You're so right! D:
And many times you see pairings of people who practically don't even know each other. It's so annoying. One example is Naruto.

That's not a common stance around here to say the least. I can see where you're coming from, though. I don't like using characters that aren't my own either, but that's actually why I focus on Pokemon fanfiction of all things. Pokemon is actually the most conducive property for fanfiction that I can think of. By its very nature, it's a world that invites new characters and new stories to fit in. In my experience, most people aren't attracted to the games or anime because of the characters or plot, but rather because of the monsters, the settings, and the rules that the world operates by. At its core Pokemon is a framework for stories to take place in, be they traditional trainers' journeys, stories about snappy-dressing-mobsters, stories about creatures of myth and legend, stories about scientists, or stories of any sort you can think of.

You say you've "given up" on anything labeled fanfic, which would suggest that you've been interested in fanfiction before. It's true that the vast majority of fanfiction, including Pokemon fanfiction, isn't worth reading, but I wouldn't let that deter you. There really are some interesting stories out there written by talented authors. I'm sure any of us would be glad to direct you to some of our favorites if you're interested.

EDIT:

Oh, just noticed:

Poorly timed slip-up. It happens to the best of us. :)

I don't bother trying when I'm just posting. But 'altogether annoys' is correct, I'm fairly certain...I realize "fics annoys" isn't.

I've read a few here.

There are some really good stories here if you take the time to read them. We're a tight nit community here so criticism is welcomed if that's your thing. I love criticism. ^^

Script fics generally have me backing out faster than anything else. Even when I was required to read professional scripts for high school it was a chore because I simply didn't like the format. Badly written script 'fics' on any writing forum/website make me lose a little more faith in people. :p

Colored text and different fonts are also a given, for self-explanatory reasons.

Titles are also a quirky pet peeve of mine. If the words "chronicle", "journey", "pokémon", "legend", and [insert any region name here], could be temporarily removed from the english language, a good chunk of the fictions I see every day would be without a title. Yes, you're posting this in a pokémon sub-forum/category. We all know it's pokémon. There is no need for you to put it in the title.

Generic journeyfics also make me sigh every time I see the standard opening - kid wakes up, gets pokémon from professor, goes on journey. At this point in time I've seen them so many times I'd encourage people to actually write about different people other than starting kids. Or if the kid must start somewhere, start your fic well after he's gotten his first pokémon so you don't have to write about it much.

High school fics I avoid all the time, on a daily basis. Sorry, been there, done that, don't want to go back. Even if you've tried to be different with it, I just can't force myself to sit down and watch/read a kid go through high school with 'drama' up until graduation. My high school years were very fun and memorable, but I'd prefer that they stay behind me and remain in the dusty cobwebbed corner of my mind. There are hardly any fics I see that actually put high school in a normal light anyway.

Shipping fics I tend avoid as well. While I'm a hopless romantic, there are certain fandoms where romance doesn't interest me at all (for example, pokémon :p), and I'm only there for alternate 'what if' stories. Sometimes though, I'll click on a pairing if I think they could potentially have interesting dynamics.

Creepypasta and horror fics are actually my favorite type of story - if done right. Making my heart physically race or giving me goosebumps while I'm reading is doing it right. If there is just random blood and gore with a 'twist' it makes me want to just sigh, sit the writer down, and ask them what really made them think this was creepy/scary. I could go on all day about atmosphere, subtlety, and the use of the human psyche, but I'm not sure they'd understand until they've truly been terrified themselves. Fear of what is in front of them is not what scares people, it's largely fear of the unknown. (i.e. Is this monster nice? Will it attack me? Where did it come from? Are there more? Will I die? What will happen when I die? Is it painful?)

Dark fics are a toss-up. I've written/plotted a few out myself (currently writing one, actually) because it's almost therapeutic and puts my own emotions into perspective - but that's only for original characters that I've made. Canon characters I can't do unless the character calls for it. For instance, my eternal muse is a wonderful assortment of the nietzsche wannabe, misanthrope supreme, and woobie destroyer of worlds tropes - but he didn't just wake up like that one morning, his past and current life problems made him that way. Considering what had been done to him anyway, his character pretty much calls for the darkest of dark beginnings. He makes my problems look microscopic in comparison, and it makes me feel like if he lived that long living like that, I could get over a problem or two of my own. So, all in all, I don't mind dark fics so much so long as the original character called for it. As long as the fics are credibly decent and not done for the sake of being ~edgy~ they are good reads. Bad dark fic I back out of though, because it makes me roll my eyes and even laugh on occasion about how over the top it is.

I do realize though that some people might also write dark fic to try and work themselves out of a funk, but are simply bad at writing/expressing it. So usually I'll simply back out and never touch it again rather than leave a review. (Bad Azurne, bad!)

Another thing that annoys me is that authors try too hard to be something that they are not. For example, if you're good at writing the traditional story of a hero over coming the odds on his or her way to the top, then write that. However, don't get into writing noir-type stories where everything is dark and bleak, and leads to a tragic ending. More times than not, it doesn't sound right nor does it sound like your writing. It all leads to confusion and leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the reader!

"Altogether" doesn't change the subject "fics" into singular. It just clarifies that you're referring to the entirety of "fics" instead of a subset. "Fanfiction altogether annoys" would be correct.

If you've only read a few, then you probably haven't read any of the best work. I would recommend Daydream's For All the Right Reasons. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated since January, but that just goes to show that you can't really get an impression of a forum's writing just by looking over the first few pages of threads.

But what if the writer wants to write a story like that? It doesn’t matter if they’re not good at it at first, they’ll most likely learn how to write the genre correctly as they go. I love reading dark and horror stories (cosmic horror, especially!) and I have several ideas in mind for future projects. I don’t know if I’d be any good at it, but that’s definitely not going to stop me from writing the genre. A writer shouldn’t be limited to writing only something they’re good at.

Also, Azurne, high-five! Horror is my favorite genre too. <3

Exactly, Dagzar. I started writing pseudo-horror out of curiosity, even though I thought I'd be no good at it. Turns out I'm not, really, but I still enjoy it greatly. Broken, Crushed, Digital Demons and so on . . . they're so far removed from anything else I've written, but I really loved writing them and apparently people enjoyed reading them. So there's not so much of a problem there. I accept that sometimes people should 'stick to what they know', but at the same time, it can't hurt to be adventurous.

I guess that makes sense. Practice makes perfect. I stand corrected!

Too many S's...

I can't get into that one, either. Burnt out too soon. It isn't like I'm blaming the writers for my lack of interest in PC's fics, but...there's only one I find outstanding.

On topic, I don't like when stories suddenly swap main characters. I realized it because I was doing just that, and did not favor the result.

Well, fics where the main perspective changes from time to time are fine, if that's what you mean. But if you're talking about those where the focus suddenly shifts off the one who you thought all along was the main character, then . . . yeah. That's annoying, because it shows the author a) has gotten bored with their MC or b) just doesn't care about/realise what they're doing.

Oooooh, yes. I hate it when a story opens up with this one character and I’m like, “Hey, this must be the protagonist! Nice to meet you, buddy.” Then that character either dies or is shoved aside for a different, usually cooler and more mysterious character, who’s actually the protagonist. My reaction is usually thus: “SCREW YOU, STORY. I DO NOT ACCEPT YOU, NEW PROTAGONIST. GO BACK TO THE OTHER GUY.”

I dunno, I’m kind of like a baby bird that way. I attach myself to the first character I see or who I label as the main character. Once that’s done there’s no turning back and any attempts to shake my attachment is met with rage.

Yeah this is exactly what I was talking about. But the other protagonist doesn't have to get killed off. Sometimes he gets out shined by a character who frequently comments on his own awesomeness, and then the new guy is the star and the old one goes into support/sidekick/background role.

I'll list everything that will cause me to hate a fanfiction.

1. Cliche Endings/Characters. This is probably my biggest gripe with fanfiction. I like to see originality in a work of fanfiction. I most likely won't read a fanfic if it has characters with cliche characters who each get their own cliched happy ending.
2. Lack of Details. I've seen this in many fanfictions. Constantly I'll browse FF looking for interesting fanfictions and what I'll find instead are stories where all that I'm told is what the main character is doing and where they are. I'm not given any descriptions of the surrounding area and sometimes not even the appearance of the main character.

Those two are the main ones for me.

If it's done right I don't need details. I've read stories that desribed everything pretty decently, but the author clearly thought that made the story an instant hit. 9For any hyper mods there may be, this is what I hate to see in a story as well, right here)
The ones I have up on PC have little detail, and are all around, just plain. I've only posted them for the sake of argument; no one can say I haven't contributed.

I can't stand the fact that 99% of fanfiction (not necessarily Pokefiction but you know) is freaking romance stories. Where are the stories of conquest? Of courage? Of justice? Of murder mysteries? We need more of those.

I HAVE THE WORST TIMING. EVER.
to lose my internet, and I can't possibly reply to everything that's been said, so I'm going to go with this page.

Actually, connoisseur of horror and all things gore that I am, I can't seem to stomach Pokemon creepypasta fics by virtue of them being written by people who look at good creepypasta and basically think that "yeah, I could do this." I mean, there's nothing wrong with spontaneous writing if it helps with your creative juices, but when you copypaste plots with no added content, expecting praise for your bone-chillingly scary piece of pokecreepypasta despite only switching around names and the twist but keeping the general premise similar, then I'm sorry, you're just not going to get it from me. You cannot believe how many times I've found a pokecreepypasta thread plots like:

• MY OLD R/G/B/Gl/S/C GAME IS HAUNTED
• CREEPY CANON-FILLING THEORY
• RETELLING OF AN IN-GAME EVENT
• CREEPY STORY OF SOME SORT INVOLVING AN OC

Okay, I admit. Those last two are sometimes written well, but very rarely might I add. The first two are overused. Definitely overused. Beyond the Lavender Town theory and Ash's Coma, there's nothing much worth reading because they're mostly unplanned.

Oh, did I mention the first lines?

• Did you know that...
• It all started when I...
• I hadn't played Pokemon in years...
• I remember...
• etc.

Anyway...
It depends on where you look really. I haven't found that many romances on PC for as long as I've been here, and most of them are pretty good. But you have to take into account that a lot of romances are written by angsty teens who want nothing better than lemon-scented action or something worse. It's hormonal, I think.

That's why I said it was my favorite if done correctly. Because you're right, a good number are just copies of each other with no real plot and have zero impact - but that doesn't mean I'm going to write off the whole sub-category as being terrible. Horror is one of the easiest genres to screw up in my opinion, because it either works or it doesn't. When you look at pokémon creepypasta, it is highly likely it was written by an amateur teenager with no real practice with writing. Combine that with horror being very difficult to write and you've got a pretty bad combination. So honestly, it's quite natural that there aren't as many good creepypastas as we'd hope. You really just have to keep tabs on it and pray that one day someone crawls out of the woodwork with something new.

*shrug* Bandwagon hoppers aren't new to fandom, especially when the fandom is comprised of young adults. And since some young adults spend their time wanting to fit in with the cool crowd, they'll do anything to get their 15 minutes of fame. Pokémoncreepypasta just happens to be one of those new things all the cool kids are into, apparently. Honestly though, I would love to see some sort of guide on horror stickied to the top of each pokémoncreepypasta website...

Now, on the other hand, if you really can't stomach reading any of them because you're picturing a kid behind the screen going 'hey I can write one of these too!' then... I really don't know what to tell you. XD

Oh no, I've just given up on finding good Pokemon Creepypasta in general, really. There are definitely good Pokepastas out there somewhere, but I just don't make an effort anymore. If it's good, it'll somehow find its way to my ears. Like Cupcakes. Cupcakes is an MLP:FiM fandom attempt at creepypasta gore which I'm particularly fond of and which contains an inordinate amount of gore despite being based on a show centred around friendship and magic. :3

Hey, don't most of us fit that picture? xD
Didn't we all at one point read fanfiction, find wonder in it, and want to try it out for ourselves?

That reminds me, what was the name of that one nerd who read a few Anglo Saxon and Nordic epics and decided to develop his own little send-up world of them and write stories about it? Oh yeah, J.R.R. Tolkien. :D

In all seriousness, I think you're on to something way more fundamental than just fanfiction. I bet if we think back we can all find some story that we read or heard which really struck us and made us want to emulate it, and that's how you start writing period. Heck, to make this even more fundamental, you learn language first by imitating, and only after learning enough do you start conveying something that's truly yours.

So, when you see the odd 100% unoriginal and amateurish trainer-wakes-up-late story, think of it as the unappealing precursor to what could someday be decent work. The best thing to do is to write a review that thoroughly explains the work's problems, but ends with an encouragement to keep writing. A newb is a valued member of the community just waiting to happen.

That said, you know what really bugs me? Purple prose: ridiculously flowery language. It gets on my nerves when a dramatic moment that would otherwise have a lot of punch to it has its suspense diluted by the author using too many fancy words to render something that's really simple, or when a normal passage is padded out to the nth degree by the same means. Especially off-putting to me is when the author repeatedly reminds me which precious metal or stone a character's eye color is closest to.

Perhaps I'm jumping in unannounced, but I couldn't help but notice that not many people at the start of this thread are fans of reborn fics, mainly because they were (and perhaps still are, i don't know) wildly popular and generally poorly written. I mostly agree with this. Mostly. One thing I'd like to say is that many of the reborn fics that spawned from the original, which is indeed A Little Night Music over on ff.net, disgust me because they were spur of the moment, "Oh, this is cool, I can do it too!" fics that usually had very similar plots or characters. However, A Little Night Music actually wasn't bad; in fact, I enjoyed it, partially because it was the original and partially for the following reasons.

While riddled with grammatical errors that made me want to vomit at times, the story was solid after the initial few chapters. Not the grammar; that did not improve, unfortunately. The story, feelings, and meanings conveyed developed and improved in quality as the story progressed. By the end, the story had me thinking on an even deeper level than most stories do.

I think its strongest selling point was the character development; while each character did have a depressing, violent, or downright dark past, they were all still varied in personalities, each having a different way of either hiding their past or dealing with their past. I have to admit, though, the excess of horrible pasts became rather vanilla after a while, but it wasn't too bad. And even with a myriad of characters, almost each and every one had some kind of development throughout the story, whether it was the main character realizing the follies of her suicide or the midget Skarmory learning to trust others.

Anyways, maybe that whole portion of text means nothing to you, but this is the point I'm trying to get at. We all have things that just turn us off, but what's not to say that there aren't exceptions? A Little Night Music is (kind of) my exception to disliking reborn fics. I'd like to think that they have great potential if they evolve on their own, away from the ALNM plot and character pool. (This thought actually lead me to begin work on my own reborn fic, and I'd like to think it's coming along well.)

Anyways, what really annoys me in a fic are as follows:

1) Overly generic and uncreative stories: journey fics, reborn stories, etc. There are some exceptions to this, though. I'll read a journey fic or reborn fic as long as they have unique perspectives, characters, plots, or some combination of them all. I.E. a journey fic that is told from a unique perspective and does not follow the games is usually OK, as long as it doesn't fall under my next category.
2) Rampant grammatical errors. I'm not talking a few here and there, I'm talking about all over the place. Sometimes the story and meaning will draw my attention away from this as it did in A Little Night Music, but it usually won't.
3) I agree with Mizan de la Plume Kuro (that's a lot to type, man) and Dagzar. I hate 'chosen one' fics. I wrote one once, and I started loathing it halfway through. Never finished it.
4) Shipping/romantic/anything with over the top love. I enjoy a little happy romance every now and then, but a whole story dedicated to one pairing? Too far, my friend.
5) Using characters from the games/movies/anime/manga in a fic isn't my cup of tea. There are a select few that do well, but most of them just end up annoying me. I never liked many of the anime/manga characters. I also tried writing one of these and after I finished it, I never looked back.

That's mostly what turns me away from a story, but I'd like to think that each one has a couple of exceptions. I'm hoping to create one for the reborn genre with my fic, and I hope I can succeed.

Oh, one more thing: Azurne pointed this out first, but the title of a story is what determines whether I choose one fic over another. An interesting, catchy, and unique title are very important in generating interest. I too avoid most stories with the words 'journey', 'adventures of', etc. Stories with names like a good one I found recently, 'The Thinking Man's Guide to Destroying The World', catch my attention. That's actually how I stumbled upon A Little Night Music; interesting title, so I gave it a shot.

Hah, isn't it curious that many of us, Pokemon fans as we are, dislike reading fics about canon characters? That's pretty funny from my standpoint.

That said, I do agree to a certain extent. I don't believe any of my fics have ever had a canon character in anything vaguely approaching a leading role - with the notable exception of the as-yet-unpublished convalescence+convergence. That one's all about canon characters, with only two or three OCs lying around. But yes, I for one am sick of reading about Ash. The anime did all right by him, and any fic with him in it seems kind of superfluous. Pssh, maybe it's just me. But on the whole, you show me a fic with a main canon character - especially from the anime - and I'll show you the 'Next Thread' button. Gah.

I really hate to find "I love you more than anything in the world." Written more than once or twice in any story.

While I prefer reading a journey fics to review, I find that the only fics I read for pleasure are the ones from the anime with Ash as a main character. I did read all sorts of fanfics back in the day, but it was the ones that focused on the anime that made me come back for more. I have fond memories of such fics, which were mostly from Pokemon Tower (which I haven’t gone on in years).

Actually, to tell the truth, I don’t read Pokemon fanfiction for pleasure at all anymore. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m burned out or that I’m writing a Pokemon fic so that gives me my fix, but I can’t name one that I honestly followed. Well, except the Sun Soul on FF dot net, but I eventually ditched that because of the boring characters (though the world was definitely well thought out. Very realistic).