When did it become cool to be emo? Because my assumption hasn't been that normal people are writing emo characters and getting it wrong, rather emo-wannabes are the ones doing the writing.
Exactly. I want every one of these wannabes and so-called "emo" people to feel what a real mental disorder feels like. It's not something to take lightly. We don't dye our hair black (I'm ignoring the point in my life where I did dye my hair that blue/black), buy everything we wear from Hot Topic...
And Hogwarts does not celebrate Thanksgiving for crying out loud... THEY ARE NOT IN AMERICA.
I read the summaries, see the tag Spock/OC or Kirk/OC, and ignore the shit out of it. Because I just know this person has never watched an episode of Star Trek in their life.
I agree completely. I hate reading fan fiction most of the time because the new batch of writers... uh, sucks. I don't want an original Mary-Sue, I don't want an emo re-write of a character, I don't want a Public Service Announcement fic where the character has a problem and magically gets over it within an hour, I don't want bad!sex fics where guys orgasm 20 times in a row and the writer obviously has no idea about basic human anatomy.
Also: BETA READERS. I actually registered on the Pit as a beta reader for this very purpose, because I'm a grammar nazi and I will nit-pick a story to add a word here, rearrange words there, nix words as needed, ask the author to clarify certain points, or checking on certain places the author mentions to make sure the details pan out. I'm extremely nit-picky, but from what I've been told, I'm a great beta reader because I'm willing to read it to the bone, not just glance and give it the okay.
I've been guilty of writing a character as suicidal, but fuck, at least I did my homework on it because I
( ... )
I'm a beta reader as well-a Grammar Nazi by nature. I've taken four creative writing courses and dedicated myself to English literature... I have to warn my authors about this-or else they'll think I'll just gloss over a fic when, actually, I highlight whole passages sometimes and offer up different ways to write it. Some people can't take that kind of criticism.
I was a beta for this one Swedish girl who, bless her heart, had great English but sometimes needed a native English speaker--and an actual American, since her story took place in Chicago--to make her story sound a lot smoother and more accurate. She wrote really well for someone who's first language isn't English, but there were a few things that I had to correct her on, such as sentence structure or certain usage of words with one another. She kind of "fired" me as a beta because I was trying to juggle a job, two AP classes with sometimes only two hours of sleep per night, so being a beta was not something I had much time for. Half of her story was filled with my comments, so she liked how thorough I was, but I wasn't a quick enough updater for her *shrugs
( ... )
I wish I could've had anything resembling a minor with my degree. Unfortunately, the Art Institute doesn't support that many English related courses. Or a "minor." And I scored so high on my English SAT that they opted me out of two required English courses. If only my math scores had been that high...
She's just too nice to say anything to him. And even if we could get a hold of her, Scott is always there. Over her shoulder watching her type/answering the phone before her/READING HER EMAILS. I would punch him but I think there isn't a place on his body I'd hit him where it would actually to physical damage.
N00b writers should be required to have a beta reader.
I think that ALL writers should have some form of a beta, but n00b ones should be forced to request one until they can somehow show that they're not the kind of writers that require someone to filter out the consistent shit in their story. Using IM speak or constantly inserting author notes in the middle of the story? Two huge transgressions that I see way too often. I'm tempted to go on the Pit and see what comes up. I think I might have to be the Grammar Nazi vigilante on that site. I've had a lot of people reply back thanking me for essentially telling them that their story sucked because they messed up x, y, and if they'd really put more time into it, then z would be 100x better. It makes me feel a bit guilt afterward, though :X
I'm all for Fanfiction.net starting a new mandate that all fics must be beta read if you aren't up an AP or college level completion of some form of English/creative writing.
Or stick a goddamn age limit on the authors.
There will be copious amounts of whining from the little shits who don't know "their" from "they're" or "there," but they can sod off for all I care.
This is why I only read fics on hoity-toity archives that have a stringent approval process. I don't have to read through all the crap fics to find the good ones.
Also, why bother to ask someone to beta read if you're just going to ignore them? I get the feeling that people think I'm too tough on the writing but if something doesn't make sense to me, I want to be sure that the writer is aware of it and has a reason for it. We can have a conversation about it, honestly. It'll go like this: "Why did that happen?" "Oh, because of x, y and z that show up next chapter."
Please, tell me where these hoity-toity archives are. Please?
I think badfic puts you into this weird trance when you start reading it, because you invariably end up reading the whole damn thing and then go: "what the fuck did I just do? And what happened to two hours of my life?"
...I'm watching Aliens right now. And I want to shoot Paul Reiser's character in the forehead.
Yes, the second one. OMG Michael Biehn was SUPER HOT (that jaw line...the arms...UNF). And poor Bishop... Lance Henrikson is still cool-even when he gets ripped in half by an evil Queen Alien.
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And Hogwarts does not celebrate Thanksgiving for crying out loud... THEY ARE NOT IN AMERICA.
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TOS is such a goldmine of awesome characters, information, and plots just waiting for the plucking!
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LOL at Spock's expression in your icon! that's like...eeew, I ate something bad face!
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Also: BETA READERS. I actually registered on the Pit as a beta reader for this very purpose, because I'm a grammar nazi and I will nit-pick a story to add a word here, rearrange words there, nix words as needed, ask the author to clarify certain points, or checking on certain places the author mentions to make sure the details pan out. I'm extremely nit-picky, but from what I've been told, I'm a great beta reader because I'm willing to read it to the bone, not just glance and give it the okay.
I've been guilty of writing a character as suicidal, but fuck, at least I did my homework on it because I ( ... )
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I'm a beta reader as well-a Grammar Nazi by nature. I've taken four creative writing courses and dedicated myself to English literature... I have to warn my authors about this-or else they'll think I'll just gloss over a fic when, actually, I highlight whole passages sometimes and offer up different ways to write it. Some people can't take that kind of criticism.
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I would love to be your second beta.
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Somebody needs to write some sort of hard-and-fast rules for n00b writers. The Ten Commandments of Fanfic or something. **sigh**
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N00b writers should be required to have a beta reader.
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Or stick a goddamn age limit on the authors.
There will be copious amounts of whining from the little shits who don't know "their" from "they're" or "there," but they can sod off for all I care.
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Also, why bother to ask someone to beta read if you're just going to ignore them? I get the feeling that people think I'm too tough on the writing but if something doesn't make sense to me, I want to be sure that the writer is aware of it and has a reason for it. We can have a conversation about it, honestly. It'll go like this:
"Why did that happen?"
"Oh, because of x, y and z that show up next chapter."
How hard is that?!
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I think badfic puts you into this weird trance when you start reading it, because you invariably end up reading the whole damn thing and then go: "what the fuck did I just do? And what happened to two hours of my life?"
...I'm watching Aliens right now. And I want to shoot Paul Reiser's character in the forehead.
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I only read HP fic on hoity-toity archives. Those are:
http://www.thepetulantpoetess.com
http://restrictedsection.org/index.php
http://owl.tauri.org/index.php
Most of my other fandoms aren't big enough for their own archives. :(
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Yes, the second one. OMG Michael Biehn was SUPER HOT (that jaw line...the arms...UNF). And poor Bishop... Lance Henrikson is still cool-even when he gets ripped in half by an evil Queen Alien.
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