Author Notes in Fics...input anyone?
May. 7th, 2007 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kyiziOkay, so this is something that has seriously bugged me for a long time, but, due to the amount of fic I've been reading this last week, it's come up more than I'm used to. I've found that the fact that it seems to be a common thing makes it bug the shit out of me even more.
Why, (no, seriously) why to people feel the need to put author notes in the body of a fic? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm actually asking you all. I know that a vast majority of you write fic and that even more of you read it, so I'm honestly asking you for one reason that makes sense as to why you would willingly break the narrative of a fic and insert a comment about the content. I don't understand it and I absolutely hate coming across it. If I'm not already invested in actually reading a fic, I usually tend to hit the back button and find something else to read. If the fic is really good, I will keep reading, but I have to be honest and say that it will put me off.
To me, when I'm writing a fic, the last thing I want is to suck a reader into a story only to jerk them right back out of it with some (often inane) comment that has nothing to do with the actual telling of the story. I'm not just talking about coming across something like:
Example 1:
Brennan sighed and ran a hand through her hair, before pushing the door open and entering the room. She stopped short, her eyes widening slightly as she tried to force herself not to study the specimen before her. However, human nature dictated she be at least a little curious, and the anthropologist in her let her eyes wander. She couldn't deny that Seely Booth was certainly a specimen worth studying. (A/N: OMG! He so is, isn't he!? He's unbelievably hot!) Her study, however, was cut short a moment later when he looked up.
The fact is that I have come across random comments like that in fic before, but (thankfully) not all that often. The kind of comments that have prompted this rant, however, are slightly less fangirlish and more...see, the word that comes to mind is 'unprofessional', but that's not exactly what I mean. We write fic for fun and because, as writers, it helps us improve (at least, those are two of my reasons). It's a way to practice certain techniques, or styles, a way to improve writing plots, or characters, or whatever, and mainly because it's fun and it lets us come up with new scenarios for our favourite (and sometimes not so favourite) characters. So, to say unprofessional would imply that it's a profession, but, really, it's just for fun and what I really mean to say about coming across these random notes is that it's fucking annoying.
This is more what I mean:
Example 2:
"Are you honestly telling me that you've never seen Star Wars?" Booth asked incredulously.
"I've never really seen the point," Brennan replied, shrugging and taking another sip of coffee. "I have no interest in space exploration and even less interest in aliens and unlikely scenarios involving robots and spaceships. The chances of anything of that nature (AN: that's not the word I meant, but I couldn't think of the right one, sorry!) occurring in our lifespans are phenomenally small, besides."
"It's not supposed to be realistic, Bones, it's supposed to be fun."
"I have fun."
Really? I mean, why? Those may not be the best examples, but I just wanted to make my point before I ask for input. As far as I'm aware, that's the kind of comment you put in before you send it to a beta reader and it's specifically intended for said beta reader, it's not meant to still be there when posted for the general public. And if you don't have a beta reader, why put the comment in at all? Wait until the end, or comment at the start, but do not place it in the middle of the damn story!
[/rant]
So, yeah, input anyone?
(I'll leave this post unlocked, in case anyone not on the f-list wants to comment)
And, because I've never done one before...tell me what you think in the poll:
[Poll #980423]
ETA: *growl* I take it back. Example number 1 is now more irritating that example number 2. Twice in three fics. Actually three times in one and once in another. I...I just do not get it!
Why, (no, seriously) why to people feel the need to put author notes in the body of a fic? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm actually asking you all. I know that a vast majority of you write fic and that even more of you read it, so I'm honestly asking you for one reason that makes sense as to why you would willingly break the narrative of a fic and insert a comment about the content. I don't understand it and I absolutely hate coming across it. If I'm not already invested in actually reading a fic, I usually tend to hit the back button and find something else to read. If the fic is really good, I will keep reading, but I have to be honest and say that it will put me off.
To me, when I'm writing a fic, the last thing I want is to suck a reader into a story only to jerk them right back out of it with some (often inane) comment that has nothing to do with the actual telling of the story. I'm not just talking about coming across something like:
Example 1:
Brennan sighed and ran a hand through her hair, before pushing the door open and entering the room. She stopped short, her eyes widening slightly as she tried to force herself not to study the specimen before her. However, human nature dictated she be at least a little curious, and the anthropologist in her let her eyes wander. She couldn't deny that Seely Booth was certainly a specimen worth studying. (A/N: OMG! He so is, isn't he!? He's unbelievably hot!) Her study, however, was cut short a moment later when he looked up.
The fact is that I have come across random comments like that in fic before, but (thankfully) not all that often. The kind of comments that have prompted this rant, however, are slightly less fangirlish and more...see, the word that comes to mind is 'unprofessional', but that's not exactly what I mean. We write fic for fun and because, as writers, it helps us improve (at least, those are two of my reasons). It's a way to practice certain techniques, or styles, a way to improve writing plots, or characters, or whatever, and mainly because it's fun and it lets us come up with new scenarios for our favourite (and sometimes not so favourite) characters. So, to say unprofessional would imply that it's a profession, but, really, it's just for fun and what I really mean to say about coming across these random notes is that it's fucking annoying.
This is more what I mean:
Example 2:
"Are you honestly telling me that you've never seen Star Wars?" Booth asked incredulously.
"I've never really seen the point," Brennan replied, shrugging and taking another sip of coffee. "I have no interest in space exploration and even less interest in aliens and unlikely scenarios involving robots and spaceships. The chances of anything of that nature (AN: that's not the word I meant, but I couldn't think of the right one, sorry!) occurring in our lifespans are phenomenally small, besides."
"It's not supposed to be realistic, Bones, it's supposed to be fun."
"I have fun."
Really? I mean, why? Those may not be the best examples, but I just wanted to make my point before I ask for input. As far as I'm aware, that's the kind of comment you put in before you send it to a beta reader and it's specifically intended for said beta reader, it's not meant to still be there when posted for the general public. And if you don't have a beta reader, why put the comment in at all? Wait until the end, or comment at the start, but do not place it in the middle of the damn story!
[/rant]
So, yeah, input anyone?
(I'll leave this post unlocked, in case anyone not on the f-list wants to comment)
And, because I've never done one before...tell me what you think in the poll:
[Poll #980423]
ETA: *growl* I take it back. Example number 1 is now more irritating that example number 2. Twice in three fics. Actually three times in one and once in another. I...I just do not get it!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-08 06:40 pm (UTC)Example a: We all have eyes and can decide if we think he's hot, we don't need fangirling in the middle of a fic, no matter how much fun it is at other times..
Example b: That's what a thesaurus or a beta is for, and most times if the writer's worth her salt, she'll either know another word to use, or ask her beta- before the story is posted
Hmm.. I suppose that was a bit of a ramble. The point is, I agree 110% with you ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-08 06:41 pm (UTC)(I forgot to run my spellcheck. *blushes*)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-08 10:14 pm (UTC)And, yeah, it's so easy to fall into a rant/ramble about the subject and, perhaps, I get a little ott about it, but it just bugs me. I'd be less bothered if there was more wonderful fic out there that I could read. Then I'd be more inclined to just hit the back button the minute a fic looked remotely like it was going to be badly written in any way.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-09 01:11 am (UTC)That's true, I pretty much avoid fanfiction.net altogether just because it's sometimes rather frustrating to bother with sorting through all the bad fics to find the few that are great. If there were tons of great fics, it might not bother me so much, but the problem as I see it, is at least partly because there are a lot of kids reading/writing fanfic now.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-10 07:58 pm (UTC)...I miss my JAG icon...might need to upload it again!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-10 11:13 pm (UTC)Lol, it's been nearly two years since it ended and it still makes me all kinds of happy =D
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-10 11:18 pm (UTC)*squee* Yeah, I miss JAG!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-10 11:20 pm (UTC)I used to post my stuff there, I've been kinda lax about it lately, but who knows? Maybe I'll go back.
=)
Harm and Mac were my first OTP, heh..
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-18 08:21 pm (UTC)I like ff.net for the fact that it's someplace I can put ALL my fics and not have to worry about having someplace to link to, if necessary. Given how temperamental my webpage is being atm, that's a good thing!
*sigh* I heart Harm/Mac. Just had a wee peek at your profile (much love for those Bones & David/Emily banners), we have a few ships in common *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-19 12:33 am (UTC)Oh, tell me about it. tried making a webpage once, but it was always crashing.. I gave up heh. Of course now I know html a bit better so it probably wouldn't be quite as hard, but between the gigantic amounts of time I end up on here and trying to have some semblance of a life I don't know if I have time now..
Aww, they're awesome, Harm and Mac were pretty much my first OTP. I sorta grew up watching that show :)