surfing around ff.net and i found another gem of a fic, and I don't mean that sarcastically!

Jersey Slip by WofOZ
Maybe Danny wasn't always so by the book. Maybe, in a life he'd long since put behind him, he was the one who shot first and asked questions later. Unfortunately for him and the crew of Five 0, those ghosts are about to come back and haunt him. Or just make the team realize Steve isn't the only one who can grin like a Cheshire cat.

it's currently a WIP with 5 chapters posted. I just started on chapter 4 and it's really good.

and read this fic!

Bait and Switch by TB's LMC on ff.net
Summary: She's not his mother. Steve swears she is, but Danny's sixth sense…his cop sense…his Steve sense…tells him that something isn't right. Problem is, Danny may not be sticking around long enough to prove it. And their friendship may not survive this even if he does.

Author's Note: This story takes place after the Season 2 finale, so there could be spoilers for anything and everything in both seasons up to and including that. I have no idea where the show's creators are going, so I'm quite sure this is completely AU. Enjoy!

It's currently 22 chapters and updated almost daily. The last chapter I read blew me the fuck away! So many twists and turns. And ideas that put certain events from season 2 into perspective, at least for me.

giving writing tips to a relative novice writer. I have no idea if my tips are any good, but this person found me on FF.net and I'm so desperately trying to keep her from following so many of the writers on there.

So far, my favorite tip that I've given her is:

Word length is your choice. You don't want to fall into the habit of using words that the characters wouldn't use (on the show) or that you wouldn't use. Also, there's no use in using a $4 word when a $2 word will do. What I mean by that is, big words that make people have to think or look up what they mean (unless they're in another language) doesn't make for a pleasant reading experience.

I've had some reading experiences where I was into the story, but then the characters began speaking in ways they wouldn't or using words that leave me scratching my head going "o.O whut?!" so then I look up the word and it's like why not just use the "dumb" version of that same word? This isn't some technical university book.

I really hope everything I tell her makes sense and helps her. what I've read of her story so far (all ~800 words of it) has the potential to be a pretty good story.

the pairing isn't for everyone.

it's one of the reasons I don't like going to ff.net

but now I'm seeing those same stories on AO3. and in MY opinion, they weren't all that great (and the authors claimed to have betas).

I'm even picky when it comes to pairings I like. If I know a writer has had poorly written fics in the past, it's going to take me a lot to read something they come out with in the future.

*shrugs*

looks like I'll have to pay better attention to pairings before I click on a fic to read.