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catscradle Jul. 23rd, 2002 03:58 pm)
catscradle Jul. 23rd, 2002 03:58 pm)When you read fanfic:
What are you looking for in a story initially?
What helps you enjoy a story?
What will turn you off to a fic?
Do you like to be surprised by a story? (this can mean anything from a pairing to a plot twist).
How long do you give a story before you give up on it?
Do you read fics that you know aren't written very well, but you like the idea enough to keep reading till the end?
What are you looking for in a story initially?
What helps you enjoy a story?
What will turn you off to a fic?
Do you like to be surprised by a story? (this can mean anything from a pairing to a plot twist).
How long do you give a story before you give up on it?
Do you read fics that you know aren't written very well, but you like the idea enough to keep reading till the end?
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From:
Had to think on this one
When you read fanfic:
What am you looking for in a story initially?
A good story. Not to be cheeky, but I want a good story, I want intrigue and backhistory and character growth or resisitance to growth. And in the midst of that, I want something to reach in and grab me by the gut, and make me cry and gasp and feel. I like to feel something when I read. To be touched. But it has to have the structure I mentioned above, doesn't have to be long, or a whole lot of structure, but Xander crying in the corner and feeling like shit and then killing himself isn't going to do much for me. If I can precis the whole story or plot to one line, it's not what I want.
What helps you enjoy a story?
I think I answered this in the first question. And I know I'm coming across as incredibly picky, but I like to be inspired, to feel awe. But on another note, it's the little touches that help me enjoy a story, consistancies, like when the soundtrack to a movie has a certain refrain for the couple in love, or for when the family is together. If I can hear that when I'm reading, it enhances everything.
What will turn you off to a fic?
A bad plot. Literary stick figure corpses with the character names on their chests. Character bashing. I didn't care for Anya much myself when I first started writing Xander/Spike. She was an obstacle. But though the first chapters of my own fic may not show it, I just couldn't get rid of her so flippantly. She will/is coming back and has a part to play and her own emotions to express. It's a challenge damn it, work around it with some dignity.
Do you like to be surprised by a story? (this can mean anything from a pairing to a plot twist).
I like plot twists, if when I step back, I can follow the logic and see how it could lead to the new conclusion. I don't like if people pull things out of thin blue air, just to try to make the fic interesting. If you want to make Tara, Anya's long lost sister, fine, go for it. But please don't cram it in, 5 posts into yoru story because you're running out of hoops to make the characters jump through; and then spend three paragraphs on tedious exposition trying to sort out your own mess.
Pairing wise, no. I like knowing who's loving/hating/fighting against/resisting who. There are very few authors I trust to surprise me with who's holding who; and I only trust them because somewhere in the fic there's just enough structure for me to sit back after and go "Oh yeah, I can see that."
How long do you give a story before you give up on it?
It depends. There are times I read the first paraghraph and I can't read anymore - I get irked and that's that. Usually, I give it a full chapter, even if I have to come back to it and finish it over a couple of days.
Do you read fics that you know aren't written very well, but you like the idea enough to keep reading till the end?
Generally no, on one or two occasions a bad fic has been recced to me, ,because someone else read it, and really liked the premise and wanted to share the premise. And then of course we MSTKing all over it. Usually no. If it's bad, I'm not going to put myself through that, I just avoid the author there after.