- from Kiss Me Fool, a Gilmore Girls fanfic by R. M. Jackson.

Wtf? Tell me there's someone out there who gets what I mean. Crystalline drops? Misty blue orbs? I don't mean to totally flame on R. M. Jackson. . . No, wait. I guess I kind of do. I absolutely hate it when an author tries to use mature, meaningful vocabulary, but it just ends up sounding like pompous juvenile drivel. There's too many big, swooping words - and far too many adjectives. I mean, a lot is better than none, but less is more, right? It's such a common fault with any kind of fiction to be too descriptive. Lots of people try to paint a picture with words, and they become so preoccupied they don't notice they've lost the art of transition, and every trace of subtly has vanished - they're so busy with contrast and primary colors they don't realize they've been doing oil on canvas with crayons and cardboard.

It really goes to show: grammar isn't everything. It's more than that. It's style, and flow, and voice. Real writing is raw and real, thought-provoking and passionate. It's not big words and it's not exaggerated description; there's rhetoric and feeling and finesse. And even though this snippet's got every requirement met for quality - perfect grammar and spelling and formatting - but it fits every fan fiction cliché in the book. And that's what separates the boys from the men. Figuratively.