#10thingsIhateaboutyourfic

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

This new fad; two or more semi-colons; in one sentence

I do not like it. It's just wrong.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

I just created a single page with all my fic recs on it, and then went through three years of posts to make sure everything was tagged properly to show up on it.

You’re welcome.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Sterek Fic Recs

The Accidental Hale Brood by Julibean19 [Sterek, M, 42k] Kidfic, adoption, fake/pretend relationship, fluff, cuteness, police officers

Author’s summary: Stiles and Derek have been BCPD partners for years when they are assigned Halloween duty and run into a couple of kids from the orphanage. One fake marriage and two real adoptions later, they somehow become a family.

This is lovely. Fake relationship is one of my favorite tropes, and I love kidfic with well written, realistic kids. This is long enough to be satisfying too, with lots of characterisation and context. A good read.

Lunches, Knitting and Definitely Not Dating by Noxlunate [Sterek, T, 10k] Mpreg, aboverse, past Stiles/OMC, acquaintances to lovers, deputy Derek

Author’s summary: Just a weird mpreg fic with Derek and Stiles totally kinda dating without realizing it, and Stiles figuring out this whole having a baby thing.

It’s not weird, the author’s being way too harsh on themself. I love a good mpreg fic. There’s not enough mpreg in my opinion. I could read mpreg fic all day every day and still want more. So I enjoyed this very much. It’s got great characterisation, especially for Stiles being terribly practical about it from the moment he finds out he’s pregnant, and yet oblivious about how he and Derek find each other without quite realising. Cute.

When You’re Gone by illusemywords [Sterek, T, 27k] Mystery, unreliable narrator, illness, memory loss due to trauma, angst, character death (the Hale fire)

Author’s summary: Stiles Stilinski suffers memory loss and terrible headaches after an accident he had the summer he was fifteen. He doesn't remember what happened that summer or why the Hales left town, and no one seems to want to talk about it. Now he's just turned seventeen and he decides that if he ever wants to know what happened to him that summer he'll have to figure it out himself. Eventually, memories start coming back to him, and he starts piecing them together.

I love fic that’s a bit different, and this is definitely different. It’s got a very unusual narrative structure, but it’s perfect for the fic, which has a creepy, unsettled vibe, due to the nature of the story its telling. It’s angsty and sad and beautiful. I really liked it.

Scowls and Sarcasm by dr_girlfriend [Sterek, T, 26k] Pride and Prejudice Au

Author’s summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single alpha in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a mate.

This is a Pride and Prejudice AU. A good one. I don’t know what more information you could possibly need. It veers off radically towards the end for the sake of drama, which I’m not completely convinced was necessary if I’m being brutally honest, because P&P is epic and perfect just as it is, but Peter Hale as Lady Catherine De Bourgh honestly makes up for anything. Heh.

Married at First Glance by Wonderwolf [Sterek, E, 63k] Reality TV AU, fake/pretend relationship, one-sided Paige/Derek

Author’s summary: Married at First Glance gives its participants seven weeks. Seven weeks, starting when they meet and marry their “perfect match”, to decide if they want to stay married or divorce. For Stiles and Derek though, the challenge lies within trying to pretend that they don’t absolutely hate each other’s guts. When you’re married to a werewolf who dislikes humans, however, this can get a little tricky. But the sweet, sweet cash reward at the end will be worth it. Right?

I’ve never watched these reality shows, they’re not my thing tbh, but they’re undeniably and awesome premise for a fic, and this one really does the concept justice by putting meat on the bones and taking enough time over it to make it feel like a proper story, not just a precursor to Sterek getting together. I followed this as a WIP and read each part as soon as it came in because I was enjoying it so much. Good stuff.

Written Can’t Be Denied by lookslikenico and winglesswarrior [Sterek, T, 55k] Actor Stiles, Photographer Derek, soulmates au, soulmarks, single parent derek

Author’s summary: The story goes that, the first time you meet your ‘soulmate’, the universe will give you a sign in what should be the most obvious way - somewhere in your immediate vicinity the word ‘soulmate’ will appear. ...  A fact that causes havoc the day that up and coming actor, Stiles Stilinski holds up a bottle emblazoned with the word 'soulmate' in the middle of a press conference where Derek Hale is working as a photographer, in the middle of the worst day of his life.

The trend for soulmate/soulmark AUs has cooled off a bit recently, I think, which is fine. It’s just the natural rhythm of fandom, tropes come and go. There have been some really intriguing explorations of the concept, and some that have just used the concept to tell beautiful stories, and this fic falls into the second of those categories. It’s depthful and interesting and well characterised and I was rooting so hard for those crazy kids.

Seat Belts & Gravity by calrissian18 [Sterek, E, 22k] Friends with benefits, mostly canon compliant

Author’s summary: People leave in Beacon Hills, give up on the town, the people, on life itself. And he and Derek are still here, six years later, still able to drink a beer and share space. It’s kind of remarkable in a really understated way.

I love the way this author writes. I love their style, and I love their characterisation. They have an absolute gift for writing Stiles especially in this quirky way that feels more canon than canon, like it’s what Stiles should be if the show wasn’t so hampered and trapped by stupid bullshit like being written by a bunch of apes at typewriters under instructions from network executives who think viewers just want more love triangles. To be honest, if I were you I’d just run straight to AO3 and read everything this author’s ever written, and then find their Tumblr and read the stuff there too. You will not regret it.

Whatever Our Souls Are Made Of by Lissadiane [Sterek, T-ish, 15k] Character death (not Sterek), coffee shop au / college au, ghosts, ghost animals

Author’s summary:  In which Stiles Stilinski sees the ghosts of animals with unfinished business, and Derek Hale is unaware that his dearly departed sister left a few things unfinished.

Fair warning, this made me cry. When I read the summary, I went “phhh that sounds dumb”, but it’s actually beautiful. Just go and read it. But have a box of tissues handy.

The White Hart of Winter by DarkAthena [Sterek, E, 65k] Historic AU, aboverse, mpreg, evil Kate Argent, period typical violence, pre-verbal / animalistic Derek

Author’s summary: Sent to marry the Hale Beast Stiles finds himself alone in a castle left to ruin and watched over by Kate Argent, who he thinks is sleeping with his new husband and seems determined to destroy him.

Oh lord. Where to start. Look, this is not the best written fic in the world, not least (I think) because the author wrote it during NaNoWriMo, so it’s perhaps not been beta read or edited as well as it could’ve been. But it had me absolutely gripped from start to finish. I loved the storyline (it’s historical abo mpreg, I was in heaven), and the historical stuff, you can really tell the author knows what they’re talking about. It’s dark and bloody at times, but Stiles is pretty awesome throughout and Derek as “the Beast” is explained and developed very well. If, like me, you love a bit of abo mpreg and historical high drama, and you can overlook a few typos, this is fantastic stuff.

I’ve Been Everywhere With You by Leslie_Knope [Sterek, E, 61k] College Au, escaping from Beacon Hills, everyone gets therapy, life goes on, friends to lovers

Author’s summary: “Dude, you should totally come with me.” “What? Like on the road trip?" “No, come with me. To Austin. Get out of Beacon Hills.” Derek paused. “What?” he asked again.

This is one of those domestic type fics where there’s no angst or high drama, just people living their lives and finding ways to be happy. I love this author’s style, and this fic is no exception. Lovely, happy, satisfying.

Millstone by eleanor_lavish [Sterek, E, 31k] Sex worker Derek, client to boyfriend stiles, college au

Author’s summary: Derek waits until the door is shut behind him before he turns around. He holds out his hand, plants his ‘if you’re not weird about it, I won’t be’ smile on his face and says, “Nice to meet you, Stiles. I’m Michael. What kind of a good time are you looking for tonight?”

This is a particularly good example of the sex worker trope because it’s not really about Derek being a sex worker, it doesn’t glorify or condemn, it just examines it the same as it examines the other ways Derek responds and reacts to what he’s been through. And it’s told through Derek’s POV, which I liked. Plus Stiles is adorable and supportive in a completely non-pressuring way, which I like to think he would be. Charming.

i have always been the storm by stilinskisparkles [Sterek, E, 25k] Stormchaser Stiles, photographer Derek, break up make up

Author’s summary: that twister au i've been trying to write for three years and finally used a "pining exes" prompt to do so with.

Stilinskisparkles. What can I say that hasn’t been said before. Do you need anything more than to see their name to convince you this is worth reading? Perhaps you do, perhaps you’re new to Sterek. If so, you’re in for a treat. This, like all their fics, has wonderful characterisation, dialogue, emotion, depth, and universe building. It was just so atmospheric. They have a particular gift for showing everyone’s thoughts and motivations while staying within one POV, Derek’s in this case. It sounds easy but it’s really really hard to do subtly, and this author absolutely nails it. And everything else. Go. Read. Now.

The Hollow Moon by thepsychicclam [Sterek, E, 180k] Post s4 fix it, memory loss/alteration, slow burn, mystery

Author’s summary: It's the summer after Stiles' first year of college, and he's working a crappy job and dealing with nightmares and anxiety - but he's okay, he swears. He makes it through most days without too much trouble. Then, a certain werewolf comes back into town. Which Stiles doesn't care about, nope, not at all.

After two and a half years, Derek returns to Beacon Hills with his small Pack. Though he tried to move on, something just kept drawing him back to Beacon Hills, he's just not sure what. Now, he figures he can start building something like a life - but he keeps getting distracted by Stiles Stilinski of all people.

As you’d expect from something that’s 180k long, this is plotty and deep and takes its time taking you on a journey. It’s quintessentially a fix it fic, fixing all the things the author (any many others) didn’t like about canon at and after season 4 of the show. Which means, spoiler alert, a lot of people who are dead in canon are not dead here. But the way everything is explained and how it all fits together works so well, I didn’t mind in the slightest. It’s a bit like everything you wished canon could be, and that’s certainly not a bad thing. I almost wish I’d waited and read it all in one rather than as a WIP, because as much as I usually don’t mind reading things as WIPs, I feel like this should be read the way a novel is read - all in one. So if you can do it that way, I’d recommend it. If you can’t, read it anyway. It’s the canon we all deserve, and if Jeff won’t give it to us, we’ll damn well make it ourselves.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

I'm so sorry...

Don't apologize in your fic notes. Not seriously anyway. It's fine if you're joke-apologizing for writing angst or a cliffhanger or whatever, but saying things like "I'm sorry this is shit" or "this chapter's really boring, I don't know why I wrote it", helps no one, especially not you. You are a strong, confident author who's written an awesome fic! You have nothing to apologize for! That's the you to be presented when you're posting on ao3. All the worry and self-doubt belongs in private conversations with your friends. Not in your author's notes at the top of the page. Putting apologies at the start of a fic or a fic chapter (or, god forbid, half way through) achieves nothing. It won't make readers sympathetic to your plight. The nice ones will just, consciously or unconsciously, start looking for these failings or errors you've mentioned, which they probably wouldn't have even noticed before. The nasty ones will sense weakness and attack in the comments. If you need someone to hold your hand and tell you you're doing ok, that's fine. Lets face it, we all need that from time to time, especially when we're putting ourselves out there and posting our fic, making ourselves vulnerable. But your readers aren't the ones to do it for you. And making yourself more even vulnerable by letting them see your insecurity is not good for you and not good for your fic. You both deserve better.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Author’s summary: In which Derek and Stiles have been married for ten years, have two kids, and are planning their five year old’s birthday party.

That summary is just for the first part. This is a series, currently standing at 150k, which I just finished today. I’ve had a weird, slightly tough week for me, and what I really wanted was a domestic fic where nothing much happened, everyone was pretty happy and settled, and Stiles and Derek just loved each other and that was that.

And thankfully someone happened to rec me this series, which fit the bill exactly.

The family life feels so real, the kids are actual kids with their own personalities and their own stuff going on, there are scenes that made me laugh out loud, scenes that made me cry, but all of it was a joy to read.

I just hope the author keeps writing this, because I need this family to stay in my life.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

There's a special circle of Hell for people who rate fic E for language.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

aflailureandamasterpiece replied to your post “Sterek Fic Recs”

Thanks for the rec! You definitely steered some readers in my direction. I'm really glad you liked it!

Thank you for writing a wonderful fic! If I was able to help a few more people find and enjoy it, that’s great :)

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

A lovely warm cup of ... what?

Look, there’s nothing inherently wrong with writing words you don’t know how to spell. We’ve all been there, heard words spoken and not known how they’d be written or exactly what they really mean. When I was little, I didn’t know how to spell makeup, so I wrote about “maycup”. And then I was corrected, and that’s how I learned the right spelling.

If you’re going to use those words in something you’re sharing publicly, do yourself a favor and google them first. Let that be your learning experience, not snotty comments from readers that ignore all the good things in your writing and just single out that one error.

Just type what you think the spelling is into Google, add a brief description if you need to (eg. “coco” and “drink”), and boom (“did you mean: cocoa?” Yes, you did!). Chances are either Wikipedia or google itself will do the job for you and provide the right spelling, along with a definition of some sort so you know you’re on the right track.

If you’re not sure, double check. You owe it to yourself to be the best author you can be, and this is a really quick, really easy win that will help you improve and help you avoid the kind of negativity you don’t need to hear.

Plus, you get to learn something. There are literally no downsides here.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Apparently it’s Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day.

Don’t be fooled by the title of this blog. I “hate” because I love, and I complain because I want you to be the very best you can be and to constantly strive to improve, seeking to reach your maximum potential as a writer.

Thank you. Thank you all, for being brave enough to share your words, and for giving us, your readers, more opportunities to love our favorite characters and shows in new and wonderful ways.

Thank you.

Keep striving.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

I accidentally deleted an anon message from the fandom police. Always a joy to see our dedicated professional law enforcers stepping in to take control of fandom and enforce the laws we all agreed to when we entered the social contract of being fans of the same TV show. I’m just grateful I got a warning, with a lovely and not at all patronising smiley face no less, and not a summons to fandom court where the fandom judge might’ve thrown me in fandom jail! Imagine that.

Fortunately I managed to save the text:

Anon:  I get that we all have our squicks and pet peeves when it comes to fics, but I hope your intentions with this blog are to remain respectful and not involve or hurt authors with your reviews. Not everyone wants such detailed criticism of something they wrote for fun. Our fandom has lost great writers over petty things like unsolicited criticism. Feel free to complain as you do, but please reconsider tagging the author's tumblrs. It's poor fandom etiquette. :)

Firstly, I do enjoy being schooled on “fandom etiquette” as if I haven’t been doing this for 20 years. Please do continue. You know what actually is “poor fandom etiquette”? Sending these kind of messages anonymously. At least have the guts to say it to my face.

Secondly, if you’d actually taken five seconds to even flick through my blog instead of seeing the name (which is a hilarious pun on the name of the film. Stop it, it IS hilarious) and just assuming (which is also poor fandom etiquette, fyi), you would know that the only time I ever even name any authors is in my rec posts. If you think my rec posts are “detailed criticism”, you’re clearly beyond help.

Yes, okay, I’ll sometimes note a thing or two about a fic I’m reccing that I didn’t like as much as the rest, because I feel it’s only fair to give a balanced account, but it’s still a rec. I’m still actually suggesting to people that they might want to read this fic, because it’s good. If authors can’t cope with a rec that includes anything other than unfettered glowing praise, they perhaps shouldn’t read any comments whatsoever about their fic anywhere on the entire internet, because I fear for their wellbeing if they can’t cope reading my rec of their fic.

And I almost never tag authors, even in recs, mostly because I don’t know their tumblr names. I think I did it once or twice for authors who gave their tumblrs at the end of their fics, but generally speaking I don’t know which authors connect with which tumblrs, and I don’t want to guess and be wrong. And besides, I don’t write recs to boost the authors’ egos, I write them for readers who want ideas of what fics they might like tor read. If the readers then want to track down those authors and follow them here, that’s their business, but I’m not a reader-author tumblr dating service, so that’s not what I’m here for.

So I can’t “reconsider tagging the author's tumblrs”, because I don’t tag the authors’ tumblrs in the first place. Which you’d know if you’d actually looked at my blog instead of just flying in to attack it.

At least I read the things I comment on. That’s good fandom etiquette too. I hope you’re keeping a list of these.

Finally, I am well aware that we have “lost” a number of high profile authors in this fandom recently. I am in it, you know. I don’t live under a rock. It’s a terrible shame that people are leaving, for whatever reasons (much more canon related, I believe, than because of reader feedback).

I do agree that some readers are entirely unreasonable and unfair in their comments to authors. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again - it is not okay to demand that an author does anything just to meet your personal tastes or preferences, or to attack them for doing something that isn’t to your personal tastes or preferences. If an author writes a fic, a fandom, a pairing, a sexual kink that’s not your thing, you have no right to tell them not to (unless they’re writing “extreme underage” child rape and paedophile fic. Then feel free to attack, because that’s disgusting and should be banned from AO3 imo).

As to it being “unsolicited” criticism, I would argue that by posting a story online for everyone to see, that’s implied permission for those who read it to have an opinion on it, and that opinion may be good or may be bad, but it’s not for the author to decide who’s allowed to have, or share, an opinion on their writing once it’s been shared publicly. The author may not want to hear those opinions, and that’s their lookout, but they have no right to try to control what the opinions are in the first place.

It used to be the thing for authors to ask for constructive criticism, but these days no one seems to want it. Why ask your readers for con crit when something as badly written as 50 Shades of Grey becomes an international bestseller? But yeah, it’s generally not considered good form these days to leave any kind of criticism, which is a shame in many ways, imo, because it gives us this situation we’re in now where authors getting even the slightest criticism (like, say, someone reccing their fic being anonymously attacked for supposedly tagging that poor delicate author with “detailed criticism”) can’t cope with it.

I will say this. I do not like this movement I’ve seen recently of authors saying they don’t get enough comments or kudos or recs or notes on tumblr, and that because of this they’re going to stop writing. Mostly because yes, it’d probably be nice to get more kudos and comments and so forth, but readers don’t owe you kudos or comments. It’s generally good form for readers to leave kudos on fics they read and liked, comments on fics they really felt moved by or have something to say about, to rec or share on tumblr or twitter fics that they want to pass on to friends. But they’re not obliged to do so, any more than authors are obliged to finish that WIP they started or to take their fic in a certain direction or to write at all. We all do this fandom stuff because we enjoy it, be us readers or writers, and we don’t get to dictate what other fans do or how they behave, whatever the fandom police might want us to believe.

Also, maybe, just maybe, your fic didn’t get as many kudos as you think it deserves because it’s not actually that good.

But I suppose that’s not allowed either, the implied, indirect criticism of a page hit without corresponding kudos. How very dare we, don’t we realise that that author tried??

It’s becoming like the school sports days where every kid gets a bunch of medals regardless of having achieved anything. It’s never nice to be the kid that gets no medals, who comes last in every race. I would know. But it should be a motivator to either work at getting better at sport, to accept that you enjoy it but are never going to be good enough to win medals, or to give up sport and find something else that you are good at. If we just give medals to every kid, there’s no motivation for them to make any changes whatsoever. They get kudos even if their performance was terrible, so why try to improve that performance?

It’s not nice to get comments that just say “I didn’t like X”, but that’s just tough. It’s the price you pay for putting yourself out there. If you want the good comments, you have to accept that there’s a chance you’re going to get the bad ones as well. You either ignore them (and yes, that’s valid. You can be that sports person who does it for enjoyment, in which criticism isn’t relevant, or you might be that Olympic athlete who gets hate from some fat lazy dude lying on the couch eating chips and writing abuse to you via twitter. In either case, you don’t have to listen), or you learn from them (if you feel they have any validity. That’s for you to judge).

And if you think you’re so perfect that you shouldn’t get any criticism, you probably need it all the more (looking at you, EL James).

The posts I write here where I’m actually highlighting or criticising things about fic, I never never tag individuals authors, and I try my absolute best to never post anything that identifies one individual fic or author, mostly because if I’m writing about something here, it’s something I’ve seen multiple times in various fics and therefore applies more broadly than to just one single author.

If authors want to read my thoughts, they can choose to come here, to follow me, and to do so. If they’d rather not hear it, they don’t have to follow, and since I get very few notes, they’re very unlikely to see my posts being shared across their dash.

No one is being personally attacked here, and no one is being sent “unsolicited” criticism. Except me.

So thank you for your criticism. But I do not believe it is valid.

Have a nice day, officer. :)

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Sterek fic recs

Drive-by fic recs. I could write pages and pages on each of these, but instead I’m just going to drop these recs and run. Watch out for tags and trigger warnings, some of these (esp. the last one) are quite dark. But (spoiler alert) they all have happy endings.

Morning Finds You by standinginanicedress [Sterek, M, 51k] Summary: Derek shows back up (because he's always the one who leaves), and Stiles listens to his friends yell at him for days, and then Derek and Stiles run into each other, and it all adds up to one gigantic fuckery that Stiles tells himself he regrets but maybe he...doesn't.

The Socioeconomic Repercussions of Mutually Assured Destruction by alocalband [Sterek, E, 15k] Summary:  "The trouble with having the kind of brain that likes to write essays on male circumcision for an Economics class, is that it also likes to turn PowerPoint presentations for Biology into odes on the perfection of notorious bad boy Derek Hale’s backside."

The Moon's Gonna Follow Me Home by turningterrific [Sterek, E, 83k] Summary: Derek stayed in Beacon Hills and tried to make it work because he wanted pack, wanted purpose. He gave his best effort and found himself back where he started: alone, with a few begrudging allies. He’s tired, and even though his werewolf body heals quickly, he feels the weary ache down to his center. He packs his car with the few things he cares about enough to drag them from place to place. He locks the loft and calls a realtor about listing the building he’d bought in a misguided attempt to secure a future. And then he leaves.

I Still Believe by IAmAVeronica [Sterek, E 111k] Summary:  War is hell. Falling in love with enemy solider Derek Hale, secretly mating him, and then accidentally being left behind by him when the war suddenly and violently ends is a special kind of hell apparently reserved for one human omega Stiles Stilinski. But Stiles is determined to find his mate again, because Derek left more than just Stiles in a war-ravaged and werewolf-hating country - and with danger at every turn and nothing but Derek's gun and his own wits for protection, hell hath no fury like Stiles now.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Fic recs

I can only apologise for this. I just can’t seem to motivate myself to write out proper recs, so here at the fics I would write full recs for if I could. Check the tags, and if you’ve got questions or worries about other pairings, kinks, plot points, whatever, feel free to hit my ask or message me or whatever we’re meant to do to communicate on Tumblr these days.

You’re a Mess, But You’re A Catch to Me by jsea [Sterek, E, 11k] Summary: The laws are clear: omegas are required to have an alpha guardian. So when the sheriff gets shot, Derek is roped in to stepping up as Stiles' temporary alpha while he recovers.Derek knew it was going to be a bad idea, but he never could have predicted all of the ways that Stiles would end up turning his life upside down.

Wolves in the Timber by adeepeningdig [Sterek, T, 17k] Summary: Stiles had always thought that Derek would understand, maybe. If Derek had been around to talk about it. He would know what it was like to think that maybe it wasn’t a fluke, maybe there’s something in you, something twisted that pulls blood and betrayal and death to you, like a remnant of your mother’s disease, her monstrous confusion, still encoded in your genes. Stiles still dreams of that day in the loft, the water lapping at his ankles and the dirty light. Derek’s stricken face. He wonders if there are days when Derek wants to tear his own hands off too. But Derek wasn’t around, and now he’s a wolf. So.He’s 28 years old, it’s been years. He’s past all that. He should be past all that.There’s a black wolf panting on the floor of his apartment like an accusation. Stiles knows that there’s nothing that Lydia can say or do. He’s not projecting, it’s the truth, it’s the kinship he’s always felt with Derek, and if he could curl into his animal self, he would, and maybe he would stay there. It would be easier that way.

Rare Books and Special Collections by KuriKuri [Sterek, E, 15k] Summary: Derek Hale hates libraries.Unfortunately, not all books can be ordered on Amazon.(Or: in which Derek is a grumpy omega writer, and Stiles is an annoyingly attractive alpha special collections librarian.)

The One Where They Adopt a Selkie by mikkimouse [Sterek, T, 8k] Summary: "That's a kid," Stiles said.Derek growled. "It's a selkie.""It's a selkie kid," Stiles pointed out, because really, they did not need to be arguing semantics right now. "Do selkies just go around leaving their kids sleeping in caves on the beach?"

This Started As Only Make Believe by thepsychicclam [Sterek, E, 44k] Summary:  Derek is trying (and failing) to juggle his career, coach lacrosse, and raise his 5 year old werewolf daughter. When he adds his bitter ex-wife and his daughter's slight attachment to him, Derek knows he doesn't have any time for a life of his own - and definitely no time for the super cute daycare teacher.

Seeing Wolves (Where There Are No Wolves) by MellytheHun [Sterek, E, 68k] Summary:  Or otherwise known as "Derek Goes to the Doctor," wherein Derek gets the therapy he so desperately needs and gets healthy. The clearer his head gets, the more room it seems to have for Stiles.

here comes trouble by grimm [Sterek, E, 106k] Summary:  All Derek wants is one day where he can sleep without worry of being woken by gunfire, without the threat of death hanging over his head. He wants a full stomach and no pain clinging to his bones, no ache in his feet from months of running. He wants a shower, a safe place to put his head. He wants his family, the healing comfort of pack. He'll never have any of that again.

It Can All But Break Your Heart by orbiting_saturn [Sterek, E, 7k] Summary:  Turns out, Derek can’t go anywhere without getting hit on.

The More Things Change by KouriArashi [Sterek, M, 80k] Summary:  Ten years ago, there was a major war between the supernatural world and the mundane. Now Beacon Hills is cut off and the Argents are in control, and the supernatural creatures are slowly being hunted down. But when Stiles, who was adopted by the Argents after the death of his parents, makes friends with the Hale Pack, things start to change...

Money Isn't Everything by TroubleIWant [Sterek, G, 6k] Summary:  Stiles has a huge crush on the super-hot guy he always sees at Isaac's coffee shop, but when he finds out that they guy's an unemployed orphan he has to decide if the difference in their financial situations is a deal-breaker, or just a bump on the path to true love.

A Wild Heart's Desire by mikkimouse [Sterek, T, 13k] Summary: If there's one thing Stiles Stilinski knows, it's that Deputy Derek Hale absolutely Does Not Like him. The only reason Derek even tolerates him is because their kids are worryingly codependent.So Stiles is understandably confused when a very feral Derek shows up in his backyard after a call gone wrong and proceeds to move in with him.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

So I devoured pretty much every post on your blog, and I'd like to thank you for posting about a lot of things I never realized as a fanfic writer. Even better, it was almost completely sterek related, which is the fandom that I write for. So thanks, I think this will really help out my writing.

I think this might be my favourite message of all time. Thank you so much, anon :)

I do worry that if authors see this blog, and I don’t expect many do, but if they do, I worry that they’ll be disheartened or offended, and that’s absolutely not my intention.

I love fic and I love authors. I also know how hard it is to get your thoughts down onto paper (or screen), and how much bravery it takes to post it out there publicly where anyone can see it. I appreciate so much that this wonderful gift is available to us readers for free, and that authors give their time for nothing more than the pull of their art and the occasional thanks from readers.

So my aim is and always has been to help authors by highlighting things that I notice when reading. Because I read so much and, as you said, sometimes when you’re writing your own fic, you don’t see these things about your own work. You’re focusing in on the details - who said what to whom, what his face was doing, where was he sitting, where did he move to during the scene, how did he move, where did he end up, what was he thinking and feeling. It’s difficult to take both a detailed and a broad approach at the same time. Whereas pouring through as many fics as I do - good, bad and everything in-between - I can offer that overview, drawing out things that I see across the fandom or across a pairing which authors might not consciously consider when writing. It’s just my thoughts and opinions, by no means definitive or any kind of authority, but hopefully helpful as a few things to keep in mind when you’re writing or even beta-reading for someone else.

Also, I admit it, it’s a way to vent my frustrations. But it’s done with love! I’m only frustrated because I want every author to push to achieve their potential, and that’s an ongoing process. Every author, no matter how good they are, has the potential to be better, and learning to be better is something every author should be working at and aiming for constantly. Much like everyone else in every other part of life, really.

So I’m thrilled that you found my posts useful, and hope they will continue to be so. Thank you :)

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale, Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Sheriff Stilinski, Allison Argent Additional Tags: Fandom, Online Relationship, Mailman!Derek, Fanartist!Derek, Fic Writer!Stiles, Author!Stiles, Misunderstandings, meeting online, First Kiss, Humor, (well I try anyway), Only a tiny bit of angst, Fluff, Alternate Universe - Human Summary:

Stiles and Derek meet online, through fandom. They share their online life together: fics, fanart, squeeing over actors; but they haven't met in real life yet. Or have they...?

***

Fics based around fandom are always a bit of a risk - sometimes they are so self-referential and self-conscious, they just become uncomfortable. But when they’re done right, they can be a thing of beauty. Just like a good workplace AU, written by someone who’s actually in that profession and knows whereof they speak, a good fandom AU takes our experience, our culture and our passion and translate it into something that our favourite characters can share.

This is a good one.

I love the idea of Derek as a fanartist. You often have Derek as a writer/author (possibly because it’s a profession that requires one to spend a lot of time alone being silent), but I think it makes sense for him to be an artist within fandom, especially working with authors (in this case Stiles) to support their fic by making beautiful art for them.

The relationship is just cute, and the characterisation is spot on. I really enjoyed it.

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Typos

What's the etiquette? Any thoughts? I really want to drop this author a note to let her/him know that a customer and a costumer are slightly different things, and while Derek could potentially be both, I suspect s/he means the former and not the latter. But if that's all I say, it'd be pretty rude, given that it's obviously an innocent typo and could happen to anyone. Plus I'm barely into the fic yet, so I can't say anything else to pad it out, even if it was good enough to send praise, which I'm already fairly confident it's not. So. At what point is it acceptable to beta a fic that's already been published?

[10thingsihateaboutyourfic]

Chapters: 1/1

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Single Parent Derek, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Author Stiles, Dating, Misunderstandings, Nervous Derek, Fluff and Smut, Kid Fic, Bottom Derek, Pining Derek, Riding, Healthy Relationships, Derek is getting back in the dating saddle everyone be happy for him, HSDDH

Summary:

Wherein Derek is a Hot Single Dad, possibly with a little case of martyrdom, and Stiles is the newest client at his publishing house who really just wants to make him happy. Preferably while they're both naked.

He doesn’t get to talk to Stiles a whole lot - and it’s fine, it’s professional and polite, but there is a little something that lights up in him when he thinks about him, sees him. Derek’s life has been mostly about preschool and Big Hero 6 and extra-curricular activities for so long now that it’s a shock to the system when he finds himself pre-occupied with something so... adult.

And there are many, many adult things on his mind where Stiles is concerned.

***

What can I say. If you like single dad Derek fic, go read this now. It's charming. I also loved the Derek & Lydia friendship, and little hints of Derek & Kira friendship. I only wish it were longer.