Firefly Fanfiction: What Are Your Pet-Peeves?

POSTED BY: Xeyra
UPDATED: Friday, November 30, 2012 02:57
VIEWED: 59700
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EKIDD79

Thursday, May 25, 2006 4:56 PM

It's about personal pet peeves and those were mine...I've read and written ALOT of fan fiction in the last few years and I would never discourage anyone to write, but with criticism people can only improve their writing.

SAMEERTIA

Thursday, May 25, 2006 4:58 PM

And I quote:

Quote:
Originally posted by ekidd79:
Oh and stay away from Xovers, they rarely work.

And don't turn it into an epic, I rarely read fanfic which is into chapter twentysomething, it usually loses the orignal story and dynamic. Think beginning, middle and end, turn it into several 'episodes' or sequels if you have to, but don't over do it.

This is telling people WHAT to write based on your personal preferences, which is NOT what this thread is about.

Not your cup of tea? FINE! Say that you don't enjoy them, but don't tell the author not to write them.

Can you see the difference?

EKIDD79

Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:07 PM

Thanks for the criticism, duely noted.

EMMARIGBY

Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ekidd79:
It's about personal pet peeves and those were mine...I've read and written ALOT of fan fiction in the last few years and I would never discourage anyone to write, but with criticism people can only improve their writing.

Yes, but there's a subtle but important difference in saying 'I don't like to read' rather than 'You should not write'.

As previously stated, I happen to like xover stories. It's true that at their worst they're awful but done well they make me squeal with joy (I am a simple soul!)

Sometimes even the truley self-indulgent Mary Sue stories are fun to read, just to laugh fondly at someone else's private (or not so private) fantasies!

I particularly liked this rather cruel but accurate parady of a Lord of the Rings Mary Sue ficlet over at fanfiction.net

www.fanfiction.net/s/1004203/1/

Sadly I've seen some on there that are almost as bad! It does point out some big no-nos though!

JOSSISAGOD

Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:30 PM

Not fond of Jaylee, Mal/Kaylee or River/Jayne, River/Mal. other than that I love the fanfic. Oh, and the length of a story makes me stop reading, if it's too long i get disinterested.

JOSSIS(Most Definitely)AGOD

DIZ

Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:41 PM

Give me a story that's well-written, has a snap-cracking plot, and characters that ring true, and I'll accept almost anything.

One thing that bugs is when "'verse speak" is used during narration. For instance, "Mal took the gun while shakin' his head; he dinit knowed what were worse: the fact that River done kissed him, or that she had bin so creative-like wit her tongue." It's especially bad when it's not inner-dialog. And even if it's inner dialog, people tend to think better grammar then they speak. So Mal might drop his g's in words ending in -ing when speaking, but it's doubtful that's how he thinks. It's also very distracting to read, and doesn't tend to flow.

I'm not fond of frequent changes in point-of-view. It can be confusing if first it's Mal's point-of-view, then next sentence, Inara, and so forth. It's easier to read fic that shifts point of view no more then once a paragraph; but I think scenes work better if there is one consistent point-of-view per scene.

I do enjoy inner dialog, because what's the point of reading fiction if one does not get in the head of the characters?

And finally, fics that start out but never get finished. I'm not guilty of that at all. *ahem* (I've been working on my fic forever, and hope one day to have it done and posted; but I rushed it and posted the chapters I had just written, and regretted it, then vowed not to post until it was done.)

---------------------------------
Welcome to Serenity - Joss Whedon

XEYRA

Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Diz:
Give me a story that's well-written, has a snap-cracking plot, and characters that ring true, and I'll accept almost anything.

Amen to that!

*******************************
Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?

LAUGHINGMUSE

Friday, May 26, 2006 5:45 AM

Someone else mentioned that they don't enjoy reading Simon/Kaylee fic because it's too nice, and this person prefers a bit of darkness. I agree...with a slight addendum:

I enjoy the well-written S/K stories, but I do dislike the near-reflexive, nice but kind of simplistic "they get married, they raise a family" plotline. Simon's still technically running from something rather than to something. He left his old life to get River away from harm, but I doubt that he thought beyond getting River away from the Academy. As such, he's been living in "reaction" mode for the past year, without the material comforts to which he was accustomed. What will happen when he looks around, takes stock, and begins to see that his sister doesn't absolutely require his full attention and support to live - even thrive? Will he look forward to staying on Serenity, including the arguments with the captain and sniping with Jayne? When will he feel that he's valued on Serenity? And until he does...what effect will that have on Simon and Kaylee's relationship? What does he want? What does she want? How will they go about deciding that for themselves, deciding that for the two of them, working out a compromise? Or will they just settle for living for the day, because they don't know how to plan for anything together but don't want to let go of a bright spot in their lives? (Because that never happens in real life. Nooooooooo...)

People - there's gold in them thar plotbunnies. Darkness and struggle and stories and fiction without having to go into Deepest Darkest Angst Country.

There are days when I really wish I could write fanfic longer than a vignette. All I can do is Armchair Ficwrite.

(Sincere apologies to the original poster of this sentiment - but I don't remember which poster you were!)

---------------------------------
Mankind makes tools; we use them to augment our hands, arms and legs.
The computer augments the brain and this makes it very unpopular with totalitarians. - Charles J.C. Lyall

MAVOURNEEN

Friday, May 26, 2006 1:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LaughingMuse:
Simon's still technically running from something rather than to something. He left his old life to get River away from harm, but I doubt that he thought beyond getting River away from the Academy. As such, he's been living in "reaction" mode for the past year, without the material comforts to which he was accustomed. What will happen when he looks around, takes stock, and begins to see that his sister doesn't absolutely require his full attention and support to live - even thrive? Will he look forward to staying on Serenity, including the arguments with the captain and sniping with Jayne? When will he feel that he's valued on Serenity? And until he does...what effect will that have on Simon and Kaylee's relationship? What does he want? What does she want?

---------------------------------
Mankind makes tools; we use them to augment our hands, arms and legs.
The computer augments the brain and this makes it very unpopular with totalitarians. - Charles J.C. Lyall

This is exactly the "within canon" sentiments most people who read fic are asking for...regardless of whether the fic is set pre or post BDM. It has to ring true. Where is the next logical place for that character to be in time and space? Expand their horizons, but make it ring true.
I enjoy reading fic that introduces Original Characters - hell, where would we be without Atherton Wing, Nandi, or Jubal Early? They were all single episode characters...the closest equivalent of an OC. Their presence enhances the continuing storyline.

My petpeeve is non-canon action and dialoge for the crew. Simon and Kaylee may knock boots, but there will be no "White Picket Fence" for them.

"Have you ever been with a Warrior Woman?"

ELOISA

Friday, May 26, 2006 1:58 PM

Indigostarblaster mentioned above that s/he thinks third subjective is a big no-no. As someone who's written well over a million words all told, IMO third subjective is the best way to write any novel that isn't either a straight thriller or the type of old-school hard SF that was in vogue fifty years ago, and it seriously annoys me when authors don't use it in its place. Actions and dialogue alone don't make most stories work; character perspective is very important. Even something as simple as the fact that different characters put different emphasis on different things in their surroundings is important - effective internal dialogue is as crucial as spoken dialogue in the effective depiction of a canon character. In addition, shifting perspectives in the right way makes a long story far richer. For what I mean, please see Mal4prez's The Fish Job, especially round about chapters 11-16 where Mal's perspective on the ongoing situation clashes strongly with that of his crew. It's all very well to say that we're fanficcing a TV show, but unless we're writing script format we're writing short stories, novellas or novels. The rules differ.

That said, poor characterisation of any character in thought, word or deed annoys me. My favourite peeves including making Simon (and Kaylee) too nice or passive, making Inara too helpless (she's clearly had combat training, for instance) or too free with her emotions, making Jayne too nice and making Zoe too feminine outside of her private time with her emotional battering ram of a husband. River's level of sanity is an obvious problem because it's unclear how stable she is at the end of the BDM, so anything plausible is fine by me, as with Mal's evolution at the end (whether he is easier or harder to live with - there are arguments on both sides).

Plausibility. Hm. From believable characterisation comes believable plot. It's the same thing as effectively building the characters; if the story doesn't work or has gaping holes in it, I'll be dissatisfied. As a result, I dislike almost all post-BDM fics where Wash and Book are alive. The one counter-example is How I Soar, an AU where Zoe dies instead of Wash, a theory that works well in context.

Non-canon pairings, again, need to be plausibly written to catch my eye. People have mentioned Rayne - there are a few Raynes out there where they don't just turn round, look at each other and meet in a moment of animal passion, which is dreadful for any pairing, but where they slowly work out the issues and end up together almost by accident. The same has to apply to slash fiction, but I'll read it with pleasure if it's good. I've actually written non-canon slash in other fandoms, but wouldn't attempt it in Firefly as I see it as too difficult for me to find a way to make it work. That's my attitude to how rare good slash in this fandom is (and exactly how good the good slashers are).

Any OCs, not just obvious Mar(t)y S(t)ues, annoy me unless they are as carefully constructed as any character in that position would be in an original novel. (Gideon in Kaynara's Bed and Wine, for instance, is a positive example.)

Poor spelling and grammar kills my enjoyment of a story unless it is used for emphasis by a writer who can clearly use perfect grammar if necessary (it does so to the extent that I'd just delightedly read five or so chapters of a story at once (on another site), and a single misspelt word threw me off for the next three). Like various posters above, it annoys me if authors use too many artifically contracted words for a character's speech, as opposed to an appropriate level of slang.

Chinese doesn't bother me too much. Inara's greeting to the older man at the ball in Shindig suggests that it is used for long conversations in canon as well as for substitute vulgarity to beat the US censors.

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http://forums.ffonline.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19
Creative Writing

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