Yes, I prefer that as well or that people would simply write the entire thing in a past -tense. When you write like that, it will allow you to incorporate other past events fluently into the text.

I also prefer to just write the actual thoughts into the other parts of the story without making any other distinction between them other than the occasional "he/she thought" written into the sentence (without the quotation -marks). Dialog on the other hand, for me works the best when written on what ever tense the actual events that are happening require it to be.

 

You know what i'm really starting to hate? When in budding romance stories, the protagonist/love interest is thinking about something, and then thinks "especially protagonist/love interest. Wait, where did that come from?!"

Is that how it works with other people? Because that sure as hell isn't how it works with me.

 

I said that once... but yeah.

 

What I hate is when Harry goes to Gringotts and then finds out he has so much money that he could destroy the world economy.

After that he gets some sort of test done, that shows he is the heir to Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Merlin, Chuck Norris, Darth Sidious, Jesus Christ and other people I won't bother to write.

But that's not enough, he gets every possible power one can imagine. This might include a 15 inch cock(isn't it cool to fall unconscious when you get a hard on), as well as up to 20 animagus forms.

 

I think you need to be more selective in the fics you read.

 

Maybe, but I just stumbled above one of the former mentioned fic's and got a bit pissed because it seemed promising.

 

I dunno... I would sit down and read a Harry Norris fic.
Mrs Norris thrown in for extra lulz...

Could be good. pls dun roundhouse kick me.

 

Also, Harry as Sidious' heir... :awesome

 

I think the biggest problem for me is social verisimilitude, i.e., when people act in ways they should not even consider due to age/upbringing. For instance, 11-year-old Harry being incredibly sarcastic and demonstrating an adult grasp of public speaking and insouciance. In otherwise enjoyable fics like Methods of Rationality, I have to try to convince myself that it's Voldemort's soul piece bleeding into his personality.

Also dialogue. I know it's hard to write it well, but people have different speaking styles. The moment Dumbledore says 'okay' or 'cool', I'm done.

Also, characters that are present in a fic purely to be stupid and hated by everyone else (usually the Weasleys and Dumbledore). Look, if they're not really antagonists - if they're just hanging around - why are they there? If you hate the Weasleys so much, don't write them into the fic! And if it's their characterisation in the books that makes you hate them, fix it! You are the author now! I realise I am exclaiming a lot! But this is important! Rowling's characterisation is only the starting foundation for fanfic, we can build up and around and away in whatever direction we want, as long as we start with the canon foundation!

Rant over.

 

Oh God, this. This has killed my interest in almost every First Year fic I have ever read. I dunno what it is, people seem unable to write children as they are.Seeing a twelve-year-old trying to get betrothed, or "maneuvering" to gain position in the Slytherin common rooms just makes me want to laugh and facepalm at the same time. Especially considering that a more simplified version of this could be done without describing it as some sort of Machiavellian plan, kids do generally seek position among their peers, they're just not so...conscious about it.

 

I think it's a combination of two factors:

1. A great deal of HP writers (hacks and talented ones alike) consider the seven-year epic to be one of the holy grails of HP ficwriting.

2. The typical eleven-year-old has a limited emotional and empathetic palette, and limited conscious knowledge of social/political maneuvering, among other things.

Many of the above writers don't have the patience to write a character with those traits, because they can make for annoying reading when they aren't done well. Some of the writers are mostly incapable of writing that character, because they've only recently come out of their childhood years, and don't yet have the proper perspective for characterizing that way.

 

May of been mentioned before.

"Oh, I've loved you for years but have kept it hidden, but I couldn't show it because of Ron-the-Weasel!"

:facepalm

 

This is an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Freak Parade:

'Nuff said,

 

:facepalm

/10 characters.

 

I can't stand stories that revolve heavily around learning occlumancy. I swear if I have to read about constructing a 'mindscape' or build multiple 'walls' one more time...It one of those things that if your story MUST have it, then mention it a few times, briefly, as he slowly works on it, but never spend multiple chapters on it. All because 'some' characters can use legillimancy, it does not mean they are passively 'scanning everyone' thoughts the whole time (except in bad manip!dumblols stories). Wizarding society wouldn't last for a minute if that was the case. It the same story with polyjuice, memory charms, and the imperious curse; overuse of them will ruin a story logistically.

 

Yeah, the mindscape and constructs gets a little old- most of these are inspired by people's actual dreams and the type of conflicts where emotional belief in oneself might actually trump years of experience.

JKR included the powers you listed, all of which can be world-balance-breaking if mishandled. In point of fact, a full multi-year story that doesn't consider how these powers are mitigated has a harder time maintaining plausibility.

Sure- most people don't learn Legilimency or know that they're encountering others who do, but Harry's facing off against Dumbledore, Voldemort and Snape. They ALL fight in that battlefield. You can't ignore it.

I'm a little peeved at writers treating Occlumency like an Eidetic memory upgrade (I'm guilty to an extent, but there's levels of abuse to this). Just because you've got some emotional control doesn't make you a cyborg, nor does it enable Matrix-like skill uploads. If it did, Draco would be competent and Bellatrix wouldn't be insane.

(Actually, I give credit to authors that put in the 'dead fish' side-effect of mastering Occlumency, but those aren't true offenders.)

 

You know, I was trying to find something I hated to post here, but almost everything has been posted so there wasn't much to add. So I went to FF.net and searched on Harry Potter Fanfic. I clicked on a fic ( I didn't even read summaries or anything) and read the first couple of paragraphs. After reading the first couple of paragraphs, I looked at the summary, finished the chapter and looked at the next to make sure it was not a crack fic. This is what I read o,o

:facepalm I think I just hate bad fics in general...

 

Lol, funny you should be the one who says this, as your story is one of the ones I was thinking of and can't stand because of the over use of obliviate and imperio, and I don't think your world is plausible. That's for a different thread though, no need to derail this one. Pet peeves are pet peeves after all, and everyone has different tastes.

I do agree with the eidetic memory thing. I've read more of a share where Harry can just categorize knowledge and pull anything out on a whim. I can understand how normal studying, memorizing, and concentration techniques can translate into occlumancy, but there is such a thing as going to far. I would rather have a Fallen Angel in my head for that purpose.

 

So Tragicmat1, your pet peeve...is bad fics? Maybe slightly broad brush strokes there

On the occlumency thing, I honestly don't mind the mindscape thing, so long as its reasonably done. Doesn't even have to be well done, just reasonably. I do hate it when occlumency becomes the be all and end all power, which allows Harry to suddenly manage anything.

"Oh mastering occlumency will give you complete control over your magic core, and let you do wandless magic."

"Oh master occlumency will give you total mastery of your body Harry, you'll be able to do anything you want."

Those are two of the worst ones IMO.

 

I was trying to decide how to phrase my biggest hate - not pet peeve - in fanfics. It's kind of like obscenity, in that you'd have a hard time describing it but will always recognize it immediately.

So, here goes. I *hate* when authors write things like, "... and he never did that again," or "... and no one ever attempted to do that again." Or worse, "... and Draco never bothered them ever again. Ever."

It's usually preceded by, "Harry lifted Draco up by his collar and slammed him against the wall. Draco saw a fire in Harry's eyes and was more afraid of Harry than he ever could have been of Moldyshorts. Harry said, 'If I ever see you even look at my Ginny again I swear on my magic that I'll kill you dead.'"

/facepalm, seriously. I mean, it's as if the author had a checklist of characters to wade through and "put in their place." I can honestly imagine the author sitting at their computer, writing that terribad example, then nodding once as if to say, "There. And now I can check that off my list," and wiping his/her hands.

It's the most annoying thing I've ever read, and one of the main reasons I read so little beyond one-shots now. The spoon-feeding of "now that that's taken care of, you don't have to worry about that character doing anything else in this universe ever again" is just soul-crushing to me.

I know I'm not explaining this very well. I suppose it's mostly that all dramatic tension is sucked out of a fic in that instant. And lo and behold, these offenses are often seen in re-do fics, where the author is "fixing" things. Fuck me, but I hate that shit.

I actually wish I had a good example of this handy, but I've been avoiding those kinds of fics for a while now and the memories are mercifully fading.