all of the above as shouldn't, because I can't write my own way out of wet tissue paper, but I can proofread the daylights out of something I didn't write.

As for recommendations, I stand by all of the stories in my fic rec posts (http://sulien77.livejournal.com/tag/fic%20rec). You could also wade through the stories in my journal's memories, though there are some repeats and a few stories with grammar/spelling/syntax errors (I can deal with a few, here and there).

Please pardon the edit to fix syntax error.