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wook77First - thanks for the comments on my mopey post. Peche went to sleep at 3:15pm CST yesterday. It was very peaceful.
Second - I've changed my layout again. I don't like it but I didn't like the other one either. Anyone good at coding and be willing to help me out? I'll pay with fic or really shitty art. Honest. I'll write any pairing for a layout that I like for more than a month.
Moving on... I've recently noticed a lot of things that annoy me when people are advertising their stories and/or art. So - a mild but long rant about what makes me read or not read a story.
1.) I admit it. I judge by the icons. If the icon is childish and/or annoying, unless it's a name I already know, I won't read the story. When the icon doesn't make a good first impression, I don't go further. Am I mean and bitchy when it comes to this? Nope. I simply ignore the post other than making a mental note of the lj user so that I don't peruse it later.
2.) If there is no summary, there won't be any reading from me. It's as simple as that. I'm not going to get suckered into reading a story I don't want to. Even an excerpt of the story would be wonderful. Give your reader a few thoughts about what you do. (I've learned this one the hard way. I don't read dark!harry very often and I've been sucker punched into it a few times. This wookiee can learn a new trick or two.)
3.) If you don't tell me who you're writing about, I won't read. It's another simple fact. I detest Snarry or, in fact, any teacher/student pairing with very rare exceptions, likewise for anything involving a romantic or sexual Filch, Dumbledore or Hagrid. Sorry, it's just a personal preference. I'm not going to get suckered into reading a Filch/Dumbledore simply because the writer decided not to clarify who the pairing was.
4.) If there is self-deprecation in the A/N or intro (other than a "I'm new to this pairing/comm/fandom" or the like type comment), I won't read it. If you don't like it, why the hell should I? If there isn't a chance in hell of me liking it, why should I waste my time reading it when there are plenty of things out there that I will like?
5.) Continuing #4 - I will read new authors. I will give everyone a chance when it comes to my chosen ships. I will offer concrit, advice, commentary, etc. Why? Because I was new once (and still am in many circles) and I know how much I appreciated all of that. However, if you think I'm flaming you when I request that your story go through a spellchecker before being posted, I will mark you down on the "wook will never read again list". If you can't use a lj cut, I won't read you. If you are argumentative, arrogant or condescending, I won't read you. (I realize that by me saying this, it is arrogant and condescending.)
6.) Continuing #5 - If there are blatant misspellings and/or grammar mistakes in the "advert", I will avoid you like the plague. Why? Because I can't be pantsed to read your stuff if you can't be pantsed to spell check/grammar check. English not your native language? Get a beta. There are plenty of them out there. Hell, I've been known to beta a couple of times.
7.) #6 holds true for netspeak and that annoying tYpnLYkDiS as well.
8.) If your username annoys the shit out of me, I won't read you. Example? If you have a username of dracoisawhingingbitchthatdeservestodie, I won't read you. Insulting people, places, things that I like doesn't float my boat. UsEAusRNMlKDs and I won't read you either. Why? It annoys the shit out of me and goes back to the first impression.
9.) Continuing in the vein of #8 - If your summary, a/n, etc. are insulting to characters or people, I won't read. (I recently saw a story with "Hermione is a dumbass know it all and I'm happy to kill her off in this story. I'm sure you all will agree." as a summary. Err, no thanks.)
That being said for why I won't read you - here's why I will read you.
1.) If your advert is cleanly laid out and you're writing a ship I adore or want to try, I will give it a try. Cleanly laid out means summary, pairing, title and any a/n's in a clear concise order. Most communities have requested advert formats. People who adhere to these are beautiful.
2.) Irregardless of your pairing (other than my squick ships), if your summary sounds interesting, I will give it a try. I read a wonderful Seamus/Draco story that had a very intriguing summary. Am I a Seamus/Draco shipper? Err, no, not at all. I still enjoyed it because it was well written and the summary intrigued me. I made sure to also tell the writer this because comments are golden.
3.) If you give me a teaser and you don't violate #6 above, I will probably give it a try. Why? Because your teaser gives me a taste and I'm one of those "once you pop, you can't stop" kind of girls. I have to know the ending. If it is a WiP, I will eagerly watch the comms for updates.
5.) If you comment on one of my offerings, I will normally pop over to your journal and peruse all fandom related things and comment as well. Why? Because it's polite to return the favor. More than that, I'm always curious about what other people can offer to fandom as well. Comments are gold. They let the person making the offering know that people are reading and appreciating. More than that, concrit is platinum. Concrit lets the person know what they're doing wrong in a polite manner that will insure that they're not going to be part of some big cosmic joke. (ie, did you see how![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wook77 always mispells Madam Pince? What a tool.)
6.) I'm alright with crossposting when done over a matter of hours (not seconds). Why? Because sometimes I don't catch the first post. Sometimes I don't catch the second or even third posts. I belong to a lot of groups so that I can have the exposure to new offerings for a reason. If I minded cross-posting, then I would defriend a bunch of the groups.
7.) If you are recc'd by a friend of mine, I will give your stories a go. If they liked it, chances are, I'm going to like it.
8.) If you offer something new, I will read. That means a non-cliche, a cliche used in a new way, an AU that hasn't been done, a pairing that sounds intriguing, etc.
9.) I will normally give crack!fic a try, irregardless of the pairing. Why? Because the idea of Snape being caught in a tutu cracks me up. Dumbledore shagging Fawkes is like a trainwreck I can't look away from. New uses for Hagrid's pink umbrella make me go "ew but OMG hilarious" if done well. All these characters are normal squick for me but if the crack! is right, I'll be coming on down to your story.
10.) You're in a ship that I follow religiously and you don't violate any of the "no thanks" things above. Self-explanatory.
I'm interested to hear what makes any of you read or not read a story. Tell me all about it, people.
Please note that this is not to turn into a "I don't read soandso because they're horrible" type post. I'm honestly curious about what makes or breaks an offering for you. What draws you in? What pushes you away?
Anon is on and ip logging is off. Wank will be deleted with no explanations.
Second - I've changed my layout again. I don't like it but I didn't like the other one either. Anyone good at coding and be willing to help me out? I'll pay with fic or really shitty art. Honest. I'll write any pairing for a layout that I like for more than a month.
Moving on... I've recently noticed a lot of things that annoy me when people are advertising their stories and/or art. So - a mild but long rant about what makes me read or not read a story.
1.) I admit it. I judge by the icons. If the icon is childish and/or annoying, unless it's a name I already know, I won't read the story. When the icon doesn't make a good first impression, I don't go further. Am I mean and bitchy when it comes to this? Nope. I simply ignore the post other than making a mental note of the lj user so that I don't peruse it later.
2.) If there is no summary, there won't be any reading from me. It's as simple as that. I'm not going to get suckered into reading a story I don't want to. Even an excerpt of the story would be wonderful. Give your reader a few thoughts about what you do. (I've learned this one the hard way. I don't read dark!harry very often and I've been sucker punched into it a few times. This wookiee can learn a new trick or two.)
3.) If you don't tell me who you're writing about, I won't read. It's another simple fact. I detest Snarry or, in fact, any teacher/student pairing with very rare exceptions, likewise for anything involving a romantic or sexual Filch, Dumbledore or Hagrid. Sorry, it's just a personal preference. I'm not going to get suckered into reading a Filch/Dumbledore simply because the writer decided not to clarify who the pairing was.
4.) If there is self-deprecation in the A/N or intro (other than a "I'm new to this pairing/comm/fandom" or the like type comment), I won't read it. If you don't like it, why the hell should I? If there isn't a chance in hell of me liking it, why should I waste my time reading it when there are plenty of things out there that I will like?
5.) Continuing #4 - I will read new authors. I will give everyone a chance when it comes to my chosen ships. I will offer concrit, advice, commentary, etc. Why? Because I was new once (and still am in many circles) and I know how much I appreciated all of that. However, if you think I'm flaming you when I request that your story go through a spellchecker before being posted, I will mark you down on the "wook will never read again list". If you can't use a lj cut, I won't read you. If you are argumentative, arrogant or condescending, I won't read you. (I realize that by me saying this, it is arrogant and condescending.)
6.) Continuing #5 - If there are blatant misspellings and/or grammar mistakes in the "advert", I will avoid you like the plague. Why? Because I can't be pantsed to read your stuff if you can't be pantsed to spell check/grammar check. English not your native language? Get a beta. There are plenty of them out there. Hell, I've been known to beta a couple of times.
7.) #6 holds true for netspeak and that annoying tYpnLYkDiS as well.
8.) If your username annoys the shit out of me, I won't read you. Example? If you have a username of dracoisawhingingbitchthatdeservestodie, I won't read you. Insulting people, places, things that I like doesn't float my boat. UsEAusRNMlKDs and I won't read you either. Why? It annoys the shit out of me and goes back to the first impression.
9.) Continuing in the vein of #8 - If your summary, a/n, etc. are insulting to characters or people, I won't read. (I recently saw a story with "Hermione is a dumbass know it all and I'm happy to kill her off in this story. I'm sure you all will agree." as a summary. Err, no thanks.)
That being said for why I won't read you - here's why I will read you.
1.) If your advert is cleanly laid out and you're writing a ship I adore or want to try, I will give it a try. Cleanly laid out means summary, pairing, title and any a/n's in a clear concise order. Most communities have requested advert formats. People who adhere to these are beautiful.
2.) Irregardless of your pairing (other than my squick ships), if your summary sounds interesting, I will give it a try. I read a wonderful Seamus/Draco story that had a very intriguing summary. Am I a Seamus/Draco shipper? Err, no, not at all. I still enjoyed it because it was well written and the summary intrigued me. I made sure to also tell the writer this because comments are golden.
3.) If you give me a teaser and you don't violate #6 above, I will probably give it a try. Why? Because your teaser gives me a taste and I'm one of those "once you pop, you can't stop" kind of girls. I have to know the ending. If it is a WiP, I will eagerly watch the comms for updates.
5.) If you comment on one of my offerings, I will normally pop over to your journal and peruse all fandom related things and comment as well. Why? Because it's polite to return the favor. More than that, I'm always curious about what other people can offer to fandom as well. Comments are gold. They let the person making the offering know that people are reading and appreciating. More than that, concrit is platinum. Concrit lets the person know what they're doing wrong in a polite manner that will insure that they're not going to be part of some big cosmic joke. (ie, did you see how
wook77 always mispells Madam Pince? What a tool.)6.) I'm alright with crossposting when done over a matter of hours (not seconds). Why? Because sometimes I don't catch the first post. Sometimes I don't catch the second or even third posts. I belong to a lot of groups so that I can have the exposure to new offerings for a reason. If I minded cross-posting, then I would defriend a bunch of the groups.
7.) If you are recc'd by a friend of mine, I will give your stories a go. If they liked it, chances are, I'm going to like it.
8.) If you offer something new, I will read. That means a non-cliche, a cliche used in a new way, an AU that hasn't been done, a pairing that sounds intriguing, etc.
9.) I will normally give crack!fic a try, irregardless of the pairing. Why? Because the idea of Snape being caught in a tutu cracks me up. Dumbledore shagging Fawkes is like a trainwreck I can't look away from. New uses for Hagrid's pink umbrella make me go "ew but OMG hilarious" if done well. All these characters are normal squick for me but if the crack! is right, I'll be coming on down to your story.
10.) You're in a ship that I follow religiously and you don't violate any of the "no thanks" things above. Self-explanatory.
I'm interested to hear what makes any of you read or not read a story. Tell me all about it, people.
Please note that this is not to turn into a "I don't read soandso because they're horrible" type post. I'm honestly curious about what makes or breaks an offering for you. What draws you in? What pushes you away?
Anon is on and ip logging is off. Wank will be deleted with no explanations.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-01-15 08:53 am (UTC)Will post an answer tomorrow when I'm coherent and have enough sleep.
Was going to comment properly but got distracted with the character death talk *point above*
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 12:00 am (UTC)The more the merrier on the discussions. I like hearing everyone's opinions on this stuff. I know some of my stuff above is petty and small as to why I don't read something. Some of it is huge, though.
To read or not to read
Date: 2006-01-17 01:59 am (UTC)*draw a deep breath*
1.) Had I judged by icons, I would miss out on the fantabulous H/D
goddesswriter that is2.) For some reason, some fantabulous writers can't write a decent summary. And sometimes they have typos *cue horror music*
Perhaps it's because they wrote the summary after the story, and didn't double-check or beta it before posting?
3.) I detest Snarry or, in fact, any teacher/student pairing with very rare exceptions, likewise for anything involving a romantic or sexual Filch, Dumbledore or Hagrid.
Yes. I like surprise pairings now and then, though. And
4.) For some reason some good writers really do seem to have low confidence in their writing ability. I don't know whether they're just being angsty teenager or haven't taken their meds or what, but yeah. And there's this impulse in me to read those kinds of fics to reassure the author that they're not as bad as they think they are.
But if I read those self-deprecation in FF.net, I flee. Also when I see "I suck at summaries" and typos.
5.) I will mark you down on the "wook will never read again list".
What's a wook?
If you are argumentative, arrogant or condescending, I won't read you.
Yeah, some authors are so defensive of their writing it's scary O.o
"Umm, have you taken your not-crazy pills yet? Because your hysterics are creeping me out..." ~_~
7.) #6 holds true for netspeak and that annoying tYpnLYkDiS as well.
Except for crack!fics! X-D
9.) Continuing in the vein of #8 - If your summary, a/n, etc. are insulting to characters or people, I won't read.
Yeah, those get tiring real quick. I enjoy my Evil!Manipulative!Dumbledore though ;-) As long as it's believable and not terribly OoC. (Yes, I still believe in Evil!Manipulative!Dumbledore, even after HBP. Except if the fic continues HBP, of course)
3.) If you give me a teaser and you don't violate #6 above, I will probably give it a try.
Hee, I'm a sucker for teasers as well. Except for those "what if"s at FF.net ~_~
5.) If you comment on one of my offerings, I will normally pop over to your journal and peruse all fandom related things and comment as well. Why? Because it's polite to return the favor.
Yepz, me too. Get connected to
6.) I'm alright with crossposting when done over a matter of hours (not seconds).
Will keep this in mind next time I plug. Will probably space them every 30 minutes.
7.) If you are recc'd by a friend of mine, I will give your stories a go.
Plus it's fun to see where our tastes differ. So far the friend whose taste is closest to mine is
8.) If you offer something new, I will read. That means a non-cliche, a cliche used in a new way, an AU that hasn't been done, a pairing that sounds intriguing, etc.
Yayz for crackfics that turn cliches around!
9.) All these characters are normal squick for me but if the crack! is right, I'll be coming on down to your story.
Same here! X-D
Self-plug here
Date: 2006-01-17 02:09 am (UTC)Ahem. *peer up to check you don't mind self-plugging*
I almost exclusively write H/D too, although never higher than PG-13.
*****
"Green Eyes" (http://www.livejournal.com/community/mukashi2/1331.html#cutid1) (Draco-centric, AU, PG, Gen, HP/DM preslash).
A Harry Potter adaptation of Grimms' "The Frog King."
Playing at the dragon fountain near the forest, ten-years-old Draco lost the Golden Snitch which commemorated the fastest capture in Quidditch history. A green-eyed frog leapt out of the dragon's mouth and made a deal with him.
This one is pure cutesy fluff. It basically writes itself in a matter of hours, and I was pleasantly surprised that I can actually write humor.
My pet project is I am Responsible for My Rose (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=43sunsets), a PG-13 AU Genfic featuring HP characters in the Little Prince world.
The entire wizarding world, with the exception of Dumbledore, has no knowledge of Harry Potter's existence. When Harry turns twelve, he finally comes into contact with Hogwarts and the wizarding world. However, he is left with an unfavorable impression and decides to return home.
On his way home, he encounters a stranded Snape in the middle of the Sahara desert. "Please sir," asks Harry, "draw me an owl…" Snape finds himself staring into the face of his worst enemy. He then suspects that Harry is a hallucination created by his wormwood and nutmeg tea.
Draco won't show up until chapter 7 though, and this fic is more of a Genfic instead of pairing focused. This one I agonize over _a lot_. Which is why it hasn't been updated for months. (HBP destroyed my Snape's back-story. In my story, Snape's mother is the half-blood.)
Chapter seven should hopefully be finished by the end of this month, after I'm done writing "Dragon Dreams," which is a H/D one-shot inspired by "Sleeping Beauty," the myth of Morheus, and Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. I might actually work myself to write a kissing scene for "Dragon Dreams"
*****
Fanfics are a way for me to exercise my creative writing ^^;; and try out different writing styles. So far I prefer understated over flowery writing.
Ahem. End of self-plug. Which of your stories do you think I would like? :-)
(And an LJ link works better for me, since I'm awful at leaving feedbacks outside of LJ).
Re: Self-plug here
Date: 2006-01-17 05:01 pm (UTC)Re: Self-plug here
Date: 2006-01-17 05:19 pm (UTC)And rec me whatever stories of yours you think I'd like.
Here are some of my fav.s (http://www.livejournal.com/users/lilian_cho/tag/fanfic+rec), to give you an idea.