One way for authors to be sure that I WON’T continue to read a story is to hold chapters for 'ransom'. You are punishing people who might start reading the story a year down the road and get 'into' it and weren't available to give you a review to meet your limit. If you are really going to stop a story because you didn't meet the quota of reviews you set, then at least delete the story completely!

To Authors (and maybe especially betas): Please, please, please check these common errors. Yes there will always be a few that slip through, but if you put an effort to check ESPECIALLY for these, they will be reduced. I don't expect perfection -- I'm sure there will probably be mistakes in here and these stories are written for enjoyment. I'm writing this quickly right now, with just a few, but the list will be updated...

1. Definitely/Defiantly. Reading my little hash marks I made, I've read AT LEAST 20 fanfics in the past 2 weeks where definitely is misspelled as "defiantly". Granted, a few were in the same fic, but that is still a lot. That is only the ones that I counted after I decided to keep track, and when I could make a mark (sometimes I'm not at home, and only wanted to count when I could do so immediately).

2. They're, there, their. Remember - They're is 'they are'. There is 'over there'. Their is 'belongs to them'.

3. You're, your. You're is 'you are'. Your is 'belongs to you'.

4. Quite/Quiet. Just a typing error generally, two totally different words.

5. Affect/Effect. Oy. Generally speaking (because there is an exception that is very specific that I won't touch on here), 'affect' is a verb and 'effect' is a noun. I can't remember where I heard or read this explanation on the use of each, but it helped. If I ever find the reference again, I will mention it. "His song affected her deeply. The effect was profound." I'm not sure if the next part is definitive, but it's always worked for me when I was unsure -- If you can put "the" in front, then it's effect. Affect: to influence. Effect: a result.

6. It's/its. I had a lot of trouble getting this one down, because for any other word, if you have " 's", it is the possessive. "Mary's skirt was blue". With the words in question the possessive does NOT use the apostrophe. That is reserved only for the contraction 'it is'. "It's (It is) sunny outside". "It's nose (the nose belongs to 'it'.) twitched at the scent".

7. Rogue/Rouge. Please, Rouge is another word, French word, for blush makeup. Rogue is a noun: 1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.; and 2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp. Rogue is also an adjective: having an abnormally savage or unpredictable disposition. If there is a story with a ROUGE BLUDGER, it is a bludger wearing blush. Not quite the same meaning...

8. Possessive with family name. It is not "The Weasley's all went out to eat without Harry." There is more than one Weasley, and nothing belongs to them in this sentence, therefore it should be Weasleys. It is not "They arrived at the Malfoy's (Malfoys)." The word house is understood, and it is the house belonging to all the Malfoys, therefore it should be Malfoys's.

I hope this won't upset anyone. I will (and do) still read stories where there are mistakes. This is just a pet peeve of mine, but I won't just stop reading a story because of small spelling errors -- unless there are massive amounts that make the story incomprehensible. Even then, if the plot is good, I'll try to muddle through.

Another pet peeve of mine? Well, holding back story chapters for reviews. I really don't like authors who say they won't put up the next chapter unless they get reviews, or worse, a certain number of reviews. I mean, WTH??? If something will make me stop reading a story, it's that. I'm sorry, but in general, I will review at the end of a story. I try to only start completed fics, because I know I'm too impatient and don't want to be the one leaving tons of reviews asking when the next chapter is coming out. That would SOOOOO be me. Doing that, however, means that I'm too impatient to read the whole story to stop and review with each chapter.

That doesn't mean I don't read WIPs at all. To the contrary, if an author I really like has a lot of stories, I'll just read whatever else they have in my preferred fandom, and forget to check if the stories are finished or not. In those, I'll leave a review where I've read to. Other times, the summary just really intrigues me and I'll take a chance that it won't (or isn't) simply abandoned. Oh do I dislike abandoned stories, but I do understand (unless it's one of those authors who stopped because they weren't getting the 20 reviews per chapter they wanted). Yes, I'm exaggerating, but...

Some will say "Why is she complaining, she doesn't have any stories posted". True, but I can't write fanfiction. I have original fictions on other sites. To see an example of my stories, try the following, removing spaces: https:// www. literotica. com/ stories/ memberpage. php? uid= 1108098 & page= submissions or you can PM me to ask for a link. I also have about 20 other het stories that haven't been posted anywhere.

Fandoms (recs are welcome for my favorite pairings. if you have another pairing that you've loved, you may suggest, but no promises :) ):

Harry Potter. Yum. My fave pairing is Harry/Snape. I really like Harry and Charlie or Bill Weasley, but there aren't all that many of those out there. Whatever you do, however, don't pair him with Ron Weasley. That makes me shudder. Well, Arthur too, because I don't want Molly screeching at me LOL. As much as I love the characters in the books and movies, fics that bash Dumbledore and the younger Weasleys make me happiest. Weird, but there you have it. Hermione...I've enjoyed having her bashed and not, I can't decide really if I prefer one over the other. She usually follows Ron though...I also love Harry Potter crossovers with my other favorite fandoms. The only crossovers I love that don't contain another fave fandom is Harry/Riddick (Pitch Black/Chronicles). They are so HOT! Oh, and Harry/Edward Cullen. I read one where Jacob is part of the mix, but I'm not drawn at all to Harry/Jacob.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You can pair my Xander with Angel, Spike or Giles and I'm a very, VERY happy girl. Like Harry, pair him with a character from my other favorite fandoms and it's all good. Xander/Riddick too, just like Harry. They are such wonderful characters and very versatile -- Harry and Xander I mean. Put them together for me to squeal like the fangirl I am LOL. Again, I enjoy Xander/Edward, if less than Harry/Edward, but definitely no Xander/Jacob.

Criminal Minds. Spencer with either Hotch or Morgan, but Hotch edges Morgan slightly for me. Hotch is the one I would prefer crossovers with Harry and Xander. Not really sure why, because Morgan is totally lickable.

CSI. Nick and Greg. I mean, come on, so obvious.

Diagnosis Murder. This is an old one, but I love me some Steve/Jesse slash. There aren't many out there, but I enjoy what I can get.

NCIS: Gibbs and Tony; Gibbs and Tim. NOT Tony and Tim.

Stargate SG-1: Jack and Daniel. That's all. Cross Jack or Daniel with Harry and Xander all you want and I'm happy :)

That's it for now, I'm getting a bit rushed and I've rambled enough LOL.