Some of my fanfic Pet Peeves
Apr. 10th, 2007 05:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
raloriaI read a lot of fan fiction. Before SPN I read a lot of fan fiction for some of my favorite TV shows. My collection of SPN fan fiction numbers about 500 stories and I read some just about every day. I've even managed to write a few myself, but my writing muse doesn't kick in very often.
My point here, is that I'm quite the fanfic reader and over time I've run across several things that seem to repeatedly appear in SPN fan fiction and sometimes in fan fiction in general. Call them pet peeves if you like, but I see them so often in the fanfic I read that they've become major annoyances.
Just to make sure we're all on the same page here, I want to state that these are just my opinion only. You may feel free to disagree with me. If you're a fanfic writer and you recognize something on this list that you've done in your works and you take offense, there's not much I can say except that it's just my opinion and it's by no means meant as an attack on your work. This list isn't meant as an attack on anyone. Even when I find these problems in the fanfic I read, I still enjoy the stories. If a fanfic writer sees this list and makes changes to their writing, all the better.
These are in no particular order, btw...
1. Breath vs. Breathe
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in any fanfic. People are always using "breath" when they should use "breathe" and "breathe" when they should use "breath".
Here's what it says in my little Webster's Dictionary:
Breath (breth) n. air used by lungs; life; respiration; slight breeze
Breathe (breeth) v. inhale and exhale air from lungs; live; pause, rest
So a proper use of "breath" would be: "Dean took a shallow breath after being punched in the stomach."
A proper use of "breathe" would be: "Dean couldn't breathe as the shapeshifter closed it's hands around his throat."
2. "The name is Sam"
I think we'd all agree the brother's relationship has come a long way since the Pilot. In that memorable scene of "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole", Sam responds to Dean calling him Sammy with "Sammy was a chubby twelve year old...it's Sam." He continued to bring it up a few more times early on in Season one, showing his annoyance at the nickname. This isn't the case any longer. In fact, in "Bloodlust" Sam makes a big point of telling Gordon that "He's (Dean's) the only one that gets to call me that." Sam now accepts the nickname as a form of endearment from his older brother. He just doesn't like it coming from anyone else, which really just further strengthens the bond between the two of them.
However, I continually see fanfics where the current Sam (season two or late season one) is still upset over the Sammy nickname. Dean will call him Sammy one too many times and Sam will say "it's Sam" or something similar. They've accepted it on the show, folks, why can't the fanfic version of Sam do the same? I'll accept it if the story takes place early on in season one, or the Pilot, but after that it just seems out of character and old.
3. Deano or Deany
Speaking of nicknames...since when have we ever heard Dean being called anything other than Dean on the show? None that I know of. Yet I've read some fics where Sam or John will call a younger Dean or even a grown up Dean, Deano or Deany. In my head I just can't accept such a childish nickname for a guy who reached adulthood at the age of 4. It makes me cringe everytime I read them. I don't think Dean would've ever accepted such nicknames even as a child.
4. Bro
The use of "bro" in SPN fanfic is becoming more and more common. Again, this is something I've never heard either Sam or Dean use when referring to each other on the show.
Here's an example of how it's used in fanfic:
Sam held onto Dean's arm, as his brother struggled to stay conscious. "I'm right here, bro. It's okay."
It seems so out of character because they just don't use that word on the show. They use "man" or "dude", but not "bro". In fact, in the above example it would be entirely appropriate for Sam to use "man" in place of "bro". It would sound like a line from the show, like this one from IMTOD by Sam: "You can't go, man, not now. We were just starting to be brothers again."
So there's my list and remember that these are just my opinion and meant in no way to be an attack on any fanfic writer's work. This is just a generalized list of some things that I find annoying. Hopefully I won't get attacked for these comments.
If you want to point out some of your own fanfic pet peeves, please feel free to voice them in your comments. If you want to comment on your agreement or disagreement with my list, you're welcome to do that too.
My point here, is that I'm quite the fanfic reader and over time I've run across several things that seem to repeatedly appear in SPN fan fiction and sometimes in fan fiction in general. Call them pet peeves if you like, but I see them so often in the fanfic I read that they've become major annoyances.
Just to make sure we're all on the same page here, I want to state that these are just my opinion only. You may feel free to disagree with me. If you're a fanfic writer and you recognize something on this list that you've done in your works and you take offense, there's not much I can say except that it's just my opinion and it's by no means meant as an attack on your work. This list isn't meant as an attack on anyone. Even when I find these problems in the fanfic I read, I still enjoy the stories. If a fanfic writer sees this list and makes changes to their writing, all the better.
These are in no particular order, btw...
1. Breath vs. Breathe
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in any fanfic. People are always using "breath" when they should use "breathe" and "breathe" when they should use "breath".
Here's what it says in my little Webster's Dictionary:
Breath (breth) n. air used by lungs; life; respiration; slight breeze
Breathe (breeth) v. inhale and exhale air from lungs; live; pause, rest
So a proper use of "breath" would be: "Dean took a shallow breath after being punched in the stomach."
A proper use of "breathe" would be: "Dean couldn't breathe as the shapeshifter closed it's hands around his throat."
2. "The name is Sam"
I think we'd all agree the brother's relationship has come a long way since the Pilot. In that memorable scene of "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole", Sam responds to Dean calling him Sammy with "Sammy was a chubby twelve year old...it's Sam." He continued to bring it up a few more times early on in Season one, showing his annoyance at the nickname. This isn't the case any longer. In fact, in "Bloodlust" Sam makes a big point of telling Gordon that "He's (Dean's) the only one that gets to call me that." Sam now accepts the nickname as a form of endearment from his older brother. He just doesn't like it coming from anyone else, which really just further strengthens the bond between the two of them.
However, I continually see fanfics where the current Sam (season two or late season one) is still upset over the Sammy nickname. Dean will call him Sammy one too many times and Sam will say "it's Sam" or something similar. They've accepted it on the show, folks, why can't the fanfic version of Sam do the same? I'll accept it if the story takes place early on in season one, or the Pilot, but after that it just seems out of character and old.
3. Deano or Deany
Speaking of nicknames...since when have we ever heard Dean being called anything other than Dean on the show? None that I know of. Yet I've read some fics where Sam or John will call a younger Dean or even a grown up Dean, Deano or Deany. In my head I just can't accept such a childish nickname for a guy who reached adulthood at the age of 4. It makes me cringe everytime I read them. I don't think Dean would've ever accepted such nicknames even as a child.
4. Bro
The use of "bro" in SPN fanfic is becoming more and more common. Again, this is something I've never heard either Sam or Dean use when referring to each other on the show.
Here's an example of how it's used in fanfic:
Sam held onto Dean's arm, as his brother struggled to stay conscious. "I'm right here, bro. It's okay."
It seems so out of character because they just don't use that word on the show. They use "man" or "dude", but not "bro". In fact, in the above example it would be entirely appropriate for Sam to use "man" in place of "bro". It would sound like a line from the show, like this one from IMTOD by Sam: "You can't go, man, not now. We were just starting to be brothers again."
So there's my list and remember that these are just my opinion and meant in no way to be an attack on any fanfic writer's work. This is just a generalized list of some things that I find annoying. Hopefully I won't get attacked for these comments.
If you want to point out some of your own fanfic pet peeves, please feel free to voice them in your comments. If you want to comment on your agreement or disagreement with my list, you're welcome to do that too.
