I have to agree with almost all the pet peeves listed above, specifically grammar/spelling/homonyms. It happens to everyone regardless, yet that is no excuse for not caring enough about your work, or your readers, not to correct it. I am abysmal with commas, however, knowing that I find someone to check over my work before I post it. And if I can not find someone I go over it as much as possible.
On a personal note one of my greatest pet peeves is poor research. This can be cannon research, as in the names of characters, history given on the show (although often conflicting in it's own right. I know Hotch is a workaholic but really for his given history he would have to be fifty, or he's challenging Reid for graduating college at under 20 or some such. :-) But more so it is in things like location, or proper terminology. If I'm writing a Dr. Who fic I will say lift and jumper. If I am writing a CM fic say elevator and sweater. Be certain of your wording accept is not except, they are very different words. :-) Or it can be something like: Please note that a: America is a very large country over all. The jet is wonderful. It will not get you to California from DC in under two hours. At least this isn't a fandom that often sends it's characters overseas or to other countries, the lack of knowledge of say North Africa, Europe, and even Mexico for a great percentage of writers never ceases to amaze me. (And yes some of this is professional television writing as well!)
However, I would say my worst pet peeve is simply bad writing. If you don't have a plot, or a good grasp on the characters keep working at it until you do. :-) Don't twist the characters so out of shape to fit the "mood" of your story as to make them no longer the characters I want to read about. Unless it's an AU and that is a horse of an entirely different color.
Hmm, I feel somewhat like an elitist saying all that. But truly, how long does it take to spell check your work? As someone who writes in several non-native languages I can state that it's a flimsy excuse. Find yourself a beta or editor who is a native speaker (of the correct regional language! for example Egyptian Arabic (which I speak) is not Saudi Arabic. Kudos to CM for getting that right.)
So, in summation: Bad writing. (I will third or forth or whatever to those who mentioned epithets as another example of this. Just call them by name. We know who they are!) Poor research. Bad grammar/spelling. (Can this include not bothering to check things like font/color/italics/line spacing/page layout? Lack of continuity/finishing a work. I have given up on WIP's as a rule because of this.
I think I shall stop now and go and find something worth reading. :-)
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momijizukamori
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Date: Jan. 3rd, 2010 09:27 pm (UTC)On a personal note one of my greatest pet peeves is poor research. This can be cannon research, as in the names of characters, history given on the show (although often conflicting in it's own right. I know Hotch is a workaholic but really for his given history he would have to be fifty, or he's challenging Reid for graduating college at under 20 or some such. :-) But more so it is in things like location, or proper terminology. If I'm writing a Dr. Who fic I will say lift and jumper. If I am writing a CM fic say elevator and sweater. Be certain of your wording accept is not except, they are very different words. :-)
Or it can be something like:
Please note that a: America is a very large country over all. The jet is wonderful. It will not get you to California from DC in under two hours.
At least this isn't a fandom that often sends it's characters overseas or to other countries, the lack of knowledge of say North Africa, Europe, and even Mexico for a great percentage of writers never ceases to amaze me. (And yes some of this is professional television writing as well!)
However, I would say my worst pet peeve is simply bad writing. If you don't have a plot, or a good grasp on the characters keep working at it until you do. :-) Don't twist the characters so out of shape to fit the "mood" of your story as to make them no longer the characters I want to read about. Unless it's an AU and that is a horse of an entirely different color.
Hmm, I feel somewhat like an elitist saying all that. But truly, how long does it take to spell check your work? As someone who writes in several non-native languages I can state that it's a flimsy excuse. Find yourself a beta or editor who is a native speaker (of the correct regional language! for example Egyptian Arabic (which I speak) is not Saudi Arabic. Kudos to CM for getting that right.)
So, in summation:
Bad writing. (I will third or forth or whatever to those who mentioned epithets as another example of this. Just call them by name. We know who they are!)
Poor research.
Bad grammar/spelling. (Can this include not bothering to check things like font/color/italics/line spacing/page layout?
Lack of continuity/finishing a work. I have given up on WIP's as a rule because of this.
I think I shall stop now and go and find something worth reading. :-)