Sins of the fanfic section

Nyah, as some people around here would know I have recently come back to reviewing fanfics around here, only to find that several writers (And reviewers, although I use the term rather loosely in this instance) make basically the same mistakes, and as it gets rather tiresome to repeat the same advice every time (Be original, respect the reviewers etc.) I figured that it might not be such a bad idea to gather it all up into one handy-dandy thread for easy access.

So, my dear writers and reviewers, what, in your opinion, are the worst sins that writers and reviewers of fanfiction can commit? This is partially for my benefit as well as I'm planning a fanfic of my own and would like to avoid at least the most obvious amateur mistakes. I'll start off with a few basic ones:

This is my story and I do what I want

Basically, the kind of writers who ask for reviews when all they want to hear is praise, rejecting all criticism (whether justified or not) with comments like 'It's my story so I say what happens', which often results in illogical plotlines and just generally bad fanfic quality. Personally, I think this is one of the worst attitudes that you can take as it is not only extremely rude towards the reviewers who took the time out of their lives to read and comment, but also prevents the writer him-/herself from improving. By default, I like to assume that reviewers are trying their best to be helpful, so at least hear them out before you make up your mind. If you don't care what anyone else thinks then don't post your fic.

'Kay thanks bye

Ever taken the time to write a really long and in-depth review of a fanfic only to have it waved away with a simple "Okay, thanks. I'll do something about that." even though it's quite obvious that the writer isn't doing anything about it and probably hasn't even done more than skimmed the review you slaved over for two hours? Maybe it's just me, but I find this kind of attitude almost as offending as the hostile/defensive one. Seriously, asking for reviews if you're not going to do anything with them is just a waste of time, both yours and the reviewer's, and it's also liable to rob said reviewer of any motivation to comment on your writing later on. It's just common courtesy, really.

Destructive criticism

Fortunately, this is not much of a problem at these forums. Destructive criticism (The opposite of the constructive kind, obviously) is characterised by overly harsh language, lack of improvement suggestions, heavy sarcasm and sometimes even outright flaming. I know that it can be extremely annoying when someone comes in with no understanding of fanfic writing whatsoever, but flaming them and calling their writing crap really isn't going to help them improve. Like I said, it's not a big problem here, but a reminder doesn't hurt. Correct, don't bash.

The empty review

These we do have, and I believe this was already mentioned in a stickie here, but...just going "omg you're fic is funneh write more plz!" doesn't really tell the writer anything. You don't need to pour your heart and soul into every review you make and analyze every last sentence, but please motivate anyhting you say. If you liked a fanfic then specify what you liked; if you didn't like it then specify why you didn't like it and how it should be fixed. They say that the worst review you can give is to say nothing at all, and this kind of reviewing is precisely that. Regardless of how many 'funnehs' it has in it it won't have an actual meaning until you justify them.


Just a few ones that came to mind, but I'm sure that there are many more so if there's something on the subject that has been bugging you then please share it here. ^^

The first fic excuse

A reviewer comes and sees a new poster's first fic and reviews it. The fic could use a ton of improvement and most likely is breaking the fanfiction forum rules That reviewer does some critisizing and the writer replies back with "Oh sorry this is my first fic, I'll improve next time". Yawn, proves to us that you aren't trying and well we see the next chapter and it's just as bad. I've seen it on so many other forums and it's quite sad actually.

The Story Will Get Better

I'm sorry but this one is oine of the worse excuse possible... Like what I stated years back then in the Writing Guide, your story should always be at its very best for the readers. There is no reason to "hold back" in the beginning so the story improves. Also, it's a signal that even the writer lacks confidence in his or her own writing about its quality, so why should the reader invest time on reading this story? It's generally best to simply have no author's notes until the end of the story.

These seem more like the types of cliches you run into in the writing world.

Reviewing The Reviews

This is one that's more and more popular as of late. Basically, it's when the writer, or another reviewer (usually it's the author) looks at someone else's review, and picks it apart, almost as if it were the Fic in question. Under normal circumstances, this is basically saying that 'I'm better than you, so I should ignore you'. Authors should never make a habit out of this. Critics are usually there to help you.


The Perfectionist

This really only applies to reviewers and critics, since the Fic is really only as good as they think it is. Basically, this type of critic will pick apart a Fic, and mention every little instance of something being out of place, or worded incorrectly, or misspelled, or the like without just making general observations. It's not that the advice is bad, it's just that this type of thing can get annoying and defeat the meaning of the entire review, especially when there's a gob of blurbs about it, and the author has to go to work in twenty minutes.

I'm the worst writer in the world
Stopping writing after the first review or critic. Giving up if a little thing is not perfect.

Eheh, I know that one well enough. Some people take bad reviews entirely wrong.

Not sure if I, as a Fiction writer who's been guilty of some of the above stated, has the right to complain, but I'm going to complain as a writer instead of as a reviewer in a change of the above.

Vague Review
"That was pretty good, but you need some work on description."

Uh-huh, thanks for telling me just about- NIL. I hate it when people tell me that I need to work on my description and don't tell me where. Is it the scenery? Is it the people? Is it that I just don't use enough visual adjectives? Or is it something totally different, like me saying 'said' too much? I haven't gotten any like those here at PC yet, but on other forums, I'm gotten so many that I was just about ready to pull my hair out.

Read the Rules

I haven't seen this happen here, or to me either, but I absolutely hate it when a reviewer simply posts, "Read the Rules", and doesn't say anything about what the author did wrong. 1) You've just spammed, 2) It was a pointless mini-modding post, 3) It just clutters up the thread. Is it so hard to wait for a mod to say, "Read the Rules please"?

Advertise!!!

Excuse me for my bluntness when I say it SUCKS, when I get a review that's basically, "That needed work on -so-and-so-. My Fanfiction, -insert link- is similar. You should check it out!"

Let me put it simply: No.

And the worstworstworst for me as a writer,

Whiny Reviewer
It's horrible for me when I meet a reviewer who complains that I ignored their -"That was awesome!"- review, when they say, "I took time out of my LIFE to review your fanfiction, and this is all I get in return??" Well, excuse me sir, but it's not like I FORCED you to review. I mean honestly, what was I supposed to say to that?

"Thanks, I'm glad you think it was awesome. I personally didn't like this-part, but I guess I feel better now that I know someone else likes it."

And... that's just about all I could think of to respond. Seriously. I'm not writing a two-page essay in response to like, 4 words. (This is where I was guilty of the 'Kay thanks bye' thing)

As a reviewer:

Blown off

Similar to AE's "'Kay Thanks Bye" topic, but I mean totally blown off. I've had this happen to me countless times, which is why I don't even review anymore. It's completely inconsiderate for the author to completely ignore someone's review. I understand if your fiction is just about the most popular fiction in the entire forum and you've got about 30 reviews in between each chapter, then I'm forgiving and don't mind if the author doesn't reply to my review, but when it's just like, 5 posts? It makes me want to strangle something, and my mom usually the closest living thing.

SBaby said:

The Perfectionist

This really only applies to reviewers and critics, since the Fic is really only as good as they think it is. Basically, this type of critic will pick apart a Fic, and mention every little instance of something being out of place, or worded incorrectly, or misspelled, or the like without just making general observations. It's not that the advice is bad, it's just that this type of thing can get annoying and defeat the meaning of the entire review, especially when there's a gob of blurbs about it, and the author has to go to work in twenty minutes.

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ZOMG, I'm a sinner. .__. Yeah, I've actually done the in-depth thing a couple of times, but only in cases where there were systematic errors in language which were actually hurting the fanfic's readability. Oh, and sometimes when there wasn't that much else to improve on, but writers like that tend to like getting rid of typoes and what have you so yeah. Haven't really gotten any complaints about that one yet. Basically, I just thought that since I said 'check your grammar and spelling' I should also specify what's wrong with it.

ze_gobou said:

I'm the worst writer in the world
Stopping writing after the first review or critic. Giving up if a little thing is not perfect.

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Nyah, I'm familiar with this one as well. It was rather ironic, though: once one guy who gave this reaction decided to calm down a little and actually went to rewrite based on the reviews he had gotten he actually produced a nice, well-written chapter. So yeah, there's no point in giving up at the first obstacle. :O

Bijou said:

Advertise!!!

Excuse me for my bluntness when I say it SUCKS, when I get a review that's basically, "That needed work on -so-and-so-. My Fanfiction, -insert link- is similar. You should check it out!"

Let me put it simply: No.

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Nyah, blowing you own horn in someone else's thread is cheap, no argument there. xP Still, at times I think it might be justified to point at another fanfic (Preferably written by someone else than you) if that is to illustrate a point you're trying to make. E.g. "You need to take a more creative approach to battles to make them more interesting. That was handled very well in -insert fic here- so you might want to take a look at it.", something like that. Still, it's probably better to abstain from that alltogether if you can help it.

Bijou said:

Whiny Reviewer
It's horrible for me when I meet a reviewer who complains that I ignored their -"That was awesome!"- review, when they say, "I took time out of my LIFE to review your fanfiction, and this is all I get in return??" Well, excuse me sir, but it's not like I FORCED you to review. I mean honestly, what was I supposed to say to that?

"Thanks, I'm glad you think it was awesome. I personally didn't like this-part, but I guess I feel better now that I know someone else likes it."

And... that's just about all I could think of to respond. Seriously. I'm not writing a two-page essay in response to like, 4 words. (This is where I was guilty of the 'Kay thanks bye' thing)

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I can write four words in three seconds, that's not really much time out of my life. So yeah, if someone just gives a meaningless review like that then they really shouldn't expect much more than a symbolic pat on the head for caring and a "could you please specify?". Blowing them off completely, even though I understand it, is kind of rude, though. No need to alienate a potentially loyal reader, you know? ^^


Anyhow, thanks for the input, everyone. Now I'm going to venture into a few things on content rather than attitude:

The drone pokémon

"Okay." said Joe to the Seadra he had just viciously maimed with his Raichu and then forced into service with a pokéball, "Seadra use Surf to carry me across."

"Sea-sea" said Seadra and happily obeyed because it was a mindless slave incapable of independent thought.

...

You get the idea, right? I really, REALLY hate it when fanfic writers (and RPers too xP) turn all the pokémon in the story into mindless, gibbering critters who blindly obey their trainers' every whim and never do or think anything on their own. The section is called pokémon fanfiction, for a reason, you know, and pokémon are characters as much as their trainers. Sure, if one is only there for a few sentences in a battle or suchlike you don't need to think up an extravagant backstory and personality for it, but at least the ones that stick around the main characters or play a central part in the story should be properly thought out.

Aim for the horn!

Named after my pet peeve in the anime. Basically, this is when trainers in a fanfic use the most implausible and ridiculous 'strategies' to win their battles. Now creative uses for moves I don't object. Taunt empowering Fury Cutter or Rage? Yeah, I can live with that. Rock Slide or Rock Throw countered by Rock Smash? Makes sense. But a Bubble blocking a Fire Blast or simply 'aiming for the horn' somehow bypassing electric immunity? I think not. xP Really, creative liberty doesn't liberate you from common sense, people. -.-

I also get royally annoyed by the animesque 'attack somehow's and 'it knew that I loved it's somehow allowing a newly hatched Pichu to beat a trained Steelix or something similarly ridiculous.

Aim for the horn- yeah, I see that a lot. I never thought about Taunt like that, though. Ah, well, whatever. Anyway, I think I may have one to add that I'm surprised nobody has thought of yet.

I'm not a morning person.

Yeah, I plead guilty, some of my early characters had a variation of this happen to them. But more often then not, new OT fanfic writers will always cause their character to wake up late, come to the lab, and end up getting the last available Pokemon. (Always powerful beyond level, of course. See "Aim for the horn!") Seriously, it stands to reason that SOMEONE has to get up early!

Teh Meanie!

The rival is always without moral. Eh, I really loathe this one. It's "rival", not "villain" people!

Blown off

Similar to AE's "'Kay Thanks Bye" topic, but I mean totally blown off. I've had this happen to me countless times, which is why I don't even review anymore. It's completely inconsiderate for the author to completely ignore someone's review. I understand if your fiction is just about the most popular fiction in the entire forum and you've got about 30 reviews in between each chapter, then I'm forgiving and don't mind if the author doesn't reply to my review, but when it's just like, 5 posts? It makes me want to strangle something, and my mom usually the closest living thing.

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Guilty. I tend to find it very difficult to figure out what to say to a reviewer unless they ask a question or misunderstood something or said something I particularly want to comment on, which is not at all always. x.x; So I just think "...Gah, well, hopefully they'll know I read what they said, right?" rather than write some empty, forced-sounding "Thanks for reviewing". Feel guilty every time I do it, though. <<

Hmmm.... no wonder you never replied to my review! For shame! *tsk, tsk* XD

Hmm.... I've got one other:

Invasion of the parallel universe.

This is what happens when a character from another series, movie, etc. is incorporated into a fanfic without said fic being a crossover, and claimed as the author's own. It isn't a common sin, but it is one that I have seen nonetheless.

Art_Critic_Cubone said:

I'm not a morning person.

Yeah, I plead guilty, some of my early characters had a variation of this happen to them. But more often then not, new OT fanfic writers will always cause their character to wake up late, come to the lab, and end up getting the last available Pokemon. (Always powerful beyond level, of course. See "Aim for the horn!") Seriously, it stands to reason that SOMEONE has to get up early!

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Lol, too true, although I have to admit it passed me by until you pointed it out. Yeah, an early waker would be a refreshing change. Ahh...just picture the young trainer-to-be pounding on the lab door at 5 AM. xD And yeah, the uberly powered starter is just...bleah, that's the Satoshi legacy for you. xP

Art_Critic_Cubone said:

Teh Meanie!

The rival is always without moral. Eh, I really loathe this one. It's "rival", not "villain" people!

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I'd like to expand this to the antagonists in general. I mean, not everyone has to have morals, but they could really use motives other than 'I'm evil, muahahahahahaaa!'. I mean, how many people are there like that? xP True about the rivals too, not all of them have to be complete meanie-butts in every respect just because they don't get along with the protagonist. Silver from the G/S/C manga is an excellent example of this. Sure, he acts like a cold jerk most of the time, but he has reasons for what he does (and for being what he is). :3

Art_Critic_Cubone said:

Invasion of the parallel universe.

This is what happens when a character from another series, movie, etc. is incorporated into a fanfic without said fic being a crossover, and claimed as the author's own. It isn't a common sin, but it is one that I have seen nonetheless.

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Gah, I'm glad not to have come across this one yet. Seriously, random franchise crossovers are foul beyond words. Also, claiming someone else's character as your own is copyright violation. xP

Anyway, another one I came across the other day is...

And what do our esteemed judges say?

Ever seen people who just 'rate' the fanfics by giving them a number? E.g. 'Lol, that was funneh. 7/10'. And by this numbering thing I mean giving just the number without any explanation of what the number means. If you want to give grades that bad then take a leaf out of Frostweaver's book and create a proper rating system with clear definitions for every grade you give. A number on its own doesn't tell anyone anything. xP

Alter Ego said:

Destructive criticism

Fortunately, this is not much of a problem at these forums. Destructive criticism (The opposite of the constructive kind, obviously) is characterised by overly harsh language, lack of improvement suggestions, heavy sarcasm and sometimes even outright flaming. I know that it can be extremely annoying when someone comes in with no understanding of fanfic writing whatsoever, but flaming them and calling their writing crap really isn't going to help them improve. Like I said, it's not a big problem here, but a reminder doesn't hurt. Correct, don't bash.

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Yeah, some major Pokemon sites have a really bad reputation for doing this. It's just a terrible thing any member can do, because it deters people from trying to write Fics, and it can also chase people away from forums. Personally, I think mods and admins need to be very aware of this, because it will reduce the amount of new members they get on their forum.


You Ignore My Advice, Blah Blah...

I don't think I've seen this one here yet, but it's present on some other sites. This is possibly one of the most annoying things I've found on sites. It's when a reviewer or critic complains about an author ignoring one or more parts of their advice or review. Often this is followed by a flame and a threat to report a Fic to a mod (which can sometimes be considered net bullying, so beware).

SBaby said:

You Ignore My Advice, Blah Blah...

I don't think I've seen this one here yet, but it's present on some other sites. This is possibly one of the most annoying things I've found on sites. It's when a reviewer or critic complains about an author ignoring one or more parts of their advice or review. Often this is followed by a flame and a threat to report a Fic to a mod (which can sometimes be considered net bullying, so beware).

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I really hate this one :P. I am greatful for reveiws but overall the author has the final right to say how they will or will not write the story.

Reveiwers who think that a writer should listen to every little thing they want changed often like to say that if the author does not take their advice they are a newbie no matter how good there fanfic might actually be.

I think they have to remember that we writers write as a hobby to please ourselfs more than anyone else, and no matter how good their reveiwes our they was not our editors who have the final say in things ;).
Unlike real editors who edit authors novels to be published in order to sell them, you have to teart them like gods ;).

Reading Between the Lines

I hate it when a person will write a fic that doesn't tell enough to get the plot but they expect everyone to get it, sort of like;

Jimmy prepared for the day ahead, it was going to be a totally awsome day. He had his loyal Rodric, his loyal pokemon. He spent all day with his loyal freinds and then went to the movies with his caring and loyal parents and loyal and caring brother. He couldn't wait til the next day, he petted Rodric and got in his bed, his Loyal, Never do anything to harm him bed. He dreamt about the next day, there would be fun with his Loyal freinds and family and of course Rodric, his loyal Pokemon. The next day came and he had fun with all his freinds like he knew he would, how loyal and caring of them, The end.

Well, What is so special about the next day? Why is his pokemon Loyal? What kind of Pokemon is Rodric? How in the hell should I know?!

And I also put in another Sin there

Everyone Loves me! And would never betray me or any unkind deed ever!

Wow. Your so popular with everyone? No one wants to get you? Everyones loyal and Caring like in Jimmys life? If so then I should say, Yay for you! But here in Reality land, nothings perfect. Does one of Jimmy's freinds not like him completly cause he's so perfect, or stole the perfect girl? Does this freind want to get back at Jimmy? Well I think you get the point.

I R TEH 1337 V1LL14N
This is a problem I've witnessed elsewhere. Most newbie fics have at least one main villian who's a dumb brute. Luckily, this isn't as common in those of experienced writers.

*hasn't been around here for ages* ^^; But I've still got some things to add.

I must smell like PokeNip!

I was reminded of this all-too-common problem while reading a fic just the other day. This is when the author makes all of the pokemon love their trainers instantly and forever. This is unrealistic (even my pets at home don't love me that much XP) and just booooring to read. This doesn't always have to apply to pokemon liking their trainers either; sometimes trainers don't like the pokemon they get too. When everyone gets along like butter and toast; it's just not fun to read.

Bad guys always abuse their pokemon!!

Yup. >> Just because someone's in Team Rocket or some other evil group doesn't mean they can't have a good relationship with their pokemon. I agree; there are some people that are just screwed up and only have a Rattata to kick it around, but abusing your pokemon is not a requirement for an antagonist.

As for reviewers & problems associated with, I can't think of others right now, but I'm sure I can come up with some later. XD

Light_Azumarill said:

*hasn't been around here for ages* ^^; But I've still got some things to add.

I must smell like PokeNip!

I was reminded of this all-too-common problem while reading a fic just the other day. This is when the author makes all of the pokemon love their trainers instantly and forever. This is unrealistic (even my pets at home don't love me that much XP) and just booooring to read. This doesn't always have to apply to pokemon liking their trainers either; sometimes trainers don't like the pokemon they get too. When everyone gets along like butter and toast; it's just not fun to read.

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And going off from this one...

I understand my Pokemon!
It annoys me when a trainer, who just started out, can understand their Pokemon's dialogue. Unless there is a good reason for it, like classes or new technology, then it really makes no sense. Yes, while it is easier to have the Pokemon just be understood, just remember that it's an entirerly different language.

As for the writers themselves...

You don't like my story!? Then I'll get rid of your review!
I have seen this before. When a reviewer takes the time to read the story and write out a review, and the review isn't just the mindless praise. And the author hates how the reviewer just dared to find imperfections in their story! So, instead of just listening to the review and seeing if it was merited, the author deletes their thread to start anew. It gets really annoying. <.<

Red VS teh rival!

Red looked up at Green, his rival.

"Hey Red, ya loser!" Green snickered. "Fight me."

"Okay Green. I'm gonna show you I can beat you! Go Charmander!" A red lizard popped out of its Pokeball. It stared at the Bulbasaur in front of it. Red encouraged his Pokemon. "Let's beat Bulbasaur!"

The Charmander grinned. "Char, Char!"

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UGH, this is so "blah." Plain, nameless, boring, and oh-so-cliche rival stuff like this annoys me. Especially if the writer's not one of those lucky few who can pull everything off and force you to love their writing no matter what. -_-

ANYWAYS, the Pokemon are plain dumb grinning oafs who magically beat the rival with some quick moves, and the hero continues on their journey. Yay newbie trainer!

Superliciousness baby!

Grey turned to look at his Granbull. He stared at the opponent's much smaller Machop. This fight was decided. His Granbull had years of training and this Machop had only just leveled up since birth.

"Machop, attack!" (Trainer1's name here) ordered.

Machop rushed forward, dishing out a powerful hit. Its fist glowed with power as it smashed itself into Granbull. The strong Mega Punch sent Granbull flying and it was knocked out in one hit.

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BOO! That sucks. That's like a newborn baby knocking down a wrestling champion with a slap on the leg.

Writers PLEASE avoid adding this unrealistic powerhouse starter element to any of your stories.

Mew, Mew, I got you!

Mew's just an example. Joey goes to town's Professor, gets a Mew from out of nowhere and dominates every battle with it. Hooray. -___- GET REAL PEOPLE!

We shall overcoooome!

Lets say a kid fights some wild Flygon with his much weaker Treecko. The Treecko lands a Pound attack on Flygon's head and it is caught in the blink of an eye. MUCH WEAKER Pokemon surviving against strong Pokemon and the Pokemon's trainer easily capturing the wild Pokemon is far beyond realistic. Get some sense, folks.

*WELL, I'm all done here today. I shall return, maybe...*

ProtrainerEon said:

We shall overcoooome!

Lets say a kid fights some wild Flygon with his much weaker Treecko. The Treecko lands a Pound attack on Flygon's head and it is caught in the blink of an eye. MUCH WEAKER Pokemon surviving against strong Pokemon and the Pokemon's trainer easily capturing the wild Pokemon is far beyond realistic. Get some sense, folks.

*WELL, I'm all done here today. I shall return, maybe...*

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I agree with pretty much everything you said except for the final point. I don't believe that this such as "levels" or "Stats" should be taken over to the realm of the wordsmith. And, when disreguarding that, there's no reason that a treecko couldn't become as powerful as any flygon, or moreso, judging from what we see in the non-game environments. Unless of course you meant that this is applying to a pokemon that in the STORY, is actually weaker than it's oponent, and somehow pulling a magic victory out of it's dark areas.

Black and White, Moral.
To put it simply, people cast villans and heroes in sheer personifications of what they stand for. A true hero has as many dark secrets and fasads as anyone else, and the only way to tell if someone is truly evil or not, is to have a hard time telling whether or not their gultimate goal is right. [/ramble]

Black and White, Racial.
Now, let me point this out, I'm not trying to raise red flags or anything. But it seems like every story I read, the characters are either white, or pokemon. Why not add a little diversity, it's not like it'd actually change the character''s roles. Mix it up with a few splashes of different geniologies here and there. IMHO, it really hleps the immersion role.