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icarusAfter reading a certain fanfic, which no doubt is excellent despite its flaws but I couldn't continue:
1 - Never, ever tell us the obvious. No one reads fanfiction without at least a rudimentary knowledge of the show. Yes, we know Jack is a colonel. Yes, we know the general is crusty but friendly. If you absolutely must tell us these things, please, for the love of God, don't do it in exposition, which is dry, dry, dry. *hacks up exposition*
2 - You are allowed the occasional dash. You are not permitted to use it in your first paragraph, nor are you permitted to use more than one per paragraph. If you have dull, unimportant information to convey (see previous point), don't shout it with a dash - a dash is not a parenthesis, it emphasizes - instead please try another technique. Perhaps two sentences? Pretend you have a lifetime limit on the number of dashes you use and must save them for important occasions.
Thank you for your consideration.
1 - Never, ever tell us the obvious. No one reads fanfiction without at least a rudimentary knowledge of the show. Yes, we know Jack is a colonel. Yes, we know the general is crusty but friendly. If you absolutely must tell us these things, please, for the love of God, don't do it in exposition, which is dry, dry, dry. *hacks up exposition*
2 - You are allowed the occasional dash. You are not permitted to use it in your first paragraph, nor are you permitted to use more than one per paragraph. If you have dull, unimportant information to convey (see previous point), don't shout it with a dash - a dash is not a parenthesis, it emphasizes - instead please try another technique. Perhaps two sentences? Pretend you have a lifetime limit on the number of dashes you use and must save them for important occasions.
Thank you for your consideration.
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-08 08:21 pm (UTC)*Icarus looks around the room as if she missed that.*
The worst thing is when you've got a really long series in which several pages are devoted, at the beginning of each book
There are creative ways to do this. That's why in media res works. I was surprised at how little needed to be explained from part of Beg Me For It to another.
Icarus
no subject
Date: 2005-03-09 02:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-09 04:30 am (UTC)LOL! I hesitate to ask but, which fandom was it?
The Lord of the Rings fandom was notorious for OOC characters and attitudes that were completely inappropriate and too-modern for the time in which it was set. Rare is the writer who can write LotR fanfic and write it well.
Icarus