My sister told me of a play by Eugene O'Neill titled Moon For The Misbegotten, that has a female character described as exactly five-eleven, and stockily built. The casting section actually says something to the effect of how difficult it is to cast that role, because women of that height are only found in freak shows! Bear in mind this play was written in the 1950s. If five-eleven was freakish as recently as fifty years ago, it would have been positively supernatural for a woman to be five-foot six in ancient times, let alone Xena's established height of six-foot nothing!
The problem is, modern audiences are accustomed for media, even historical media, to be presented in a modern way. Thus we have historical novels describing male characters as nearly six feet, or six-foot plus, and we are expected to digest this as being average height, or at most only slightly taller than what was common. Nuh-uh. That would have been literally freakish even as recently as 200 or so years ago. I also have this issue with the character of Jean-Claude in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Jean-Claude, a vampire, is described as being five-eleven, and Anita describes him as "not very tall". All well and good for modern audiences, but then again he was born approximately 400 years ago. Is this a reasonable height for someone who originated in the 1600s? I think not. This tends to be a problem when one is writing immortal characters; the author consistently misjudges the height factor, and describes said character as a positively abnormal height for their original time period. To have attained that height, Jean-Claude would have been either a genetic freak, or would have had a glandular condition or hormonal imbalance when alive. Pretty, no? I realize that it would nullify a great deal of the character's romance to describe him as five-four or so, but it would certainly be a lot more realistic.
2. Male characters. Missy Good has the unfortunate tendency to write male characters, especially younger male characters, as rather shy, prone to blushing, and adolescent in tone, along with being slightly fey. Even her straight male characters "flame". They have little control over their own sexuality, and are easily embarrassed by the slightest thing. While I am aware that the author is a lesbian, and quite possibly has gay male friends, this facet of her life should not be displayed so prominently in all of her works. I am not taking issue with such people; merely the monotony of the stereotype in her work. It makes many male characters entirely too similar.
3. Xena and Gabrielle's illnesses. The canon characters have become ill and/or suffered side effects from wounds maybe five times: Chariots of War, The Greater Good, Destiny, One Against An Army, and In Sickness and In Hell. In CoW and OAAA, each character receives an arrow wound in the respective episode, in TGG Xena is hit with a poisoned dart, in Destiny Xena is hit by a falling log, and in ISAIH both characters come down with the flu. Yet the instant they enter Ms. Good's world, they are alternately stricken with a variety of colds, fevers, and "coughing sicknesses", allowing for many heartfelt hurt/comfort scenes of one nursing the other back to health. These characters get sick so often, you'd think they'd have found the cure to the common cold by now, if only to curb the repetitive symptoms. I realize that without the constant illness it would be difficult to obtain all those yummy hurt/comfort stories fan fic readers are so fond of, but it gets old fast.
4. The eating. Whenever I read a Missy Good story, I always make sure to have something on hand to nibble, because her characters are constantly eating. And not just balogna sandwiches and Pepsi; they dine on really good stuff (especially the financially-blessed Dar and Kerry, who routinely eat delicacies like banana-stuffed French toast, Tai curry chicken with noodles, and of course piles and piles of chocolate). Xena fic generally features good old-fashioned home cookin', with all kinds of lovingly-described lamb and veggie stews, fresh fruits, and freshly-baked breads. Whereas Dar and Kerry go all out with triple-decker cakes and various species of pasta. And of course, no D&K fic is complete without a scene in which Dar eats, makes, buys, or discusses something involving chocolate. Never start a Missy Good story without a glass or plate of something in hand, because within five minutes you will be headed towards the fridge. Don't say I didn't warn you...
5. The constant internal crises. Once in a while, the author will feel that there aren't enough actual events in the character's lives to make a decent plot, so she has them go through strained conversations relating to either a) constant self-loathing accompanied with doubt over their partner's feelings and fear that said feelings will disappear and the relationship will end, or b) the above fear, doubt, and self-loathing, shown in flashback and resulting in the characters having a Heartfelt Chat and Strengthening The Eternal Bond Of Their Souls. This was ESPECIALLY true during the entire story Darkness Falls, which is directly post-Rift and deals with Xena and Gabrielle's guilt and discomfort with each other. I have NO problem with this fic; I do have a problem with the issues of this fic expanded for seven more stories. Whenever you think the characters are FINALLY completely secure in their bond, something happens that throws the entire relationship into a downward spiral, and yet more feelings of guilt and mistrust surface anew. Like the plethora of wounds and sicknesses, this plot device is entertaining the first few times, then rapidly acquires elements of tedium.
6. Identification of characters via hair color, height, or any other difference. This is more of a general Xena fan fic cliche than a specific Missy Good theme; however, her writing is the impetus for its prevelance. If I had a nickle for every time I read a fan fic identifying Xena as "the dark-haired woman", I would be incredibly wealthy. This particular failing has unfortunately surged in popularity, and crossed over into general use among bards. There is nothing wrong with simply identifying Xena by name. Granted, it can seem repetitive when you're switching back and forth in dialogue with her and Gabrielle, but it's worth the effort to avoid spreading the cliches.
7. Gabrielle/Kerry's horrible childhood and abusive parents. Specifically, her abusive father. Gabrielle's father is portrayed as an alcoholic, while Kerry's is a wealthy, corrupt senator, but they both routinely beat up on their respective daughters (especially in the ever-popular flashbacks) and made her life miserable. Nowhere in the show is it implied that Gabrielle had bad/incompetent/abusive parents, but it's a recurring theme in all of Missy Good's fan fic, including the most recent "Conqueror" fiction. Paradoxically enough, it's usually used as an excuse for Xena and Gabrielle to get silly, because neither of them really got to experience a proper childhood, and need to learn how to play and have fun. Notice that in both genres, Gabrielle/Kerry's parents do not approve of Xena/Dar (not necessarily their relationship--they're often oblivious in that respect--but of Xena/Dar personally), and often actively encourage/manipulate her into leaving her partner.
8. Xena/Dar's previous history of promiscuity. Both the canon character and her alter ego were apparently quite the little whores back in the day, because we are constantly running into past lovers of both genders, who are usually hell-bent on vengeance and evildoing and basically ruining her life, typically out of either a) pure jealousy 'cause Xena/Dar's life is so great now, or b) revenge for the time Xena/Dar screwed them over back when she was a cold-blooded bitch who kicked ass with gleeful abandon.