Great job with (I think) the first guest essay! I agree with all your points, to varying degrees. My #1 turnoff when reading fanfic: bad dialogue, followed by bad grammar. Canon is also very, very important to me.
I was unfortunate to read some really, really bad fanfic in another fandom before falling in love with PB, and it turned me off fanfic for a long time. Thank goodness I gave it another try, and got hooked, reading and writing.
It's funny to me that you put such emphasis on the title: I hardly ever give it much thought. But good summaries are important to me, which is ironic, since I'm terrible at summarizing my own work. I like how you described the whole AU catagory. There are so many subtle shades of AU...I'm still learning. But whatever the AU universe, it has to be believable, and you make it believable by having the characters act as they would in canon (at least for me).
Summaries don't really matter to me, because I can't tell you how many times I've had people not read my summaries and then complain about what I was writing. I look at the pairings and the category, and of course, the title ;-) I'm know, I'm a freak.
I used to have a fairly poor opinion of fanfic until I found some good stuff myself. I must say though that PB has an overwhelming amount of good authors.
Yes, PB does have a disproportionately large number of good authors. Lucky us! And it's too bad that people ignore the summaries and warnings. That's why they're there. If people can't be bothered to read them, then they get what they deserve, I suppose.
And I think the reason we all like the thoughts, mannerisms, and dialogue to remain in character is because by definition fanfic is for readers already emotionally invested in a character. What the author should do, in my opinion, is either fill in gaps, put the characters in new situations that ring true, or both. It's an extension of the canon PB universe, and expansion, if you will. Usually, when my favorite characters are acting completely out of character, either intentionally by the author or due to poor writing, I'm turned off.
I have stretched myself to try a few new things lately though, and there are exceptions, although precious few.
I know I would never have dreamed of putting Linc and Sara together romantically if they hadn't killed Veronica. But what started it all for me was looking at the situation and thinking, if I were her, and I was alone someone with these men, would I really not notice Lincoln? Of course, for me, it's all about Linc, but I had to be creative to come up with a way for Sara to notice Linc, and to build off the anger we know she felt towards Michael. But you know, that whole *too much plot in my porn* thing doesn't afflict everyone. In fact, now, in canon, I'd find it very hard to write a story where Sara fell for Linc over Mike because of the way S2 ended. Early S2 Sara I could convince to fall for the other brother, late S2 Sara, not so much.
And I know what you mean about expanding the canon, because often I feel things I've written or read in other great fics is exactly what must have happened. It feels so canon, I almost can't separate them.
Yes, I can see Linc/Sara early S2 (ahh, did I just say that?!), but not later. I have written one Linc/Sara PWP...but I'd say there was lots of plot actually, since it was a spin off of a long series. Anyway, long story short, I agree. And I get confused about what is actual canon, too, sometimes!
I was unfortunate to read some really, really bad fanfic in another fandom before falling in love with PB, and it turned me off fanfic for a long time. Thank goodness I gave it another try, and got hooked, reading and writing.
It's funny to me that you put such emphasis on the title: I hardly ever give it much thought. But good summaries are important to me, which is ironic, since I'm terrible at summarizing my own work. I like how you described the whole AU catagory. There are so many subtle shades of AU...I'm still learning. But whatever the AU universe, it has to be believable, and you make it believable by having the characters act as they would in canon (at least for me).
Great job!
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I used to have a fairly poor opinion of fanfic until I found some good stuff myself. I must say though that PB has an overwhelming amount of good authors.
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And I think the reason we all like the thoughts, mannerisms, and dialogue to remain in character is because by definition fanfic is for readers already emotionally invested in a character. What the author should do, in my opinion, is either fill in gaps, put the characters in new situations that ring true, or both. It's an extension of the canon PB universe, and expansion, if you will. Usually, when my favorite characters are acting completely out of character, either intentionally by the author or due to poor writing, I'm turned off.
I have stretched myself to try a few new things lately though, and there are exceptions, although precious few.
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And I know what you mean about expanding the canon, because often I feel things I've written or read in other great fics is exactly what must have happened. It feels so canon, I almost can't separate them.
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