In the End ..., what does it all come down to .. Options

[chad13]

I've been reading a lot of fics lately (especially with the new potter project up and running) and I've read a lot of stories as well as comments about bits of them. People talk about how the story was good but the formatting was off, or you didn't represent the characters the way they would have, or theat you didn't use commas correctly. But what does it really come down to? What in the end makes a fan fic good? Is it perfect formating? Remembering to use spell check? Originality? Or does it just come down to what the readers trying to get out of the fic? Anyway I was just wondering if anyone had some thoughts on this!

[evlpez]

Personally, I like a fic that has an interesting story with good characters. Not just good-guy characters, but well-written characters. And while many don't think that proper spelling and punctuation is that important, I find it really difficult to enjoy a piece of writing when I'm distracted by poor spelling and other errors. I won't stick around for the 'great story' if the spelling is distracting, or the lack of proper punctuation, or the lack of separated paragraphs...

Good 'formatting', proper spelling, punctuation and grammar do not make a piece of fiction good, but the lack of them do make a good story idea into a bad piece of writing.

[chad13]

I completely agree, if the mistakes make the story difficult to read then there's definatley a problem. I just find it especially annoying when people are bothered by something dumb, like in the story they would have done it differently. The stories a package deal you kneo?

[Riley]

A good storyline makes me stick around, with good characters that I can relate to. If the spelling is bad and they do alot of mistakes with grammar and punctuation then I may be distracted and won't finish reading.

[Miss Trickster]

If the fanfic doesn't have a good plot, then I'm not interested. However, if the story has such bad grammar that you can wonder "Are you even paying enough attention to this fic to even check over your work?" I won't stick around to look at the rest. I don't have to relate to the characters myself, but they have to be human and have a possibility of being related to.

[zymurgy]

Something that really ensures that I won't read further, aside from the obvious, is when at the end of each chapter they say things like, "What should I do? Where do you think the story should go? I NEED IDEAS!" Which just says they don't care enough to actually think up a plot in advance, and are relying on readers to show them where to go...

[Miss Trickster]

*nods* I agree. But Role-play adventures are interesting, I think.