As a fan-fiction writer, I have learned much from being a fan-fiction reader. I've been inspired by truly awesome writers, and forewarned by some of those not-so-great stories out there. This post is all about what irritates me as a fan-fiction reader, and should therefore be avoided or at least thought carefully upon before you decide to do it in your works. What annoys some readers, will most likely be annoying to most.
1) Don't take characters out of character. Unless you have a good reason of course. Generally minor deviations from character have been tolerated, but most readers will stop reading your story if a character gets too weird. Example: In a story where Snape turns out to be Harry's father, you don't want to turn Snape into a froo froo pansy mother hen. It's simply not in his nature. It is possible to show a character like this caring for another, but it must be done in a believable way.
Please also note that keeping characters in character goes as deep as their language usage. Let's use Snape again for example: He doesn't often use contractions. "I don't see how that matters," doesn't sound much like Snape. But, "I do not see how this is relavent," sounds more reasonable for him. Keep little things like this in mind.
2) Flashbacks. If you're going to use them, do it sparingly, and do it with class. I don't mind flashbacks if they're done tastefully, but when I see a story that blatantly says *FLASHBACK* before a scene, it drives me nuts! Some people don't mind, but I do. It's ok to describe what a character is remembering without labeling it flashback. Most readers are smart enough to figure out when a character is describing something or thinking of something in the past if you give them little hints.
3) Past and Present Tense. I know some people write in the present tense throughout a story, and this might work for them, but I think most readers in general tend to like past tense stories better. 'Harry steps carefully over the bodies as he makes his way slowly to the cave...' just isn't something I like to read. 'Harry stepped carefully over the bodies as he made his way slowly to the cave' is more of what you'll find in most stories worldwide.
Also, be sure to keep things in the right tense in a sentence. In other words, don't switch from past to present in the same sentence. 'Harry stepped carefully over the bodies as he makes his way... this is basic grammar and will annoy readers if you keep switching tenses.
4) Punctuation. This goes without saying really, but if you don't know how to use periods, commas, quotation marks, semi-colons, etc, then you should get a beta so that they can help you correct. It irritates readers to read one continuous sentence that never ends. Along with punctuation... please, please use the correct quotation marks. When someone is talking it is proper to use " around their words. "I don't like it," Harry said. 'I don't like it,' Harry said, is not proper punctuation. Usually when someone uses ' it is for something said in the past or thought or written.
5) Don't let things get too weird. I understand that different cultures have different customs, but you have to be aware of your audience. If you're from a country where children of the age 17 still sleep in bed with their parents every night, be aware that if you're writing on an American site, that's going to weird your audience out and lose you readers. Hard to believe, but I've read too many stories where Harry ends up sleeping in bed every night (not after a nightmare) but just because, with his teachers or god parents etc, and when I see this, I stop reading a story immediately. Not only does it seem unbelievable, but just grosses me out.
6) No Plot. It irritates me when I start reading stories with no plot. It's just day in and day out and the story goes nowhere at all. I like long stories, and there's nothing wrong with a 40 chapter story, but please, please let it be leading up to something.
7) Too many short chapters. If you have a long story, or even a short story with many long chapters, it's perfectly ok to have a shorter chapter here or there, but it will seriously irritate readers if you have a chapter less than three pages long (Microsoft Word). And if you have a 40 or 50 chapter story where each chapter is just a couple of paragraphs, it's going to irritate people to no end and you will probably lose readers. It seems like a silly thing to lose readers over really, but it is important. A chapter should have a well thought out beginning, middle, and end, just like a story in general. Even if a chapter only covers one day, it needs to go somewhere, and not just cover one short scene or one short conversation. You should not usually cut chapters off in the middle of a scene and then pick up the scene in the next chapter. Some people do this sometimes and that's ok, but when it gets to the point that you have five chapters covering the same short scene, that's not going to be received well by readers.
8) As I have found out the hard way, readers prefer that you use appropriate language for the setting. I'm not talking about cursing, I'm talking mostly about slang. In America we call it a soda and chips, and in England it's a fizzy drink and crisps. Learn the lingo, but don't worry too much if you get it wrong, usually a reviewer will point out that you've got it wrong. Just go back and change it, and remember for the next time!
9) Too fast or too slow. Sometimes relationships develop way too fast, and this irritates readers. Keep in mind that a relationship can also move so irritatingly slow that you will lose readers before they ever get to where you really wanted them to read. When writing relationships and breakthroughs, think about how much time this would happen in for you if you were in the same situation.
10) Spelling. Ok, we've all got spelling errors here and there in our stories, no matter if we've re-read it before posting or used a beta. Sometimes the Word Processor thinks you're wrong and changes your spelling without you realizing it. Reviewers will point out if you have an annoyingly high amount of spelling errors, but usually you can get away with one or two per chapter. Just keep in mind that if you have too many consistent errors, you might lose readers. Also please be aware that chat and txt speak isn't ok within a story. Plz dn't txt in a story or u'll b sry :(
11) Talking within a story to readers. Ok, so I'll admit I've only seen this once, and I don't remember which site it was on, but please, don't ever talk to readers within a story. Use an author's note or (A/N:) at the beginning or ending of a chapter, but never, ever in the middle of a chapter. We as readers do not want to stop in the middle of a chapter even once to sit and have a one way chat with you. We want to read our story and then read authors notes at the end. Seriously. Don't do it.
Well, that's all for my reader's annoyance list for now. I'm sure there's more, but these are the things we as writers should strive to stay away from. As stated above some of these have exceptions, but you have to do it with taste and have a good reason. Hope this helps!
No comments:
Post a Comment