On fanfiction...

[beccastareyes]

I 'm discovering that I actually am pretty laissez-faire about fanfiction. While there is a lot that makes me twitchy, there are only a few things that I would kick off the internet:

1. Bashing Fics: zannechaos once explained it thus -- the standard mantra of fanfiction is 'Don't Like? Don't Read/Write!'. Bashing fics ignore that by deliberately picking up a character the author doesn't like and writing horrible things happening to her/him, often having her/him violently OOC. Thus, they ignore the mantra, whihc is just rude.
   
2. Bad Spelling: I'm not talking about one typo or a slight mistake in romanizing a name. I am talking about fics that have never seen the light of the spell-checker. This just shows to me the author can't bother taking an extra five minutes to correct her fic, which does not bode well for the fic itself. Spelling is one thing in RT conversation, but in fiction you spent a lot of time working on off-line...
   
3. Archive Rule-Breakers: The Internet is a wide and wonderful place. If an archive will not accept your work, there will be half a dozen others that will. So don't post NC-17 stories to ff.net or Harry Potter fanfiction to Fictionpress. YEs, I know there is freedom of speech, but the archive owner has a right to decide what content his or her site will hold.
   
4. Plagerists: 'Nuff said.
   
5. Flamers: Let me rephrase the old aphorism -- 'If you can't say something nice or helpful, don't say anything.' And if you read a fic that is blatently said to be a Mary Sue/slash/a ceratin pairing/incest/MPreg/a lemon/otherwise squicky, then it is your own damn fault. You were warned.
   
6. Counter-Flamers: If you don't want C&C, either do not post to an archive with a review function, or tell your readers. I respect your right to not take C&C but I infinitly prefer it to those who ask for reviews, than bitch out a constructive-if-negative reviwer for flaming.
   

Everything else I can ignore or offer to help with because I recognize that not everyone writes well. When I think of my first fanfic... well, I'd rather not. Those things above are things even a novice should know not to do.