I prefer prose to script, but if the script catches my attention straight off with good characterisation and such, I would happily read it. Dukesmom, I think your GG fics are a good example of that. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Scripts are harder to read than prose, though. I can't help but think that sometimes it is to do with formatting. It's really hard to try and read a script with no line breaks. It's not that hard to leave a blank line between one line of dialogue and the one following, but it makes for much easier reading. I guess it's the equivalent of paragraphing in prose.

I prefer prose, but I will read a script if it's good and if the writer isn't obviously taking the lazy way.

What I can't stand is a sort of hybrid of script and prose. It drives me up the wall. Choose which way you want to write and stay that way.

I can take or leave the script style fics. But I hate the script and prose hybrids.

Also, one of my biggest peeves -- there's a difference between then and than. Then is a noun, an adverb, and an adjective; than is a conjunction and a preposition. I could almost understand if the words were homophones but they're not. I don't even know how many fanfics I've read in which the two are mixed up (repeatedly) and it makes me want to scream.

I hate the then/than thing too. Even good fics with good authors make that mistake repeatedly. It drives me crazy.

And don't forget it's/its! One of my good friends can *never* get that right, no matter how much fic she writes.

The list is never ending...your/you're...their/they're/there.

I was just reading the songfic thread and someone over there had said something about how annoying it is when someone breaks the flow of the story with an AN. I was reading a fic the other day and it was mid-sentence and someone had written something like (AN: Katie - that's for you, lol!) That annoys me so much. Luckily, not many people do that.

That's so true. Why can't you just get all your ANs out at the start or finish of the fic, or even the chapter? It's like reading footnotes... except worse. Because sometimes footnotes are interesting, whereas ANs - irrelevant most of the time. If it's an 'inside joke', wouldn't the person who's supposed to be getting the joke get it, even if you don't spell it out for them?

I loved the bit on Friends for the your/you're problem. My 8 year old sister learned the difference between the two from that programme. Go pedantic Ross. [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

Having said that, I just found out the other day that my sister completely mixed up the uses for its/it's. She thought it was the other way around. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

One last thing: It's would/should have, not would/should of. I shudder every time somebody says "Well I would of done it!" Blech.

Yes, would of is annoying. If you want to make it sound more colloquial or something use "would've."

I've seen people confuse half and have before. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

And for god's sake, pick a tense and stick with it!!!

I think every single fic I've beta-read has had a problem using past and present tenses interchangeably, ignoring the past-perfect altogether, and using "would of" for the future prefect. I put a link to a verb chart on our resources page, but I seriously doubt anyone will use it. Here it is: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handou...ltensverb.html

What advice does everyone have for summaries?
What makes a summary a “good” summary?
Does it need to specify the main characters and/or ship?
How much of the plot should it reveal?

It's one of the things (along with titles) that I find problematic.

I hate reading fics where all the characters are OOC. There needs to be some sort of transition to the change. There are some stories that everyone loves, but because some of the characters are OOC, I can't finish the fic. It's almost unbearable.

Another thing I can't stand is a bad plot (more so, a clichéd plot). Even if I've read it all before, I'll continue to read the fic hoping that maybe it'll turn out different. But I'm almost always disappointed.

And I dunno about you guys, but if the dialogue doesn't all flow, I'm turned off of the fic. If it's choppy, I just can't read it.

Yeah, I agree. I used to write a lot and found that my titles and summaries were really rubbish. I find that coming up with titles is the hardest. Sometimes I can build (somewhat) of a story based on a title, but usually titles don't come to me until I'm half way through a story, or until I'm finished writing it.

gosh! this thread is just amazing! Not only it is very interesting, but also very intelligent.
One thing I hate about Fiction is how the writer makes his sentences. Sometimes, he wants to be so poetic - so emotional, so he puts every adjectives in one sentence. I would get lost in the flow of his words. Furthermore, I might not understand the whole point in that sentence. It's okay to describe with overused adjectives but to put them all in one sentence is the wrong way.
Also, sometimes, writers write in one long paragraph. We, as writers, should consider our readers as well. We should be able to know when will the readers get tired of reading. I strongly believe that putting pauses in between paragraphs are writer's gift to readers. Or perhaps putting sub-title before another paragraph.

well, writing in your 2nd language? that's fine, as long as you do justice to the English language. Don't use a word if you just got it from a spell checker (or your PC said "this is the synonym for this word") lol.. that is a stupid thing to do. (I used to do that before, hehe... but I learned my lesson.). Know the meaning of the word, especially if it sound so foreign to you.
Arghhh... I think that's all for now. I've got Church to attend to. bye! [img]smilies/wave.gif[/img]

[ 12-16-2003: Message edited ~ shnicky ~ ]

What makes it good? It needs to both get your attention and be accurate. By that I mean that there's no point in writing something really flashy that doesn't say what the story is really about.

It should not explain why you wrote it - in fact, if you have to explain why you wrote it at all, then it probably isn't worth reading.

Yes, it needs to specify the main characters, because most readers just scan for their favorite characters. If you don't say who's in it, the majority of people will probably skip it.

I've never seen any that I thought revealed too much or too little of the plot, so I'm not sure how to answer that. I suppose a guideline would be to only reveal as much as you cover in the set-up.

Oh, wait, I did just think of one that said too much. The summary was "_____ gets a tattoo," which would lead you to think that that was the beginning of the story, but actually it was the end. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ 12-16-2003: Message edited Crossbow ]

Nicky - It almost killed me to use would/should/could of in my epic. But, I figured that's the way these characters would talk, so I had to go with it!

[img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] Noooooo! [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

Seriously though, I don't have a problem with authors making mistakes intentionally for purposes of characterisation. I just hate it when people don't realise they've made a mistake. [img]smilies/nono.gif[/img]

I agree that the main thing for summaries is to get the main couple's name out there. A summary's just a teaser to your fic, right? Something to lure readers into reading it. My advice would be to keep it simple, maybe just a one-liner, something like "Pacey and Joey explore their confusing relationship on a trip to London". It tells you about the couple and the setting, and I don't really see the point of adding anything else to the mix. If the reader is into P/J for example, they will read the first few paragraphs. In that light, it's more important for me to write/read a well-written start to a fic than to write/read a fantastic summary. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]