Harry Potter rant
I've been reading too much Harry Potter fanfiction. I am so annoyed with writers thinking that the only way for a Hogwarts student to have a "cool" party is if there's alcohol somehow involved. How many times have you seen ANY at Hogwarts drinking alcohol at school? Or even sneaking alcohol into the school? Perhaps butterbeer, but not alcohol. Nobody would sell some underage kids alcohol, especially if there's a change that they would take the bottles back to the school.
And why does the main character always have to eventually get drunk? What an overused plot device, and a weak one at that! They can Prefects who are totally against possession of alcohol, and yet they cave to peer pressure into joining in the very festivities that they were protesting.
I'm not saying that drinking alcohol is necessarily bad; I just choose not to drink. I've never touched alcohol, and unless I'm tricked into doing it, I'm pretty sure I'll never touch the stuff. It's one of my principles in life, one that I'll stick to. This doesn't mean that I disapprove of other people drinking socially, and I often laughed at my brothers who once drank illegally (making fools of themselves). I just wish I could read a character--in any fandom--who sticks to their beliefs and values, who doesn't cave to the cliche of the Drunken Plot Device. To me, a character who does a 180 such as this is weak and I usually lose interest in the story. Very few authors can successfully pull it off, but if your thinking about using the Drunken Plot Device, forget it! Try something else. Use your imagination.
And why does the main character always have to eventually get drunk? What an overused plot device, and a weak one at that! They can Prefects who are totally against possession of alcohol, and yet they cave to peer pressure into joining in the very festivities that they were protesting.
I'm not saying that drinking alcohol is necessarily bad; I just choose not to drink. I've never touched alcohol, and unless I'm tricked into doing it, I'm pretty sure I'll never touch the stuff. It's one of my principles in life, one that I'll stick to. This doesn't mean that I disapprove of other people drinking socially, and I often laughed at my brothers who once drank illegally (making fools of themselves). I just wish I could read a character--in any fandom--who sticks to their beliefs and values, who doesn't cave to the cliche of the Drunken Plot Device. To me, a character who does a 180 such as this is weak and I usually lose interest in the story. Very few authors can successfully pull it off, but if your thinking about using the Drunken Plot Device, forget it! Try something else. Use your imagination.