[Silversun]

Carry on. Old thread here.

[Catou]

i am sick and tired of unesscary details!!! i really will scream if i read one more story where someone lists baby shower gifts, or menu items, or movie choices if they have NOTHING to do with the plot line

Well I haven't see that done much. When I mention the name of a movie (or list of movies), it's usually in the dialogue.

Sometimes I will list different objects (on a shelf or in a cupboard, for example) when a character is observing his or her surroundings or looking for something. And I usually do that when a character is in an unfamiliar place.

Does that include what you're talking about?

[Crossbow]

The uneccessary details:

Yes, I hate that. I was beta-reading this thing where one character was helping another pack his records, and the author listed EVERY record they packed.

[Silversun]

You'd think there are easier ways to gloat about your taste in music, movies, etc.

[josie21612]

Originally posted by Catou Sometimes I will list different objects (on a shelf or in a cupboard, for example) when a character is observing his or her surroundings or looking for something. And I usually do that when a character is in an unfamiliar place. Does that include what you're talking about?

no, its not lists in general, its lists that have nothing to do with anything in the story at all..
like, "it was my birthday, bobby gave me (blank) and suzie gave me(blank)..." and none of the people or presents have anything to do with anything at all

aurgh

[Indian Summer]

I haven't run into the list thing much yet, thankfully.

A page or two back on the old thread, you were ranting about misspelled names. I write for Gilmore Girls, largely, which as someone else mentioned, is pretty unique in this area. For example, the fandom renamed one of the characters. According to the scripts and the books and the credits, Chad Michael Murray played Tristin DuGrey. Yet he's become Tristan. I'm not sure how or when or why it happened, but I prefer Tristan over Tristin anyway, so I'm fine with it. But even I'll admit it is kind of odd.

I've been a mod at a GG forum for... ah, two years now? A while. And in that time, I've had a lot of butchering of my name, most commonly a lack of capitalization. See, that normally wouldn't be a big problem except "Summer" is very different than "summer." One's a name, one's a season. Gah. Then to make matters worse, a while ago someone at the forum leaked my middle name (oh no, the horror). My parents? Hippies and mythological freaks. My name's Summer Athena (seriously, don't use it against me). So then I got this weird problem where people preferred my middle name to my first, so I'd get people calling me "Athena" or "Athens" or "Ath." Or the dreaded combination. "Summerath." "Summathena." And then there's the mispronounciation. Summer--> Summah-->Suma---> Sumo. As in sumo wrestler. Lovely.

So yeah, I get a bit bitter about the name thing. So when I kindly remind someone that it's "Lorelai" and not "Lorelei" or that Suki is not Sooky is not Suke and they reply it's "not a big deal?" I get irritated. So sue me.

[Night Nymph]

josie: Unnecessary details bug me as well. My main beef is not one others may be bugged about, but for me it's clothing descriptions that have nothing to do with the plot. I have noticed this in professional writing as well - where an author will go to great pains to describe the (usually female) character's outfits with color, fabric type etc. when this has nothing to do with the plot. It generaly disrupts the flow of the narrative for me as well. Sometimes it is just thrown in the scene.

Unless said outfit is later going to get ruined, is needed for a disguise, effects how other characters will view the person, or is somehow going to play at least some role in the narrative, I don't care. That the character is wearing a sweater and jeans could easily be worked into the general narrative, whereas... "Mary Sue wore a pleated, pale grey skirt with a rayon, pearl-colored, button up blouse adorned with small embroidered accents. Her blazer was a charcoal lightweight wool blend. On her feet, she wore a pair of gray pumps that she'd spent way too much for at Bergdorf's. She adjusted her skirt one last time and knocked on the client's door..." adds extra wordage.

That example was made up - but I have read descriptions very similar in books, especially ones that have a woman lawyer or something like that. I actually tried to fit that example into the flow, which is more than I sometimes find in fics and in books which can throw two sentences in of outfit description and then go on as if they weren't even thrown in there. Next time I come across one, I'll have to mark the spot and give a real world example.

[Kath7]

I agree Night Nymph. This isn't only a problem in fanfic, but in some popular fiction as well. Laurell K. Hamilton is extremely guilty of listing stuff in her Anita Blake books, be it weapons, or every last detail of every stitch of clothing every character is wearing in every scene. It drives me nuts. I really don't give a crap what colour Nikes Anita is wearing, but I even give less of one about the colour of her laces. And I so wish I was kidding. It's so bad, I'm almost to the point where I'm thinking of quitting her books.

[Silversun]

Originally posted by Indian Summer or that Suki is not Sooky is not Suke

Oh my god! I've always thought the official spelling was Sookie! All the transcripts and episode guides I read spell it that way. Crazy.

[dukesmom]

On the previous thread, people were discussing the substitution of “then” for “than” (and vice versa) and mentioned that they couldn’t understand how writers could make that mistake since the words are so different in meaning and sound. Well, depending on where you grew up, they could sound identical when spoken. Trust me, regional dialects are a b*tch. I remember my 4th grade teacher desperately trying to get us to enunciate “pin” and “pen” correctly so that we wouldn’t get them mixed up. Again, two similarly spelled words with vastly different meanings and pronunciation that are commonly mixed up. Plus, since both words are actual words, spelling programs won’t catch the mistake, although grammar-checking programs should. It’s annoying and all editors and beta-readers should weed them out, but one slipping through once in a while doesn’t bother me.

originally posted by Indian Summer A page or two back on the old thread, you were ranting about misspelled names…snip…So when I kindly remind someone that it's "Lorelai" and not "Lorelei" or that Suki is not Sooky is not Suke and they reply it's "not a big deal?" I get irritated. So sue me.

I was one of the ones talking about misspelled names and extending an olive branch to those who will accept it. If they respond with “not a big deal” like the ones you seem to have encountered, then I would definitely stop reading their stuff. Oh, and please tell me I misread your post and you know that Sookie is not spelled Suki.

Silversun – the correct spelling is Sookie. To my knowledge, it always has been.

[Lovesbitch]

on the topic of name changes, i remember when i was into jackie/hyde form T7S the nickname 'jacks' floated around as something only hyde called jackie and everyone in the fandom obeyed to that rule. except for the fact that it never actually happened on the show.

i just think it's odd that fandoms come up with their own lists of facts and what's 'in character' that goes way beyond the original show/book/movie.

[dukesmom]

Originally posted by Lovesbitch on the topic of name changes, i remember when i was into jackie/hyde form T7S the nickname 'jacks' floated around as something only hyde called jackie and everyone in the fandom obeyed to that rule. except for the fact that it never actually happened on the show.

Sounds like "Beam me up, Scotty" syndrome, or, what's that other famous non-quote, "Play it again, Sam."

Originally posted by Lovesbitch i just think it's odd that fandoms come up with their own lists of facts and what's 'in character' that goes way beyond the original show/book/movie.

True, too true. I get frustrated by it and hope I've never fallen into that trap when writing fanfic or responding to posts on the boards. I'm usually too chicken to delurk and point out the discrepancy to others, so I guess I'm not helping the situation.

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. I just read a fanfic in which someone mixed up “mute” and “moot.”

[Indian Summer]

Heh, yes, I know it's Sookie. The original post had a list of like, a dozen different spellings I've seen, so I just kept the more extreme ones. Sorry if that didn't make sense.

[Crossbow]

Originally posted by Kath7 I agree Night Nymph. This isn't only a problem in fanfic, but in some popular fiction as well. Laurell K. Hamilton is extremely guilty of listing stuff in her Anita Blake books, be it weapons, or every last detail of every stitch of clothing every character is wearing in every scene. It drives me nuts. I really don't give a crap what colour Nikes Anita is wearing, but I even give less of one about the colour of her laces. And I so wish I was kidding. It's so bad, I'm almost to the point where I'm thinking of quitting her books.

In The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King, there's a part where she describes all the new clothes the character has, and I was like "What the H*LL??? Surely this writer knows better!" But then all the clothes got slashed up and ruined, and it made me sad, so it seems the author knew exactly what she was doing.

[Orton]

I only ever read from two fandoms. Queer As Folk and Young Americans, luckily I have never come across anyone that lists things, or needs to explain every little details, when in the end its not even necessary.

So yeah, I get a bit bitter about the name thing. So when I kindly remind someone that it's "Lorelai" and not "Lorelei"

I use to mix up spelling Lorelai's name I always spelt it "Loreali" Thanks for the spell check there