I think something's wrong with me. I tried starting at least four different fics last night (all B/J), and NONE of them grabbed me!

It was all either really bad, immature writing, or silly situations. (seriously? flirting and having lusty thoughts while your dad is in the hospital DYING??)

I want something that's going to pull me right in so that I don't want to stop reading, back to calibre!

Everytime i read b/j i think of blow.jobs....

I'm sure I'm late to the game on this fic, but The Companion is driving me nuts. She keeps changing between tenses and I'm finding it difficult to read 

Did anyone else who read this feel the same or is it just me? 

Sheeet! I'm just about to start that fic! How freaky...Is it the one by Samrosey?

Sheeet! I'm just about to start that fic! How freaky...Is it the one by Samrosey?

It is. The writing is all kinds of weird and the tense and viewpoint are confusing. Too bad cause I really wanted to read it. I got to chapter three 

I think something's wrong with me. I tried starting at least four different fics last night (all B/J), and NONE of them grabbed me!

Every time I read one of these "author pulls story" posts I want to run to FF.net and flag everything in my favourites/completes. But there are sooooo many. I wish I could remember to just do it individually as they get completed. But I'm wondering, do you ladies flag.com everything as soon as they are finished or....how many fics do you Lovelies have loitering in favourites on FF.net?

There's enough of us around who don't have a problem looking then reading, that if it will ruin the fic for you (yes, I'm thinking of you Demaris   ) we can check.  I for one don't have a problem checking.  And I think I read this one already.  It was good.   

There are some REALLY good fics still being written and there are some REALLY bad fics out there too - Fanfic is my version of Russian Roulette - you just have to hope for the best. I've learnt that recs and reviews really don't mean much at all..except for the reviews here, of course! 

And it doesn't help when fics aren't marked as complete or even worse, when they are abandoned but marked as complete! I found 6 of these this weekend!!! And you all know how much I hate WIPs!

My system works for me, most of the time - provided the author follows the rules and clicks complete. My system is possibly the most basic you can get - I'm sure that all of you will laugh at the simplicity, but remember - techtard here!

I use IE and when I find a fic I like the look of, it gets bookmarked into my EI favourites. I have an Incomplete folder and then subfolders: 2011, and 2012 has subfolders for each month. Anything that I really want to keep tabs on that hasn't updated since before 2011 goes into my FF favourites with an update alert, so I don't even think about it if it gets pulled. The 2011 fics will go in there in the next few weeks - have I mentioned I'm on holidays now??? 

So, I then spend an hour or so each week (just when I get the chance to sit in front of the TV - I can't just "watch" TV, and I'm not crafty so I don't knit or scrapbook or anything so I need something else to do) and flick through all the folders and move them to the current folder (December 2012) when they update, and to the Complete folder when they are marked as complete. Then I go through and Flagfic everything in the Complete folder.

When I did this yesterday, I was surprised to see quite a lot of fics that hadn't been updated since before July suddenly getting new chapters - there were a lot - like 18-20! There were also a few pulled fics. I then google the bookmarked link, and most times I can find the author and then see if they pulled anything else or if there is an a/n on their profile. Some are surprising - Mamasutra pulled one recently that she hadn't touched for a while, but I couldn't find an a/n and she usually has a pretty good completion rate.

On a side note...
Not a lot of people are liking this pulling to publish and the Twific plot hasn't changed. Also, why would I buy when I can read the original with the characters I love? Seems like a no brainer 

I do have an issue with making it into 3 books.  It really should have been 2 at the most.  I really miss those 700 page books that you can't put down.  Heck, most of the earlier Tom Clancy ones I read were at least 1,000 pages.  Now they charge the same price for something 250 pages that is practically a short story as far as I'm concerned. 

And? I'm talking ebooks here.  Not real, paper books that cost money to print and ship. 

I haven't read the submissive.  Frankly, FFoG was pushing it for me in the BDSM area.  I only liked it because she said no....and he had to change.  Now maybe if Edward were the sub.....
....though I'm not opposed to kinky stuff.....

I hate that books are so expensive! How do we get kids to read every day when books cost so much. My little country school spends around $5000 a year on books and I'm finding I have to fight harder every year for that.

I get even angrier about how expensive e-books are - sometimes they cost the same as a real book! 

For my personal reading, I haven't paid for a book for a few years - I think the Twilight box set was my last book purchase. FF has been my biggest supplier (yep, it is an addiction) but I also download real books from Tuebl. I know it's wrong (stealing from the poor artist  ) and I'll probably be arrested for piracy but I'm sure that there are worse criminals in the world. (Aren't there??? *looks over shoulder*)

Give The Submissive/The Dominant/The Training a go. They shouldn't be compared to FSoG - everyone knows what they're getting into, and it's more about the relationships than the sexy fun times

On a side note...

I read a lot of the reviews for Beautiful Bastard and it seems to be getting the same reaction as Fifty... they all think that the FF authors sold out the fandom and aren't sure why they aren't being sued by SM *snort*

Not a lot of people are liking this pulling to publish and the Twific plot hasn't changed. Also, why would I buy when I can read the original with the characters I love? Seems like a no brainer 

Remind me is Beautiful Bastard the fic formerly known as The Office?

Everytime i read b/j i think of blow.jobs....

Don't get me started on the "Go Down" button on the top of the page! 

Remind me is Beautiful Bastard the fic formerly known as The Office?

Yes, it is.

I just had a look at BB on Goodreads and found that my sister-in-law has marked it as a "to-read".

This is the SAME sister-in-law who constantly pays me out for reading FF!!!

Oh, won't THIS be an interesting conversation at the dinner table when I see her at Christmas! 

Yes, it is.

I just had a look at BB on Goodreads and found that my sister-in-law has marked it as a "to-read".

This is the SAME sister-in-law who constantly pays me out for reading FF!!!

Oh, won't THIS be an interesting conversation at the dinner table when I see her at Christmas! 

*snort* make sure there is lots of eggnog with rum and or lots of wine. I wouldn't pay to read BB. It was alright but not the best fic out there like a lot of people say.

I hope TSM publishes The Dominant. I love EPOV and this was an excellent read

Yes, it is.

I just had a look at BB on Goodreads and found that my sister-in-law has marked it as a "to-read".

This is the SAME sister-in-law who constantly pays me out for reading FF!!!

Oh, won't THIS be an interesting conversation at the dinner table when I see her at Christmas! 

LOL! that should be fun.   

Don't shoot me guys but i loved FSoG, the published version. It was what started me into fanfic. I am aware it is not the best writing out there but still I loved it (read the 3 books 3 times already, right after each other  ). For me,the only similarity bet FSOG and The Submissive/Dominant/Training is that they are into BDSM. Yeah the Edward/Christian here are both "damaged" but I loved how Christian changed for the better (am a sap for that, sorry), and his thoughtfulness, those emails... yeah, made me swoon and laugh. Strongly recommend you read tara sue me's 3 fanfics. i really enjoyed those too. As ficfangirl said, not much diff. bet the pubbed and the fanfic so why not start with the original 

No worries there - I enjoyed it too. I mean, I'll read anything (except autobiographies  ) and these were a nice easy read. They'll never win a Pulitzer but I read for entertainment and just want to switch off my brain when I read.

I actually read MOTU when it was a WIP (back in the day when I still read WIPs) and even though they are essentially identical except for names, it was a more gripping read when you had to wait for a week to read the next chapter. I think it's what it must have been like listening to "the wireless" back in the 30s and 40s. My parents still have fond memories of the whole family tuning in each week for the next instalment - although I'm sure the content was NOTHING like MOTU/FSoG!!!

I really think the issue that people have with FSoG actually stems with how the author turned on her fan base - she had all of these people supporting her, and then essentially called them all a bunch of sexually frustrated idiots for reading twific. And then the suing over others using the term "fifty shades of..." - just very hypocritical.