That's another reason why I don't read others fanfics while I am writing my own, sometimes views of the fandom clash so much it just gets in the way of my own writing...I get this horrorable need to write an annoying "I don't like this you should really think of writing it this way." review, which doesn't really help anything
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You are right about that sort of thinking being unhelpful, but it is a common pitfall of new writers to think one of two things: (1)My mystery story (for example) is not any good if it isn't EXACTLY like one of Arthur Conan Doyle's
Sherlock Holmes mysteries; or, (2) My mystery story is not any good if it isn't COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from one of Arthur Conan Doyle's
Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The thinking on both of these is flawed. You don't have to write like other writers, but no one ought to waste time trying to be the "writing police" (especially in fan-fic, where we are ALL technically trespassing!).
I, too, find it hard to read other writers (including professional authors--even those I revere) when I'm writing--but not because they clash with what I write. What I find is that creativity begats creativity, and when I read someone's writing that is really
good, it makes me want to go write something great! When I read someone's writing that is really
bad, it makes me want to go write somthing better! (Recently I read a mystery by an extremely popular author that was set in The South. The most charitable thing that I could say about her interpretation of The South is that she apparently never visited any of the southern states.) Also, it's VERY unproductive to try to get the whole world to do things the way you do them--especially when it comes to art. Don't you suppose Picasso's peers all told him we was doing everything wrong? And while they were doing THAT, he was claiming new territory for his art.
One of the lovely things about fanfiction boards is that everyone--new, old, good, bad--gets a chance to win an audience. And how BORING it would be if we all wrote the same thing the same way. Sheesh--I've even pointed out once or twice that I don't even feel compelled to be internally consistent. If I want to write a story with Scooter all grown up and Robin still a child, well...I can. (And so did the Muppets--in IAVMMV.) If I want to write a story about Robin all grown up (as others have done and I might!), then I can do that, too.
So, as one of my poet-ing friends says--Go WRITE something! (And that means EVERYBODY!)