Things I wish writers would/wouldn't do.
Before you read this, know that I'm not picking on your fic. I'm not thinking of your fic. I actually don't have any particular stories in my head as I write this. It's more based on my general impression of the hundreds and hundreds of fics I've read over the last six months (in particular).
Feel free to disagree with me...I won't be bothered by it. Though, if your argument is "it's just fanfic", I'll probably not take you very seriously. Anyhow, I'm not claiming my writing is perfect or that I don't fall into some horrible habit when I write that bothers other people. I probably do. Whatever. Just take this post for what it is: my opinion.
I read a lot of fanfiction and have a fair amount of kinks that I enjoy. For the most part, I'm not married to a singular characterization of most characters I read. I am also not married to top/bottom dynamics, either. However, there are some things I wish writers would/would not do.
1. Cut at least eighty percent of the crying out of stories.
-Off the top of my head, of all the fandoms I'm in, I can only recall a handful of scenes where a character I ship cries. Merlin cries when faced with extreme duress or grief. Tony Stark cries during certain events at the tail end of The Civil War series. (This list isn't inclusive)
--The point is, Tony Stark isn't gonna cry because Steve said something mean to him.
I'm not a crier by nature, so it might just be my own hangups, but if it wouldn't make them cry in canon, I'd rather it not make them cry in a story.
2. Limit the "I love you" stuff
-This is basically similar to the crying issue. Most of the people I'm reading are extremely emotionally constipated. John Sheppard can't even say the word 'feelings' during the show. So, reading a John Sheppard that is profusely expressive of his adoration of Rodney can be a bit weird.
--The point is, John's not going to delivering soliloquies on the beauteous wonder that is Rodney without the aid of drugs.
3. Get a beta-reader, if you can.
-I've noticed a growing trend, especially in Teen Wolf fandom, to never use a beta-reader. It shows. Dear god, does it ever show. It's frustrating to abandon a story with an interesting premise or a favoured kink because you just can't slog through the terrible grammar and spelling problems.
--A tangential issue: make sure your formatting is easy on the eyes. Single-spaced stories are murder. I never read them.
4. Ask yourself "why"
-So, you want to write a darkfic. Cool, I like those. Character X is going to do this terrible thing. Ask yourself why. Flesh out why. Make why make sense. Personally, I think the best darkfics take any given character, highlights their negative characteristics already seen in canon, and exaggerates/emphasizes them. For instance, I'd have an easier time believing a story where Rodney McKay turned out to be a serial killer than, say, Steve Rogers.
--I'll probably never buy say, Stiles, as a rapist, but if you want me as a reader to believe you're gonna need to do more than just label a story as "dark" and have him do it just because.
5. Limit the vilification of the canon love interest.
-I think it's fair to say most of my ships have canon female love interests. It's possible to end those relationships (or even ignore them) without making the woman to be vilified. I'm not saying having a cheating fic is bad, per se, but I also wouldn't mind a calm, quiet end to a relationship as it sometimes happens in life without changing the woman into this evil thing just to let the slash shine through.
--Much as I disliked Rodney/Jennifer, I still don't think Jennifer's going to be sitting in her room, laughing maniacally over the still beating heart of John's pet dog because he dared to love Rodney.
Feel free to disagree with me...I won't be bothered by it. Though, if your argument is "it's just fanfic", I'll probably not take you very seriously. Anyhow, I'm not claiming my writing is perfect or that I don't fall into some horrible habit when I write that bothers other people. I probably do. Whatever. Just take this post for what it is: my opinion.
I read a lot of fanfiction and have a fair amount of kinks that I enjoy. For the most part, I'm not married to a singular characterization of most characters I read. I am also not married to top/bottom dynamics, either. However, there are some things I wish writers would/would not do.
1. Cut at least eighty percent of the crying out of stories.
-Off the top of my head, of all the fandoms I'm in, I can only recall a handful of scenes where a character I ship cries. Merlin cries when faced with extreme duress or grief. Tony Stark cries during certain events at the tail end of The Civil War series. (This list isn't inclusive)
--The point is, Tony Stark isn't gonna cry because Steve said something mean to him.
I'm not a crier by nature, so it might just be my own hangups, but if it wouldn't make them cry in canon, I'd rather it not make them cry in a story.
2. Limit the "I love you" stuff
-This is basically similar to the crying issue. Most of the people I'm reading are extremely emotionally constipated. John Sheppard can't even say the word 'feelings' during the show. So, reading a John Sheppard that is profusely expressive of his adoration of Rodney can be a bit weird.
--The point is, John's not going to delivering soliloquies on the beauteous wonder that is Rodney without the aid of drugs.
3. Get a beta-reader, if you can.
-I've noticed a growing trend, especially in Teen Wolf fandom, to never use a beta-reader. It shows. Dear god, does it ever show. It's frustrating to abandon a story with an interesting premise or a favoured kink because you just can't slog through the terrible grammar and spelling problems.
--A tangential issue: make sure your formatting is easy on the eyes. Single-spaced stories are murder. I never read them.
4. Ask yourself "why"
-So, you want to write a darkfic. Cool, I like those. Character X is going to do this terrible thing. Ask yourself why. Flesh out why. Make why make sense. Personally, I think the best darkfics take any given character, highlights their negative characteristics already seen in canon, and exaggerates/emphasizes them. For instance, I'd have an easier time believing a story where Rodney McKay turned out to be a serial killer than, say, Steve Rogers.
--I'll probably never buy say, Stiles, as a rapist, but if you want me as a reader to believe you're gonna need to do more than just label a story as "dark" and have him do it just because.
5. Limit the vilification of the canon love interest.
-I think it's fair to say most of my ships have canon female love interests. It's possible to end those relationships (or even ignore them) without making the woman to be vilified. I'm not saying having a cheating fic is bad, per se, but I also wouldn't mind a calm, quiet end to a relationship as it sometimes happens in life without changing the woman into this evil thing just to let the slash shine through.
--Much as I disliked Rodney/Jennifer, I still don't think Jennifer's going to be sitting in her room, laughing maniacally over the still beating heart of John's pet dog because he dared to love Rodney.