Things that put me off when reading

I originally wanted to write this in the comment section of a discussion, but somehow it became an essay so here goes: 

1. Grammar and spelling, also Korean words popping up randomly in the middle of a sentence.

Calling somebody 'unnie' or 'hyung' is fine since it's honorifics, but something like 'arasso' doesn't fit. You're writing in English, not romanised Korean. Nobody cares if you're good at Korean; if you're good at it please go to Korea and not Asianfanfics. ty grammar, no matter how good your story is, will put off any reader. To me, ty grammar = somebody who can't use English properly = bad plot.


2. Cliche plots and cheesy storylines.

That kind of stuff deserves to be thrown into a trash can and burnt. I mean, who the hell needs a 'rich guy/cold exterior but warm interior falls for poor girl/determined personality' plot when it already exists in countless dramas?! Come to think of it, most writers who write these stories are usually writing with bad grammar because urgh. Cheesy storylines; just....no.


3. Bad characterisation and development.

Stories that have a female character who claims to have a determined personality but cries a lot (aka Haesoo in Scarlet Heart; never watching that drama again) is the most annoying thing ever because that happens way too much. I don't want to see you crying over the stupidest things, I don't want to see you being bullied and being saved by your Prince Charming and I don't want to see you lovesick. It's what some people prefer to read but to me it's just plain crap (no offense). Also guys who are 'cool' but ended up falling in love with the girl. Like...WHAT?! I don't get it. I mean, the more it seemed like a Korean drama, the more unrealistic it is. 

 

4. Harem

Okay that sounded a bit worse than what I originally wanted to say, but when all the guys trip over themselves for the main character, it becomes annoying. Why is she so important? What made her stand out from the others? Please just....don't write that. The whole world doesn't revolve around her. 

 

5. Flow of story 

That's exactly what I'm lacking in, to be honest. It just becomes fast and slow all of a sudden, so sometimes it doesn't even make sense. For example, when a girl went to a fansign and suddenly bam she's having with her idol. That'll be great in real life, but remember, people, it.doesn't.happen.ever. Never. 

 

6. Mpreg 

It's a personal peeve, so I don't mind if any of you like it. (Again, no offense) I just found the idea of mpreg a bit ridiculous since it's so strange when men give birth. And...it's strange in a way that my brain can't wrap around since it doesn't fit around reality, but I don't hate anyone who likes mpreg so basically....just ignore me.

 

7. Labels 

When you click into a story that has a label 'angst' on it, you think it's angsty stuff right? Some authors write angst that's not...angst. When you think of angst, it's mostly depression, death and a lot of things that we love to read about, but somehow the author pops up with a girl who cries because her crush is ignoring her and that when the poor boy doesn't even know her. People, learn how to write a theme when you label your story because somehow it just....*I pray for you*

Edit: My dear friend, MissMinew pointed out the difference between light and hard angst, and...yes I agree with her, people generally have a different view of angst, and because I'm used to reading hard angst, I don't really like light angst, so...basically I'm sorry if I sounded too harsh.

 

8. Personality traits 

There are a lot of stories about EXO and BTS on male groups, and SNSD and Twice on female groups, and I'm not complaining. However, a handful of them actually doesn't make too much sense on the character end. When you write about your group, you base the personalities on the real idols, not just stick the same name to a character whose personality is totally different, right? Take Yoongi (Suga) as an example. In real life, he's more of a charismatic person, but in the story, he somehow becomes more shy or crack jokes in the middle of nothing. It's just....weird to see that because other members in the group or other idols could've fit that description. 

 

That's about it, thanks for reading my rant till the end and check out my story 'Fate's Plans' btw. (Sorry for advertisement, but...yeah) 

Comments

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minxyoongi
#1
I agree with this 100% especially at point no. 1. I get really frustrated at authors who insist on writing 'arasso', 'kamsahamnida' and the like on their stories. It doesn't fit nor does it make sense. About an author's bad English...Yes, you're making an effort with practicing the language through writing (or, for native speakers, to improve their writing) and I commend you for that. But, it's just off-putting for a reader to read broken English. There's a reason why beta shops are established.

Anyways, Merry Christmas OP!
MissMinew
#2
I agree with most of your points except the label one. Angst is a broad term and you cannot expect other people to think of angst the same way you do ;; If some people consider a break-up angst or a female character crying over a male character angst - then it is angst. Angst doesn't have to be depression or character death. I, personally divide angst into light and hard angst - only the latter including character death and depression (and in all honesty, I am really picky with stories that deal with mental disorders). So ..... idk, maybe you should change your view of a certain tag instead of disliking when people don't fit your definition of the tag. ;;

Also - why do you think that about stories written about exo and bts? Oo' (side note; there are still more stories tagged shinee than there are stories tagged bts ~~)