What we dread the most besides our object of fangirlism dying in the book: Spoilers!
(Yet another HP related post. I'm sorry, non-Harry Potter guys; I love you. I promise when Jean Auel actually finishes her next book, or when there's a new Heroes episode... but for now, I have HP on the noggin.)
That said...
On Sugar Quill, there is a thread I feel is rather brilliant on avoiding spoilers and spoiling people. However, being the writer I am, I couldn't reply with something that would merit a post - that would require shutting up. ;)
Feel free to add on; these are just my general opinions on how to avoid spoilers and spoiling.
Avoiding Spoilers and Spoiling
The best way to do this? Don't assume. Some of you will know the saying they have for the word "assume"; whether or not you do, it is safe to say that assumptions can ruin everything, and that's usually where the trouble begins.
So, never assume that:
- People will just scroll past uncut LJ posts. If you don't know how to make a cut for LJ, find out before July 21st. People won't always do that - I got a friend very pissed off at me after OoTP because I was new to LJ, didn't make a cut, and spoiled her. I don't know why she didn't scroll past - maybe she assumed there'd be a cut, or maybe her computer was slow and she accidentally saw. That's not the point... the point is, she didn't scroll past, and I may have ruined the entire book for her. Yikes, right?
- People will realize/care that they might spoil someone. People can be unaware that they are acting as walking spoilers - look at the scenario I cited above. And some simply don't care. So when checking the HP portion of your flist, and/or messageboards, and/or anything else fandom related, proceed with utmost caution. Whether they're trying to be cruel or just don't realize what they're doing, people will post threads that are seemingly spoiler free but have every spoiler in the first sentence.
And if possible? Avoid anything related to spoilers. That'll make it easier. But... see the next point.
-People will avoid fandom places until they've finished. It seems obvious that people should just not go to forums until reading the book, but that's not an option for everyone. Time zones are different, for one - Ida Spoyler from London may have finished her book at 2 PM her time, but Lemi Finich from New York might be reading the boards she moderates or her flist before work at 9 AM her time, unable to read the book until midnight UK time - only seven in the evening hers.
Not to mention that everyone reads at different rates, has different time flexibility, etc.
Again, it's still wise to avoid fandom places until every single word has been read, but that's not always an option for whatever reason.
-People won't pick up on hints. Hints are very, very bad, because unless you're hinting to someone who doesn't know you, or being very vague about it? They're easy enough to decode. Don't tell someone it's "too bad Ship X never happened" in a happy voice like I did with Remus/Tonks.
Of course, throwing your friends off completely can be fun when done right. Like when I told my non-fandom friend that Harry got with Draco in HBP, and she fell for it. Poor girl...
- Spoilers before the books are always fake. For some reason or another, there's somehow always leaks. Before book four, someone said Cedric Diggory died; I didn't even remember who the heck that was, but when we saw him in book four? Yep. So don't read "I know who dies!!" threads. Really.
- Someone actually wants to be spoiled. I've worded things wrong before and been spoiled; I've also almost spoiled people because I misunderstood them. Always ask "are you sure you want to know more?"
- Your friends have the same idea of what'll happen. It may seem obvious to you that Voldemort is defeated, but that might be an actual spoiler to some people.
And that's pretty much all I have for now. Anyone else?