Pretty much what Sesc and Stalin have said/typed.

When looking for a new story to read, there are a few things/conditions that automatically make me discount a story if present, and this is one of them.

It doesn't take a great deal of effort to capitalize a person's/character's name, and not doing so either shows that the author/authoress has a poor grasp of the English language, or they're just very lazy.

 

I'm not having this argument, it's retarded. If we're going by such stringent criteria, then I'd never have read Santi's story because the name implies that it's cliche-ridden. Same goes for other good fics I could name. Like I said, I'm not making you read the story.

 

The author willfully and intentionally keeps it uncapitalized. That's stupid and lazy.

Your comparison doesn't work, because Harry Potter and the Boy-Who-Lived is properly capitalized.

 

I wasn't talking about capitalization, I was talking about my instinctive revulsion when I first saw the name. I only read it because it was on the favorite list of an author I greatly respected, as prior to that I'd never read a remotely acceptable TwinBWL fic.

 

Regardless of capitalization, I quit the story once Malfoy cast the dark mark in the middle of a pratice duel. Harry almost got in trouble with the ministry when people suspected he had cast it, and there goes Malfoy using it in front of a classroom.

Actually, I just went back to see what would happen to Draco after that when I saw he failed to cast a Cruciatus, right before Harry returning fire with an Imperious.

And both of them were not arrested.

 

Eh, that's why it's in the almost recommended thread. It's not the most amazing (or logical) story ever, but it's fairly entertaining so far. My only worries are the slightly slashy tones, despite the fact that the author has repeatedly stated there are no pairings. Still less so than Raining Ink, to give you an idea. *shrug* I'm on chapter 15 and counting, lol.

 

The only reason I even read the story is because it was on Swimdraconian's fav list.
It gets more lulzy halfway and 3/4 of the way through.

 

Exactly. There was another factor that made you overlook what you see as an insta-fail name. That over-riding factor doesn't make the name any less of an indicator that such a fic is usually terribad. Same situation with the capitalization. Are there great stories whose titles aren't properly capitalized? Maybe. Does that make name and summary capitalization any less worthwhile as a general indicator of a fic's quality? No.

 

I've not read it yet to the end, but I thought I'd mention that Digifruit's put out another novelette-length HP/HG one-shot:

New story from DigiFruit,
Title: Simple and Clean
Category: Harry Potter
Character(s): Harry P. & Hermione G.
Words: 31,363
Genre(s): Adventure/Drama
Rating: Rated: T
Summary: Trelawney never made the prophecy, Voldemort was never defeated on
Halloween of 1981, Britain has fallen into darkness, and Harry Potter is just
another no-name soldier trying to smuggle a certain Muggleborn witch out of
Death Eater territory
URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6691692/1/

The guy's a proven talent in Naruto fanfiction and he's getting there in HP, so pretty much everything by this author is going to be at least "almost recommended" in my book; I'm actually recommending this before having read through more than about a third of the way. (Sorry, but work's been kicking my butt of late, so little time for fanfiction).

This is Digifruit's third offering in Harry Potter fanfiction and it's pretty clear from what I've read that he's improving steadily in characterization, though like his Narutos, his Harrys (and other characters) aren't canon, so much as a fleshed-out version of his vision of the character. It seems from the stories he's done that he's as stuck on HP/HG as he is the Naruto/Sakura pairing with his Naruto tales. Still, I think it's some of the more interesting stuff of that pairing that I've seen in awhile.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but they may have kept 'the' uncapitolized because it is only an article. Not sure, but I'm going to give it a try, since they can manage to spell misconception and reconciliation properly.

@Jormungandr. The author only keeps the article uncapitolized, everything else is fine, but I agree with you it that regard. If the character's name is likewise, I'll not stray near it. Not only a sign of laziness, but also one of my worst pet-peeves while reading.

That and "Anyway...," "Anyway...," "Anyway..." Fuck you Brandon Sanderson.

 

*GASP* Infidel!

You dare besmirch his name?!


And just so this post isn't a total waste of time, here's one that I actually quite enjoyed--although I have this sneaking suspicion that it was recc'ed in this thread, I can't find it anywhere. So if it's already been mentioned, just think of it as me seconding it, heh.

Little after dark » by esama reviews
Terrible things happen to those that meddle with time, but sometimes it was worth it. Meddling with the affairs of dragons, though, that was a different thing. AU with some OOCness, swearing and a Creature!Harry.
Crossover - Harry Potter & Temeraire - Fiction Rated: T - English - Action/Adventure/Drama - Chapters: 8 - Words: 60,134 - Reviews: 250 - Updated: 12-23-10 - Published: 8-30-10


Like it says, it's a crossover with the Temeraire books, but I don't think it's hugely necessary to have read them (at least not so far)--it's been forever since I have anyway. It's actually a pretty neat premise, imo.

 

I actually found this pretty decent, which surprised me considering this is from the author of Space Haven. I'm not sure how much of it is the author improving and how much of it is being in the mood for a dragon story though.

 

Defense for Two
Harry and Ginny can't believe they have detention with Gilderoy Lockhart. The man is a complete fraud. Isn't he? An AU take on the Harry Potter universe beginning Harry's second year. Adopted with permission from Perspicacity.
Harry Potter - Rated: M - English - Adventure/Fantasy - Chapters: 3 - Words: 13,003 - Reviews: 109 - Updated: 1-29-11 - Published: 11-13-10 - Harry P. & Ginny W.

I know it's a little self-serving to mention this, but Darth Marrs has taken up one of my stories, "Detention in Defense," and put his own spin on things. There are several reasons why this isn't ready for the Library--it's too early, at only 13k words and 3 chapters, the pairing will be Harry/Ginny, it's not really the style of story that does well here, it employs tropes like magical power indices that trigger allergic responses among several DLP members, etc.--but I think it's a fairly interesting start on an idea that you don't see every day: the competent Lockhart.

 

@Pers I was actually considering mentioning it in this thread later, when he posted more chapters, for precisely the same reason. I thought the take on Luna was fairly interesting as well, though the incompetent!Dumbledore bugged me.

 

True, though I can sort of see it in the context of this story. I don't like bashing and I'm a little more worried that Ron will get dumped on more than my liking, but it's manageable so far. I suspect, though, that he'll be used for comedic value, as in The Boy Who Fell, and not bashed outright.

When I give up a story to another author (as I've done a few times, though only this one has been published to my knowledge), I pretty much cede all authorial control, provided they cite the original prominently (which he has done) and they let me know when it comes out. I know from having seen an early draft that he's got a good dozen or more chapters written. I had the chance to weigh in awhile ago with some of the directions the story might take, but I've stayed out of these discussions in order to give him free rein. My only real quibble at this point is that I wish he'd have alliterated his title, a la the Lockhart books in canon.

 

/lawl

I can think of a lot of things on my favorites list that I wouldn't even let near this thread. Probably not the best way to judge a story's worth, dude.

 

I'm not saying it's good because it was on your list, I'm saying I gave it a second look for that reason =P

 

When In Doubt, Obliviate » reviews When a chance meeting reveals Harry's planned fate to Lockhart, he knows what he has to do: rescue him and raise him as his own to properly manage his celebrity status. Harry gets a magical upbringing, Lockhart gets the Boy-Who-Lived...everybody wins!Harry Potter - Rated: K+ - English - Humor - Chapters: 4 - Words: 12,388 - Reviews: 231 - Updated: 1-26-11 - Published: 1-8-11 - Harry P. & Gilderoy L.

One of Sarah's earlier stories had a Harry and Lockhart dynamic duo that worked out hilariously, so I checked this out. Its nothing serious but its an interesting compliment to the other Lockhart story just mentioned.

 

School Spirit
Harry Potter wasn't surprised to learn he was a wizard. He'd been dreaming of wizards and magic for years. He was just surprised at what sort of wizard he was. Prologue is identical to "Death and Dreams". Dresden Files crossover.
Crossover - Harry Potter & Dresden Files - Rated: M - English - Fantasy/Mystery - Chapters: 3 - Words: 10,502 - Reviews: 11 - Updated: 2-3-11 - Published: 2-2-11 - Harry P.

A very good beginning, slightly cliché, but the humor and writing style got me.

 

School Spirit seems like it could actually turn out to be fairly decent as long as he keeps his promise to not make things too easy for him.