We all know what we don't like in both canon and fanon. But what is it that you look for in a fanfiction?

For me, I look for:

General
1. A readable style of writing
2. The characters aren't too OCC
3. And if any changes occur, they aren't instantaneous

Characterization of Harry
1. Personality. I don't enjoy reading about a character with no individual traits.
2. Harry is not uber-powerful and therefore should not be written as a minor deity. As soon as I come across this, I click out of there immediately. If he has a power, why doesn't he use it? I usually look to see if the "power" is put to good use.
3. How deeply Harry's persona is affected by the plot. I don't enjoy emo! or perky! Harry, but some change and growth is expected to occur.
4. Appearance. I'll be a shallow bastard and state that if something about Harry "looks" irritates me, I have a hard time finishing the fic.


This was just off the top of my head. What do you think?

 

If harry get piercings it's usually a complete no go for me because you can almost tell where the stories going to go.

I won't read H/Hr unless Hermione is really OC.

Originality, good fight scenes etcetera.

Harry has to have some power though, not even like "powers" and whatnot, actually I don't care if he stays the same power as long as he can hold his own in a fight and it's believable.

I'm a total pairing whore, as bad as it gets, I won't read H/G no matter how well it's written anymore. Never read a slash.

I like slightly intelligent Harry as well, so he can figure things out for himself.

I pretty much look for a Harry like JBern's.

 

Pairings are another thing I'm real picky about. And it seems as of late if pairings are immediatly stated in the summary, I don't touch the fic. They usually turn out rather sorry when it comes to advancing the plot.

JBerns' Harry is the most realistic in terms of personality. Everybody go rep Jbern!

 

1. I Hate it when Authors over-feminize Harry, such as giving him long hair, feminine looks, not that there is anything wrong with it, it's just too OOC.

2. I hate it when fanfiction authors threaten not to write more of their story unless they get reviews.

3. Bad grammar drives me insane.

4.Mary sues/Gary stus, what drugs are the 13 year old fangirls on, to think that their own personalities are remotely interesting to the reader?

5. H/G or H/Hr and Mpreg is pure squickage.

6. I do like some slash stories but only when they are extremely well written and don't have too many 'icky' scenes.

7. When authors let the plot drive the characters rather than letting the characters drive the plot.

8. I despise constant references to how amazingly green/emerald/verdant/jade Harry's eyes are! (I don't care how relevant it is in canon)

9.I also hate it when for some inexplicable reason Harry receives an 'Inheritance' at exactly 12 midnight, writhes in pain and then wakes mysteriously with a Tail,wings,pointed ears,fangs,cat/dog ears,freaky eyes,chicken feet.....insert stupid bodily transformation here..

10.And finally! fangirls must remember, Draco Malfoy is and always will be an arrogant Bastard......Nuff said!

 

1. Powerful but not Strongest wizard ever Harry.
2. Independent Harry who can think for himself.
3. No H/G, some H/Hr if well written.
4. Odd Pairings as long as its realistic.
5. No Ron and Harry being best friends for life. I can stand them being friends but thats part of being independent Harry he does rely on his friends for everything.
6. No Hermione or any other girl being a mother figure. Unless it is actually a mother unless its the cow(she needs 2 die). But not overly motherly.
7. No unrealistic dumble bashing.
8. a Plot that drives characters and can be realistic.
9. Harry has to train and become stronger but be a pussy who lets everyone else fight for him.
10. No overly emotional Harry unless situation calls for it.
11. No Phoenix animagus or other all powerful magical creatures that are unbeatable.
12. If he has to be a Founders Harry it has to be Gryffindor or Ravenclaw if its by Blood.
13. No Huge shopping trip with his bill gates is dirt poor in comparison bank account.
14. No Huge inheritance or power upgrades through it.

Ill think of more later.

 

I like Harry with an interesting personality, and realistic. A little bit of insanity mixed in never hurts. I like him to have a realistic view of the world, even if that view is completely skewed and 'wrong'. Naive Harry and stupid (common sense stupid, not doesn't-know-math stupid) Harry are an instant turnoff unless it changes quickly.

 

1) Anything that involves the rape of an 11-17 year old girl makes me hit X really quickly.
2) Muzt b abel 2 spel gud n no how 2 uze da gramerz. SAME THING WITH CAPS LOCK or bad paragraphs/spacing/other formatting issues.
3) Motivated!Harry, where he doesn't NEED Hermione's prodding to actually do something.
4) Ron can't be shipped with anybody. Nobody in the HP universe deserves to be paired with this useless bastard.

 

A story that involves the detailed rape of anyone makes me hit the X. Unless it was done by the DE's or will be vital to the plot in which case I probably skip over it. A bad guy who rapes his victims deserves to be hunted down first. A good guy who rapes, needs to be put down like a rabid dog. The side of good should try to maintain moral superiority.

 

Likes:

- Ravenclaw!Harry. He doesn't have to be in Ravenclaw, but acting at least a bit like one is essential. I much prefer Ravenclaw!Harry to Slytherin!Harry...Slyth!HP tends to rant alot and loose control of himself...a Ravenclaw is calm, reasonable and intelligent at all times.

- Powerful but not Godlike Harry. Harry has to be stronger (magically, intellectualy and creatively) than in canon, and stronger than his peers. However, he should not be more powerful that wizards such as Dumbledore and Voldemort, unless he is over the age of 30 in the story.

- Rare pairings such as Harry/Rowena Ravenclaw (the best) and Harry/Daphne.

- Originality. Not too much of it, like in A Second Chance at Life, but a nice amount of it.

- Good writing style and Grammar.

- Dark!Harry, though I like these less and less these days, prefering an intelligent Harry who is independant but is still willing to work with the Light (not for them, with them).

- Transfiguration. It's my favourite subject and when used properly (like how Dumbledore uses it at the end of OotP) it can be the most powerful, inventive and adaptive.

- The Mind Arts done properly. After HBP, where Snape showed us the power of Legilimency in duels, I no longer can call a character a powerful wizard unless they know the Mind Arts.

- Alternate Universe and Timetravel.

- Magical Theory. I love thinking about the possible ways it would work, and like the idea of a magic with complex laws and rules that govern it, just like science has.

Dislikes:

- If I see Hermione in any role of consequence I stop reading. I can stand her as a background character, or a character there to be insulted/killed but giving her a role in the story is too much for me.

- Super!Harry, such as in Awakening of a Magus.

- Fics where the magic system is changed so much that it no longer resembles HP.

- Harry/Ginny and, obviously, Harry/Hermione.

- Slash! I can stand it sometimes, such as in Malignant Objects, but that is because those stories that I can stand it in are stories that happen to contain slash, not stories where a slash romance is the main plot point. I can also stand it if it is just a background character.

- Cliched stuff: Staffs; swords; the wizard Merlin; heir-of-Gryffindor-and-every-other-powerful-wizard fics; Griphook; magical trunks; uber-wands; inheritence vaults; inheritence powers; manipulative!Dumbledore; magical animagi...the list goes on.

- Insane!Voldemort. He's the greatest wizard ever to have lived (apart from a grown up Harry of course). Obviously he can't be this while he is insane.

Thats all I can think of right now.

 

Well, I won't bother with standard shit that every DLP-er takes for granted (stronger Harry, kick-ass action, Ginny-hating, anti-slash etc...).

What I like the most is probably smart Harry. He doesn't have to be particulary powerful or cool or even knowledgable. No, what I like is Harry that is proactive and has a plan, that he carries out. Lack of angst and moralistic crap is always a plus.

As for dislikes, aside from trivial ones (Marry-Sue, non Harry centric, bitch!Harry...), what makes me squick the most is probably the Weasleys. I just HATE the whole lot of them, from fucktard!Ron, over Ginslut and closet-geniuses twins, all the way to nerve-wrecking ugly cow Molly Weasley. Yes, the twins, Bill and Charley can be bearable at times, but let's face it, replacing one set of Weasleys (traitorous Ron & Ginny) with another, 'good' batch is getting old... REALLY old.

Thus, giving the Weasleys a major role, especially as a good, model loving family that Harry can get all mushy with, is a certified way for me to lose interest in a story, no matter how cool Harry was. Probably the only Weasley I don't cringe at these days is Percy... and that's most likely because he hates his family, just as I do.

 

Oh come on, what's more hardcore then injuring Fudge's prostate by thrusting your head up his arse. It's all a part of Percy's master plan for world domination, don't you see?

 

Just as long as Percy isn't aspiring to be the next red-headed dark Lord, I don't really mind.

He has become a bit of a non-entity lately.

 

No, Percy's just trying to gain power in a more intelligent way now. He's (finally) figured out that groveling to Fudge won't help him, and is going to be rather unpleasant as well. But if he can rise to an administrative level inthe ministry, he can smother someone in red tape (or the wizarding equivelent) or smooth things over. The real power isn't someone standing inthe spotlight casting Crucio's at all who annoy them (not that someone like that should be ignored) but the quiet guy in the back who arranges all the legal matters that let the world run.

He's going to manage to be in charge of who gets to go where and talk to anyone of importance, adn thus control the wizarding world...

if he can manage it before the Volde&DeathEaters vs Aurors & OotP forces gut the wizarding population to obscenely low numbers.

On that note, there can't be that many pure-bloods left, can there? Or at least not rich & powerful ones? So how many people in the Ministry are from mixed or muggle backgrounds?

 

I personally would look for a more realistic version of Harry. We all know that he has something that the rest of the people around him don't or he wouldn't be the main character, but this does not mean that he has to be superpowerful. He can make mistakes and learn from them. Not everything is going to go his way just like the cannon books have taught us. A moral in a story is sometimes a good thing.

Another thing that I look for is a explanation of what and why things are occuring. If someone dies for instance, I would like to know what was going on or at least a brief mention of it or it seems like a story is leaving a plot hole.

-good spelling
-good and believable characterization
-no romance! At least when its not the center of the story.
-no slash with the exception of a few well written stories where it is not the center of attention.

Well I guess that's all because we all hate the Weasley's anyway so that was just a given!

 

My ideal Harry Potter is the following:

- Intelligent, but not enlightened. That is, while he is smart, he doesn't have the super calm and behavior Dumbledore has. He still can be angered like a normal person and resorts to action quickly if the consequences are minor.

- No cosmetic alterations out of the ordinary. If Harry is getting buff, it must be after a significant period of time. Magical Steroids are encouraged.

- No permanent handicaps. This includes blindness, loss of body parts, and damage that makes him hideous. Harry must never be a squib either - if he loses his magic, it must be part of the plot for a small period of time.

- Thinks before he speaks. He must be smooth, but not too smooth. He shouldn't be sweet talking every odd person down the street. He should have his moments though.

- Harry's character should be FLAWED. He shouldn't be invincible in every way.

- He never abandons his original wand. I don't know why this irritates me, but I hate it when he just dumps his wand for another. A wand is special, and should be revered. Losing one, or breaking it should be a traumatic experience.

- Uses his surroundings to duel. Harry shouldn't shield and return fire everytime. Wands aren't guns. Summon a metal spike behind the enemy, or freeze the pipe next to him.

- Conflicted Harry. I don't like him completely dark or light. I like Harry to debate himself over his actions. This, however, must not lead to bitch! or emo!Harry. He can still function.

- External source of insanity. Harry fights Voldemort's memories, etc.

- External influence to become dark. I really can't see Harry going dark without some major influence. He should be misled, or go slowly insane.

- Insanity must come slow.

- All other changes must be slow as well.

- Expansion of the Harry Potter world. I like how Thor Nairda added to the HP world.

- Mix with muggle world, as long as muggles aren't superior in any way. I like to see how actions in the magical world affect the muggle world. Too often authors ignore the other 6 billion people on the planet and how they would respond to massive areas of England being blown up.

- Noir. I know noir is primarily for film, but I like to see it adapted to literature.



That's all I can think of right now.

 

I really like stories that delve into how magic works and specifically what is taught in Howarts classrooms. Even if I don't agree with the author's magical theory, I still like to see what they think if it is original.

I strongly dislike AU stories where Harry is in Slytherin, and everyone walks around saying "How very Slytherin of you" to each other. "Slytherin" is a House, not an adjective.

I also really enjoy fics that are very slow-paced and long. Something about a long, slow fic enables it to develop the characters and grab my attention: I like to read about well-developed characters interacting.

 

For me, there are several things that for me, differentiate an 'all right' fic from a great one.

- A Harry that is able to handle himself. He is meant to be able to defeat Voldemort for christs' sake! If he has to refer to Hermione about every plan, then how on earth is he going to win? He needs to be able to think for himself, and be able to fight. So far from what we've seen in canon, Harry finds himself at the high range of the spectrum skillwise for his age, but is nothing special either. Admitadly his up-bringing causes some physical deficiencies, but his constant quidditch pracitce enables him to have exceptional reflexes, which would be incredibly advantageous within a fight. I like a story where although he's not superpower!Harry, he is quick on the draw, and uses his physical capabilities to assist in a fight.

- Independence. Not much that really needs to be explained about that.

- A lack of emo!Harry or exceptionallymoral!Harry. I like it when he realises that war is war, and that means death is unavoidable, and often saves more lives than it costs.

- Where characters in the fic are involved, I find myself harbouring an increasing dislike for Hermione. As far as the Weasleys go, I find that they are rarely characterised to my tastes, but I don't hate them, per se. A redeemed!Snape and a grandfatherly!Dumbledore also raise my ire.
-As far as Voldemort goes, I agree with many others in praising jbern's version of him. A dark-lord doesn't become a dark-lord by just sitting on his throne ordering lackey's about, he fights, and he fights well.

- Realism. Sure, it's a world of magic, but if there isn't at least some sense of realism, it's just... terrible really.

- Proper grammar and spelling, as well as at least half-decent formatting. Without these things the best story becomes nothing more than a pile of jumbled ideas on a screen.

I'm sure there's more things that I prefer to find in fanfics, but those are my main concerns.

 

I dislike rape-in-fics in general, but there seems to be a rash of fics where "Lucius rapes an 11 year old girl but it's ok because he's the bad guy." There are so many things you can do to make somebody appear evil, don't have them rape a kid.

As for Harry:

Haven't seen many Ravenclaw!Harry fics, but a fic where he isn't friends with Ron and thus learns like a normal student is ideal.

Harry can't be one of the most famous wizards in the world and have two friends, with a few more acquaintances. I know it's harder to write more interactions and develop more characters, but if I had only two friends (and one of them was like Ron) for 7 years I'd probably hang myself.

Dark! (but not evil) or Independent!Harry, where he isn't Dumbledore's sex slave.

 

Alright.
I'm annoyed when Harry, upon suddenly having a global improvement due to special magical item/inhericante/book of power/etcaetera returns to school and starts flaunting it around, using it either to humilliate Malfoy or doubfound Dumbledore and taking to opportunity to call him "old man" or some witty variation thereof and going on a soap opera monologue about his life.
I mean come on, how many red flags would that raise. If I'd gotten a special power/finally had gotten good at magic, I wouldn't flaunt it around, I'd be stealthy and act as normal and reserve it for when needed.
Suddenly giving Harry magical hormonal therapy to boost his testosterone levels and make him into a magical macho man, ala Sam Spade, is a huge turnoff. mild mannered people can be powerful too--look at Dr. Evil.