Just thought I'd ask what peoples' biggest issues with fan fiction are.

Just for fun. Perhaps pointless or opening a can of the wormy kind, but it's good to see viewpoints sometimes. Maybe give a reason as well for context. No reason to argue or get in a pissing contest: just sharing opinions. Share your opinions on things you don't like in fanfics.

I have a few:

-I've never understood the anthro thing in an actual story. Or at all. Not my thing. I'm a believer in one way or the other: pony or human. It's a reason I have trouble taking Bojack Horseman seriously.

-Anon. Maybe I miss the point, but I think it's just lazy writing. Just a pointless insert that can or will do anything.

-Short and one shot stories in general. It's easy to throw something out there to see if it gets views. I think it's more fun to grow and build a story. To create something that is its own thing. We have a fun universe to play in and the possibilities are there.

I don't like HiE or anthro. Unrelated to that I don't like the MLP show but the fiction I'm good with. Just thought I'd throw that in. I have my own personal reasons for these.

6382119

Here is why people do anthro. Let's say you want to do a story where you want the characters to have their pony features, flight and/or magic but you want some human features....hands and boobs in particular. Naturally I think anthro is great for clop fics. Anthro has its role and I personally don't see anything wrong there.

With ponies, there are no boobs and in a good lesbian clop fic, tits are a must, the bigger the better! In a human fic, they have no magic/flight and in some instances, those attributes make it more fun.

6382119

Wow. Judgey McJudges a lot.

Short and one shot stories in general. It's easy to throw something out there to see if it gets views. I think it's more fun to grow and build a story. To create something that is its own thing. We have a fun universe to play in and the possibilities are there.

Its a legitimate literary form. Um. Bite me, I guess?

6382119

Short and one shot stories in general. It's easy to throw something out there to see if it gets views.

I take offense to that lol

6382122
Not many on the site that don't actually like the show. I definitely understand the dislike of HiE stuff. I knew I was forgetting something in my own list.

6382126
Just an opinion. There have to be things you don't like seeing. That's why I posted. Just curious what people think.

6382119

It really, really bothers me when writers insist on referring to the sun and moon in Equestria as "Celestia's sun" and "Luna's moon", respectively.

Like, it's the sun and moon. There's only one of each. And it's not like the princesses own them. And what really gets me is how common it is: I see it all the time, even when there's no need to be poetic about it, as if it's taken for granted that this is supposed to be the correct terminology.

6382133
I don't see the sun and moon referred to as such all that often. But I can see that. I suppose they must have raised and lowered themselves at some point.

6382127
Anything you don't like to see? There has to be something. Just opinions. Don't really matter in the greater scheme.

Stories that exist just to rant about how much the author hated an episode or character.

6382125
I get that, at least as far as I can. What are things you don't like to see in fanfics? That's what I posted for.

6382131

Things I don't like....straight shipping of a majority of the female characters....especially Starlight Glimmer. (Like my bio indicates, I'm all about lesbian ships, hell I even write Rarity as a lesbian and Cadence as bi...leaning heavily lesbian) I see a straight ship story involving her, Twilight or Fluttershy I simply scroll past it. I also don't like stories that involve humans being superior to ponies....although I'm not a fan of genres involving ponies and humans interacting at all, unless it is a G1 crossover involving Megan Williams and/or her siblings.

6382133
Well that's because for all we know it IS theirs. There's plenty of stories where the sun and moon are actual aspects of their beings. I mean, being able to control the sun gives you a bit of ownership at least.

6382138
Those are something I rarely see. I know they exist, but I just don't notice them.

My biggest peeves are:

Mismatched tenses:

"It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle is reading a book."

Second-person:

"You are now the main character. You are being forced into this role by a writer with shaky ideas. You begin to chafe. You see a flask. You cannot get the flask.

Obvious exits are NORTH, SOUTH, and DENNIS"

And my very favorite of all, moving your story along by introducing a plot point or character action that really demands a lot of justification.

"Normally, I'd be glad to join you on your picnic, Fluttershy, but I murdered Spike this morning and I'm going to eat him for breakfast," said Twilight, as she disposed of her bloodstained smock.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll ask Rainbow Dash, instead," replied Fluttershy nervously.

And then Twilight's act of murder is never addressed again.

6382119
I just went on about that.

Part one:
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/804038/things-that-annoy-me-in-writing-part-1

6382145
Fun stuff.

6382119
"cancelled" "Incomplete" "last updated 2013"

So disappointing when you find a great looking fic and you totally want to read it, and then the author dropped it six years ago...

Anon - Personally I just don't like anon's character. I realize what I'm saying, talking about a blank slate character that can do whatever you want; but I just don't like how many authors use his potential character.

Short stories - You are absolutely right, we have a massive universe to work with and it's so much fun writing in this universe. But, novels aren't always the best course of action. Sometimes a story needs to be a short little one shot to push across an idea. It could be a message, and idea, a feeling, but one shots and short fics are a very necessary part of writing and reading. Writers can practice with new concepts and characters, or they can express their thought without having to commit to a full 50k+ book. It was Edgar Allan Poe, famous american writer, who claims that short stories are far better than novels, “if any literary work is too long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression.” (Don't quote me on that I found it on the internet, but the rest is true, I read it in a book. The thought still counts though.)

6382147
Sure. I'll take a look.

6382150
I dig. And your avatar is cute as pie.

6382119 Well, I guess my big pet peeve is stories wasting my time. I've not read many stories over 50K words that I didn't think wasted my time at some point or another, and some (typically of the over 200K variety at this point) legitimately irritate me if they don't figure out how to conclude properly, like, a lot. I've actually stopped reading long (over 100K words for me) stories entirely because frankly more often than not I just end up getting fed up to the point of downvoting, and I don't actually like going around reading things I think I'm going to downvote.

I consider brevity to be a strong sign of an able communicator. People should practise it more.

What else? Oh, I've never liked the creepypasta-y stories like Rainbow Factory or Cupcakes, and especially the ones that are based on those stories. Like, if you're going to base your fanfic on something else (which is literally what a fanfic is, so I'm in theory down for that), at least try basing your story on an actually decent story instead, yeah?

Anything OOC, obviously, but that's not really a pet peeve. That's just shit writing.

AU for no goddamn reason. It's a mistake newer writers do, I guess, but I still don't like 'em.

Oh, I also really don't like boring ships. SoarinDash is one of the worst offenders for me. It's like, hey, we've got this awesome fun character. Better ship her with one of the few male characters we have because damn, it sure would suck if we shipped her with a character that had actual screen-time, lines, and wasn't bland af. Like, who even is Caramel? Did Thunderlane have a personality? Can't bloody remember. I mean, c'mon, gents. There are literally dozens of colourful and fun characters to pick from. Let's not ship characters with males simply for the sake of having a straight pairing, yeah? Just pick a fun character. It's okay. I'm not picky. Anyone cool will do. All I want is a minimum of personality. Frankly, this vein of character is practically just a bland self-insert at this point to me.

Other stuff too, I guess, but I'm ranting enough as it is.

6382125
Well, ponies do have teats which are apparently right near the vagina

6382156
What's OOC stand for? I should know, but I don't.

6382156
Out of character! Came to me just a second ago.

6382158 Out Of Character.

Like, say, seeing me post 'boy! I sure do love non-alcoholic beer!'

I admit I don't give anon stories even a chance. Just not interested at all.

Anthro and by extension just sex fetish stories. Not all anthropogenic stories are sex fetish ones, but it is exceedingly rare and when they pop up I just ask 'Why?'

Stories just going dead. I won't downvote them for it, but I am severely disappointed. Wish they would at least ask someone else to finish the story for them if they are just going to give up writing.

6382133
It's worse if you think about it, because up to a few years ago, Celestia normally raised both the sun and moon, and while everypony'd heard of Nightmare Moon, nopony'd heard of Princess Luna. Why would they suddenly be referring to it as Luna's Moon?

--Sweetie Belle

6382160
I sometimes drank the stuff when I was on the wagon. It took care of the cravings to a degree.

6382119
I don't enjoy Anon stories. I like the challenge of 2nd person writing, but I don't like the idea of just throwing someone in there with the name anon. I feel like it's a cop-out for developing a character's personality.

I also hate it when people try to turn everypony into a lesbian without reason. Like, why the hell is Rarity or Twilight a lesbian in your story? I don't mind them being lesbians as a rule, but give me some reasoning because the only romantic inclinations they've shown in the show are to males. *shrugs*

6382119
When people have the ponies use the word 'hand' in sentences when it wouldn't be part of their natural vocabulary. "I've gotta hand it to you..." for example.

6382169
I try to be careful to use "hoof" and "(somthing)pony" and their variations. I try not to make it a habit elsewhere. I'm contributing to a scientific paper and I don't want that in there.

6382168
Twilight and Rarity are straight in canon, anyway. Once something is made canon, I just don't see a point to mess with it.

6382131

IDK, there are such a broad range of skill levels in fanfiction, I'm reluctant to dismiss anything? I dislike discouraging people. Also I used to be anti-anthro, and then I had a story that only made sense as anthros. So.

But.

Okay.

Second person in stories without reader agency. Unless the POINT is frustration with the reader's lack of agency. Labeling a character as 'you' and then having them do things I wouldn't do makes me crazy!

Anyway, I'm over sensitive today, but I was offended by what you said because I put a very large amount of effort into my short stories/novellas.

And also into my novels. Which is why they take me years and years to write and I've never yet finished a final draft of one.

6382175
I dig.

6382150

"cancelled" "Incomplete" "last updated 2013"

So disappointing when you find a great looking fic and you totally want to read it, and then the author dropped it six years ago...

That stuff is both common and really sad. I understand that you can easily lose your fire or write yourself into a corner, but at least put a note at the end explaining why you're dropping it, along with where you'd hoped to end it. That, at least, would inspire some discussion among the readers.

Anon - Personally I just don't like anon's character. I realize what I'm saying, talking about a blank slate character that can do whatever you want; but I just don't like how many authors use his potential character.

Anon is just the laziest self-insert, and seems to mainly exist to be a sociopathic jackass. I avoid any stories using him.

6382178
I got a kick out of the "sociopathic jackass" line.

6382156

Well, I guess my big pet peeve is stories wasting my time. I've not read many stories over 50K words that I didn't think wasted my time at some point or another, and some legitimately irritate me, like, a lot. I've actually stopped reading long (over 100K words for me) stories entirely because frankly more often than not I just end up getting fed up to the point of downvoting, and I don't actuallylikegoing around reading things I think I'm going to downvote.

I consider brevity to be a strong sign of an able communicator. People should practise it more.

I knew from the start that my story would be a long one, but I try to just write events so that the pacing feels natural. If I want to have Starlight and Trixie turn into children in order to work out their personal problems, then I'm kind of obligated to justify that as seeming like a good idea. In some cases, a lot of the story really is all about the journey.

6382185
How long do you think Rebuilding will wind up being? Just curious. And are you writing as it comes or do you have a plan you're following?

6382185 Happens, I guess.

I'm just no longer willing to play the odds any more. I'm a slow reader to start with, and the time it takes me to read through 100K words is embarrassingly long. The amount of people who don't even have an ending in mind when they start one of those monsters is just too high for me to want to spend several weeks worth of reading for nothing but bitterness as a reward.

My not reading them anymore is as much a failure on my part as it is the writers (probably more my fault), and I'm pretty chill with that, but the amount of gents who equate long with good is still pretty excruciating.

6382192
I have a story I'm working on mapped out pretty well. I'm 1/7 of the way through published writing, so if I keep the pace I think the story merits it may run 450K to 500K by the end. Whoo!

6382199
I should have been more specific in stating my "general" dislike of short or one-shot stories. I don't like ones that are obviously for attention or views, in response to an event in the franchise, or don't lend to the universe by trying to improve upon it.

6382196 You probably won't finish it, unfortunately.

6382199
Adagio/Fluttershy. I don't know if I've ever even thought about that one. Never occurred to me.

6382202
Oh, I intend to finish. Unless I die or go blind or wind up blowing through a straw to move in a wheelchair. It will not go unresolved, anyway.

6382186
I'm currently thinking it'll be in the 100K words range. As of chapter 6, I'm up to about 30K words, and chapter 7 will probably add another 8K to that. Field Day and its aftermath will be another two chapters, so let's just assume I keep writing chapters roughly 7500 words long. That'll bring me up to 51K words. One more chapter after that (Assuming 7-8K words) will bring us to the middle of the story at approximately 60K words.

After that, the second half will move a lot faster, for reasons that will become obvious (And which I obviously can't talk about here). But the second half will likely be shorter than the first. My "act one" is much larger than acts two and three.

And yeah, I most certainly have a plan. I planned out the major beats of the story back in September and October, when I became mildly obsessed and was debating whether or not to try writing it. That's not to say that I haven't modified things a bit along the way, but most of the surprises for me have been in plotting out the connective tissue that ties the major plot points together.

For instance, in my earlier draft, Trixie was genuinely acting out of a silly, selfish desire to use Starlight's spell to impersonate a child just so that she could scam free snacks. I was going to have a running joke about how she should name herself "The Princess of Bad Ideas," and that this one was her best bad idea ever. I modified that because I wanted Trixie to have an emotional stake in this. And so she changed from being her usual flighty, selfish self to a character who's really devoted to her friend. And that made all the difference in the world. And the reaction to her portrayal in the story has been really positive, so I'm happy about that.

The thing is, I have it planned out, but I also have to write the events as they come to me. Chapters 7-9 are taking a lot longer because the previous ones only had four characters in them that I was already very familiar with (Twilight, Starlight, Trixie, and Spike). Once we actually step outside into Ponyville for Field Day, that required building characters for seven children, all of whom I wanted to establish beyond just being placeholders. And then I have to move them through a day's worth of events, culminating in a minor disaster to end chapter 8. Fortunately, chapter 9 focuses back on a few characters again, and we have the conclusion and aftermath of Starlight's participating that day.

That's a lot of characters and action to write. Honestly, part of the delay has just been plain fear on my part, because it's a daunting task. Fortunately, the other kids on the team have turned out to be fairly fun to write. Now that I have their personalities modeled in my imagination, it becomes a lot easier to role play them.

6382206 If you say so.

It doesn't look like you finished the others.

6382207
Okay. Didn't need to write a book, but thanks. Just wanted to know. I've caught up, finally.

6382210
Oh, good to hear. Hope you're enjoying it. I should have chapter 7 posted in a day or two. Actual work and real life call first.