I have to admit, when reading a songfic or regular fic with lyrics, I totally skip them. (Hangs head) I know authors work really hard to set a certain feeling and the lyrics are part of that, but sometimes I feel like they make the story feel stilted. I have been rereading some older fics I love and find that I totally had no idea there were even lyrics in them because I just skipped them the first time!

I feel bad, but it happens!

y'all are not alone.

A lot of times if it even mentions "songfic" anywhere in the title or synopsis I don't even bother with it. horrible, but I read so many bad songfics when I was in my early teens that I gave up on them. And if there are lyrics embedded in the story I skip right over them. It makes me feel a little guilty sometimes because, as Phantomlogic notes, I know authors are really trying to convey a certain mood or meaning with the song. But it almost always comes off as cheesy at worst, or at best interrupts the flow of the story.

IF its one block of embedded lyrics (instead of stanzas of lyrics with story in between) or lyrics just at the beginning or end of the chapter I'll sometimes scan over them really quickly. But usually not.

I'm doing the same thing :sigh: I know the authors put the lyrics there for some reson. For exaple they find the general picture simply romantic, but I'm usually more interested with things that are happening later so I skip them too. It sometimes makes me feel slightly bad, but I least I know others are doing the same.

I'll admit I skip the lyrics most of the time. But if it is just a short little block of lyrics I do read them. While authors who take the time to submit lyrics in their writing is awesome. Sometimes the lyrics do not fit and that make be a major turn off if the reader is into songfics.

I don't think anyone really reads them. Unless it's a really good author, and I know that it's a good author, I won't even look. Even then I skim over the lyrics first to see if it isn't cheesy and to get a feel of the mood. I will not read a songfic if it's a song I know. Especially if it's Evanescence. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but their songs have a tendency to ruin fics I read since they can be the overly dramatic. (In my opinion at least).

I do actually like it if there is a short bit of lyric or a stanza of a poem in the beginning of a chapter. It gives a bit of insight on what mood should be. If the lyrics interrupt the chapter, I can get irritated, but generally I skip over the lines too.

I don't like songfics, and I mostly do skip them, go back once I find it's a songfic, or just avoid it if it says "songfic" in the blurb.
I don't like it because I don't know most of the songs people use in them. I like Evanescence, but they are overused in songfics, and people shouldn't add in "nah nah nah" whenever they sing it, because if you haven't heard the song before, who cares where they vocalise? Besides, isn't the whole point of writing to convey emotions in a story? If you need to rely on music to set a tone, what's the point?

I don't like songfics, and I'm writing one. How messed up is that?

Haha, don't worry knifethrower, so am I. XD

I Agree wrote:
I don't think anyone really reads them. Unless it's a really good author, and I know that it's a good author, I won't even look. Even then I skim over the lyrics first to see if it isn't cheesy and to get a feel of the mood. I will not read a songfic if it's a song I know. Especially if it's Evanescence. O_O r0o loves you for saying that! seriously i dont get them at all as far as songfics go, them or LinkinPark @_@


I'll admit i think i have one where Kagome's singing, but in my defence its a humor oneshot and she's "car-dancing/singing"

Also i don't usually pic something thats overly known or 'pop'-ish. i dunno. I keep in mind that everyone i know usually TOTALLY skips the songfic part of it, so i atleast attempt to make it so that its not overly SONGFICcy....

as for not liking them and your writing one, Well i've done at least 3, and I still dont like songfics very much.

Lol considering how many of them I find I always thought that I was the only one that hated songfics, yay I'm not alone . I think the biggest problem is they add too much of the song into the story and really the story should be able to stand alone enough without it. There was one story I read, my mind is blank on the name right now, that added in just a few lines that really accented the story, as it should, and I even read those lines .

What I think would be best for songfics, and what I usually do when I write them, is just mention what song is represented, like in my Weird-ified challenge, or whatever song they are singing, without actually adding the lyrics, it tends to flow much better. Or if they really want the lyrics in, add them all at the end of the story instead of scattered through out, I find it's the least interrupting and really only use the lyrics needed, not the whole song.

Okies CC mode off .

Yeah, I skip lyrics too.

It's just something about lyrics, I really hate reading them unless I've been listening to a song and heard something that caught my attention. Then I'll look it up. But in a fic I just cannot read the things, worst is the whole song being listed, second worst would be say half or a quarter of a song, least worst would be a small bit, say 3 lines (because it's easier to skip over? ^^; ). And yes, like Chalkbutterfly said: Most of the time I don't even know the song anyway, and not knowing the song just makes the lyrics completely meaningless to me. Usually too lazy to try and hunt down the song to hear it.

To be fair though for me it isn't just songs, I hate to read poetry too and almost always skip across it. It has a similar format to lyrics and something about that just makes me want to skip it or run off and find something better to do

I also tend to avoid songfics because they bring to mind poorly written fanfics where more than half of the pages are just lyrics and everything else is lacking (that would have been several years ago, hopefully things have improved a bit now in songfics?). I dislike it when characters burst into song too (see: the lyrics thing) but I don't mind something like car singing with a couple of lines. With singing I prefer a description over actual lyrics.

It might just be me, but sometimes in the author note at the beginning of a chapter, the author will say something along the lines of " I was listening to _______ song when I was writing this and to really get a feel for this chapter play the song while you are reading it!" This annoys the crap outta me! Usually, I don't know the song and I am not in a mood to go song surfing while trying to read a story. To me, these are almost worse than having lyrics liberally sprinkled through a fic.

Just me?

What annoys me is when there's a paragraph of lyrics, and only one line of actual story. I don't mind song lyrics sprinkled throughout a story. I can usually just skip over those. But when the lyrics basically are the story, that's when I say screw it, and leave.

The only thing that bugs me more than this is when authors apologize for their stories...

personally, I usually just ignore the actual lyrics, i just look at what song it really is. Sometimes they can be nice just to be exposed to a new piece of music. But in general the only time I find they have any relivance seems like the story you are ready is probably from a green author, who was trying to force the song into the story, rather than concerned about it actually adding something to the story.

I usually don't include lyrics, or anything, I have been inspired by songs, but don't include them mainly for the reason that I just can't see these guys normally breaking out in song, or something. I would love to see Sesshoumaru singing I'm to sexy, though that would crack me up.

My fics mostly have been inspired by songs, Second chance at happiness was spawned by The Sign ace of base. SAVE ME FROM MYSELF was combination my past, and Saved the best for last by Vanessa Williams.

I tend to skip most stories with alot of lyrics in them. ah well just my preference I suppose