[ SECRET POST #2812 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2812 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 047 secrets from Secret Submission Post #402.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

What's up with writers who feel the need to constantly remind you of physical descriptors? All right, I get it. He's got blue eyes. That's nice. I don't need to be told every fourth paragraph.

What's something you come across when reading that you hate?

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

The number of slash fics I have read where the pairing have partially-dressed, semi-public sex and there's no mention of clean up.

So to me, for the rest of the fic they're walking around with their clothes covered in semen. Really bugs me for some reason.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

I don't hate that but the thing I hate most is when you can sort of hear the author's opinion voiced through the character. I don't know why but sometimes you can just tell it.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[ariakas]

Same. This'll cause me to quit a story just about every time, even if it's an opinion I agree with.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

I love the eye-colour thing a lot, especially when they get the character's eye colour wrong and keep repeating it. Happened in the old days of the Weiß Kreuz fandom a lot where one character had either blue, green or blue-green eyes (depending on picture and adaption) but never brown, yet brown was the colour a lot of authors gave him over and over again. (Then again, that character was a brilliant example of "fanon gone wrong" so...)

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[kallanda_lee]

Formulaic or lazy sex scenes, especially if they put in the effort to build up to it.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

What do you mean, if you're able to say?

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

Super crazy descriptions of scenery. You don't need to give me a paragraph of what a room in a house looks like, thanks.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

The pattern of the rug was oriental, but it was most likely a knock-off; the colors were muted, the design conservative. The furniture was simple, most likely of Shaker vintage, with hard, practical lines. The chairs looked sturdy, yet comfortable. Incongruously, the door was ostentatious. It was rimmed with animal carvings reminiscent of Oseberg-style art, and each scene was punctuated by a silver inlay. It was as if a mad carver had gotten notions of station in his head.

"Would you like a cup of tea, detective?" Mrs. Wennig said.

"Oh, that would be lovely!" He exited the room, never to enter it again.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[kallanda_lee]

In the right fic or story, I actually like that, providing it evokes a certain atmosphere.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

I feel the opposite. I hate feeling like I'm floating in the scene. You have to give me some description for me to know where the hell the characters are.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

Whoops, I meant to say page, not paragraph. My bad! A paragraph is completely acceptable. A page on the other hand (or hell, even maybe three paragraphs) is way too much.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

I once got yelled at by someone (supposedly a teacher) for the exact opposite problem. ALL YOU GIVE US IS X, Y, AND SOME Z they told me. (And despite the fact they had only seen half of the source material, they supposedly were the better expert on the characters I was writing about.) I'll admit I'm not the best writer, but I couldn't understand why I was getting reamed out of nowhere by a person who earlier went LOLOLOL over a South Park/Chrono Trigger crossover... which happened to be a scriptfic.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[brooms]

i've come across and hated almost everything over @ https://twitter.com/WorstMuse

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[inkdust]

Oh my god, thank you for that, I am dying in my chair.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

I find that I hate the kind of person who runs that twitter, because they find fault with everything, and fly into a rage any time they come across anything that's been done before (and, really, at this point, everything's been done before, so you might as well just argue for doing away with fiction).

The thing that sticks out for me is the sarcastic tweet about "said" being boring. Yeah, some people use pretty ridiculous dialogue tags, but if you use "said" every time, then yes, you are fucking boring. There are other words in the language, and they exist for a reason. Repetition can be stylistically valuable, but sometimes, it's just repetitive.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

OMG I need to go follow that Twitter stat.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[inkdust]

I'm so easily irritated by excessive physical description (going by my own definition of "excessive," so emphasis on the "easily"). I'm sensitive to adjective use in general. If you're going to give something two adjectives, especially two adjectives that need a comma in between, it better be a very significant thing or a very intentional stylistic choice. And an infrequent stylistic choice.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

Drab writing. Some people are stark terrified of their prose being called purple, so they go in the opposite direction and come up with something so flat and dreary that you could lay it down for flooring in a hospital basement. They write little short sentences that all sound the same, and they scream and run for cover at the sight of a modifier.

I also hate it when description is doled out in tiny dribs and drabs, so that you practically have to take notes through three or four chapters before you discover that the protagonist doesn't even remotely resemble your average standard-issue humanoid.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[intrigueing]

Yeeeessssssss. Purple prose does make me roll my eyes, but if I had to choose between the two, I VASTLY prefer purple to flat and grey.

(There are exceptions - sometimes that sort of prose really, really suits the situation being described or the mindset of the POV character, but if there isn't a compelling reason for it to be written that way, it feels ugly and dull.)

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

When an author gives exposition on a character by writing "the blond" or "the brunette."

Fuck no.

Stop. That. Shit.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, so with you on the physical descriptors, especially in fanfic since we freaking know what they look like already.

And it just feels so lazy to romance. I really hate when I read a fic and I can't buy the pairing because the writer portrayed it like they're in lust and the love is just tacked on.. "oh you're so hot!! i want to kiss and fuck you... this is love" blabhlabhlah.

Also another thing is.. it's specific.

C1: I'm such an idiot.
C2: But you're my idiot!!

(same with anything.. "he's 'my werewolf', he's 'my jerk', he's 'my delinquent")

C1: Uhg, why are you so irritating! Why did you have to do that?
C2: But you love me anyway!

NO JUST STOP IT.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

Pussyfoot around cussing

Or alternatively, use too much or wrong context in an attempt to sound mature.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

This is less a problem with fanfic, but: clumsy, overwrought worldbuilding.

Yes, geeks love worldbuilding. We can't help it. I love it too.

But please understand this: reading ten paragraphs about the history of your imaginary country and its customs and its special nomenclatural conventions and the twee fantasy names it has for things like tea and chess IS FUCKING BORING. It's exactly like listening to someone describe a dream they had last night; it's fun if they can keep it under four sentences, but the longer it goes on, the more we all just want to throw down a smoke bomb and escape in the confusion.

Re: Annoying things that writers do

[(Anonymous)]

The moon always being described as gibbous. It can't always be gibbous! It has to be a crescent sometime! Let the moon be a crescent!

When trees are in a stand, they are always poplars, and when the trees are poplars, they are always in a stand. There are other trees! There are even other names for poplars! How about a lone poplar for a change?