In LotR fic, it bugs the bejeezuz out of me when people say things like "Oh, baby!" or any phrase refering to "god."
Also, SPELL CHECK ISN'T ENOUGH. It won't stop you from misusing a word. I'm webmistress of a fan fic site, and I can't tell you how many mistakes I've seen using real words.
And sex scenes that are physically impossible. Why not just advertize that you've not only never had sex, but have no knowledge of human anatomy? Write what you know. If you haven't had sex, don't write about it. It's too obvious.
Every writer, fan fic or original, should read and
memorize Strunk and White's "Elements of Style."
There's a cool site called "Bad Fanfic! No Biscuit!" Let's see if I can link to it ... If not, you can find it with a search on "Bad Fanfic!"
Bad Fanfic!
Oh - and good points about the dialogue. I'd never thought about it, but I feel the same way - in a novel I rarely wish there was more dialogue, but in fan fic, it seems more necessary. Hmm. This bears further discussion. Do you think it's because the original medium for the story was audio/visual?
For example, "Pirates of the Caribbean" wouldn't have been half the movie it was without Johnny Depp's performance, so a fan fic about Jack Sparrow would really fall short if there wasn't enough dialogue from him.
[ 11-18-2003: Message edited Crossbow ]