Hey readers!
Just a disclaimer, I didn't proof read as much as I normally do. So I apologize for mistakes in advance.
This is mostly just a collection of pet peeves... but then again... isn't it all? It also has some other minor advise scattered in there too, but it's mostly just a refresher from other chapters.
Common Story Plots and the Dangers of Bad Writing
Originality is key in writing. For instance, in one of my earlier chapters, I said that:
So, I know a lot of people who have been diehard fans of the Pokémon cartoon since they were able to crawl. And let's face it, with each new season, it's the same thing regurgitated back to us. Yet, we still find ourselves watching it occasionally, and dare I say, liking it despite the fact at how similar it may be to previous episodes. Have you ever wondered why?
Well, if you really think about it, Pokémon may reuse its main themes and concepts, but it still comes up with different, or slightly different at the very least, scenarios that give the episode a different feel to it other than it being the same thing but with different characters.
Now regardless if you agree with me or not, the Pokémon franchise is still flourishing, despite it having the same main mechanics and conflicts throughout its various incarnations.
So now let's get to the main point. I've been reading stories on fanfiction since middle school, and over the years, I've read enough to make a list of all of the common story plots that writers tend to use. I wish to share this list and some of my comments about them with you, my dear reader, so that you may see where people either lack originality or fail to deliver on a new twist to an otherwise formulaic plot.
Please note that I am not saying that using these story plots are bad, but sometimes I, or other readers loose interest in them because they are too formulaic or boring, and they don't really do anything for the reader other than exist.
Sick
Now I love a good "insert name here" gets sick story but the major problems with them are that they are not put into believable scenarios, or they lack a believable scenario because the writer is trying to stress how bad the situation is by making it too dramatic. Most of the time, I find myself thrown head first into reading "insert name here" has a terrible fever that not even Chopper, you know that reindeer doctor who trained his entire life with a top doctor (and for two additional years), can diagnose.
And just to rant a bit, this is what I mean by being too dramatic:
"Nami moved her hand over the boy's forehead. It was burning! She quickly reeled her hand back, surprised to see it had turned a red color form the heat!"
There are a couple of things wrong with this quote. The first is that you should never use the "!" unless a character is talking or the story is in the character's POV and it is a personal though. Why? Simply because it feels like the author is butting into the story with their thoughts, not the characters.
The second thing wrong with the quote is the author comes across as not knowing what they are talking about. It's like they throw out common knowledge in favor of making the story seem more dramatic. Here's what I mean. Under the context of this quote, we can tell that the "boy", probably Luffy, has a very high fever. In real life, one would not have their hand burned by touching a fevered person's forehead. There could be acceptations to this rule if say Ace, or more recently Sabo had a fever, since they are aligned to fire, but for most situations normal characters just wouldn't react like their own had was burning.
"His fever was 110ºF!"
Again, realistically speaking, he would be dead. A fever past 103 is considered dangerous. Don't let dramatics rule out logic.
If you are not technically sure about something, google it. Or even better, go onto WebMD and look up stuff. Even if you want to create a new illness that no one knows about, you should still use a reference of an already established disease and have a back story planed as to how "insert name here" somehow got you're made up and incredibly rare (again, stop with the dramatics) illness. It will make your story all the more enjoyable to read if you are sound like you know what you're talking about.
Turned into a Kid/ Animal
And for my second favorite story to read about, when "insert name(s) here" turns into a little kid and someone, or the whole crew needs to take care of them. I love these stories because they can be very cute and full of overprotective nakama, but at the same time, that can be the major down fall of these fics.
Sometimes the writer makes the characters appear to be too OOC, or the story is almost too fluffy for there to be any real plot development. Or the story only focusses on fluff and at the end I wonder what the point of the piece was.
Typically, the formula for a bad turned into a kid story goes: "mysterious villain" turns "insert name here" into a kid for the purpose of an easy capture, the surrounding members may be effected as well, one person is dumped with "insert name(s) here" after they escape the villain and the rest of the crew is forgotten or being assholes, fluffy bonding moments that usually consume most of the plot development stages, villain magically manages to appear, villain somewhat succeeds in kidnapping "insert name here", person in charge of "insert name here" rescues them, "insert name here" gets turned back to normal.
If you find yourself coming up with this type of scenario, my advice to you is: don't forget about the rest of the crew and keep them in character, typically if one of their own was in trouble, they would all want to pitch in and help. Focus on one or two characters that get turned into a kid, remember writing for more than one character can get complicated very fast, adding too many characters that are in trouble thins out your plot. Describe a villain's reason for targeting "insert name here" and maybe a quick back story for them.
Romance
There are dozens upon dozens of different scenarios a romance fic can have. I typically avoid them since I don't like reading about non-cannon pairings. I only read about heavily hinted at pairings/ pairings I could see happening, so there is not much for me to say.
What I can mention is that when I read a romance fic, the romance cannot overpower the main conflict. A conflict, by my definition, is something that can realistically happen in a said universe that is the main reason a story is happening. And no, a main conflict is not a love triangle. It could be a love triangle, but, those types of stories are almost always poorly written and have terrible pacing, and make little to no sense.
I do not mind reading romance pieces when they explore a characters relationship with that person, or when they are secondary to the plot and the moments are thrown into the story at a realistic time. I do mind when characters are turned into hormone-crazed teens with little to no self-control, because it does not do Oda's characters justice. And I quite frankly find them boring.
Mpreg
Just one question… How is this even possible? Really, I would love to know. It's not realistic at all.
OC/Mary Sue Centered
I do not hate all OC's. Most entertaining villains in stories are OC's. My main concern is when an OC is a main character because they are almost never developed well. As well as, when they are introduced into the story like they were always a part of the universe with a brief/ long winded, and above all awkward, explanation as to why they are there.
A main character OC needs a back story (not the typical I'm an orphan with incredible powers that I never learned to control, trying to find love and money to save the world from people who are less fabulous than my flawless body).
A quick guide line for making a believable OC is simply following the Who, What, When, Where, Why, How setup.
Who your character is: Their personality, their purpose, their dreams, their goals, their fears, and their weaknesses. Do not spell it out to the reader by saying my character likes/hates this, she/he looks like this, their dream is this. Instead, hint at them through dialogue and actions.
What side is your character on: the pirates, the marines, bounty hunters, their own?
When is your character going to become important: at the start, towards the end. Do not fully introduce the character until the story is ready for them. Foreshadowing is good as it eases the reader into accepting a new character. Everything in a story has to happen for a reason, if a character comes in a completely awkward time, it could ruin the character before they get a chance to do anything constructive.
Where is your character coming from? Background helps draw a logical picture as to why a character acts the way the do. This is a bonus because it makes the character more interesting. Also what sounds better: "Mary Sue grew up on the streets an orphan, making it easy for her to steal" or "Mary Sue lay crouched in the shadows, her years alone on the streets made her quite good at getting what she needs, without drawing attention to herself". Remember to avoid kiddy writing, like in the first one example, when coming up with background information.
Why is your character there at that given point in time? Were they on a job, or was it just dumb luck?
How does your character survive, make friends, handle pressure, fight, and look.
Remember that all of these things need to apply to the story. We do not care what your character is wearing, unless the story calls for it and even then, do not go into a detailed description because they are boring.
Memory Loss
Extreme memory loss is so incredibly rare that it should not happen as often as it does on fanfiction.
If anything, the memory loss should only date back to something like a few hours or days ago. I know head injuries can be sever, but try to come up with a better explanation as to why the character so conveniently forgot: everyone but their love interest, only their love interest, the most important moments of their life, or their entire memories.
Memories are what shape characters and their decisions. They can be OOC if their memory was heavily affected.
It is more believable to me that a character has selective memory loss. Especially if someone with a devil fruit is causing it. Making them forget everything is just too extreme, unless there is a magical reason behind it… because magical items (like a devil fruit) can cause more damage than a blow to the head, by my logic.
Remember that One Piece Characters are no stranger to violence, trauma, and injuries. Therefore, you need a very good reason if they suffer long-term memory loss from a head injury.
Bonding Time
These fics typically explore two characters and their (non-romantic) relationship. These are usually great nakama fics, unless the characters don't share an experience with each other and focus on a completely random moment with each other, that only the author seems to know about.
Do not make characters even a little OOC, it will ruin this type of fic more so than any other because they are typically short-medium length oneshots. The strengths to these fics are in the characters normal interactions with each other, with a hint of a softer side that is not always shown.
Protective
Sometimes there is a bit of a role reversal, and the main character needs to be protected, typically by a weaker character.
Again, these fics typically explore two characters and their (non-romantic) relationship and these are usually great nakama fics.
These fics can show that even Zoro and Sanji can get along when one of them is in trouble.
Don't ruin it by making characters OOC.
Fetch Quest/ Search for the Treasure
Typically adventure stories that are more or less fan written T.V specials.
They don't always have romance or anything too special or deep. They are better when they have underlining tones of nakamaship, but the purpose of these fics is just to tell a story that can sneak in some character moments that the cannon didn't quite touch upon.
And remember that while Nami loves treasure, she loves the crew more.
Songfic/ Poem
I don't typically read these because I almost never know the song and I find the song's lyrics to interrupt the flow of the story because it's almost as if I'm reading two things at once.
It would be better to reference the song first, and take the most important lines of lyrics that match what you are trying to connect, rather than the whole song. Incorporate the lyric into the piece, rather than making them stand out.
Captured/Kidnapped
One of my favorite fics to read, especially if the main character is the one to be kidnapped. It is refreshing to see a typically strong character need saving, for once.
Try not to use the weak character gets kidnapped cliché, they are usually boring unless done right.
Remember to give villains a motivation other than the obvious "their bounty is incredibly high" or "we're going to use you to takeout your boyfriend". Even if that is the main reason, try to spice it up a little bit, as to not make it so cliché.
Most characters are not arrogant enough to go after someone with an insanely high bounty, unless they have experience. Do the readers a favor and share some of those accomplishments, so we are not just reading about some random person who can wipe out an entire crew.
It is bad story telling if one gives more detail than necessary, or too little detail. Mention at the most, two semi-famous accomplishments and one big one to give readers an idea. As a guide line, these accomplishments in total should not take up more than 40% of the chapter. The accomplishments are told to help give background, not to take up the whole story.
POV
POV's should typically be about one character. If the story switches POV's, it gets pretty confusing. And adding a section header in bold, in the middle of the story, to tell me who's point of view the story switched to, is a jarring thing to read as it takes away from the flow of the plot.
Adding in a rushed paragraph of each characters reactions to an event is annoying to read. It is easier on you and the reader if you have one or two, and at most three, POV's per chapter. Indicating the switching POV with a line break, and nothing more. The readers are not stupid, you do not have to constantly indicate if something is a flashback or a POV to us every time one happens.
POV stories are a fun way to get into one character's head, and they should try to stick to that one character for the majority (90%) of the fic.
Also note that these common plot points can be used together to make a more intricate story.
A good example for this would be a memory loss/ turned into a kid would be a great companion pair for obvious reasons.
Remember when you introduce a new conflict or character to the story, you are making the story more interesting, and you are slowly making it your own.
It is up to you how you write a story, just do me and the other readers out there a favor and make it something like we haven't already read.
~Done
Thanks for reading!
I know I left out a couple of other more common themed stories, but I just can't think of them at this point in time. Feel free to let me know if I missed something!
For everyone in the review section who I have not written to, thank you for the reviews! And thanks to you all who favorited this story, it means a lot!
Have a good day/night~