A little about me: I'm an avid reader, and whenever I run out of books to read I run to fanfic to read the stories others create. People amaze me at the writing they can put out -- without a real editor or anything. Many of the people on this site have the potential to be authors... hence why I lurk here to read it all. If I get inspired, I might end up trying my hand at writing in the future, if I find enough time between classes. -crosses fingers-

xoxo

A few plots I absolutely despise/are overused/predictable:

- Bella getting pregnant: I know, I know, Bella got pregnant in Breaking Dawn... but I just hate it when Bella gets pregnant and suddenly the story's focus shifts entirely to the baby. If it's not written well enough, it ruins the whole story, and let's face it, most of the stories where Bella gets pregnant are predictable and not written the best. However, if written well, there's absolutely nothing wrong with reading it. It's a delicate path that can easily go awry upon writing this particular plot -- so beware.

- Bella/Jacob or slash pairs: Self-explanatory. Some like the thought of lesbian Bella and Alice or whatever... but I don't. Nooo thank you.

- Edward left and never came back: This one I don't really hate -- but it is definitely overused and can easily become predictable. In many of them, Bella is changed and Edward just doesn't come back for her. Read New Moon again. Edward specifically tells Bella he would have broken and came back eventually anyway. Typically, the story goes like this: Edward left and never came back, will Bella be able to deal with the pain or will she find comfort in Jacob? Or, Edward left and never came back... in the meantime, Bella was changed. They meet again. They forgive each other, blah blah blah, have run-ins with the Volturi and various other bad guys, get married, and live happily ever after. Boring. However, when it's written well and fairly original, this plot can actually be quite nice to read.

- Emo/Gothic Bella: Another plot line I can guess. Edward left and never came back, Bella was changed and/or went emo/Gothic. Basically, she wears black and hates the world. Maybe gets herself into sticky situations or accidentally brings herself to the brink of death. Edward comes back or Bella meets him in another place, angst ensues, then guess what? Edward and Bella get back together! In my experience, these stories are very predictable and all end the same way. I have yet to see one to restore my faith in this particular plot. Sorry.

Note: even if your story has one of the above listed plotlines, I'll read it so long as it's written well. It better be interesting, though... they often get rather predictable, unfortunately. :(

xoxo

Pet peeves:

- Repeated grammar/spelling mistakes: I can understand when there's a few mistakes. We're only human, and it happens. It's okay. But when you make the same mistake(s) over and over or have a complete lack of English grammar, no one is going to want to read it. It's so easy to get a spell-check of some sort -- before you submit stories, you can even use this site to spell-check your work for you, or you can apply to have someone Beta for you. Go check, it's all there. So there's no excuse for a jumbled mess of mistakes. If there's enough, I simply won't read it... and I know others wouldn't either.

- Text-messaging language: I absolutely hate this. I don't even use text-message language in text messages or IM's myself, or even in games! And yes, I call it a language, for it's sometimes so hard to decipher that it becomes a language in itself. It's that bad. If you're going to do that, I won't spare your story a second glance, and I can tell you that many others won't, either. If I can't even read what you're trying to say, I won't bother. If I see it in a summary, I skip the story, not wanting to even dare look inside to see what horrors await me there. If you don't have enough room in the summary -- God knows we've all had to cut out some things to make it fit -- make sure to say "more inside" or tell them it's on your profile, so people will be interested to read more. Actually, I recommend doing that to any summary; it'll cause people to want to see more, and it could lead to them reading your story or at least the first few paragraphs, more often than not. Just don't resort to "lyk," "dis," et cetera. Please. I'm begging you here. I attempted to read a story that was written in text-message language through-and-through... Never. Again.

- Bad language: I have nothing against swearing, really... but when you're trying to read a story that repeatedly says things like, "That fucking asshole wouldn't fucking leave me the fuck alone... fuckfuckfuck," I lose interest fast. I love the little curse words people make up for humor or to add to emotions, but please try to tone down the language just a little. Reading between the swear words is almost as bad as trying to read through a buttload of mistakes.

- Excessive run-on/fragment sentences and/or commas: They suck. It's like trying to comprehend gibberish sometimes. My advice to those who run into that problem is this: find a Beta that knows their stuff and have them help you out with it, or try to learn how to avoid run-on/fragment sentences and excessive commas. They add to the story if used occasionally to create a sense of urgency or the narrator not stopping to take a breath, but if it's excessive... people lose interest. An example of a run-on sentence: "He ran to the door and flung it open it almost flew off its hinges and he shouted urgently to her 'Where are you?!'" An example of fragment sentences: "He ran to the door and flung. It open. It almost flew off. Its hinges. He shouted. Urgently to her, 'Where are you?!'" An example of excessive commas: "He ran, to the door, and flung it open. It almost flew, off its hinges, and he shouted urgently, to her, 'Where, are you?!'" That same sentence should correctly be: "He ran to the door and flung it open, causing it to almost fly off its hinges. He shouted urgently to her, 'Where are you?!'" I applaud you if you read all of that. Hah!

- Lack of punctuation, or just too much: This runs hand-in-hand with the above paragraph. A lack of punctuation can cause run-on sentences, and if you have too much, it can lead to fragment sentences. If you're not putting periods at the ends of sentences or apostrophes to show ownership/contractions, then something is definitely wrong. And commas help immensely -- but of course, you have to watch that you don't go wrong with them either. Again, if you're having trouble with punctuation, try to find a Beta or someone that can help you out with them! Because I can tell you right now, punctuation is a huge part of the writing, and if it's not used correctly, people won't read.

- Bad summaries: Okay, so I know it's hard to compell people into reading your story with a limited summary, and that's fine. Try your best, and if people know just a little of what your idea is, they might read it. It doesn't have to be perfect. But, if you don't add capitals in your title where they are supposed to be, or no capitals at all, people are going to skip over it, because an abundance of mistakes isn't worth their time. This can cause you to run out of room, but as I said before, write a full summary inside if you need it... it will make them actually click on it to read the rest of the summary. We all know how when you start reading something, you end up being unable to tear your eyes away. And please, at least try to use commas or periods after your abbreviations, as well as apostrophes where they need to be... it makes it easier for readers to know what you're talking about, and summaries are going to be something we use to sum up not only the story, but the way the person writes. A load of mistakes won't help anything. Think of it as applying for a job... people like it more if you look proper, act proper, and are easy-going, or happy. Therefore, make your summary a bit fun or humorous (foreshadowing helps too), and definitely proper. (hinthint: don't say, "I SUCK AT SUMMARIES!!")

Note: if you can sum up your story in twenty words or less, great. You don't need to describe everything in your summary. Give them a taste of what's to come, drag them in... tease them. If you can do that, you're in great shape.

xoxo

Project(s):

Far Away from Where You Are (full summary)- Sixty years after Edward leaves in New Moon, Bella is on the brink of death – and he can't stay away from her. He follows her into the void after her death, and by a twist of fate the two meet again. Alice is plotting a way to get the couple together once more, but with their dark pasts and entanglement in all things supernatural, will they ever get a chance to truly be together again? Rated M for dark and suggestive themes. Canon pairs, and possible lemons in the future. Somewhat OOC. Vampires and humans both.

Originally, FAFWYA was just going to be a one-shot, but due to responses I decided to continue it (as of March 19th, 2010). Any links and/or messages concerning FAFWYA will be posted here, on my profile. Thank you for your time. ;)

xoxo

UPDATE (8/30/10): I know, I know, I planned on continuing FAFWYA, but life got in the way and I couldn't find the time to write it. I may still continue it later, when I'm not nearly as busy, but so far the prospects are not looking good. Classes are starting, and I was dumb and have way too much on my plate at the moment ("they" always say not to do that -sigh-), so I don't know if I'll even read fanfiction, much less continue writing it for a while. I apologize for the update of only one extra chapter before discontinuing it, but life happens. I started writing a novel a few months ago, one that refused to get out of my head until I finally just gave in and wrote some of it out, so if I do ever get a chance to write, I probably won't be working on my fanfic. In any case, don't expect anything from me except maybe the odd one-shot, if that. Sorry again for my major failure. :(