4 Things I hate about Fanfiction

Okay, so what I'm writing about here is pretty self-explanatory, so I get right into it.

Warning: May offend.

1) Needless Abuse

This really has became a pet-peeve for me. Normally, I find this exist in stories with a character that is other wise unlikeable. Yet, the author, in my experience, is a total fangirl who is in love with said character and makes up this needless abuse to somehow explain why this character is an utter dick. I find in most fanfiction that the author turns this character into an iddy biddy baby that gets ruthlessly battered by daddy or mummy because they have nothing better to do than beat on their unsuspecting child. This than results in said character possible love-interest discovering and then falling in love with this normally unlikeable character.

While I will admit, that there are some well written abuse stories out there, I loath the ones that create this needless abuse simple because they want the characters to get together. There are other ways to do this without the abuse, and if it seems really implausible, than there is always an AU! To be perfectly honest, the only time I ever read abuse stories now is if a pairing doesn't exist in it an it's merely friendship.

2) Motiveless villains

Okay, this isn't as bad as the first one, but it's still something that makes me cringe when I look back at it. One thing I learned about villains, even before I started writing and reading stories myself, was that villains never see themselves as evil. Nobody likes to think of themselves as an evil person, not unless they have serious self-esteem issues. Personally, I think people who invent a villain, without giving them any motivation, are lazy. Sorry, but it's what I view it as. Even if they are demon's or aliens and it's their culture to destroy anything they see as insignificant then that's better than nothing!

Giving a villain with a real, solid reason to do what he/she is doing not only makes for a more interesting story, but it gives the character more depth. It reflexs better on the author too. Putting in the extra brain power is worth it, really.

3) OC/Mary-Sues

I will admit, I'm not as bad as some readers can be regarding Mary-Sues, but I have high standers. Very high standers. Especially when it comes to, 'why' this Mary-sue is in the story. Like, for insistence, I won't read self-inserts. If a friend asks me to, and they are decent writers than I'll read it, but I'll never seek them out. Another one, is writing a OC to up-stage another character. Just, no... The second I think that's happened, I'll hit the back button without a second thought. There's a reason said character is meant to be the best at what he/she does.

One type of about OC I can not stand is where the writer creates a character, puts them into the world of the fandom, and the orginal cast don't even make an appearance. The reason people seek out Fanfiction in the first place is so they can read more about their favorite characters in various situations that they may not face in canon. We don't want to read about a character you've made, inserted in to this world because you can't think of your own plot line.

4) Character Bashing

Okay, this is another pet-peeve for me, I'll be honest. It's okay to dislike characters, some are just made to be hated. But to create a story, which then causes this character to be OOC, or act in a fit of rage/jealousy, what ever there motivation is, is just annoying, boring and frankly, I find it pai. Really people! It's a fictional character, so what if you don't like him/her, what is the point of sabotaging your writing just to show a dislike over this particular person.

One thing that annoys me even more than character bashing, is when the author even doesn't realize he/she is character bashing, or doesn't even bother to warn people about it! There isn't anything wrong with having other characters dislike this one particular person, as long as they have a valid reason.

So, anyway, yeah. What are some of the things you hate about fanfiction?

Sidenotes: No authors were harmed in the making of this post... I think. If I did, my apologizes, it's nothing personal, just my option of what I consider some of the downfalls of certain thinks that otherwise had potential.
May 23rd, 2013 at 09:29pm