My top five nuisances of pony fanfiction

[Akemi Homura 7,682]

I cannot help but post this after delving into the realm of fan-fiction for as long as I have adventured into its less-than-stellar reasons. I enjoy a good read on the internet now and then, but sometimes, my comfort is derailed as soon as I find outright "bugs" anywhere that are enough to push me over the edge. I think you might know what I'm talking about. There's universally panned derps in the fandom and ones that find personally annoying/aggravating to look at, but for the sake of the topic I'll try going over a bit of both worlds.

 

5. Lack of fluidity. Depending on the execution, this cannot really matter in regards to the reader. But from an entirely objective standpoint, this is one of the worst things you can do. If the plot (hyuk hyuk) isn't concise, straightforward (or TOO straightforward making it too simple), then it's a pain to read. Unfortunately I've read a handful of fanfics that have concepts with great potential and though to an extent it's slightly interesting to read, it comes up short and you cannot feel any emotion whatsoever from it. For example, romance fanfiction where two ponies fall in love with each other... and yet, the events that partake surrounding the tension are so jumbled and/or vague, it's hard to make out what's really going on and damages the character development part of the story. It's best to un-track right away if you come across it.

 

4. Mistaking Rarity's character to be wholly shallow and too vain. This is... one of the most frustrating things I've had to come across as a fanfic reader. For the average fan that has Rarity as one of their least favourite ponies, they will eventually come to loathe her character outright. It's true, she has demonstrated tendencies to be advantageous over one's feelings, but she doesn't overdo it to the point where it's obvious! She is quite really one of the kindest characters you'll ever get to see but the way some people nitpick at her weaknesses shows a lack of understanding of her character. Yes, she does act vain and conceited sometimes, but she keeps it in check. That comes with a Canterlot-esque lifestyle. It's maddening to have to try reading a description praising Rarity's physical beauty and then reading a line from her that's too insulting to another character. Don't go there, guys.

 

3. Doing whatever the hell you want in clopfics. I get the vibe that in some clopfics, characters are too popularized and "get together" for the sole sake of doing their business all the while giving me a lack of regard for anyone else around them. It makes them look conceited and it feels like a high school environment than anything else. I will not mention any clopfics but there was this one story where Rarity and Spike are involved and it was so obvious that Rarity was being pretentious... going back to the number four reason. Avoid this right away if you come across it.

 

2. Mary Sues... You know the drill. Loathe Mary Sues with all your heart. It's only fitting that a black alicorn gets to have everything he/she desires so as long as its creator says it to be so. What makes something interesting to read is the conflict it introduces and sticks to that character's head like Ty Law on Steve Smith. There's no point in reading something if you know they can just magically make the problem go away. No, you want to see them persevere and tackle it head-on. I think I've made my case here.

 

1. Out of character characters. The worst thing an author can do is constantly give one of Mane Six qualities that aren't found to be canon that's not consistent with the story itself. A character can become jaded down the stretch, but suddenly introducing a hardass and tough-as-nails Fluttershy without a very good explanation will more likely intimidate readers rather than intrigue them. Likewise, making Twilight out to be an arrogant punk is a bad route to take. Why are two Elements of Harmony behaving this way? If you cannot answer that, well... maybe it's just time to stop writing or consider watching the show a bit more, just to understand what their actual personalities are like. It's one thing to have an outburst for dramatic effect, but it's another thing entirely to make them an unknown in familiar eyes.

 

 

That's it. What are your top five nuisances with pony fanfiction? I'm sure some of you might agree with me here, but feel free to write out what you think of them.

[Gone for good 1,593]

I 

3. Doing whatever the hell you want in clopfics. 

lol I don't think the average reader of a clopfic is going to care about having the characters or even basic logic be up to par. Your average reader's probably gonna be too busy spanking his monkey to care, anyhoo.

 

Anyhoo, uh lets see here...

 

5. Adventure stories that just don't feel adventurous: this is something that has really got me going for awhile to the point where I'm writing my own little adventure story right now with the CMC in it. Technically yes most adventure stories are considered adventure stories because they quite literally go on an adventure but there's a feeling missing from all of these and it's getting me kind of sad.

 

4. Spellcheck nonexistant: this one gets me mad because it's so easy to fix.

 

3. The same human in Equestria set up every single time: There isn't wrong with something being similar, but in this case things are just so similar that often I'm able to 100% accurately guess completely what happens next in the story to the point where I already know exactly what happens in something that is supposed to be surprising.

 

2. The attention clopfics get: I really don't care if you get off to ponies or not, but I hate it when a poorly written clopfic gets more attention than something actually well written not because the clopfic deserves it but because, once again, people are too busy whacking off to it. This is something that pisses me off about porn in general.

 

1. Whining and crying about critiques: I understand that you want positive feedback but please don't go crazy when somebody leaves a negative comment.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Lord Bababa

[Fridge 382]

This is why in my fiction I have avoided the main characters as much as I can, I doubt I could capture the subtleties of them so I avoid making anything other than the barest of mentions.

 

I actually only have one that you don't list - glaring plot holes. I hate them, a minor one is fine that's just a little goof, but when it's something major or vital it breaks the story completely.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Fridge

[Leafeon 2,702]

Your number 4 reason is why I don't read fan fics. Rarity is my favorite pony of the mane 6. Most fan fics make her something she is not. These people need to re-watch Sweet and Elite, which executes her character almost perfectly.

 

And regarding your second point, is it just me, or do a lot of writers make Trixie a Mary Sue? She seems to have unlimited power, and can do whatever she pleases without any consequences a lot of the time. This goes with your number 1 point as well, as while Trixie's magic looks nice, it is no regards powerful.

 

Great post.

[Sks_Burns 730]

#4: one of the things i really liked about Background Pony is how the author portrayed Rarity as a artistic, generous, and philosophical pony. the writer really did her justice, and their opinion of Rarity's character is one of the best ive seen. 

[Yellow Diamond 7,579]

I think you may have identified at least three major problems with fan fics in general: OOCs, Mary Sues, and the wonky pacing of lemons/clopfics.

 

I remember reading a clopfic---I won't delve into specifics for obvious reasons---which had a seemingly fantastic set up in terms of how ridiculous things were about to become. Suddenly the author aborted a bunch of lead up and insinuation for a very predictable result in the second chapter. Though still rather humorous, the follow through did not live up to the hype.

[Yes-Man 597]

Which is why I read Fallout:Equestria which uses non-canon characters and when it does use canon ones, they are accurately portrayed.

And for #1 Cupcakes comes to mind.

[Rarietty 632]

Don't you think you're being too judgmental of fanfictions as a whole? You're acting as though all fanfictions include those five traits, when really not many do. You specifically say "pony fanfiction" as if it can be all lumped together. Considering the vast amounts of genres and subgenres, maybe you should reword what you're trying to say so that you're not talking about fanfictions as a whole. Most fanfics I read have really good plots, the mane 6 are excellently in character and have OCs that are not Mary Sues. Clopping is avoidable, and I don't judge anyone who writes/reads it. 

 

If I have one nitpick about SOME fanfictions, it is when authors try too hard to please their audience. For example, completely changing the plot because people in the comments didn't like when it was going, despite that the author really liked it.  Also, when old original plots/subjects/cliches keep on being brought up. I'm looking at you, Human-in-Equestria/Ponies-on-Earth. 

Edited January 26, 2013 by Rarietty

[Fridge 382]

Which is why I read Fallout:Equestria which uses non-canon characters and when it does use canon ones, they are accurately portrayed.

And for #1 Cupcakes comes to mind.

Yep, Fallout Equestria pretty much sums up Rarity. I'm not going to say how because people have read it yet but I can totally see her doing that. In a way she was the hero of the piece.

 

Can't say I've read Cupcakes. I kind of don't want to.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Fridge

[Yes-Man 597]

And mind me for asking, but where have you read Fanfics with Mary-Sue OC's? Are we slowly turning into the monster that is the Sonic Fandom?

[Sks_Burns 730]

#1 can be hit or miss. You dont really know a persons character until its tested. whos to say that Fluttershy wont turn into a savage if her life was on the line or she was ttrying to protect her loved ones? you'll never learn about yourself unless you step outside of your comfort zone and push yourself, so its cool when writers take characters out of their comfort zones in put them in positions where theyre forced into circumstances that they normally wouldnt encounter. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,826]

 

And for #1 Cupcakes comes to mind.

 

Same here, I hate when authors make canon characters out of their personality, especially for violent purposes. Okay, whoever wrote cupcakes probably had a mental issue, because Pinkie Pie would never do such a thing. My #1 nuisance of fan-fics is overly gory fics. I dislike gorefics and mlp never should've entered that relm of fanfics.    

[Clarity 3,094]

Following are not ranked in order, but are some of the nuisances that annoy me the most.

 

Cliches. 

 

God, I get hugely annoyed with the thousandth Alicorn Twilight fic there is. I mean, it's basically like it's own genre. "One of the Mane 6 is a changeling" plotline also annoys me. "Scootalove" everywhere I go (even before Sleepless in Ponyville). Not to mention another AppleDash fic where they race, AJ gets sweaty and unties her mane, RD falls in love with AJ because of her beautiful mane. Though, truthfully, she really IS quite pretty like that...

 

And who could forget the OC x Mane 6 shipfics? Or the humans in Equestria? Seriously, guys. You can do better than that.

 

Plotline copying

 

My Little Dashie is so overrated  popular that many people wrote fics like "My Little Twilight", "My Little Pinkie", and so on, with them being the main protagonist. I really facepalm whenever I see one of those fics, because it's not only cliche but also plain plagiarizing. 

 

Ignoring Spike, Applejack, Rarity, and so on unpopular characters.

 

This goes for especially Spike. I don't get it, why he's so forgettable, why he's barely included in most mane six fanfiction. He's just as part of the main cast as the other ponies. I wish people would stop excluding him. Applejack and Rarity rarely play big roles in such fanfics as well.

 

Writing Applejack's dialogue like "ah" and "yer".

 

HOLY HELL, THIS ANNOYS ME SO MUCH. When you read a novel and a Southerner talks or something, DO YOU THINK THEY WRITE "AH" IN PLACE OF "I?" DO YOU THINK THE WRITERS DO THAT? I can hardly stand many AJ fics because they ruin her character and dialogue by writing "ah" instead of "I", "yer" instead of "your", "Twailight" instead of "Twilight". The list goes on and on. 

 

The only things that should be separate from others when writing AJ's dialogue should be "ain't", "ing changed to in' (like everythin'), and y'all. 

 

I haven't read a good fic in a long time where they don't mess up her dialogue like that.

 

Anyway, that's all I can come up with for now. May add more. 

[Harmonic Revelations 8,837]

To talk about number one, it reminds me of a bondage and Slave/Master clopfic featuring Fluttershy, FLUTTERSHY of all ponies, as the master. It was hilarious but SERIOUSLY out of character.

[Akemi Homura 7,682]

Don't you think you're being too judgmental of fanfictions as a whole? You're acting as though all fanfictions include those five traits, when really not many do. You specifically say "pony fanfiction" as if it can be all lumped together.  

 

Don't you think you're missing the point of the post?

 

I'm not acting on anything. If no one is going to call out terrible writing, what's there to do in promoting quality fanfiction? You might as well have more hard-ass Twilights in stories, right?

 

I also referred to a pattern that's easily identifiable that kills any interest you might have when reading a story. If I were so judgemental I would not have bothered reading dozens of them on my spare time. It's infuriating to know that authors don't use their utensils properly...

 

 

And mind me for asking, but where have you read Fanfics with Mary-Sue OC's?

 

It's a long list, but for reasons in keeping my sanity intact, I forgot about them though I did have the displeasure of taking interest in them, reading them, and promptly closing the browser because of how cliche they always started off. 

 

#1 can be hit or miss. You dont really know a persons character until its tested. whos to say that Fluttershy wont turn into a savage if her life was on the line or she was ttrying to protect her loved ones? you'll never learn about yourself unless you step outside of your comfort zone and push yourself, so its cool when writers take characters out of their comfort zones in put them in positions where theyre forced into circumstances that they normally wouldnt encounter. 

 

That's a fair point. However, often times authors are not skilled enough to justify that sort of behaviour and as a result, the frankly turns to crud. Great concept with potential, but cannot be realized. More often it's missed than struck down.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Alfonzo Dennard

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Very good topic idea. Bravo . I'll list off a couple of mine.

 

1: OOC

 

Yeah, everyone's going to say it but honestly, I watch the show and by extension read fanfics because I love the characters so much. The moment a character doesn't feel like themself anymore (Within a certain range, and unless the OOC behavior is acknowledged and explained) I'll usually quit reading.

 

2: "Element of" Nonsense

 

Ties into number one a bit. When a pony does something related to their element and someone says "Just what we'd expect from the element of (Insert element here)" or vice-versa if they aren't exemplifying their element. It isn't something that they ever do in the show and to me it basically tosses up a big red flag saying "THIS IS A FANFIC! YOUR IMMERSION IN THE STORY IS GONE! HA HA HA!" Big pet peeve of mine.

 

3: Introducing something (or someone) non-canonical and not explaining it at all.

 

Who's this? Why it's Lightning Flare, wizard extraordinaire and best pal of the mane six, haven't you heard of him? A rocketship? Of course Celestia has a rocket! Now, to clarify, I'm not unanimously opposed to OC fanfics and advancements in technology being incorporated into the plot. They actually can be done well, but usually only if the writer attempts to fit them into the universe. Reveal to us how this random character fits into the world and how he interacts with it, and don't just pretend he's always been there.

 

4: Leatherpantsing

 

It's a TV Tropes term, essentially related to downplaying the flaws of villains and making them more sympathetic by explaining them more. Now, this can be done well and I'm all for alternate character interpretation. It's actually one of my favorite things to read about and explore. My issue with this is that it often turns into an OOC fic, and ends up exaggerating the flaws of or even downright villainizing the protagonists in order to help us feel more sympathy for the antagonist in question. Yes, I feel awful that Lightning Dust's parents were killed in some sort of war and that she throws herself into flying to escape from that. It doesn't make Spitfire the devil for kicking Dust out of the academy after not even caring that she'd almost killed people. That's a bit of a jump for me.

 

So those are mine. I'll be back if I think of more. It essentially all boils down to things that make the fic not feel like the same world as the show.

[Stellafera 3,836]

1. Shipping: A very subjective one that is unfair to an entire subgenre of high quality fanfics, but any kind of shipping that is not friendshipping (which, by the way, I completely love) or minor references to a canon couple makes me turn away. I once was reading a fantastic adventure story, shipping happened, and I just could not enjoy it anymore. 

 

2. Getting Distracted By Cool Ideas: The other big thing in fanfiction is when a writer starts getting too wrapped up in their own continuity and loses the soul and spirit of the story. Usually this happens when they become enamored with worldbuilding. Worlds are nice and all, but I read stories for the characters. 

 

3. Twilight As A Callous Jerk: Why does this happen so often? Twilight is most certainly past that by now, but even in Season 1, she seemed to act unintentionally rude more out of a lack of understanding of social norms than out of a lack of kindness. She's not emotionless because she's a character who values logic. Valuing reason does not, in fact, make one act entirely reasonable and robotic all the time. 

 

4. Whenever I Have To Ask Who These Ponies Are: I consider one of the ultimate failures in writing to be when your reader has to look back a few chapters in order to figure out who the people they are supposed to care about are. This is why I disliked the Warrior cat series of books.

 

5. Omg Celestia is so meeeeen wooona foreverz: A disgrace to the best princess, and especially to the difficult moral decision she had to make facing Nightmare Moon. 

Edited January 26, 2013 by ~Lawful Stella~

[Cantankerous 106]

FiM fan fiction has been consistently amazing to me. No, not all of them are good but there are few I seriously dislike and several that I count among my favorite works of fiction of any medium. I've always heard fan fiction to be this vast wasteland with maybe a few jewel encrusted rocks but not enough to be worth search and excavation. Instead, I found this "wasteland"- at least when it comes to FiM- to be positively brimming with precious stones. As far as pet peeves go, none stand out in my mind. I do wish these authors would put more effort into spelling and grammar checks but that's not a problem with the stories themselves.  

Edited January 27, 2013 by ByTheTides

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I have a few:

 

Grimdark that derails and butchers the characters for no valid reason

 

"Luna Vs Celesia(well, aside from if someone wants to write about the war with Nightmare Moon)" war fics

 

Celestia being a horrible tyrant

[AnonyPoni 564]

Hopefully nothing is going to get thrown at me....

 

Er, I'm a fanfic writer, and not all fanfics are like that. There are a lot of amazing fanfics out there that read just as well as published novels. Sure, some are just as you described, but there are a lot of them that are pretty darned good...

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Hopefully nothing is going to get thrown at me....

 

Er, I'm a fanfic writer, and not all fanfics are like that. There are a lot of amazing fanfics out there that read just as well as published novels. Sure, some are just as you described, but there are a lot of them that are pretty darned good...

Of course they're not all like that. No one's saying that (I hope). I actually love reading fanfics, so much that I have a list of my favorites on my user page and write long blog posts that no one reads to recommend them to people. We're just saying certain recurring things that seem to show up in a lot of fanfics that rub us the wrong way.

Edited January 26, 2013 by ~Chaotic Rainbow~

[Scootalove 10,692]

I think when someone copies another person's fan fiction known as plagerism. I would say, that's where I draw the line at that.

[AnonyPoni 564]

Writing Applejack's dialogue like "ah" and "yer".

 

HOLY HELL, THIS ANNOYS ME SO MUCH. When you read a novel and a Southerner talks or something, DO YOU THINK THEY WRITE "AH" IN PLACE OF "I?" DO YOU THINK THE WRITERS DO THAT? I can hardly stand many AJ fics because they ruin her character and dialogue by writing "ah" instead of "I", "yer" instead of "your", "Twailight" instead of "Twilight". The list goes on and on. 

 

The only things that should be separate from others when writing AJ's dialogue should be "ain't", "ing changed to in' (like everythin'), and y'all. 

 

I haven't read a good fic in a long time where they don't mess up her dialogue like that.

 

Anyway, that's all I can come up with for now. May add more. 

 

Actually, Mark Twain was famous for writing out accents. He would listen to the way people talk and try to mimic it in his writing. A lot of writers do it because we they think it's cool to be like Mark Twain (which is not a bad thing) I guess it's obvious that Applejack gets targeted for this, but I'll type out french accents, city accents, stuff like that too. It conveys a sense of who the person is by the way they pronounce stuff (Not always stereotypical either). I'm sorry if the whole Applejack thing upsets you, but the writer just wants to write exactly what she's saying, not the fixed up version. I'm not saying it's not annoying, but that's (IMO) why

[Wingnut 7,037]

I can't think of five at the moment, but I can think of a few:

 

1.  Story telling that lacks a story.  Some fanfictions read like an event log or itinerary of things that happen over a span of time.  But there's no discernible attempt at things like character building or lessons learned.  There doesn't seem to be a moral or theme present.  I plead guilty to this because a long time ago when I tried my hand at a Transformers fanfiction, that was my mistake.

 

2.  A perfectly good story turns into a ship or clop fic for no good reason.  This has been mentioned by others in this thread but it bears repeating.  If a story is going to be about shipping or clopping, please let me know reasonably early.  Because when it happens when a story is well underway, it feels like a total 180 and detracts from the direction the story has been taking. 

 

3.  Plagiarism is magic.  Almost every fanfiction will resemble something else to an extent, but please try to be a little creative people. 

[MandelSoft 29]

OK, this topic might be useful for people writing fanfics. It brings up some good points about do's and don'ts. I was planning to make one, which does feature part of the Mane 6 out of character, but in a logical way with good elaborate back-story (hint: severe drama and disaster!). But I have to work out the story better in my mind and I think I'm making a rough draft first for people to critize (I like constructive criticism) before I work out the story completely into detail.

 

For each character, hero or villain, you must have a good motivation that explains their actions. They also need to fit into the world they are in. I mean, the whole pony world is a bit strange and odd, but the characters behave in a way that feels natural for that world...