Fanfiction Turn-Offs

[galathea]

Recently I started reading Supernatural fanfiction and I have to say that I am amazed by the amount of absolute awesome fics out there. Nevertheless there is also a lot of annoyance to be found in fanfiction and here are my Top5 Fanfiction Turn-Offs:

1) Dean smoking // I don't know why so many authors think it would fit for Dean to smoke or that it makes his character cooler or whatever .. me, I close a story as soon as that comes up, no matter how good the story is. It's not because I am a convinced non-smoker myself but rather that I see absolutely no necessity for adding character habits that actually don't exist and it messes with my ability to identify the character I read about with the one I know from the show, it's a simple atmosphere and authenticity killer

2) Swearing // The amount of swearing the boys do in some of the stories is really off putting. In the show their language is actually pretty well mannered and not very slang-y (well at least from a non-native speaker's PoV). We hear them use Bitch, Son of a Bitch, Dammit, Hell, Frikkin in the show, but what most authors seem to favour (and I mean like constantly) is 'Fucking' .. which I actually don't even recall the boys ever using, or if they do it's so rare it never stuck with me.

3) Food // I am not sure where exactly this comes from, but Dean is pictured as the 'greasy hamburgers and fries' guy while Sam is Mister Health Food. Throughout the show we see them in various different locations, which all look as if they serve homemade food. Simplifying and generalising from none to very small evidence in the show is a very annoying treat for me in fanfiction.

4) Banter // The constant re-iteration of one-liners that are actually said in the show to give a story more authentic SN-feeling. The point of snarky one-liners is that they spring from the moment that inspires them and they are not usable like idioms or similar phrases. So either the author is skilled enough to catch the banter between the boys with genuine originality or he/she better leaves it.

5) Touchy-Feely // Dean’s infamous „No chick flick moments” from the pilot is stretched thin in fanfiction to a point where it becomes completely ridiculous and non-believable, since over the course of the first season Dean is shown as a vulnerable and very emotional character, who is absolutely able to open up if the situation calls for it, especially towards Sam, but also to the random victim in distress. A lot of stories choose to ignore everything we get to know about the character from the Pilot on .. which completely annoys me.

Comments

[1hionlife.livejournal.com]

Hello there!

You really say a lot of what I think sometimes. In particular, I agree very much with number one. If a certain character trait is so fitting, then it would be there, you know?

My biggest peeve in fic? Describing a place (city, town) as bum f*ck, wherever. I never heard that saying in my life before SPN fic and it absolutely drives me insane.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey there :)

Hm, I can't recall ever reading something like that about a location a story takes place in, but then I am kind of non-critical with locations, because I don't live in the States and can't judge how acurate a description of a place is. Although I really enjoy descriptive fics since they can add so much to the atmosphere of a story.

Maybe I never came across this because I am very very careful in choosing the fics, mostly on recommendation and only gen stories.

[1hionlife.livejournal.com]

I can see where locations wouldn't interest you as much if you aren't from the U.S. and have no idea where people are describing.

I love a good, descriptive scene though, too. That's why that phrasing bothers me so much. It's a lazy way of setting up the scene when there are so much better ways of really building the setting around them.

I mostly only read (and write) gen fic, too. I'm surprised you haven't come across this.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Well, I only read fics for like 4 weeks now, I didn't dare to venture into SN fics for a very long time ;) so my reading material is kind of limited so far. I am very easily spooked away from a fic if it doesn't 'feel right' and mostly I tried to work my way through the fic lists of single authors that I came to like, so I guess I just was lucky so far :D

[ehlwyen.livejournal.com]

LOL! Not that I'm a ficcer, but I can definitely agree with you on some points. I am so relieved Dean is not a smoker. That's just too much. I like his straight edge persona and his only vice is coffee...which is much more appropriate for someone who is putting in so many hours on the road. The original script had him as a smoker though. So I wonder how many of those fanfic writers take from that.

I imagine it gets pretty boring reading a lot of curse words. :p: However, I think excessive swearing isn't really too out of context...I'd imagine Dean and Sam have plenty to swear about! :lol: And its not like network television can say fuck anyway. And that is a most popular swear word when you're not in polite company. But seriously I think Sam and Dean are way more witty to have to rely upon fuck every couple of sentences cause that is booooring!

I back you on the other three. I mean what's up with Sam only eating health food? The guy's a horse!!! He had to have eaten a lot more than some health food to grow so big! :lol:

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't know that Dean was pictured as a smoker in the original script, god I am so glad that didn't make it into the show. His coffee addiction is so much more appealing and indeed very plausible for the amount of travelling the boys do.

Well, I get that there are network restrictions and that they would probably swear more on the show if they could get away with it, but as it is, they don't do this in the show so I feel estranged when they do it in a story. It's all about the 'right feel' to make me pour my emotions for the show into a story ... and some authors really go overboard with the swearing LOL.

ROFL yeah, they both need to have a healthy apetite.. plus, if you see how fit they are, there is no way you would have a body like this and only eat burgers and fries all day *rolleyes*

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hee. Welcome to the frustrations of fanfic ;-)

Yeah, one of the most frustrating aspects of fic can be the fanon - tiny details that fans either misinterpret or invent that are then seized upon as gospel and spun up into so much more than they should be.

1) agreed - Dean has plenty of quirky character details, and does not smoke on the show, so making him a smoker in fic is totally unnecessary and mostly just done out of a false sense of giving the character extra 'edge' or whatever. Lazy writing.

2) I think a lot of writers believe the boys would swear a lot more in real life than they can get away with on the show, due to network restrictions. But most of them then go way too far in the opposite direction.

3) Oh, there was that fantastic meta someone did earlier in the year - I've got it in my memories somewhere. They were annoyed about this and so went through the entire first season studying every single thing the boys put in their mouths. And the majority of it was decent enough food, albeit from diners rather than home cooked. Inexperienced writers often seize upon what they see as defining character traits and exaggerate them in the belief that it will make the characterisation stronger.

4) What annoys me even more than that is when someone transfers quotes from one show into fic for another show entirely. Like you say, the appeal of the banter in any show is that it is situational. Simply dropping random quotes into an entirely different situation loses the meaning and ends up feeling stilted and false. Lazy storytelling.

5) Hell yes. And yet again, it's an example of lazy storytelling, where the story idea is more important than taking the time to be sure they've got the character 'right'. One throwaway comment from the pilot episode where the two characters are coming off a long estrangement does not define either of those characters, but too many writers find it easier to stick to that stereotype than invest time and effort in understanding the true psyche of the characters.

Great post, Chris!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Jo *hugs* glad you agree. From a writer's point of view you probably judge these things even harder than I do. Sometimes it's really sad when you see the great potential a story has in plotting for example and lazy storytelling just prevents you from appreciating the overall good idea.

In a story I really need to feel the characters as I see them in the show or the story doesn't give me a thing. I only allow for more freedom with the characters in pre-series stories, when I see the author tries to actually show how Sam, Dean and John became the persons that we know from the show. I really enjoy this kind of stories a lot.