Things I Hate About Warriors Fanfiction

Dumb Character Syndrome

There's got to be an official name for this. But I don't know it, nor can I be bothered looking on TV tropes, so the bullshit name I feverishly jotted down in my notes at 4am will have to work.

You know when you're reading a book and the character is trying to work something out and the answer they're looking for is so obvious, so in their face, but they just don't get it? Isn't it the most frustrating thing?

This isn't a Warriors fanfiction specific thing. It appears in all kinds of literature and fanfiction. But it's sure as hell present in Warriors fanfiction. It happens usually when characters are trying to figure out a prophecy. It's at it's worst when people make the most obvious prophecies with the characters name in it and the character is all "oh my god, what does this meeeeeean?" But even when it isn't quite so blatant, it can still be very annoying when the meaning of a prophecy is made obvious but the character still can't get it.

Why do authors do this? Easy answer: to create tension. All books need tension. This is what keeps readers interested and reading. So writers will introduce characters agonizing over something in order to keep the reader waiting for something to happen. But this is a really shitty way to create tension and unfortunately very common. It's extremely lazy and frustrating more than anything. If a book pulls this shit, it doesn't make me want to keep reading. It makes me want to throw the book at a wall. It makes me think "hey. This person sucks at writing."

It doesn't have to be with a prophecy though. It happens in anything and everything. In the Warriors books themselves, so many times characters have just...not used their goddamn brain for the purpose of dragging out the book. How hard is it to use logic? The example that stands strong in my head is when the Three needed to find their biological parents. It's so obvious but they just can't get it! All they needed to do was go "hey. Multiple cats have told us we're these prophecy cats. This means we probably still are. Hey, who's related to Firestar? Oh, I know, the medicine cat who had an illegal mate. Would she have reason to give away her kits? Yes, because it would be very illegal. What reason would Squirrelflight pretend we're her kits? Yes, because they're sisters."
In that situation, it's more bearable because it's easy to see how emotions can get in the way and there are many variables. Sure, it's reasonable and realistic for some doubt and outlandish ideas. It's reasonable and realistic for irrational thinking. But try and make it like your characters actually think. I think the worst thing about the Three and their family situation was that they couldn't work out who their dad was until Yellowfang told Jayfeather. They already knew Leafpool was their mum! It's really not fucking hard to go: "hey, who did Leafpool fall in love with? Oh yeah, Crowfeather." This shit makes me so angry.

The point is, it makes your protagonist looks really stupid if they can't come to simple conclusions. Protagonists generally need to be average intelligence or higher in order to be proactive and carry the plot along, be likable, and keep the reader entertained. Remember how I said it was lazy writing? Let's go back to that. It's a poor way of creating tension. If you can't create any another way, there's a fundamental problem with your plot. And usually, it isn't difficult to find tension in a plot. Just think "what's my character's motivation. What do they want?" And then think "how do I stop them from getting that?" It's literally that simple. Not being able to do that and instead relying on dragging your plot out on a half-assed and boring writing technique is lazy as hell. And if you're serious about writing, you really don't want to be a lazy writer.

If you rely on your characters moaning and whining and everything going in circles because no one stops and thinks (or communicates - lack of communication deserves a chapter on its own, and you bet your ass it's going to get one.) then you are a bad writer. Or maybe a good writer using a fucking terrible technique that makes you look like a bad writer.

This trope really, really, really pisses me off. I've seen it in fanfics so many times I've run out of patience. I just can't be bothered reading through them anymore. I don't have the time to read something that makes me feel like I'm wading in mud. 

I see it so many times with prophecies in this fandom. The author writes a very basic, obvious prophecy and then because their plot has no other substance to keep it going, fall back on this terrible technique to keep it "interesting." No, I don't want to hear about how Ravenleaf, who's very suspicious about the secretly evil warrior Flamefang, can't work out what the prophecy "The bird will defeat the fire that threatens to burn the forest to nothing but ash and embers" means. I don't want to read another "my brother keeps waking up with mysterious wounds and he's defensive all the time, could he maybe be up to no good?" And if I have to read another "why does Rowanpaw always act so weird around me? He always tags along after me and blushes every time I speak. What does this mean" I will rip out my eyes.

Y'all. I'm tired. I'm doing NCEA level 2 in school this year. It's the most important year over here in nz. I just want some good fics. Is that too much to want?