Fiction Writing Blacklist

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InverseReality-2's avatar
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UPDATE: I thought up a new one!

:jawdrop: Point of View. Hate it when writers switch around point of view without conscious effort. If you're writing a third person subjective pov from your injured/wounded character trying to get to safety, why the frack am I getting a description about the long, luxurious curve of her red hair in the dim light?! Who the hell is looking at her, and why would anyone bother with this sort of detail at a moment when getting out alive is the most important action in the scene?  (Note: this scene is not based on any particular story, but illustrates my point.) Perspective needs to be consistent - you can play with the perspective if you know what you're doing to deliberately manipulate the reader, but too often this is an ignorant mistake by even seasoned writers. I also don't care how good you are at description: your scene's description should follow the tension and action of the story, not clutter it up with needless details. Related in awfulness to :sick: and :-X


ORIGINAL POST:

Following up on a poll I put up last week, and coupled with having read way too many bad writers (published and otherwise) in my time, I've decided to expand upon the topic and put down some of my most DREADED elements from the realm of writing in general, and fan writing in particular.

Things I no longer want to see in writing:
  • :stfu: ANY remote mention of these descriptions: almond eyes, violet/lavender eyes, or two different colored eyes. (Exception: this character is a FREAK and is abused for having such a distastefully cliche fantasy appearance.)
  • :no: Commentary on the fiery spirit of the character by anyone, and especially the narrator. (Exception: you're using a first person megalomaniac for a narrator, and said narrator describes him/herself this way because he/she is delusional.)
  • :bored: High school romance. (Exception: you're writing a high school romance or the whole point of the story is based on the premise of  immature characters.)
  • :O_o: The presence of a character to whom everyone is impossibly and yet irresistibly drawn to. Especially if this is your own goddamn PC, gaming fandom! (Exception: this character is the villain/antagonist of the story, or there is a serious amount of drugs involved and the consequences of said infatuation by every other character in the known universe has hilarious/devastating implications, or said character is really a manipulative douchebag and we get to see it.)
  • :sick: The use of flashbacks, hallucinations, dreams, or other visions to further plot. Different than using one of these to emphasize existing conflicts and/or develop world building. But if THIS IS THE ONLY WAY a character achieves self-realization and whatever they need to take the story to the next step, then I think the story is a failure.
  • :ignore: Main character is a noble fallen on hard times. (Exception: you're retelling an older story based on this premise, said noble DESERVED to have fallen from grace through fault of his/her own, the setting is in high court/dedicated to politics of class, or the story will *not* be about redemption and this is merely a minor character detail.)
  • :doh: Character has a hubris, but it never comes into play in the story. Only thing worse is a character with no intentional hubris -- because chances are here is that you've written a suck-[ineffable] Mary Sue and the reader hates you.
  • :-X Scenes that lead nowhere. If you put a scene in, it's up to you to make sure that it fits into the story you're telling thematically and plot-wise. The first requirement is more often neglected than the second. Having a scene just to establish a background detail doesn't make your story better -- just more bogged down in baggage. Make sure each scene has a solid purpose in the narrative, and that it will have relevant implications and consequences that the reader cares about.
  • :stab:  The use of adverbs (words ending in -ly) instead of REAL descriptions. Adverbs are shortcuts to get you through descriptive language, but leave the reader with very weak impressions of your settings and characters. You can use them for quickfire descriptions, and on rare occasion, it makes more sense to use an adverb, but a dedicated writer should try to avoid overburdening a story with adverb shortcuts. If you're using an adverb, then just ask yourself: am I doing this on purpose or could I have put in a real description here instead?
  • :disbelief: DON'T write dialect unless you know it front and back. It's far better to just describe the sound of the dialect in a couple sentences than to appear like an IDIOT attempting to imitate it in dialog.
  • More angry blacklist items TBD!


Not that I think any of this will stop just because I or anyone else said so, mind. But because, dammit, I needed it said. :XD:

Feel free to add your own peeves in the comments!

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victricia's avatar
The new one is great! I don't read a lot of fanfic, precisely because often when I try, it's full of minute descriptions of how gorgeous the protagonist is, or the LI, and aargh just get to the point. :D