Character X Reader Stories

[cakeface33]

Yesterday while perusing Deviantart,I found an abundance of them and I became sort of hooked. Some of them,at lest I believe,are sort of on the same level of Twilight that they're so ridiculous it's funny. Some of them are actually intriguing and.._{had some good sneezes in 'em.} So I had to ask how come there aren't any(or many) X Reader stories on the forum? I suppose I could say the same thing about other types of stories like songfics,but this type seems the most interesting to me at the moment.

EDIT: I thought I should probably come back and explain to get a wider discussion started. I apologize for not explaining what X Reader stories are. I'm a bit scatterbrained. Anyway,the aformention story type happens when somebody decides to create a scenario centered around a fictional character from a specific fandom with usually someone in real life. The stories usually end with a good look on a platonic relationship or a heavy romantic one. I've only read a few but the concept is easy to understand. I see a lot of XReads as a fangirl's escape to their perfect world as the fandom characters throw their characteristics out the window to be with the reader like it was meant to be. I suppose I can link one I found kind of cool so you can see what I mean and hopefully you'll be lead to more X Reader stories. So,I orignally just wanted thoughts on the stories,but that lead to me asking my question above. Either way,both are welcome!

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Make-Up-Work-Canada-x-Reader-343296357

Edited January 3, 2014 by cakeface33

[Jorm]

So I' had to ask how come there aren't any(or many) X Reader stories on the forum?

Possibly because no one knows what they are? Or maybe that's just me.

[SexualOddity]

Not just you!

[MaiMai]

I've come across Character X Reader stories before, both in a fetish-y sense and otherwise (though I haven't found that many fetish-y ones). Part of the reason there aren't too many of them around on the forum might be because they are very difficult to write successfully. Outsider point of view stories are challenging to get right, and Character X Reader stories are kinda a step up from those. Or maybe that particular type of story just isn't too well-known around here, I don't know! Personally I've never come across a Character X Reader story that I liked, and in general I'm not overly keen on them. But it would be interesting to see a few more fetish related ones!

[SexualOddity]

I think I would echo that as well. I've seen things similar to the one you've linked before and I don't think I've ever read one to the end, mainly because I don't think I've found a good one. I do think they would be hard to do well and they strike me as massively open to fan-service-at-the-expense-of-all-else. But I think probably part of it is just me - I tend to bristle at second person narrative (Is that always a part of character x reader story?), just because I end up thinking 'Oh I DO do that do I? How do you know? Maybe I'd rather do THIS?' Probably, I'm just stubborn. Or more likely, I haven't read enough second person narrative or given it enough of a chance to see its benefits.

[MaiMai]

they strike me as massively open to fan-service-at-the-expense-of-all-else

I tend to bristle at second person narrative (Is that always a part of character x reader story?), just because I end up thinking 'Oh I DO do that do I? How do you know? Maybe I'd rather do THIS?'

Just, these. These are exactly how I feel whenever I start reading one. Particularly the first; I always feel like fan service completely takes precedence over actually writing a decent story and keeping the characters in character. (Not to offend anyone who does write Character X Reader, I'm sure there are some good ones out there that I just haven't discovered yet...)

[Jorm]

Ah, okay, I get it. I've read a couple of things like this, both fanfic and original fic. I find it works better for original fiction, it's still not my favourite style, but I've read a few things I genuinely enjoyed. In fanfiction, it's just too easy to fall over the precipice into mary-sue-ville. I have a friend who has written a couple of what I guess where x readers specifically for me as gifts, and they were fun to read, but it's definitely not something I would go looking for.

[cakeface33]

Honestly,I don't think they're ALL Mary-Sue driven with no real motivation but a lot of them have elements of that. Most of time,I have to look up a sick fic to get into it. Suffice to say I got pulled into quite few,some because of sneezes others for their actual writing skill. If someone can learn not to satisfy all of their personal fantasies in the piece then I say go for it! Otherwise...stick to what you know you do well.