Reviews For Irritations
Name: Sasha_84 reviewed Irritations on Jul 03, 2005 09:21 am
Wonderful points, I really think they made alot of sense. I just wanted to point out one thing though. You said that never once in the Harry Potter books do they say "Mom", it was always "Mum", however, I just re-read the books for the fourth time, and a few of the Weasley children do call their mother mom in PS/SS in the American version. However, in the other four books, she is ALWAYS refered to as mum. I only remember this, because it annoyed the shit out of me when I read it and I was hacked off that they changed it! I have two copies if the American version and I went back after I read your essay to double check myself and if you have the American version, you will find it twice on pages 95, once on 96, and twice on 97. This was all said in chapter six, "The Journey From Platform Nine and Three Quarters", which was really the only interaction we see between Mrs. Weasley and her children for the whole book. Also, on page 209, in which Harry is looking into the Mirror of Erised and sees his parents: "Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?" I'm not sure which version you have read and I'm not trying to correct you at all. I am just trying to inform you that there is at least one version out there that, unfortunatly, uses the word mom. It still annoys me everytime I read it, because that is not what British children call their mothers...I'm not even British and I know that! So anyways, I just thought you might like to know that. :) Amazing writting in everything you do...keep it up!!!!
Name: SlytherLynnie reviewed Irritations on Jul 02, 2005 01:52 pm
Go. You. Lynnie
Name: SilverRaiine reviewed Irritations on Jun 28, 2005 11:06 am
Wow...I love that. Many sites that I have been to say the basics: Try to keep in character, don't hack me, etc. But they don't even enforce the rules that are made. THOSE, are amazing, amazing rules. Honestly.
Name: randomosity reviewed Irritations on Jun 24, 2005 01:24 pm
Thank you, Mynuet, for that essay! Almost everything you wrote was so true...especially MarySues (esp. American transfer students), and wild OOC. I want to add two things that just make me "wanna holla" (balant Americanism, I know): A) her full name is Ginerva, NOT Virginia. B) The entire Weasley family are the Weasleys, NOT Weasley's (same with Malfoys vs. Malfoy's). Oh, one last thing...I know that fanfiction is where we explore potential hookups et al. but Luna/Goyle? Hermoine/Neville? Aggh!!!
Name: imelda reviewed Irritations on Jun 21, 2005 02:21 pm
Hear, hear!! That's particularly in support of Harry-as-rapist and Mal-ferret. Those things just make me go...eurgh. I can't STAND the demonization of Harry. I mean, why are these people reading the books if they don't like him? However, I did want to point something out, which may seem nitpicky, but I figure if there's an error in your "Don't get canon wrong" section, it ought to be fixed. Dean isn't a muggleborn, even though he thinks he is. It's a minor discrepancy that doesn't invalidate your point, but again, since it's in that section, I figure you'd want to make everything exact. Sorry if someone's already pointed this out, I haven't read through the other reviews yet...
Name: lielabell reviewed Irritations on Jun 08, 2005 06:03 pm
Well said.
Name: Margarita reviewed Irritations on Jun 08, 2005 06:10 am
Quote: Ugh! If I may add one complaint to the list: Naming characters with very non-British names. I may not be British but even I know that there are probably not a lot of Tiffany, Amber, Steffany girls in England in the 90s. Please, please stop using these inane names. But thanks for this Mynuet - this is the reason we LOVE your site. I would say 80% of what is posted here is good, compared to the 10% at ffnet. Author's Response: I would post it as a feature, but I've promised myself never to feature one of my own stories, ever. Too much danger of self-aggrandizement, you know? I totally agree about the name thing, though. I was reading through the reviews for your essay and I just had to say this one made me giggle. My name's Amber, I'm English (as are my parents and relatives as far back as I know about,) and I was born in 1983. I'll admit it was an uncommon name back then, but certainly that and Tiffany and Stephanie were not unheard of. It's also the first time anyone's told me my name was 'inane.' Maybe I should just give up now and become a stipper while I still have my youth.
Name: grammar police reviewed Irritations on Jun 04, 2005 11:52 am
Very good points on the grammar issues, but I was just wondering - in American English, 'hanged' refers to someone being executed, as in "the traitor was publically hanged for his crimes", while 'hung' refers to anything else that has been suspended in the air, as in "the laundry was hung to dry". Is it really different in British English?
Name: Jen reviewed Irritations on Jun 03, 2005 10:43 pm
Hello, you don't know me, and after this you probably won't care to; I am not an author, just a fan, so I'm not even sure I have a right to comment. However, I've never let that stop me before, so here goes...


While I agree whole heartedly with you about the spelling and grammar issues (and your position on rape-fics), I think the majority of your rant was rather harsh. Granted, you have to actually deal with the sub-par stories submitted, while I only see those that survive the process, so perhaps you were entirely justified in your comments. But please realize that many writers really look up to you, and I can only imagine how devastating it might be to think that their fics were the ones you were talking about. Honestly, if reviewers are referring to you as a goddess, then you have to know how much of a pedestal you've been put on. And you really do deserve it; I love your writing, and I absolutely adore this site. But you've admitted that you're not perfect either (so I might be one of those reviewers you mentioned first at the end of your essay, but you definitely don't suck). In my opinion, you probably should have written this before you let it get to the point where you exploded (and indulged in an admittedly very articulate and thought provoking rant).


Let me explain. Obviously, this is your site, and you're entitled to post whatever the hell you want, but it's because this is your site that what you say means so much. No one cares what I think, but you're different; you have the ability to influence the writers who post here. Even if the things that irritate you are not "technically" against the rules, they might as well be now. That's why I felt your comments were so harsh. It's like having your teacher tell you that, although it may not affect your grade, he finds much of your writing to be cliched, not clever and stupid. Who wouldn't be upset by that? Yeah, writing is tough, and no, I don't have the talent to do it. But it's just not nice to hear that from someone you respect and admire. I understand that criticism can be very helpful, but a lot of your remarks seem to be implying that authors who commit these sins are actually bad writers, and should just stop trying. If that's what you meant, yikes, you're wicked scary. I chose to believe that you had every intention of just being constructive. Maybe it just didn't come through due to the overwhelming frustrations you've experienced from be obligated to read the less-than-stellar submission you've referred to. To me it just seemed harsh.


I don't want everything I read to be the same; but not everyone has been part of the D/G fandom for as long as you have, so maybe tutor fics are new to her (or him, I guess). There are so many stories out there that it's impossible to read them all, and if I happen to read something with a plotline that I've never seen before, then what do I care how many times it's been done? Each story deserves to be judged on it's own merits, not in comparison to something else. I happen to enjoy some fics that are AU. All of fanfic is based on what-ifs, and AU settings can be a great place to see how a character might have developed differently.


I happen to think "Mal-ferret" is kind of funny. I really don't mind "Weaselette" either; people come up with all kinds of ridiculous endearments: pumpkin, pet, sweetie, for example (even baby, which makes me cringe). Fine, so it annoys you. That doesn't mean that stories using these nicknames should be the subject of ridicule. My favorite D/G fic EVER happens to use Mal-ferret a few times, and I thought it was great... I'd even venture so far as to say I though it was funny and clever. Hmm.... come to think of it, that story hasn't been posted here, so I'll move on.


One last comment I have is on a comment you made to another reviewer. I'm rather offended by the implication of the connection between evil people and the "christian church". Although I have to point out that there really is no such entity referred to as the "christian church", I think I know what you meant. Again, it's still your site and your prerogative, but I don't appreciate comments that are disrespectful towards any religion, which your comment was, even if it was supposed to be a joke (I don't know what *snerk* means).


I don't want to end this on a bad note, so I want to reitterate how much I love this site and your fics, and I don't mean to be self-righteous in any way. I just admire everyone who is brave enough to share something he or she has written, and I just hope people don't give up or try to change, just to please someone else. If you've actually read all of this, thank you! Feel free to respond or ignore me, I just feel better having gotten this all out, and I have no motives beyond that. Happy weekend and happy writing,
Jen

Author's Response: This is nowhere near me exploding, actually. It may seem harsh to you (and several others), but that's just the way I speak; if I'm being harsh, there's no question about whether I'm setting out to specifically shred some person's ego. That's not boasting, nor self-deprecation, just fact. If I am being harsh to someone, it will be harsh.


I think you may be partially responding to the commentary, ad I never said anything about AUs, but since you mention them... With good AUs, there's a reason for them, and it's fully explored. It's not just "what if Ginny spent a year in America?" but why did Ginny spend a year in America, and why did it change her? What didn't it change? Why is it important that this story feature characters from HP rather than any boarding school of equivalent age? If that doesn't come through, the story fails to be a convincing AU, and usually fails to be a good fanfic.


I've used Weaselette myself, and several ferret related insults. Once in a while, it's okay. Mal-ferret, however, gets used over and over and over again, and each time the author seems to make a point of it that this magically makes Ginny immensely clever. It's not. It's childish at best, and quite frankly, I doubt any of the authors using it currently made it up; they're just reusing bits of fanfics they read. Last I checked, this does not equal originality.


Lastly, I myself am a Christian. It is not an insult to the faith to point out that, in the past 2,000 years, there have been some damn evil people to have professed the faith. I used the term "christian church" as opposed to "catholic church" because there have been plenty of atrocities committed by sects that came into being after the Reformation (and, indeed, a lot of them during the Reformation). It may have been more accurate to say "faith" instead of "church", but it's still a valid phraseology.



Yes, writing should be encouraged. Yes, I want everyone out there who reads to try writing - you never know if you can until you try. Putting it out there for public consumption, though, requires a bit of thought and preparation. Look at ffn, and how many stories on there are crap - poorly spelled, terribly characterized, horrible grammar, repetitive and boring plots, and assorted other fanfic crimes. And yet, the authors universally want reviews, and they want the reviews to be positive. If I can make those authors think twice about what they're doing, then it's worth being thought of as harsh.



Yes, I own this archive. Yes, I write stories that have a certain amount of popularity. That doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to have and broadcast my opinion, though. I refuse to hide behind another identity, and I refuse to think that I'm under any sort of obligation to pretty up the truth until it's lost in a sugary coating. If someone's feelings are hurt by me, they can come to me and say so, and if they're respectful, I'll answer in kind... But I'm not going to lie. I'll also point out that it's kinder to find out from a generalized essay what is considered bad fanfiction than to find out by becoming a target for Pottersues or Deleterius, or even by a reviewer who has hit the point of explosion.
Name: Hope reviewed Irritations on Jun 02, 2005 09:26 am
Very well said Mynuet. If I may just add one personal pet peeve of my own here. I've read a lot of stories where author's screw up the use of the word blond. This word has a masculine and a feminine form, people. Ergo, Draco is blond whereas Narcissa is blonde. It may seem like a trivial, insignificant distinction but it can be annoying nonetheless.

Author's Response: That drives me nuts, too, but I figured that most weird word choices really belonged in a separate essay. The only reason the ones made it in was specifically because of the non-British nature of "drug".
Name: Sue Bridehead reviewed Irritations on Jun 01, 2005 11:08 pm
Most of these things annoy me too, and I agree with a lot of what you say. Although it’s not as personal for me (I don’t run a fanfic website), I recently committed to read/review several fics at another site. On some of them, it was hard for me to find something positive to say. I felt more like a beta reader than a reviewer. After ‘reviewing’ about 15 of them, I quit doing them - it just got so frustrating. I did tell one of the writers that once I discovered fanfic, I didn't feel ready to write a fic for at least a year. During that time, I only read well-written fics. (If something looked like junk, I didn’t get aggravated about it; I just moved onto something else.) JKR said it herself: if you want to write, read. If writers would READ several well-written fics before they tried writing one, I would think they (and we) would be a lot better off. They would know more about what readers expect, which plots are overdone, Brit speak, how to spell the main characters' names, etc. May as well learn from those who have done this before, ya know? ;)
Name: Myanceris reviewed Irritations on Jun 01, 2005 12:32 pm
Further to my earlier review, there is something I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO get off my chest:

In the UK, Front Fastening bras are only worn by strippers and nursing mothers (and believe me they look completely different! LOL). You can buy Front fastening bras, but usually you find them in Ann Summers (a sex shop) with the 'kink wear' and the 'stripper supplies', either that or you find them in Mothercare with the Breast Pumps, Nipple cream and maternity knickers. So when Draco unfastens Ginny's Front fastening Bra I cannot help but be assailed with images of HUGE frumpy maternity bras with their 4 clasps and thick, unsexy straps. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop writing them into smutfic! I think the term Mynuet used when I discussed this point with her was 'Cognitive Dissonance'. Thats not to say that you don't get them here in blighty but the 'normal' front fastening bras (the ones that aren't Maternity or Strippers PVC with Nipple holes/tassles) are as rare as rocking horse shit, and I for one have never worn worn one, nor even tried one on so I VERY much doubt that Ginny/Hermione/Narcissa will have.
Name: Slythhearted reviewed Irritations on Jun 01, 2005 10:10 am
I am so glad that you decided to post this. You know I agree with everything that you have written here so I wont repeat all my personal peeves. However, I do want to comment on some of the reviewers who have felt the need to blame their grammatical failings on the American education system. I hate to break it to them but the rest of the world has had to deal with this too. You have two choices a) blame your school and go through life looking like an idiot, or b) buy a freaking book/surf the internet and teach yourself the rules! I am still reserving the right to flog anyone who submitts a fic with "drug" in it on a Wednesday!
Name: Monica_ISA reviewed Irritations on Jun 01, 2005 04:04 am
Heck, I submitted without logging and thought maybe I would add two more cents now that I am. Some people have mentioned that it would be too scary to add a story now that this essay has come up and I would have to disagree. Some things in the essay may make me frown (slight disagreement) but for the most part it is common sense. Think about it. Never be too scared to try something new. If they say NO!, how is it hurting you. You tried, you put yourself out ther and if it sucks to them its okay. There are very many more people out there that would never have gotten up the courage to even try. That being said, there is no excuse for writing crap for the sake of being seen. My above comments only apply to those who bother at least a little. Nuff said!
Name: Monica-ISA reviewed Irritations on Jun 01, 2005 03:22 am
Okay, I have checked my chapters and I think I have the situation under control. I checked the litmus test and I passed it, so I am okay on that score too. This was actually very helpful. One thing is, I am not American or British but South African and we use mostly British language but some of our language is Americanised, so I often have to read and reread my chapters over and over and just hope I get the language right. Anyway, if I get rejected, then I will know I have it all wrong. Thank you again for this.

Author's Response: I'm American, so I'll never sound completely British myself. When the narration and characters sound like Nelly, though, there's a problem.
Name: blondie90 reviewed Irritations on May 31, 2005 06:23 pm
Wow! The problems you mentioned, among other things, are complaints I've wanted to say (scream at some authors) for the longest time but never really had the guts to. I never want to cross the line between constructive criticism and flaming, but some authors are really touchy and even when I honestly like their story and I merely mention a small problem, they get upset. I also really enjoyed reading your essay because I've been toying with the idea of writing a fanfic myself for quite some time, but after actually trying to write it, I realize how hard it is. I don't want to post something that isn't my absolute best work, and if I never get my story out the way I want it, it will forever remain in my head. Your essay has answered a lot of questions I had over exactly what not to do (not that I would do most of those things anyway because it absolutely kills me when others do it) but now I know I'm not the only one it bothers. Your essay was also kind of intimidating though. It makes me almost afraid to write anything or post anything for fear I may break one of your unwritten rules. For example, as much as I love Draco/Ginny fanfiction, after rereading the books, I have come to the conclusion that the vast majority of the plots that people come up with are so impossible they aren’t even worth exploring, if you view fanfiction as having to exactly follow the originals. Having reread the books and focusing more on Draco and Ginny as J.K. Rowling writes them, I see that many people have forgotten to write them as they truly are. Ginny, to me, seems like a mixture between the twins and Ron, and when people characterize her as a naïve little girl I get kind of annoyed. That’s not who she really is, but I think people get so caught up in the fanfiction version of Harry Potter, that they forget the real version. Similarly, while the idea of pairing Draco and Ginny is a romantic one (when you view it as the good girl/bad guy ploy) but I don’t honestly believe that Draco and Ginny would EVER be together. Draco and Ginny are both too proud to give up their ideals, and by believing they could end up together is selling them short. On the other hand, what I like most about fanfiction is that it gives writers the ability to do whatever they want with the characters and create worlds that aren’t really supposed to exist. That’s why I love the Draco/Ginny pairing so much. The impossibility of it makes it all the more exciting and I love to see what plots people come up with. I know it may be hard to see, for me sometimes as well, but these stories are based on plots that people have legitimized, at least to themselves. I think what I’m getting at is that I don’t really believe any fanfic can catch the true essence of the world J.K. Rowling has created, because she isn’t writing it. When I think on my favorite fanfics of all time (and I’ve read a ton) I can’t really say they could legitimately happen based on the information given in the books. I like that fact that people can write whatever they want based on their interpretation of the novels (no matter how bad it may be) because I believe that is what fanfiction is all about. I think that some form of OOC will always occur, because while some people will think it’s justifiable, others will beg to differ. But as a reader, and struggling writer, I accept that. I know that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I work on it, my concepts of Draco and Ginny, and characterization of them, will always be somewhat off, but it’s the best people can do. I don’t really care if I get Ginny’s eye color wrong or if my mental picture of her is different than what the books portrays. If I, or any other writer, takes the time and effort to write a story to the best of their ability, than who cares! I don’t know if I’m coming across how I would like but when it comes down to it, I hate bad fanfiction more than anyone, but I have huge respect for any author who puts a great amount of effort into a story, no matter if I like the story or not. Moving on, when I started trying to write my fanfic I realized that I would really like the language to be as close to the way the characters would speak as possible, but that’s a daunting task. I’ve mentally noted little phrases and words that I didn’t know before but because I speak American English and not English English, and because I don’t have a little Englishman to supply me with the correct words and phrases, my attempts at “English perfection” will always be somewhat off, as will most peoples. You also have to take into account that yes the American school system does suck and most people, including myself, don’t have very good grammar. Because English is your second language you have to recognize, which I’m sure you have, that you know far more about correct English grammar than most people who have English as their first language. Now I’m not saying that I condone gross errors, because they absolutely kill me and it makes me what to scratch my eyes out as well, but I’m talking more about the little things that many people forget that you probably pick up. (And that also doesn’t include punctuation mistakes because I hate those too.) Basically I enjoyed your essay and I hope you continue writing them. Please don’t hurt me for any errors in my review because it’s late and I really don’t care because I’m not writing this as if it’s my best work (or something like that.) I’m glad that my favorite Draco/Ginny site is co-run by someone as dedicated (and kind of intimidating) as you are. You are the kind of person that makes me want to write a really good fanfic, which will probably never happen because of the massive amount of work involved to write a really good one, but yeah.
Name: Dangermonki reviewed Irritations on May 31, 2005 11:07 am
Well, I missed this being posted, so I'm going to get my reply out before reading what other people said. It saves me from being all, "I agree with that person, that person, that person can go to hell, oh, and that person's an idiot." Now that I've wasted a couple sentences, let me just say that I agree with you on almost all of the points you made. The one nearest to my heart is the rapefic one. As a victim of sexual trauma myself (not rape exactly, but fairly close), I find most rapefics to be revolting and personally offensive. I can assure anyone who may thik otherwise that people do not snap back from being hurt so thoroughly in the blink of an eye. If someone looks like they have, they're FAKING or their ordeal has hurt their ability to rationalize and discover that they are not required to pander to their abuser. I'd also like to note that boys can also be raped, and most often they don't find it enjoyable, either. The only thing I don't really agree with is the argument against clothes. With Potter fics, there are people who go by the movies, also. Putting PoA aside--it looked like someone barfed up Gap all over them--there's no real mention of timeframe in the movies. Sure, WE know that the books, if we go by when Rowling wrote the first one, take place in the 90s, but is it so wrong to update the fashion a little bit and imagine them in a world like ours? In my mind, at least, the story is sort of out of time, like it could take place right now or ten years into the future. Just my two cents.
Name: minimo1524 reviewed Irritations on May 31, 2005 04:27 am
I agree with you so much I can hardly put it into words. As you said, most of these annoyances are easily fixed either with by getting a beta or doing five minutes of research on Google. If you truly want people to read and review your fic, you should be willing to make it as good as it can possibly be. I can't count the number of times I've simply had to stop reading a fic because of how often these totally-within-the-rules irritations occurred within said fic. If I were to choose my pet peeve about fanfic, it would have to be distinguishing between your and you're. I know Mynuet touched on this in her essay, but why not outline it here, just in case anyone took her (excellent) advice to read these. 'Your' is possessive - your bike, your fic, your Draco (don't I wish?). On the other hand, you're is a contraction of the two words you are. If you couldn't replace it with these words, you're not choosing the right word. For example, you're bike (you are bike?) and you're fic (you are fic?) don't really make sense, while you're Draco (you are Draco) might make perfect sense (for instance, when role-playing with....nevermind), but still changes the meaning of the sentence. A close runner-up in my fic-reading experience is differentiating between then and than. 'Then' generally can be said to express time - "Back then, we were happy." It can also express time by representing a sequence of events - first I cooked dinner, then I lusted after Draco. Now, to the important part - then is NOT the word you use to make comparisons, than is. For example, I am taller than my mother, but my brother is taller than me. Just one more, I promise - it's 'shouldn't have', not 'shouldn't of'. Like 'then' and 'than', I can understand this (sort of) because in spoken English, we sound as though we're saying shouldn't of, but we aren't. This one's a bit more difficult to explain, but I'll take a stab at it. Let's say the correct sentence is: I shouldn't have eaten that pie. By saying that you shouldn't have eaten it, that implies that you have eaten the pie (the pluperfect verb tense). A similar breakdown doesn't work with the incorrect sentence, I shouldn't of eaten the pie. Wait a minute, you of eaten a pie? That doesn't make sense. Ok, one more tiny, non-grammatical note. If Ginny had a perky, loud best friend at Hogwarts, I think we'd have met her by now. That's all I'm going to say about our good friend Mary Sue. Right, I'll put up the same disclaimer here that Mynuet did - I know I'm not perfect (or even close) but as a writer, you should be concerned about the audience you're writing for and their expectations of you. Please feel free to contact me through my profile or livejournal if you have a question or are looking for a beta. Please DON'T flame me.
Name: Chucky reviewed Irritations on May 31, 2005 03:04 am
I just thought about the point you made about "blackmailing for reviews". I also think it's annoying but at the same time, I understand why people do it. I checked out some of the links you posted and in a "guide to fanfiction" found on one of the pages, they generally wrote that if you get hardly any reviews, you should ask yourself if your story is "good". I mean isn't that what actually happens if you hardly get any reviews - you wonder if you should continue posting a story that doesn't seem to be enjoyed by most readers? A bad review is better than no review, at least you KNOW what this particular reader thinks. Having said that, it's still not cool to blackmail for reviews, I just wanted to point out that I understand where it's coming from.

Author's Response: Well, there's a difference between "I know you guys are out there, I can hear you breathing, or at least see the hit count. Do y'all really hate the fic and that's why you're not reviewing? A little feedback is all I ask." and "Get reviewing, folks, because there's a ten review minimum before I post the next chapter." The first one is perfectly understandable, the second one is annoying. Make sense?
Name: ser reviewed Irritations on May 31, 2005 02:47 am
God, I agree with the majority of what you've said here. To be honest I have done a few of those things with my first ever fic. Thanks for this though mynuet. It's extremely helpful.
Name: Anise reviewed Irritations on May 30, 2005 06:07 pm
This pretty much sums it all up, except that I'd like to see some discussion on some things that we might all like to not see for a while in D/G fanfic. Because let's face it, D/G is pretty prone to cliches. I could live with at least a SHORT moratorium on fics where: 1.) Ginny gets pregnant after having sex with Draco ONCE 2.) Draco is assigned as a tutor to Ginny, or vice versa and most of all 3.) Draco is an unbelievably stunning sex god. Mynuet's fic *Sex God* was particularly hilarious in this regard, btw. ;) The last one really is starting to bother me a little, because WE ALWAYS, ALWAYS SEE IT. Ginny is described all kinds of different ways, but Draco is always the hottest thing to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. But I think it's a lot more interesting if he isn't-- if he's compelling and magnetic without being a complete sex god. Of course, having said that, I can't write a genuinely unattractive Draco either. :P But that's how I see Draco. He's not conventionally handsome, but there's something about him that makes it impossible to look away--and on the whole, I think that's the portrayal that is the truest to canon, too.
Name: Amanda reviewed Irritations on May 30, 2005 05:36 pm
I'm so glad that I'm not the only one that the whole Mal-ferret thing irritates the crap out of. I can take bad insults, the can even be somewhat funny, but mal-ferret is just horrid. I've only read one fic in which it was used, and the author completely overused it and I had to stop reading it. I literally cringe whenever I see it (almost as much as I do when I see D/Hr)
Name: applecede reviewed Irritations on May 30, 2005 04:31 pm
Points all the way through. Blackmailing for reviews and the "Ferret" comment never, ever fail to rankle me. Here's to hoping this will be kept in mind when we're all writing another fic.
Name: Maleficent reviewed Irritations on May 30, 2005 02:53 pm
Hm. Interesting. Hardly new opinions on your part, but interesting to submit in essay form. I'm going to try and respond the best I can, because I feel like I should say something. I was going to just email you privately, but since everyone has agreed wholeheartedly so far, I decided to just go ahead and be a voice of dissent.


This essay rubbed me the wrong way. And I say that, I must stress, not in an offended, angry way, but almost with a sigh of exasperation. I love this archive. I've loved it since you started it up and always admired you as an author. But sometimes, Mynuet, I can't help but feel that Fire and Ice, and really the whole D/G fandom, has really conformed itself to a writing style that leaves little room for creative expression.


Fan fiction has been around for a while, yes, but everyone still have very different opinions of what purpose fan fiction should serve. You have them. I have them. But when you, as one of the most important people on the governing body of this self-loading and supposively diverse archive make a post like this, it really drives home the fact that, hands down, stories that don't fit the mold aren't particularly welcome, whether they are accepted for submission or not. D/G is very cliquey. And reading something like this and then trying to post on an archive that, bottomline, is run and frequented by the best and most popular authors in the fandom, knowing you might never have their real approval, is utterly terrifying.


I guess I'm speaking for myself, but then again, not really. Anything I've posted here has been received well enough by many readers, and for that I thank them. But as a reader and I fan, which is how I will always identify myself first and foremost, sometimes I crave something different from stories here. And I watch other authors try and do something different and come back with no reviews time and time again. If something fresh comes at the cost of a bit of canon-finagling, Americanization, and language experimentation, I'll be the first to jump up and down with excitement.


Writing, by its very nature, is an adventure. I've always thought of fan fiction as a framework for writers to express their own work and own style. Draco and Ginny have their canon personalities, but there is so much room for good character development that goes beyond some of the limits you just set. Fan fiction is an exercise. The Harry Potter universe is merely another tool, not a rulebook. Canon names and spelling/grammar, I completely agree should be accurate, but there's a lot of other things I'm willing to let slide for the sake of a good read and good writing. Sometimes a world like Harry Potter strikes something in the imagination that lets a person's personal creavity take over. Fan fiction lets that come out in many, many different ways.


I'm saying too many things at once, and I suppose, not really making total sense or having a definitive point, but I guess I just wanted to remind you that I know how you feel. You've made it very clear how you feel since the beginning. Being blunt about your expectations is something I respect, but I just thought you'd like to know that by being so straight forward in an effort to scare away the teenyboppers and bad writers who plague you, sometimes you scare away others as well for entirely different reasons.


I remain still, a truly devoted member of this archive and fan of yours who will always be lurking about enjoying what I can, and I guess, secretly wishing I could be part of the clique of talented authors that dominates D/G. Because it really is a clique these days, Mynuet. A "writer's circle" if you will, so as not to dredge up images of high school popularity wars, but still a clique. With its own expectations and its own image.


Keep up the good work with the site and your writing. -Kelly

Author's Response: I had to think about this a while before responding, because my knee-jerk response was "Nuh uh! I'm not in a clique!", and I figured you deserved better than that. I appreciate your posting it publicly so that other people could see that it's entirely possible to disagree with me and I really am not the end-all and be-all in D/G any more than I am anywhere else. That being said, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with some of your points.



I really don't see anything I said as stifling anyone's creative expression. There is no ban on rapefic - I just don't like it. Mal-ferret is not against the "law", it's just, in my opinion, tiresome. Sloppy is the wrong word to use to describe a hairstyle for a formal occasion, period. I mean, I also don't like excessive angst or character death, but I didn't mention that because it's a matter of taste. Asking that there be an attempt to keep the characters as they exist isn't, in my opinion, restrictive or stifling. This is fan fiction, not original fiction, which means that part of the skill is maintaining the existing characterization. Belly shirts need not apply.



I can't help what other people are intimidated by. Part of the process of writing, and even of growing up, is to learn that not everyone likes the same thing. If you want approval in the form of reviews, it's not possible to force it, not without making the end result worthless. I can't make people like yet another "Ginny grew up over the summer and now she's totally hot and sassy with her Hot Topic wardrobe and Good Charlotte CDs that she's charmed to work at Hogwarts" fic - and I'm not interested in trying. I can, however, let the author know why her fic, which she thinks is so interesting and cool and fresh, is not being received with adulation. If that's terrifying, then perhaps a bit of terror isn't a bad thing.



Different how? And what do you think I could do to make them get reviews? I'm one person, and so if I like a story, it'll get one review. If I really, really like it, or it catches my attention, I can make it a featured story, which I do because I consider that an obligation, or I can recommend it on my Livejournal, which I only rarely do because there I'm responsible only to myself. Even with that, though, there is no guarantee of reviews. Reviews are a grass roots thing, and if I knew the peculiar alchemy to make them happen, there wouldn't be fics on my author page with only two or three reviews. If anything, I think this essay could help, because it clues some people in on things they might do without knowing that it's been done before.



I'll agree that fan fiction is a framework for writes to express their own work and style, and that both Draco and Ginny's personalities in canon leave a lot of room open for interpretation. That still leaves a wide world open for creativity without turning Draco into yet another tortured soul with a hot body and a skintight muscle shirt, or Ginny into a spunky girl who has a navel ring and a posse of five best friends with names like "Brittany" and "Jessica" who are obviously the author and her friends. I really don't see how anything fresh could be contraindicated by anything I said, considering everything I pointed out as bad has been done to death.



We'll have to disagree on the HP universe being a tool and not a rulebook. If you're writing fan fiction, the point is to have it take place in what is recognizably the existing universe. If something differs significantly from that universe, then there needs to be a buildup and an explanation for it. Anything else is lazy and shoddy storytelling.



Fan fiction, as opposed to original fiction, is written with existing characters and settings, and that's the main difference. Why write fan fiction and then distort the characters and settings into something they're not? If you want to write about American teens with magic, why not use the framework of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Sabrina the Teenaged Witch? If you want to write within the HP universe about American wizards, why not make up your own, American, school? Well, for one thing, because very few people are interested in reading about OCs in a fanfic universe, and it won't get any reviews. Is that a reason to turn existing British characters into Americans? I really don't think so.



It's not my intent to scare away anyone, even the teenyboppers. It's my intent to lay out, clearly, what kind of things alienate readers like me. The way I see it, this is helpful, not because of frightening anyone, but because it lets them know, without having to be flamed by random reviewers who possess even less tact than I do, where they're going wrong. If they still want to go down that path, they can - but they'll do so with their eyes wide open, and they won't be taken by surprise when someone brings up the things I said.



Assuming, of course, they read this essay. I may own the archive, and I may have a degree of popularity as an author, but even within the D/G fandom, there's more than a few people who have never heard of me.



Lastly, there's the clique thing. Like I said, my knee-jerk reaction was denial, but then I thought about it. You're right, a lot of the biggest "names" in D/G, the authors who get fangirls wetting their pants, happen to be my friends. We chat on each other's Livejournals, we read each other's fics, and there's a lot of mutual admiration and lovefests going on. Looked at from the outside, it sure does look like an exclusive club, an impenetrable group... A clique.



The thing is, though, that a lot of why we got to know and like each other is because we like and respect each other's writing. I've been in the D/G fandom for two years. In that time, there've been a lot of people who send me email or IM me about my fic - this is mostly because I've written a fairly large amount of it, and partly because owning the archive makes me visible. There's several people who I've struck up friendships with because their email struck a chord; they liked my fic and sounded intelligent when they told me why. We talked, agreed on a lot of subjects, and became friends. Some of these I later (okay, not much later) bullied into writing, and the results have been downright spectacular in some cases (Exhibit A: ClanMalfoy). Some I met because I sent them email or an IM in which I expressed appreciation of their work, and with some there was just mutual admiration from the get go.



In other words, there's no real secret handshake to this writer's group, or if there is, I've given it out in this essay. There's a wide variety of moods and topics and themes and writing styles within the scope of who I call friends. "The Visitor" is nothing like "Portkey Party"; "Dark Directed" is nothing like "The Plan" - unless you consider that the authors paid attention to the craft of writing to be a similarity.



"It's just fanfiction", yeah. It's not like the fate of the world depends on how Draco is characterized. The fate of the story, however, does. If you (generic you, not you you) want to write about Draco talking like Eminem and listening to Nelly, and you find an audience, more power to you; I just have no interest in reading it. If that discourages someone from writing, that's too bad - but I'm not going to change my mind and want to read it, or think it's original, just because it hurt someone's feelings.


Name: MrsDanielRadcliffe reviewed Irritations on May 30, 2005 01:13 pm
There was one thing I wanted to add. I'm sure that the Cabal realizes this, but I'm not sure about some others. According to the dates the books were published and such, the Trio as well as Draco would have left Hogwart's in 1998, and Ginny would have left in 1999. As the Cabal said, please take that into account when writing. I graduated from high school in 1998, so I'm perfectly aware of what American slang was at the time as well as after. Most of us have no clue of British slang, but I can see that some of us try to do our best...while others do not try their best. I recomment www.effingpot.com for British slang if anyone cares. Also, for those of us who write Draco and Ginny post-Hogwart's, it must be taken into account the slang that has come and gone in both American and British culture. I had no idea how different the two (American and British) version of English were until I started reading up on British culture recently. Technically speaking, there is about a 10% difference between British and American English. Please keep this in mind.
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