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When you read fanfic:
What are you looking for in a story initially?
Bare minimum, I'm looking for something non-cliched, coherent and geared toward an adult mind. If the author behaves like a giggly school girl (which is usually apparent in the header/notes of the fic), then I won't even look at it. Inserting a Mary Sue or Mary Sue-ing one of the main characters, will also get the boot. If those elements are absent, I'll usually proceed with giving the fic 10 paragraphs before I make the decision if I will continue reading it.
What helps you enjoy a story?
Good characterization. It goes a LONG way in helping me to enjoy a story. I can forgive a lot of mediocre plots or story lines if the characters are at least nailed down.
A good idea is the next thing. If the idea is different - or a twist on what's gone before, then that helps in the enjoyment. Of course, a well executed idea goes even further. Smooth writing - skilled writing - that's a tremendous help in keeping my interest.
What will turn you off to a fic?
Bad characterization - if I can't recognize who the people I'm reading are, then the whole point of reading fanfic has been lost. I have many original fiction books, if I want to read those I'll go to my bookshelf. I read fanfic for a certain type of fix - to read more on characters I already know and like and want more of beyond the canon source - to read "what-if" or furth elaborations. So OOC fics are pointless to me.
Cliched romance stories and sex scenes randomly tossed into a story to make it NC-17 are also a turn-off. And nothing is more disappointing than a well written story that takes a turn for sex when it's not needed. I don't mind graphic sex in a fic if it has a purpose to the story. I don't mind PWPs either - but when you have a great plot/character driven story and graphic sex just shows up for the hell of it - God, I hate that. It's distracting - in a bad way. I've read so many stories where for half of it I'm thinking "yeah, Yeah, YEAH!" and the other half going, "Oh, no, No, NO!" - that's always a tragedy.
Do you like to be surprised by a story? (this can mean anything from a pairing to a plot twist).
I like a surprise if the author can pull it off. It's a tough trick that's great and wonderful when done well - or godawful bad when not. I'm not opposed to the surprise, I guess I should say - but sometimes weary of it depending on the author.
What I love is when the author has an idea that I didn't consider before, or didn't previously think it was plausable, and they still pull it off and make me like it. Those are great fics if they can get me to consider a different point of view. I commend any author that can do that.
How long do you give a story before you give up on it?
Typically a few pages. I find weeding out the pure drek can be done fairly easily by what people put in the notes/headers of their fics (horrendous spelling and grammar is usually revealed at the notes/header stage as well). If it looks like a 15 year old wrote it, I'll toss it out. Not that I have anything against 15 year olds, whether it's their physical or mental age, it's just not my thing. So once those are tossed off the "readable" pile, the next thing I look for is coherent logical sentence structure. If that's there, I then look for characterization. If that's there, I'll look for story idea. If I get into that, I'll generally read the whole thing. You can usually tell by the second page (maybe 10 paragraphs, give or take) if the story will contain all those elements.
Do you read fics that you know aren't written very well, but you like the idea enough to keep reading till the end?
I will if the idea is a damn good one. Not everyone can be a great writer, that doesn't mean they don't have kickass ideas. Sometimes I'll read the entire fic, if it's not epic long, just to see the follow through of the idea. I've read badly written fics that had some good ideas. I think most of us have read fics and have thought "Now, I wonder what that would look like if a good writer got a hold of that. . ." Anyway, I've always saw fanfic as a means for people to express their views on the book/series/movie, and as long as people put forth effort and at least try to write, that's a good thing. Most of the population never even attempts anything creative. So good for anyone that tries, even if it is bad by most standards. I might not read it, but good for them anyways. If the idea is at least intriguing, and I can recognize the characters, then yeah, I might read it. Might.
What are you looking for in a story initially?
Bare minimum, I'm looking for something non-cliched, coherent and geared toward an adult mind. If the author behaves like a giggly school girl (which is usually apparent in the header/notes of the fic), then I won't even look at it. Inserting a Mary Sue or Mary Sue-ing one of the main characters, will also get the boot. If those elements are absent, I'll usually proceed with giving the fic 10 paragraphs before I make the decision if I will continue reading it.
What helps you enjoy a story?
Good characterization. It goes a LONG way in helping me to enjoy a story. I can forgive a lot of mediocre plots or story lines if the characters are at least nailed down.
A good idea is the next thing. If the idea is different - or a twist on what's gone before, then that helps in the enjoyment. Of course, a well executed idea goes even further. Smooth writing - skilled writing - that's a tremendous help in keeping my interest.
What will turn you off to a fic?
Bad characterization - if I can't recognize who the people I'm reading are, then the whole point of reading fanfic has been lost. I have many original fiction books, if I want to read those I'll go to my bookshelf. I read fanfic for a certain type of fix - to read more on characters I already know and like and want more of beyond the canon source - to read "what-if" or furth elaborations. So OOC fics are pointless to me.
Cliched romance stories and sex scenes randomly tossed into a story to make it NC-17 are also a turn-off. And nothing is more disappointing than a well written story that takes a turn for sex when it's not needed. I don't mind graphic sex in a fic if it has a purpose to the story. I don't mind PWPs either - but when you have a great plot/character driven story and graphic sex just shows up for the hell of it - God, I hate that. It's distracting - in a bad way. I've read so many stories where for half of it I'm thinking "yeah, Yeah, YEAH!" and the other half going, "Oh, no, No, NO!" - that's always a tragedy.
Do you like to be surprised by a story? (this can mean anything from a pairing to a plot twist).
I like a surprise if the author can pull it off. It's a tough trick that's great and wonderful when done well - or godawful bad when not. I'm not opposed to the surprise, I guess I should say - but sometimes weary of it depending on the author.
What I love is when the author has an idea that I didn't consider before, or didn't previously think it was plausable, and they still pull it off and make me like it. Those are great fics if they can get me to consider a different point of view. I commend any author that can do that.
How long do you give a story before you give up on it?
Typically a few pages. I find weeding out the pure drek can be done fairly easily by what people put in the notes/headers of their fics (horrendous spelling and grammar is usually revealed at the notes/header stage as well). If it looks like a 15 year old wrote it, I'll toss it out. Not that I have anything against 15 year olds, whether it's their physical or mental age, it's just not my thing. So once those are tossed off the "readable" pile, the next thing I look for is coherent logical sentence structure. If that's there, I then look for characterization. If that's there, I'll look for story idea. If I get into that, I'll generally read the whole thing. You can usually tell by the second page (maybe 10 paragraphs, give or take) if the story will contain all those elements.
Do you read fics that you know aren't written very well, but you like the idea enough to keep reading till the end?
I will if the idea is a damn good one. Not everyone can be a great writer, that doesn't mean they don't have kickass ideas. Sometimes I'll read the entire fic, if it's not epic long, just to see the follow through of the idea. I've read badly written fics that had some good ideas. I think most of us have read fics and have thought "Now, I wonder what that would look like if a good writer got a hold of that. . ." Anyway, I've always saw fanfic as a means for people to express their views on the book/series/movie, and as long as people put forth effort and at least try to write, that's a good thing. Most of the population never even attempts anything creative. So good for anyone that tries, even if it is bad by most standards. I might not read it, but good for them anyways. If the idea is at least intriguing, and I can recognize the characters, then yeah, I might read it. Might.
