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kriadydragon ([personal profile] kriadydragon) wrote2011-10-14 11:28 pm
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Writing Discussion 5

They're ba-ack!

If anyone is curious as to why I haven't touched on some of the suggested topics it's because some of the topics are rather fanfic centered and I want the discussions to be centered around both fanfic and original fic.

Tonight's topic is on wording, word choices and using words in a way that makes your story flow and holds your reader's interest.

I start with this question: Have you ever read a story that A) even though it was well written, interesting, the content superb and agreeable, something about the story still managed to give you a headache or B) have you ever read a story that though well written and interesting, made your mind wander more often than not and you wished the author would - to put it bluntly - shut up already? I just finished a book not too long ago that actually did both. Though it was good, it just kept going and going and going... yes, the plants have special powers, we get that already. To quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Get on with it!

And also this question: have you ever stopped reading a story for something as trivial as, say, the author's choice of words? I have. I believe it was because of the gratuitous use of the word giggle. I don't trust stories written by people who actually think grown men giggle, and said men are neither drunk, drugged, insane or ten years old.

Now on to the topic question - how the heck to avoid all the above mentioned pitfalls?

[identity profile] black-raven135.livejournal.com 2011-10-16 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
YES to both A & B.......
e.g. when I was asked if I would fill in for a judge
for a M7 contest...........I could NOT believe the writers got to the finals
B is what makes me nuts..........they go around and around and around
until I zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz out.
Fortunately when I have done SGA beta it has not happened but I have read
some ff that featured both also.
I wonder if the person had no beta
Any self respecting beta would in particularly point out B

[identity profile] kriadydragon.livejournal.com 2011-10-17 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I think in fanfiction it becomes a little too easy to overlook a lot in order to keep getting the kind of stories we want. Which really isn't a bad thing except when we have stories where it's obvious the only editing the author did was to put it through spell-checker.

What gets my hackles up is people who will nit-pick well-written stories that have been beta'd, edited and where you know the author knows their stuff. While stories making blatant factual mistakes let alone have spelling mistakes left and right are praised like they're the best thing since sliced bread.

[identity profile] black-raven135.livejournal.com 2011-10-17 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
"....people who will nit-pick well-written stories that have been beta'd, edited and where you know the author knows their stuff. While stories making blatant factual mistakes let alone have spelling mistakes left and right are praised like they're the best thing since sliced bread."



Ironic you mention this. Not too long ago a friend, who is a writer in fandom and a very very good one, said the very same thing.
She said while the best sometimes are nitpicked or totally overlooked, the stuff which is full of errors etc. not only in content but punctuation, grammar etc. is praised heavily

It makes no sense to me, but it didn't either when I was asked to judge
The stuff that made it to the finals was so full of errors that it left me no choice in one but to leave the following note:
If she continues writing, she NEEDS a beta badly