#my biggest pet peeve grammatically is when there’s multiple people’s dialogues in the same paragraph

[evansbby]

not me going through the steve rogers x reader tag and i find a post that’s like “pov you find a fic with amazing smut but it has daddy kink 👎” LMFAOOOO

i wonder if anyone’s read my fics and just immediately exited out as soon as they see the word “daddy” bc it’s in like EVERY SINGLE ONE of my fics 😂😂

[talkfantasytome]

Because I live for the drama, number 11 and 17 for the author ask game!

Okay, the way you started that is 😂 but also should have worried me more. 👀

This also turned out longer than planned...so, if you're interested in my pet peeves and thoughts on overrated tropes, keep reading.

If you'd like to ask me questions around fan fiction in general, here's the list of questions: Feel free to ask. 😄

11. what are your fanfiction pet peeves?

Okay, so, my biggest pet peeve is and always will be not following correct grammar and paragraph structure rules. I'm not talking about "paragraphs have to be 4-5 sentences" (that's dumb, I'll give you 2-3 👀), or keeping sentences a certain length or whatever. No. But, for example, having two people speak, and putting both their spoken words in the same paragraph is both incorrect grammatically/structurally speaking, and it is also extremely confusing - hence why it's incorrect. Any time a new person is going to speak, you should separate the paragraphs. That doesn't mean the paragraphs have to start with that person's speech, sometimes it makes sense to do the line break, a short explanation of actions or a look or something, then provide the dialogue. But either way, two characters should never have spoken words in the same paragraph UNLESS it's a scenario where you're like:

"You're joking!" Sally exclaimed just as Johnny shouted out a, "What?!"

That's different, because that's an attempt to express how the words were on top of each other. But unless it's that specific scenario, always split the paragraphs, even if it feels like funky flow (it won't be), cause believe me, that's way better than having the reader think the words are coming from someone else before they get to the explanation that they're not, and possibly sitting there like, "Wait, why are they saying that?"

Also, parentheses should not be used in this style of writing. It's one of the things that even threw me off and has me struggling with The Atlas Six, cause she USES parentheses, at one point even has multiple paragraphs within a parenthesis, and I'm like, NO! But, yeah, I get why people use them, but typically the parentheses should be replaced with an emdash or dash if your computer won't make the emdash (just the longer version of - ) in creative writing styles. Because it is an interjection, but a parentheses isn't really meant to show an interjection as much as a "side thought", but in creative writing YOU, the author, are not having a side thought. The character is, but from your standpoint/the reader's standpoint it's really an interjection, grammatically speaking. Parentheses are for academic and more "factual" style writing, and stuff like this. 🙂 And, ftr, I have NEVER seen a fan fiction abuse parentheses the way the author of The Atlas Six does, so like, we're all better than one published author there. 😂

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, I hope you enjoyed the free grammar lesson. 👀

So, yeah, that's my biggest one, and I struggle with it a lot, even though I know not everyone knows grammar like I do. And I do push through it a lot, it just bugs me. Other peeves aren't as big, but things that pop up in my mind as stuff I notice when I read are repetitive sentences (not just using the same word a lot, but having multiple sentences that basically say the same thing), and making a character worse than they are in canon when they're a main. So, like, if you do a Nessian fic, and make Rhys a bigger villain, sure, fine, whatever. But, if you make Cassian into the villain, or do something that makes him essentially unredeemable, when he's part of the main ship, and the ship is in the tags even, that is a peeve. And, while I'm sure that sounds biased, I'd say that about most ships, and while I don't tend to read Feysand, if I were to read one, and it was tagged Feysand, and you did that to Rhys, I'd probably be annoyed too.

Like, I can't say that's incorrect tagging, because if the focus of most of the ship is on that pairing, it's accurate. And I know not every fic will have a happy ending. But, idk, making a main character of the main ship irredeemable, or starting them that way...that's really rough.

17. overrated tropes?

I don't know if I have any I can think of...though, I might say that some ships have tropes that are overrated to them? Or maybe overused? There's an entire world of tropes out there, and we can even make our own, but so often you see the same things happening in fics - and I'm just as guilty of this, for sure. But I also do try to be a bit different. It can be hard when people are all working on the same prompts, of course, but even then there are often more options than you see used. I could list a number of tropes or, like, specific scenarios that I think are overused for certain ships (the ones I read, at least), but that would be almost insulting to those writers, and I wouldn't want to do that because it doesn't mean the writing isn't good and I won't eat that shit up anyway. 😂

However, if I had to try and pick overrated tropes, I'm a bit over the "the bad guy is actually good!" trope. And I don't mean the one where you think the guy is bad, cause he's scary looking or intimidating or Heath Ledger in '10 Things I Hate About You'. I mean when, like, the bad guy does bad shit, but "oh, he did it for good reason!" No, give me a corruption arc or get out of here. Did I love ACOMAF? Yes, I did. Would I read more of this trope? Absolutely. But I do think it's overrated, and also not a good story to be teaching impressionable minds.

I also think we're generally good on the fake dating tropes, unless you do something SUPER creative with it - like what the writer of 'Operation Ghost Leopard' did, where it was fake dating, but as part of a spy-type mission. But the they're best friends and pretend to date to get someone off their back, but they're also secretly in love with each other - meh. I tend to prefer it if they're realizing they have feelings after the fake relationship starts, but even then, add more to it, otherwise I do think it's overrated. And will absolutely eat that shit up regardless. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But, in the end, this also just isn't something I feel too seriously about. Like, I'll read it all anyway if it's written well and you capture enough of the characters essence that I still recognize them.

[cicinicole-14]

Can you read my new story All Alone please. I would love some feedback. Love your stories.

i appreciate the balls you have to just outright ask me this lol (and copy and pasted it into all my friends ask boxes too because i brought it up in the group chat since this isn’t the first ask). speaking of, i did read your fic when you asked the first time.

as for feedback, i know a lot of my fellow friends and fic writers like @fan4196 @pagingevilspawn and @mac-andcheeses have already given you plenty of writing advice which you’ve seemed to ignore and i agree with their posts! you have a great concept for your fic, and i love love love all the jolex content because were so deprived of it but your execution isn’t it. many of us have given you advice on writing, tips and tricks, how to help and you haven’t listened but i guess I’ll try again.

easy things to help:

dont be afraid to ask for a beta reader

beta readers, usually friends whom are also writers as well, can read over your fics once they’re finished before posting to help you catch any typos. i’ve beta’d before and as a beta we tend to point out any inconsistencies with writing whether it be grammatical things, things that make the characters seem too OOC, help with writing styles and even helping when you’re stuck on a scene or transition. we appreciate and love beta readers in this house!

title your fic at the top and have it clearly labeled/tagged!

that way we can see that this is clearly a fic and we will stop scrolling to read it!

label with the title and if it’s multiple parts, label the parts/chapters clearly so we know what order to read them in.

even tagging your fic with the general ship tag and then add the title of your fic in a tag too for when people want to binge read they can click on the tag labeled “all alone” and boom your fic is all in one place instead of having to scroll your blog.

format it so it will look enticing to read

as a reader, my personal biggest pet peeves/turn offs in a fic is first/second person povs and unpleasant formatting.

know how to format your fic!

no one likes to read something that is all jammed into one paragraph. i will truly scroll away without a second thought. separate dialogue from prose. don’t be afraid to dig deep into characters feelings and lengthen the prose context. but make sure to separate the different writing styles so it will flow while being read.

when multiple people give the same advice, especially being seasoned writers ourselves, maybe take it? we know what we’re talking about. you came to us for help, advice and feedback. you’re getting it. if you’re not going to take it and utilize it, don’t ask us again. especially sending all of us multiple times the exact same message. i personally don’t appreciate the asking. i don’t mean to sound rude about this, but by doing just as you’re doing; sending multiple writers the exact same ask, begging for feedback on your fic, and not taking any of our advice or pointers, you’re coming across as being ignorant.

and just for future reference, here’s more tips! because i love that you love my fics but you’ve never left any feedback on mine, and usually if someone leaves me feedback i will always leave them feedback in return as a gesture of good thanks!

hope some of this helped! welcome to the jolex fandom!