Let's vent, y'all.

Write all about the things that drive you absolutely C'mon! I'm sure there's something!

For me, it's specifically the words "a certain [insert description here]," as in 'a certain rainbow-maned pegasus' or 'a certain purple princess pony name Twilight Sparkle.' YOU know who you're talking about, WE know who you're talking about- WHY beat so close to the bush when it's not at all clever or original! I know it's not meant this way, but it always feels like an insult, like I can't figure out who they're talking about. It's REALLY harsh, I know, but if a story has that in it's description I'm less likely to read it. It just pisses me off so much!

I have 2 lists on my profile already.

3178743

Only two?

3178740 People who take the characters' flaws to too large extremes (E.G. making Fluttershy extremely timid and shy, especially in stories taking place post-Putting Your Hoof Down)

3178740
Lately, it's grammar and indention.

Twokinds (it's a comic, not fanfiction, but hear me out) irritated me with its improper spelling at first. But the person who created it put a great deal of thought into that world, and that made me keep reading. Before I understood that point though, I was beginning to feel turned off. The story is pretty good though. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a grammar nazi, and I won't kill you for spelling mistakes, misused punctuation, etc. Just saying, your story better make my eyes roll into the back of my head.

Another thing I dislike is when writers don't get to the point quickly. Please, do that. Don't be worried about readers not knowing what's going on

Maybe it's my own personal feeling, but "setting up the background" is unimportant, at least IMO. For example, if your story's about a young stallion in school getting lucky with one of the hottest mares there:

1) Tell us who this stallion is and explain his situation.
2) Send his butt to school and have interesting stuff happen to him.
3) Create the circumstances under which he gets lucky, and please have the make sense on a simplified level.

Don't say "Hi, I'm blahblahblah, I blahblahblah, lately blahblahblah, but blahblahblah" unless it's highly important that we understand the mood of the character in order to enjoy the story. Don't focus too much on setting up, give the basics and move on.

3178740
Pointless fucking cute stories.

3178740

Well, I wouldn't say it actually pisses me off, but I don't approve of stories that attempt to "redeem" antagonistic characters by essentially replacing them with changelings, as opposed to giving them actual character development.

I've been reading a lot of Diamond Tiara fics lately and I keep finding ones where DT "sees the error of her ways" which results in an instantanious personality shift, after which she acts like a completely different character.

Sometimes this happens in the very first chapter, with only a symbolic aknowledgement to her canon characterization.

3178866

I am on board with this sentiment 100%. I suppose you could say that I'm invested, though. I have a very great wish to "reform" DT, but not until I finish the current arc with Silver Spoon.

Please note that I use the word "reform" as a closer to literal interpretation of the word. Reformation is what happens when change occurs. Redemption is a specific kind of reformation. Reformation is more vague and, I think, fits what actually happens in life. I'm not trying to be true to life... We're talking about magical ponies who live in a land where magic is real. Magical things will happen.

So... Yeah. I'm invested in DT/SS reformation, not necessarily redemption. I don't think redemption is actually possible, as it implies the taking back of what has happened in the past. To Redeem is to change one thing into another through a specific process (Turning money into food via trade, for example.) You cannot change the past through any sort of process (save time travel... and that's a mess that I'd rather not touch.) You can never escape the past. You can only reform what would have been your future and carry with you all of the mistakes you've made as lessons learned.

Edited for rambly... wrote the initial on my tablet.

3178949

You seem go by a very literal enterpretation of what "redeeming" something means. In the theological sense, which is the context the expression is originally derived from, redemption can be defined as "deliverance from past sins via penance and sacrifice." That is to say, you earn forgiveness from those you have wronged by demonstrating acts of honest penance, thereby buying your sins back in a symbolic sense. It's a stronger word than reformation, which only implies a change of attitude in the reformed and doesn't actually require forgiveness.

But anyway, that's just semantics. I think you know what I meant.

Point is, it's kinda meaningless to write a story about a certain character if you can't do it without messing up her personality. Diamond Tiara is a pretty terrible little pony, but that's what makes her interesting. And I know it's hard to portray characters like her accurately and still manage to make them sympathetic, but it's still worth it because when you do pull that off it's absolute gold.

3179136

Maybe reformation and redemption aren't the right words. Perhaps transformation. Or... Just growth. I think that's actually the right term. I think a sea change via sudden intervention isn't likely (but not impossible) where these two are concerned. But I also see Silver Spoon as having been not as far down the road to awfulness than where Diamond Tiara is at currently.

I don't see either Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon being able to grow as characters so long as they're together. But that's my interpretation. Maybe there is a way to get them to grow together, but that road seems chancy at best. Together, with the talents that I envision them having, they're enablers for each other. We're never told what their talents are. It's only implied by their cutie marks themselves (Born with a silver spoon in her mouth / Prissy Pink Pony Princess? Honestly a little confused on DT's). And I'd like to capitalize on that.

3178740

HiE, anthro pretty sums up mine.

3178740

There's a thread suspiciously identical to this one on a writing forum over that Fanfiction.net. Popular threads don't really die over there, there's always a few that are consistently on the front page. I have to wonder how many other sites have a copy of this very same thread.

It sometimes pisses off newbies, but peeves aren't just listed, but debated. Saying something like 'ALL OC's are bad' is asking to get dog-piled. Naturally, the thread often derails until someone else list a few peeves . . . rinse and repeat.

I'm calling it now . . . text-wall, emerald eyes, navel-gazing, character-bashing and Mary-Sues. These things will be listed at least a hundred times.

Personally? My primary genre is romance, so much of my peeves are based on that:

Cheating.
Soul-mates.
Love-at-first-sight
Love-at-first-fuck.

Characters doing the job of the narrator.

Purple prose.

Twilight was a carving in amethyst at her dark oak desk, the weight of all her prodigious intellect focused on the words scribed in the ancient grimoire before her. Untouched by the slow tick of the grandfather clock, she sat, her purpurescent orbs twitching across some antique pony's archaic maunderings. Drifting minutes piled up into hours around her still haunches while Celestia's gleaming sphere rolled towards the distant horizon. The sky fluoresced in shades of coral and tangerine, then slowly diffused with a blush of sanguine carmine that heralded the amaranthine hour that was the reader's namesake. The tiny lights of the celestial panorama slunk from their concealment, the strongest leading the way for their more timorous kin until the velvet night shone with glistening diamonds. One spark of lambent effulgence radiated from the library's window, illuminating the still, silent form of the unicorn sunk in deep study until its falling tongue of flame met the rising tide of wax in a suicidal plunge into sudden gloom.

3179442

I think a thesaurus vomited in your comment. I can't make heads or tails of it.

3179442

I thought purple prose was an excess in decoration and verbosity. I'm pretty sure that the passage you just posted, isn't even English.

While we're on the subject, is this too purple?

Dreams of loneliness, isolation, and the despair of a millennium-long exile gave way to a new reality and the rising of the sun. Being so intricately connected with the very essence of Equestria and it's inhabitants, Luna could not only feel it's physical warmth, but the warmth and love for all Equestrian life radiating from the alicorn who had raised it, her beloved sister, and the very personification of day itself.

My writing is usually more 'to the point'. I have too weak of a vocabulary to concern myself with being purple most of the time, but this was an opener that I wrote, and I fear that I can't be objective about it.

3179442 oh god, reminds me of this

I can't even.

Just my own opinions. Excessive cursing, stories told too quickly, no character development, little to no world building.

When I read a story, I want to invest myself into the world I am reading; even if it is in fanfiction with an already established world, I want the author to paint a picture with their stories as well as establish characters that are relatable. Stories that are told too quickly to get to action points are dull and uninteresting. This is where exposition is vastly needed, without info how can we picture the world we are reading about without details to help our imaginations?

Dialogue is another important factor, I am not saying to have droning conversations of non-importance, but when two or more characters talk it has to be realistic and have meaning to the story or used to build the character depth. Dialogue can also aid in world building, I believe it should work with composition to aid in painting the world of the story.

Excessive swearing is another pet-peeve of mine. I am all for the occasional curse to give a piece of dialogue flavor or meaning, but doing it just to do it, is tasteless and distracting. One of my biggest irritant is writers using 'buck' for the dreaded f-word, it is irritating. It forces me to stop and try to figure out if the writer is using it as the curse or as the action.

3179460 I had to read your quote like 3 times and I'm still not sure if I understand exactly what you're saying.

Dreams of loneliness

Dreams could be interpreted as aspiration. Since you start with this word, the reader has no idea in what context you tried to use it until he/she reads your whole sentence. Even if you interpret it correctly as a literal dream (not an ambition) it doesn't make much sense. How does a dream of being lonely even look like?

, isolation, and the despair of a millennium-long exile gave way to a new reality and the rising of the sun.

So, that dream was reality also, but this is a different reality?

The dream gave way to rising of the sun? Did she have to wake up to raise the sun or something? How exactly does the dream gave weight to a sun?

The sun part should be in my opinion written as The Sun, since it's not just some random star, but a star named The Sun (the same as our star). The show's transcripts write it as the sun, so I can't really pick at this objectively. It's just my subjective opinion.

Being so intricately connected with the very essence of Equestria and it's inhabitants,

The sentence is to long. When I come to the end I've already forgotten what the first part of it was. The shorter the sentences, the easier they are to read.
Over the years, Luna formed an intricate connection with the magic that Equestria and it's inhabitants were a part of. (or something)

Luna could not only feel it's physical warmth,

It's hard to picture something that is common to both Equestria and some ponies. They are very different and I have no idea what that essence is supposed to be.

but the warmth and love for all Equestrian life radiating from the alicorn who had raised it,

If you put two things in this sentence then this sentence should also make sense:

Luna could not only feel it's physical warmth, but love for all Equestrian life

Well, it doesn't make any sense. Your sentence makes even less sense, since you state that love is a separate thing from warmth that radiates for life (that's some very focused radiation btw.).

So, an alicorn (Luna, Celestia?) raised warmth? Or was it love that they raised? Or was it all Equestrian life?

from the alicorn who had raised it, her beloved sister, and the very personification of day itself.

What is the sister even connected with? A day can be personified? How does that person even look like?

I suck as an editor, so this was just my subjective opinion. I could be wrong about all of it. Some people might get your paragraph without reading it multiple times (not me, though).

If this was an opening paragraph for your fic I would skim over the rest of your text and if I didn't see anything concrete that I could actually imagine (but just some more of metaphysical stuff) I would stop reading it.

3178740
Bloody >Human goes to Equestria in costume, becomes character.

That and crossovers that send Character X from Universe A into Equestria.

It makes me want to rip my bloody shorthairs out.

3179442
Um.. I'm not sure what purple prose is, but I really hope it doesn't mean describing every single detail as if it were the most important thing in the world. Like, if a heterosexual male were looking at a male and then a female, I'd hope his perception of the male would be pretty non-descript whereas he'd be more... er, purple prose I guess, when it comes to the female.

3178740 To be honest, nothing. My only problem would be if the author of the writing wouldn't accept some helpful suggestions on how to improve. That would be my little peeve. All mistakes in stories are alright and will be swept under the rug as long as the writer is willing to improve. That's how I see it. I've read plenty of bad stories including mines but the determination to improve them and to make them better make me see all mistakes, no matter how crazy it make look, in a different way.

3179542 I think it means using a hole bunch of words that sounds good together but don't make any sense being there at all or using a whole bunch of words in a story that the author has no idea of using at all with the purpose of sounding intelligent. (I could be wrong.)

3179475

One of my biggest irritant is writers using 'buck' for the dreaded f-word, it is irritating. It forces me to stop and try to figure out if the writer is using it as the curse or as the action.

I am terribly tempted now to write a comedy set on Applebuck day where Applejack is having the worst day ever and Big Mac has to shield Apple Bloom's ears each time she uses it in the perjorative sense... and having a hard time himself... Actually, no. That would be freaking boring! And I already gave away the entire plot. Not to mention it would read like a .

Buck buck buck! Buck buck!

3179542 3179553 You obviously give more attention to important parts, but there is such a thing as general writing style. You can read a story and say it was a purple prose story. To give you some perspective on purple prose in comparison to other writing styles I'm posting those as well. Personally, I'm incapable of reading anything beyond Sensory prose.

Beige (Dry) prose:

While Twilight read, the sun slowly set. The stars came out and her candle burned down.

Sensory:

Twilight sat unmoving, absorbed in her book, while the sky outside turned from orange, then red, and faded to purple. The stars peeked out, first a few, then in dozens, then in their uncountable thousands, while the steady flame of her candle burned it down to a stub.

Florid:

Twilight sat like a statue, completely absorbed by the tome on her desk. Her eyes flicked back and forth across the pages while Celestia's sun began its evening descent, the sky shading orange that slowly grew ruddy, then melted into the purple semi-darkness that was her namesake. The winking stars peeked out from the vaults of night, at first only a few scouts who, finding the coast clear, called for their unnumbered companions. The light of a single candle flame glowed in the library's windows, unperturbed by the slow wheeling of the stars above, until at last the flame met the pool of wax below it and guttered fitfully.

3179571 I like this one. Thank you for posting.

3179559 HA! That would be hilarious actually.

3179583

I'll put a pin in it then. I need a writing exercise for tomorrow morning. Might as well use that. Plot coming together... Inciting incident... Flim and Flam. Perfect.

Viewpoint... Apple Bloom.

I think I can work with that.

Edit: Geeze... Applebloom just flows so much easier on the keyboard than Apple Bloom.

Disproportionate pony penises.

I heavily doubt any of them are packing thirty inches.

3179571
Sensory seems best to me.

3179527 Thanks.

I suck as an editor, so this was just my subjective opinion. I could be wrong about all of it. Some people might get your paragraph without reading it multiple times (not me, though).

The thought of someone taking what I say to heart without consideration frightens me.

3179590 Let me know when you publish it, I might actually enjoy it. It could be one of those stories that actually is well done and not just thrown in there, if you know what I mean?

3178740 I hate when people don't know the characters well enough to write them. Granted, I know not many people are going to nail the characters dead-on or anything, and I don't expect that of everyone, but glaringly obvious OOC writing in a fic drives me up a wall.
Like people should be able to realize the characters wouldn't DO these things.

3178743
...and now I find myself wondering how I can justify calling a setting or set of stories "the Somethingverse".

3178811
Define "pointless" in this context, please. Also, if you don't like cuteness, this may not be the fandom for you.

3179442
"Did he come, or what?!" -- Gil Hicks, Mallrats

3178866

I'd have to agree with you in preferring slow redemption for Diamond Tiara...

--arcum42

3179696
To quote Garbo802

THIS HAS GOT TO STOP! This cutesy crap is an offense any author who actually wrote a real story instead of a bunch of insipid goblin piss like this story. Honestly, I'd rather read a twilestia clopfic co-starring Edward James Olmos cosplaying as a black and red alicorn OC.
And did I read this story? Oh, believe me, I read this story. All 2,363 words of this wretch. The quality of writing was okay, but there were numerous problems with pacing and dialogue sequences. Other than that, it's mediocre from a purely technical standpoint, but that doesn't make up for a completely braindead story concept. This story has no redeemable qualities. I don't wish any ill on the author, in fact i feel sad for them. They're getting the impression that this kind of story is a good thing, and that more of it should be written, as are a majority of the people reading it, continuing the vicious cycle of shittiness. But the story should burn for eternity along with all others like it.

3179700
That tells me nothing useful. How about a link to the hated story, or at least a summary of what makes it (and stories like it) pointless? I've written some cute stuff, I have friends on the site who have written some cute stuff -- do you feel it's all crap, or are you just unable to articulate what is and what isn't?

3179701
It was just one of those cuddle stories.
They have nothing redeemable about them.
Oh look ponies are cuddling or pretending to be animals, whoopdee fucking do. There isn't a single thing that happens in them.
I have no reason to fucking care what happens in them.
There is no conflict, there are no problems, there isnt a single thing in the story that gives me a remote fucking reason to care what these characters do because there is nothing to fucking do.
Edit: They are nothing but insipid narratives intended to appeal to the emotions of the people who D'aww every other day.

3179700

a twilestia clopfic co-starring Edward James Olmos cosplaying as a black and red alicorn OC.

I so want to write that now

3179702

Your very presence must rip the souls out of newborn puppies within a twenty-mile radius.

I do get where you are coming from. Those one-shots focusing solely on 'Rainbow Dash plays with a piece of string' etc that seem to cover everything. I don't read them however so no skin off my nose.

I tend to dislike those 'one of the Main Six (often Pinkie) commits suicide/dies' fics that tend to go on for 2000 words and just have no substance. Sad fics in general don't really do it fr me except one.

'I have a changeling' is the only fic on this site so far that managed to pull a feel from me. I mean it was a happy-sad ending but it was pulled off so well that I am glad that I read it.

3179724
I don't hate all cute scenes, I hate it when it surve no point other than to be cute.
If something interesting happens to cause the cute shit, I can stand it as it actually has a place.
For example, the hug scene during the episode where they tell how they got their cutie marks, I can stand and even like that scene as it had a place within the story of the episode. Their reaction to the news was perfectly understandable, didn't last overly long and was entertaining.
Void, I'd have liked that 'rainbow plays with string' story, if that was just a memory of an aging Rainbow Dash as she fondly looks back at her childhood. I would stand it and maybe even be entertained by it. It would have a point and a reason to be there.

3179730

My example was more of the 'Cute stuff happens, Daaawww' thing.

3179640
I try to never just phone in a story. Even the shorty that I did yesterday I gave the loving care that I thought it deserved. If I can make it a story, and that's still kinda iffy, then I will make it the best I can.

3179475

I really don't like 'buck' in place of the F-Bomb as well. Same reasons you said. It also seems too forced. But most authors use it in non-crossover stories so I have to tolerate it.

3178811

This reminds me, sometimes I come across these... I think of them as "non-stories," and they kinda annoy me, because they're not really about anything. They're these short one scene-deals where a character does something or feels something or thinks something but the author doesn't give us any way to put it into context: Diamond Tiara has a random nightmare, Twilight drinks a glass of milk, Sweetie Belle gets out of bed and makes breakfast, that kind of thing. What they have in common is that there's no particular reason the readers should care or feel involved.

I don't mind simple narratives, as long as I can discern what the author is trying to communicate with it - as long as the author is trying to tell me a story. Even a story written only to be cute and sentimental has, you know, some kind of intent.

3178740
I hate that EVERY single Applejack romance has to take place on the farm, you would think that people would try new locations once an awhile.

3180002

RariJack - Sequel to Simple Ways... Taking place in Manehatten. Rarity convinces Applejack to model for her new country inspired fashion line in the big city after seeing her in that gown during Simple Ways.

I will put a pin in this... This sounds interesting.

I shall call it... Simple Joys.

Geez... This thread is like a storm of inspiration for me.

3178740
Like Meeester, I also maintain a list on my profile page.

3179475 What if a character in question swears a lot as part of his personality? Some characters are more potty mouth than others, in a way defines their upbringing. It could also mean a contrast to more refined characters in the story.

3180037

I don't really want to give the wrong impression with the story title. It'll be romance but not hot and heavy romance. I can't do that sort of thing well, I think... Not that I've ever really tried. It just doesn't suit my taste. I'm thinking it will be a series of simple moments together where they bond while getting ready for the catwalk, with the culmination of the story just before Applejack steps out on stage.

3179696
Name the core story "The Life and Times of Winning Something"...