It's really more the bait and switch (hook them, then make them slog through forty chapters to get there again...then discontinue the story at chapter twenty) and the fact they're writing to formula when they talk about the exciting things we need to see. Writing about the mundane can be interesting, writing the exact same opening as everyone else with the only difference being your character's name...not so much. If it's exactly the same as every other story, you don't need to go through it again because readers can fill in the blanks themselves.
Ah, the infamous bait-and-switch. What frustrates me so much about that is that the writer shows they can write mildly interesting stuff and then spews forth unimaginative drivel that makes me want to drown myself in water. (Okay, so maybe I've been thinking about this too much... I sound terribly disturbing.)
I definitely agree with you, even though I always fear my story is just as bad as the worst Sue-fic. (And no, this is not a blatant attempt at obtaining a detailed review, for you've done enough while beta'ing my stuff all those many months years ago.)
I think it's also that it's a lot easier to write a concentrated burst of cool, especially if you're able to throw out references to other cool things left and right. Actually keeping it up is a lot harder, and they'd soon run out of steam, but by stopping and jumping back to the beginning they can disguise that. (It occurs to me that the format is really the bastard child of the mysterious prologue often featured in fantasy, with the distinction that the mysterious prologue is meant to happen before/around the same time and be simmering in the background as the main plot develops until the two intersect explosively, while the not!flashback used here uses a similar format but loses the reason for the delay.)
Amy's not a sue, don't worry. (If anything, she's the type of character where I think the author's worrying overmuch about her being a sue.)
Amy's not a sue, don't worry. (If anything, she's the type of character where I think the author's worrying overmuch about her being a sue.)
You're probably right. I do worry excessively about her being a Sue, mostly because I don't want to be preaching about what not to do and then find out I've done it myself. It's a compulsive thing, I fear.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-04-05 08:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-05 09:08 pm (UTC)Ah, the infamous bait-and-switch. What frustrates me so much about that is that the writer shows they can write mildly interesting stuff and then spews forth unimaginative drivel that makes me want to drown myself in water. (Okay, so maybe I've been thinking about this too much... I sound terribly disturbing.)
I definitely agree with you, even though I always fear my story is just as bad as the worst Sue-fic. (And no, this is not a blatant attempt at obtaining a detailed review, for you've done enough while beta'ing my stuff all those many
monthsyears ago.)no subject
Date: 2008-04-05 09:46 pm (UTC)Amy's not a sue, don't worry. (If anything, she's the type of character where I think the author's worrying overmuch about her being a sue.)
no subject
Date: 2008-04-05 09:52 pm (UTC)Amy's not a sue, don't worry. (If anything, she's the type of character where I think the author's worrying overmuch about her being a sue.)
You're probably right. I do worry excessively about her being a Sue, mostly because I don't want to be preaching about what not to do and then find out I've done it myself. It's a compulsive thing, I fear.