Things that made you want to bang your head against anything

[Cocogurl]

Let's keep it friendly, people.

I think Coccy's right about CC people being accused of not thinking outside of a box or not being creative enough while UC fic, for some people, are considered imaginative or something. But I disagree. And before anyone starts with me, I have actually read some UC fics. A read a couple of rebel fics awhile back because I wanted to understand the appeal of Max/Tess (because I certainly can't see it. ). But I didn't any of them were unique or more creative, and one thing that was painfully obvious about all of them was how the writers tried to turn Tess into a blonde version of Liz, which I don't get. If you don't like Liz, why would you try to turn Tess into her? I really don't think that UC fics are more creative than CC fics, and I think the real reason some people think that is because they're reading our writing about a couple that they ship rather than a couple on the show. But I actually think crossover fics are more unique than UC fics.

And a truly inventive story isn't so much about the couple you ship, I think, it's more about the story. It's about coming up with a story that is TRULY different than anything else that was thought of.

[Coccy]

Let's keep it friendly, people.

I think Coccy's right about CC people being accused of not thinking outside of a box or not being creative enough while UC fic, for some people, are considered imaginative or something. But I disagree. And before anyone starts with me, I have actually read some UC fics. A read a couple of rebel fics awhile back because I wanted to understand the appeal of Max/Tess (because I certainly can't see it. ). But I didn't any of them were unique or more creative, and one thing that was painfully obvious about all of them was how the writers tried to turn Tess into a blonde version of Liz, which I don't get. If you don't like Liz, why would you try to turn Tess into her? I really don't think that UC fics are more creative than CC fics, and I think the real reason some people think that is because they're reading our writing about a couple that they ship rather than a couple on the show. But I actually think crossover fics are more unique than UC fics.

And a truly inventive story isn't so much about the couple you ship, I think, it's more about the story. It's about coming up with a story that is TRULY different than anything else that was thought of.

ITA about everything O_O
i've read many dreamer fanfictions that are simply genius.
to name one now.. the ones written by WR 'Of Cabbage and Kings' made me crazy simply genius.
the canon show gave many things that can be developed in ff. many questions without answers.
you don't have to change all the story and the core things in order to get an unique and well written ff-

[tequathisy]

You know how they say that there are only six jokes in the world and that all jokes are a variation of those six? Well I think the same could be said of most fanfics.

Most fanfics are variations of the same. Whether you read CC, UC or crossover they can generally be boiled down the to same plot points. The most common examples that I can think of are:

The Liz develops powers and discovers she's Michael's sister and Max's former wife/lover fic.
The Liz gets pregnant but Max doesn't know fic.
The Max is a man whore who reforms his ways when he meets Liz fic.
The Max and Liz are best friends who are really in love but don't know it fic.

Nothing makes me want to pound my head against something hard more than opening up a new fic and realising that I've already read it a hundred times before. The best writers are the ones who use their imagination and get creative. I wish more authors would try something new instead of sticking to the same tired and overused plots that have been around forever.

[somewhere87]

Oh I agreed ^

I have read so many fics with Maria (and sometimes Liz) finding out she's alien and is the sister of Isabel/Max (in Liz's case Michael) and she's the real destiny of one of the aliens. Nothing against theese fics, i like them but at the same time i find it abit disturbing...the reason i love M&M (M&L and other CC etc) is because i love the lovestory how the aliens fell in love with humans... I can't love the idea with Maria or Liz becoming the pre-decided destiny for Michael and Max..that's the reason why i don't ship Mi/i, it's because it was some pre-made decession...i say you choose your destiny you don't have it choose for you..

[girl afraid]

You know how they say that there are only six jokes in the world and that all jokes are a variation of those six? Well I think the same could be said of most fanfics.

Most fanfics are variations of the same. Whether you read CC, UC or crossover they can generally be boiled down the to same plot points. The most common examples that I can think of are:

The Liz develops powers and discovers she's Michael's sister and Max's former wife/lover fic.
The Liz gets pregnant but Max doesn't know fic.
The Max is a man whore who reforms his ways when he meets Liz fic.
The Max and Liz are best friends who are really in love but don't know it fic.

Nothing makes me want to pound my head against something hard more than opening up a new fic and realising that I've already read it a hundred times before. The best writers are the ones who use their imagination and get creative. I wish more authors would try something new instead of sticking to the same tired and overused plots that have been around forever.

Excellent point.

Makes me appreciate writers that come up with some amazing ideas that haven't been done before such as yourself, nibbles2, ArchAngel & xmag, and Misha. I only wish I had the imagination to come up with something original to write.

I have read so many fics with Maria (and sometimes Liz) finding out she's alien and is the sister of Isabel/Max (in Liz's case Michael) and she's the real destiny of one of the aliens. Nothing against theese fics, i like them but at the same time i find it abit disturbing...the reason i love M&M (M&L and other CC etc) is because i love the lovestory how the aliens fell in love with humans... I can't love the idea with Maria or Liz becoming the pre-decided destiny for Michael and Max..that's the reason why i don't ship Mi/i, it's because it was some pre-made decession...i say you choose your destiny you don't have it choose for you..

I agree with this too. I hated Destiny in the first place, why would I want to read about it with M/M or M/L?

[Heavenli24]

Nothing makes me want to pound my head against something hard more than opening up a new fic and realising that I've already read it a hundred times before. The best writers are the ones who use their imagination and get creative. I wish more authors would try something new instead of sticking to the same tired and overused plots that have been around forever.

For me, it doesn't even to have completely original and creative idea/storyline, but an original twist on a popular plot or just a really well-written, well-thought out fic can make an amazing story too. For example, I really like 'M/L as best friends' fics, but in order to get my attention, those fics have to have something special, something different from all the others. I won't just sit down and read any old 'best friends' fic... it has to have that extra something to make me sit up and take note.

That's not to say that I don't like creative storylines that haven't been done before, but I don't think it's completely fair to imply that the people who do use these popular storylines are not the best writers... some of my absolutely favourite stories are a twist on the plot points you've mentioned - and the reason they are my favourites is because the writer is so good that it doesn't matter that the basic storyline has been done before.

Having said that though, what does make me want to bang my head against something is when fic writers basically steal scenes from TV shows/books/films for an AU fic (I'm not counting Canon re-writes/fixing scenes of shows) and then think that it is okay just to put a disclaimer at the top to say that they are borrowing the scene.

I came across a story in an other fandom that was basically just a collection of scenes from different TV shows put together with a disclaimer in each part... as if the disclaimer meant that they didn't have to come up with their own original storyline, but could just write a scene from one show for part one and a scene from another show for part two, with a little bit of original writing linking the scenes! Taking a look at the other stories that this author had written, one was based entirely on another TV show and another was a rewrite of a popular movie. I have no problem with authors writing their own AU take on a show or movie, or just using the basic premise and then going off in a different direction to make the story their own, but practically copying the scenes and then sticking a disclaimer at the top isn't writing... it's verging on plagarism (there was actually a discussion about whether it was plagarism when the fic in question was being posted, because the author hadn't put disclaimers, but nothing was said once they added a disclaimer... still don't think that makes it right, though) .

[xmag]

The things that make me want to bang my head against anything is when authors (mostly in the crossover and UC section) write characters in some way and defend their characterizations by citing the canon... but only parts of the canon and conveniently turning a blind eye to the rest of the canon. Like, Michael was treated badly by Maria in season 3, but not aknowledging that Michael treated Maria badly in season 1 and part of season 2. Or saying that Michael stayed on Earth for Maria and that * insert what you want * dumped him, while forgetting that Maria, in the end... takes the same decision as Michael and decides to leave EVERYTHING for Michael while she didn't have to.

Other examples, Max slept with Tess. Believe me, I hate that. But reducing Max to sleeping with Tess without mentionning everything he had gone through since the pilot, risking his life for Liz, risking Isabel and Michael's lives, breaking their sacred part, seeing his best friend almost dying, being stalked by the sheriff, kidnapped by his enemy, tortured mentally and physically, being dumped by Liz just after he learned that he was a clone and supposed to lead the war against an enemy he knew nothing about, while he was 16, and that not only his life, future, had been decided by his alien mother, but he also had his private life decided for him since he was supposed to be married to someone he didn't know and didn't love, then three months of loneliness that summer, then seeing Liz with Kyle in bed just after she told him that she wanted normal, the whole mess following Alex's death where Max was basically alone except for Tess (unfortunately)... if you use the canon to express Liz's pain, then use the canon to express Max's pain, too, because he suffered.

Basically, what makes me want to bang my head against anything is the double standard going on. Loved characters are forgiven everything, hated characters are bashed for everything (and in Maria's case, bashed for saying and doing the same thing as Michael did and said).

[tequathisy]

That's not to say that I don't like creative storylines that haven't been done before, but I don't think it's completely fair to imply that the people who do use these popular storylines are not the best writers... some of my absolutely favourite stories are a twist on the plot points you've mentioned - and the reason they are my favourites is because the writer is so good that it doesn't matter that the basic storyline has been done before.

I didn't mean to imply that all those stories were badly written. Of course not, some of them are wonderful. And a good writer will always be able to do that kind of story well. My frustration is that so many of them are so formualic and predictable. Like you can tell that Liz is going to be revealed to be Michael's sister/Zan's lost love/part of a prophecy/most powerful being ever after the first chapter.

Again if it's done well it's great, Strong dangerous and undeniable is my favorite fic of all time. But so many other fics are essentially the same story. Which would be fine if the writers put their own unique twist on it, but so often they don't. Why must Liz always be Michael's/Kivar's sister and Zan's lost love? The fics that make me bang my head against the desk are the ones where the author doesn't even try to come up with something different and fresh. I'll always applaud anybody who makes an effort at orginality no matter how badly written that might be.

[ladygloria]

I didn't mean to imply that all those stories were badly written. Of course not, some of them are wonderful. And a good writer will always be able to do that kind of story well. My frustration is that so many of them are so formualic and predictable. Like you can tell that Liz is going to be revealed to be Michael's sister/Zan's lost love/part of a prophecy/most powerful being ever after the first chapter.

Again if it's done well it's great, Strong dangerous and undeniable is my favorite fic of all time. But so many other fics are essentially the same story. Which would be fine if the writers put their own unique twist on it, but so often they don't. Why must Liz always be Michael's/Kivar's sister and Zan's lost love? The fics that make me bang my head against the desk are the ones where the author doesn't even try to come up with something different and fresh. I'll always applaud anybody who makes an effort at orginality no matter how badly written that might be.

I agree completely (different favorite of course). Its the hallmark of a good author to draw you in and, in fanfic especially where themes can become very limited when keeping the basic components of the original world, keep you interested and reading. Fanfic, whether writing CC/UC/Gen, is so difficult to do well if you're not creative, particularly today as the fandom has run for so many years that virtually everything has been done at some point. The same holds true for writing sex scenes. Inserting Tab A into Slot B isn't that difficult to write (even though if you are like me and have written such it can be VERY embarrassing and nothing you'd tell your mother about), but it is VERY difficult to make interesting and "hot" if you aren't able to make it unique and interesting.

In fact, PWP is one of my biggest pet peeves when done poorly. From everything to word choice to situation to technique, a writer can really screw it up and make it not worth the read even if you're a die-hard reader of such fics. In many cases, as a person forced to review them in my jobs on other boards, I often become very squeamish and disgusted because of the author's choices made when writing even in the best of cases when I might be able to see the couple in question together. Sometimes its often quite laughable, once my stomach returns to its proper location; but I'm quite sure that the person writing it didn't intend to invoke such a response.

Anyway, another thing that makes me want to bang my head against hard objects--people who write things without spelling or grammar checks. I understand that many people write from other countries, but in those cases I would hope they would seek out a beta to help with translations. (I know when I write in frech or spanish I do this.) Maybe I just take writing too seriously (and know that I'm in no way perfect at this myself), but I really think if you're serious about telling a story the right way that you wouldn't distract your audience with so many errors that it almost reads as gibberish.

Anyway, off my soapbox now. Hope you all have a good day!

[killjoy]

I HATE HATE HATE the whole Bad Boy story line

I know it's like some great fantasy for women,the whole taming the bad boy who really has a heart of gold idea.....but in Real Life the bad boy is more like the dope using,girlfriend beating bastard that'll sleep with your sister and best friend if giving the chance.