Interesting question, Anni.
What aggravates me about fan fiction?
#1 Irrational and unnecessary departure from reality, unless there's a solid cast iron explanation for same.
Okay, this is *science* fiction which by its very nature goes beyond 'normal' reality. However, the boundaries of scientific knowledge are mostly beyond the the experience of 'the man on the Clapham omnibus', so fanciful extrapolations don't come across as being obviously impossible.
Human behaviour, on the other hand, unless affected by scientific modification, is well within the understanding of every reader. Yes, humans do behave irrationally from time to time, but there are usually reasons/motives for it. If these aren't apparent, then some explanation is called for.
N.B. I don't have a problem with 'ship so long as it's clearly marked as such. That's the nice thing about fan fiction. You can read the stories you do relate to and avoid the ones you don't.
No one's twisting The Reader's arm.
#2 Failure to do adequate - or indeed any - research.
For instance, if someone has been seriously beaten - bones broken, internal injuries etc. - he isn't going to be dancing the night away 48 hours later. Same goes for emotional trauma. And resorting to a sarcophagus that amazingly happens to be handy is just plain lazy.
#3 Failure to read through a fic. before posting it.
If it isn't interesting enough for the author to re-read at least once before posting, what makes him/her think anyone else would want to read it? If unsure about spelling, grammar, sense, or readability in general, the use of a beta would be a good idea. The odd typo. here and there is excusable - nobody's perfect - but if I need the services of a translator, I'm not likely to read very far.
Example:
I'm not sure if this belongs with #2 or #3 (or both), but some time back, I read a fic. in which Daniel took a sandwich and an iced drink to Sam who was too busy working in her lab to join the rest of the team for lunch.
Four and a half hours later, those ice cubes still hadn't melted...
If it was
that cold in Sam's lab, why didn't Daniel take her a nice hot coffee?
#4 Practical considerations (lack of).
Not everyone possesses 20/20 vision. Some websites don't allow the reader to change the font size - and usually those are the ones that use a really minute font. Others use font colours that either disappear into the background or dazzle the reader.
It doesn't matter how good a fic. is, if it's going to give me eyestrain and a headache, then I'm just not gonna read it. Sorry.
HTH.
Best wishes,
Hatshepsut :wave:
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