Things that don't appeal to me in fic.
This is a random, incomplete list of writing things that disagree with me in fanfiction. While I am writing strictly from the BeatlesSlash point of view, these same things more or less apply (for me) across the board, in any fandom or official publication. I am directing this at no one.
1.) Starting off a story in this way, "George Harrison walked down the street" or any other such variation where in the main character(s) full name is introduced in the text. In some very rare instances this is acceptable but if I'm reading Beatles fanfiction, I know who you mean when you say 'George.' It could very well be "Buffy Summers" or "Clark Kent" -- it's just superfluous and actually rather over bearing. The idea is to get a reader into your story and by saying things like that it takes me right out.
2.) Having open pairings for a story. This seems very popular, especially when a writer doesn't want to exclude readers who might not like certain pairings. I hate these so much that I almost never read them. You cannot tell me that a John/Paul relationship is interchangable with John/George, or George/Ringo. The Beatles are not part pieces you can swap out at will. If it's John/Paul and you don't want to mention any names, fine, but mention it's John/Paul. Don't try to get other pairing readers to read it with 'open interpretation' because it's bullshit. Sometimes it works. Usually it just pisses me off. It's lazy. If you want people who like other pairings to read your stories write the other pairings.
3.) Having your story be extremely vague or dreamlike. In some situations this makes sense, if the story is represenative of a drug trip or a dream, but in many cases it isn't. The story is just full of clumsy purple prose and metaphors to drown a horse. Many times the only ways to make sense of these stories is to mentally replace each thesaurus-found word with a common one and translate the metaphors into logical phrases. I love using metaphors and clever wording as much as the next person but if reading your story is akin to taking a final exam, it's too much.
4.) Completely ignoring other characters in your story. It's one thing if it's a snapshot story, like a drabble, where you're looking at five minutes in the day-of-the-life or if your story exclusively takes place between two characters. However, writing out important characters is just unforgivable, especially if you don't even mention where and why they're gone. There are four Beatles, not a Beatle and his back up or two Beatles and their musicians. If you don't want to write Paul into your story, have a legitimate reason for him to be absent. The same goes for the Beatles presumed wives; if they're married/dating at the time your story takes place (research!) at least have some mention of their wives AKA, otherwise, the loves of their lives before-he-realised-he-was-in-love-with-(Beatle).
5.) This is sort of like part 1 . . . where you don't need to spell out every little incident. It is usually much better to show than to say. Show how much they love each other. Show via description that the sun is rising, don't say 'the sun was rising.' Don't say, 'He was at the racetrack' -- describe it. It's so much more realistic when it's done that way. Hide things from the reader -- let them discover what is happening the same way the characters are. It enriches a story so much when you do.
I'm sure I have more but this will suffice for now.
1.) Starting off a story in this way, "George Harrison walked down the street" or any other such variation where in the main character(s) full name is introduced in the text. In some very rare instances this is acceptable but if I'm reading Beatles fanfiction, I know who you mean when you say 'George.' It could very well be "Buffy Summers" or "Clark Kent" -- it's just superfluous and actually rather over bearing. The idea is to get a reader into your story and by saying things like that it takes me right out.
2.) Having open pairings for a story. This seems very popular, especially when a writer doesn't want to exclude readers who might not like certain pairings. I hate these so much that I almost never read them. You cannot tell me that a John/Paul relationship is interchangable with John/George, or George/Ringo. The Beatles are not part pieces you can swap out at will. If it's John/Paul and you don't want to mention any names, fine, but mention it's John/Paul. Don't try to get other pairing readers to read it with 'open interpretation' because it's bullshit. Sometimes it works. Usually it just pisses me off. It's lazy. If you want people who like other pairings to read your stories write the other pairings.
3.) Having your story be extremely vague or dreamlike. In some situations this makes sense, if the story is represenative of a drug trip or a dream, but in many cases it isn't. The story is just full of clumsy purple prose and metaphors to drown a horse. Many times the only ways to make sense of these stories is to mentally replace each thesaurus-found word with a common one and translate the metaphors into logical phrases. I love using metaphors and clever wording as much as the next person but if reading your story is akin to taking a final exam, it's too much.
4.) Completely ignoring other characters in your story. It's one thing if it's a snapshot story, like a drabble, where you're looking at five minutes in the day-of-the-life or if your story exclusively takes place between two characters. However, writing out important characters is just unforgivable, especially if you don't even mention where and why they're gone. There are four Beatles, not a Beatle and his back up or two Beatles and their musicians. If you don't want to write Paul into your story, have a legitimate reason for him to be absent. The same goes for the Beatles presumed wives; if they're married/dating at the time your story takes place (research!) at least have some mention of their wives AKA, otherwise, the loves of their lives before-he-realised-he-was-in-love-with-(Beatle).
5.) This is sort of like part 1 . . . where you don't need to spell out every little incident. It is usually much better to show than to say. Show how much they love each other. Show via description that the sun is rising, don't say 'the sun was rising.' Don't say, 'He was at the racetrack' -- describe it. It's so much more realistic when it's done that way. Hide things from the reader -- let them discover what is happening the same way the characters are. It enriches a story so much when you do.
I'm sure I have more but this will suffice for now.