What makes a good story? Is it the connection that you are able to make with the characters? Is it the romance that you wish was your own? Is it the lemons that are so juicy that you need a case of papertowels to read them?
Or is it a combination of all of the above?
Now the question is, what element propels a story into "super" stardom?
Many of the mainstream fictions that are highly talked about revolve around our own ever-present pervy appetites. Which, trust me, I can completely understand and appreciate. But what happens when it is no longer plot driven smut, but turns into smut driven plot? We then lose a lot of the story that we originally fell in love with. The characters morph and change, no longer the independent, fierce, feisty people that we wanted to see work past their problems. Instead they have become soft, pliable, easily bending to the will of mainstream readers. We lose the essence of their tale and become bored, only skimming over the latest chapter to see if the original characters ever return. But when they do, is it then too late? Are we as happy to see their issues resolved because we want to see them happy? Or is it just because we just want it to end, so we can get past the updates and start again?
Though I only have four followers on this blog and they all happen to be fellow collabs, I want to give everyone that reads this a challenge. I want you to pick a fiction, not based upon how often you see it talked about on different sites, but because one person was able to give you a personal, from the heart, 'I love this fiction' review. And then I want you to read it and review for that author. Take the time to show that author why you liked or didn't like their story, but please remember that everyone on here is a human being and no matter how pissed off they made you, you are no better than they are. Remember what your mama told you, "if you can't say something nice (or constructive) don't say anything at all"
**End Tantrum**
Julie/changedbyEdward's thoughts on the subject:
I tend to have to agree with LolaRose here. As an author, it's frustrating to me when I read some of the stories that I see talked about everywhere and wonder why my own stories aren't getting any press. When I read those stories, I figure out why really fast. They're smut. Plain and simple. Don't get me wrong, I love me some good smexin' in a fic, but I like a plot, too. I like to see character development and plot development. The first rule of writing, if it doesn't add something to the story, leave it out. It disheartens me to think that most Twilight fanfic readers are only out for one thing, and that is to see how down and dirty our favorite characters can get. Perhaps I'm taking the whole thing too seriously, but I'd like to publish someday, and no reputable publisher is ever going to take a second look at my stuff if all it contains is smut, smut, and more smut. Guess I could apply to Penthouse if I wanted to get that kind of thing published.
My criteria for a good Twilight fanfic story? Good plot. Good grammar. Good punctuation. Good character development. If there's smut in it, then that's a bonus. And, as Lola said, some stories are plot driven smut, which is great. I can think of a couple of examples of that right now. Nearly every chapter is smut, but that's what the story is about, and it's okay. There's still a plot and the smut doesn't override the plot. On the other hand, I can think of a couple of examples of stories I've read that are the opposite. Smut driven plot, and truthfully, I've not finished them. I've gotten sick of reading smut over and over again with no plot or character development.
And PLEASE, all you authors out there, find yourself a good beta, no matter what you're writing. It's SO distracting to read a great story that has been beta'd poorly. If you need more than one beta, so be it, but make sure all your stuff is fixed before you post, or at least the lion's share of it has been fixed. No, we're not professionals, but we should all strive to be the best we can be.
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