the holy grail of fanfiction...

[tommygirl]

Have you ever found yourself reading really bad fanfiction because it involves a pairing or crossover that intrigues you and this is all you can find? Or am I the only one?

I find myself saying, "Self, this story is so bad." and "Self, spelling and grammar are not that difficult to use correctly." Still I read, cringing all the while.

And why is it so damn hard to find good stories at fanfiction.net? I mean, when looking for really rare stories, I find myself at that site...searching for hours for a decent story. They do exist - I've stumbled upon some in my day. But there are so many bad stories to go through to find those gems. Is it to make the discovery all the more sweet?

I think it says a lot about education in general these days. Take a look at some of those stories and weep for our future.

To an extent, I do believe that writing is something you either have a knack for or you don't. Not everyone is a storyteller. It's not a bad thing. It just is. But, at the same time, there are simple things that can make any story better.

1. Beta. Even if it's just a quick read-through on the beta's part, it's better than nothing.
2. Spell check. It's everyone's friend. I understand typos and not worrying about things while trying to get it down...initially. But how hard is it to hit f7 in word?
3. What is the appeal of one big paragraph? Can anyone explain that to me?
4. Read other stories. See how dialogue and other technical bits work.

I know I'm a bitch and I'm definitely picky when it comes to what i'll read, but I just don't understand. If I submitted things like this in my high school classes, my teacher's head would've exploded.

**




DRACO MALFOY


Which Harry Potter Boy Are You Made For?
brought to you by Quizilla



**

It seems that television is getting back in full swing. This makes me, the television addict, quite happy. I love good television - hell, I love cheesy television (how else do I explain away my Mutant X adoration?).

Reviews of things may come later - but I'll say that I love my shows for a reason. They rock.

**

If anyone is interested, sign-ups for a new round of MP3 exchange are going on at m3p3. It's a lot of fun and I was introduced to a lot of great music last time. All you have to do is sign-up and agree to send at least 5 (I think that's the minimum to sign-up for) mp3's via yousentit.com

Check it out. Sign-ups are going until January 14th.


**

Not much else to report. At work. Friend called to tell me that she bought us tickets for a Phantoms game for...tonight. Yikes! But I'm going and will have to watch 24 on the Tivo later.

I've been reading a bunch of stories recently in different fandoms, so I'll be making a rec post when I find the energy.

Comments

[misbegotten.livejournal.com]

Fess up: what was the pairing or crossover in question?

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

So I had this weird dream recently that involved Maria being part of the Charmed family and her bantering with Chris...so now I've had this interest in any Charmed/Roswell crossovers. There are a few, but only two seem to involve Maria and Charmed...and they're so bad. I had to stop reading the one when Michael uttered, in a very non-Michael sort of way, "I love you, baby." Eek. My ears!

[dragonsinger.livejournal.com]

*Giggles* I read Phantom on that bottom line and immediately thought, "...of the Opera." I'm hopelessly addicted, I tell ya.

Anyway, I feel your pain about ff.net. I was actually there yesterday looking for some decent Phantom or Timeline fic. None were to be had. It's especially discouraging when you really want to read something in a very obscure fandom. *Pout* Looks like I'm going to have to write my own.

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

THat's what my evil muses are telling me, "Write your own Jack Bauer/Sydney Bristow. Write your own Charmed/Roswell crossover." Like I have time for this! Ack!

[dragonsinger.livejournal.com]

Those crossover muses are just evil. My HL OFC Emma is nudging me going, "You know Creedy (from Reign of Fire) could be Immortal." *Facepalm*

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

Heh. Take a look at ladybug218's idea: http://www.livejournal.com/users/storydivagirl/71003.html?thread=260443#t260443

Mwahahahahaha

[dragonsinger.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love that idea. I wanna play.

[duckduck.livejournal.com]

I agree with your rant. Some of the more rare fandoms are indeed the worst, because by and large you can avoid the badfic in a big one. Eeep.

And signing up for the mp3 thing. Must have more music!

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's definitely true. In Harry Potter, there is more access to fic, so you can often avoid the bad, but something like a crossover in two lesser fandoms equals disaster. Heh.

And yay for signing up. It's much fun.

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

I was on ff.net yesterday looking for good fic too.

The spelling/grammer things drive me up the wall.

But what gets to me even more is when people so totally screw with canon that you can't even recognize it. Don't get me wrong - I'm all about good AUs - but (and I've particularly noticed this in Charmed) people will write stories that are just so far out in left field that all they have in common with the fandom is the character names - I've seen summaries for Charmed teenfics that have Piper and Leo dating in high school *cringe*.

We should start a crossover ficathon - it would be tough since the writer would have to know both fandoms - but I bet we could do it.

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

I know - what some people miss about A/U's is that part of it being good is that you actually do stick to canon at most turns - at least as far as the characterizations go. I just can't read fics where a character acts completely out of character for no reason. Gah.

And Yay for the idea of crossover ficathon. That would be fun and maybe would produce some decent fic. That's why I love yuletide so much - because it's smaller fandoms, but really great fic.

[dragonsinger.livejournal.com]

Ooh, ooh, I love the crossover idea. Let's do it. Definitely count me in. Squee!

[danamulder.livejournal.com]

It's not too much to ask that fic is properly formatted, and that the spelling and grammar is right. No one is perfect, but they really need to pay more attention to what they do.

Yes, fic is for fun, but it's still writing being put out to the general public, and it's got to be decent if anyone's going to read it.

I always put good authors on my faves list at ff.net, and that way I get notified when they put something new out. It makes it easier to find quality, and if I feel like going through it for hours, I'll try to look up new people. But that favorites list can be so convenient and save so much time.