*Sigh*... I would have liked it better as Ragnok. It could have been passed off as Goblin version of Feminism.

 

The only sort of Fanfic with a Harry/harem pairing that would be feasible, is one where he is an Arabian Sheik.

 

Now you made me curious to read a fanfic where that happens.

 

Hugh Hefner manages just fine.

 

Yes and no... Yes, they are separate countries, no, they shouldn't be treated like that if the character wouldn't know it (for instance, someone from France. Or, they know it, but still say England either because they think of it as all one, or because they want to get under the nerves of some one.

Mentioned this because I was doing some writing last night and had this very question about whether my character would know the difference or not.

 

When people talk about England they actually mean United Kingdom 99% of the time and do not even realize it. That is why you get sentences like "Scotland is part of England" even from people who know better. And that is not even getting into the whole Great Britain or Britain part.

Also I wouldn't really call them separate countries unless you are not talking in terms of state and/or nation but region since the actual country is UK which you can see when looking at any international list of countries.

Though really your point about distance was more people sucking on it than the places involved. There is after all plenty of countries in the world that have places beyond one hour away by train(and that is assuming there is a direct one).

 

Okay, big pet peeve here, and I need a place to bitch about this: world-building at the expense of plot and characters.

Okay, confession time: I love world-building. I do it in my spare time, create these huge epic worlds with unique magic systems and histories and cultures and conflicts spanning the years, full of heroes and villains... and then I sit down to write stories in these worlds, and it very quickly becomes exasperating writing the traditional 'everyman' character into stories where really, he's the least interesting thing about the world around him. It's why Harry Potter is a frustrating character for me to write on occasion - he's a good hero, sure, but there's so much other stuff and back details that Rowling created that form this world that are just so much more interesting than the stock hero character the average chucklehead needs because they want somebody with which they can identify.

So of course there's a huge temptation for me to go off on wild tangents where I can grow the world by leaps and bounds... and very soon, you lose track of the plot and the characters (you know, the people your audience cares about) and you realize that your story isn't going to be compelling without that central focus. You all want a reason why I haven't updated Criminal Limit in any significant way in almost a year? This is why.

And you know, I get the appeal of worldbuilding, I really do, but at the same time, if you don't balance it with compelling characters or a narrative or an overarching mystery, you're going to lose readers who will just skim over your lengthy storied essays on this world you created for some actual content. Stories that prioritize worldbuilding over plot (and yeah, I'm guilty of this) can feel empty or hollow or leave the reader with a big feeling of 'that was it?' at the end of your work if you don't make those elements in the world matter in some way - and too often, to misquote Taure, you get fics that read like something out of the Bible.

 

Your problem is then you need to write a character and story that isn't aimed to teens. The everyman hero thing is for (mostly) teens and it is clear you want to write something more mature than that.

My best advice would be look at the stories that has a main character that isn't teen. For example recently I started reading 40k specificly Inqusator Eisnhorn or if you want more epic Horus Heresy books. They will give you a frame work to make something epic without giving up the world building.

 

Been rereading some old stories, and I've realized that I've completely lost my tolerance for certain elements of fanon.

Animagi, for instance. I cringe every single time some character gets disappointed that they are not an animagus or is elated that they are an animagus as if it were an inherent characteristic like being a Metamorphmagus rather than a learned magical skill like Apparition. Nobody is born an animagus, but 100% of all canon characters who attempt to master the skill succeed and this is not considered unusual. There is absolutely no reference to anyone ever attempting to become an animagus and failing for any reason other than lack of skill or talent in what is an extremely difficult and somewhat obscure spell not part of the standard curriculum (like the Patronus Charm), and that furthermore requires registry with the Ministry of Magic. I also dislike the common depiction of becoming an Animagus as requiring potions or dream quests rather than, as canon indicates, mastering an advanced, non-verbal, possibly wandless Transfiguration spell.

Harry staring at his shoes - Who does this? Do authors not realize how utterly ridiculous a person looks when staring straight down at their own shoes while standing upright? That's not shy or bashful, that's socially challenged. The only times I've ever seen anyone looking at their own shoes, they were doing so because the were actually looking at their shoes rather than simply avoiding eye contact with someone. And even then, they usually just raise the foot of whatever shoe they want to look at so they aren't staring straight down. It's the same for staring at the floor. It's the body language of a caricature.

 

I don't normally double-post, but in this case, I'll make an exception.

New Peeve: People who constantly parrot the "Hogwarts is unsafe" line over and over, using the same evidence as every other fic ever. They never stop to think that the exact same evidence can be used that Hogwarts is absolutely the safest place in the wizarding world.

Consider: Lord Voldemort himself infiltrates the castle with at least one follower and faces only three first year students as obstacles, an insane basilisk rampages throughout the school over the course of a year and a horcrux takes possession of a first year student, Dementors surround the school and at various times break their restrictions to endanger students, a werewolf transforms on the grounds, an escaped convict gets all the way into the dorm rooms, a Death Eater masquerades as a teacher throughout the school year, extremely dangerous tasks are required of unprepared students, etc.

All these events happen in canon, yes, but absolutely no one dies. Not a single student is killed or irreparably harmed until removed from Hogwarts entirely by portkey, and shortly after that, the guy who did the portkeying becomes the only person at Hogwarts to be victim to a successful Dementor's Kiss. Even when a giant snake who can kill you by looking at you has free run of the entire castle, no one is killed. Every person on Hogwarts grounds who means harm to the students comes to bad ends. For all the talk of "wards" that is nearly omnipresent in fanfiction, I've never really seen anyone consider that the magical protections laid upon the school and grounds are much more subtle and successful than invisible magical evil-repelling domes.

 

What about Moaning Myrtle? (Otherwise, I agree with you.)

 

That makes a lot of sense. The protections could be protecting the students in a subtle way. I highly doubt that no student meeting the basilisk's eye directly could be a simple coincidence. If the founders could make something like the room of requirement, they could be powerful enough to do that. Something like a Probability Manipulation ward.

 

Pet Peeve: Being told what happens in the chapter at very start. I don't need a summary for a chapter I'm about to read.

Edit: Overly-informative chapter titles bug me too.

 

Summaries of the form: He was X. She was Y. Both were Z. Yadadada.

I don't know why but they bother me.

 

I know why they bother you. It is because they are retarded and unimaginative.

 

Whenever I see those, I think of a relevant Avril Lavigne song from my youth.