10. Sickeningly sweet, mushy, perfect happiness type romance set 10 years into the future after everyone’s problems have been solved and all the characters are alive and happy. (*gag* *barf* *die*)

9. Writing in script format. (STORY people! STORY!!!)

8. Inserting original characters that the main character NOT ONLY falls in love with, but who dies protecting the main character at the end to save the world. (Pffft. Good riddance.)

7. Write a fic from the perspective of the most annoying, most idiotic, most likely to get disemboweled by fans character and GLORIFY them. (Riley is NOT a good fighter/lover/boyfriend/human being. I don’t care WHAT you think. :P)

6. Spelling a major character’s name wrong, CONSISTENTLY. (No, it is NOT Gyles, nor is it Angle or Drucilla.)

5. Writing in Hemingway-esque sentences that lack the substance. (“Angel walked to the counter and sat. After five minutes he picked up his pencil and started to draw. After an hour he got bored and went out onto the roof. Doyle found him there a little after midnight and they talked. Cordelia brought them coffee and they watched LA together.”)

4. Recycled plots. (Doyle has vision. Angel goes to save. Angel saves, Angel broods. Cordelia and Doyle talk with Angel. Angel ceases to brood for a while. The end.)

3. Flashback stories in which the flashbacks have very little to do with the current situation. (Angel needs to save a girl. He flashbacks to a girl he killed in 18th century whoozitsplace. He flashbacks for 10 pages. Then he remembers he has a girl to save.)

2. Crossover porno. (No matter WHAT you think, I SEROUSLY doubt Angel would shack up with Agent Scully.)

1. Unoriginal title. ( EVEN if it IS a missing scene from “City Of…” DON’T FREAKING TITLE it, “Missing Scene: “City Of”!!!!”)