Fanfic preferences

[lady_windermere]

Ok, just a quick poll to see what your preferences are with regard to fanfic. Doing the recs, I was wondering what everyone else likes to read.

[Poll #1426330]

Comments

[exuberantself.livejournal.com]

I chose "an enjoyable read," but I think I should specify that I think I have pretty strict guidelines for what I consider "enjoyable." What can I say? I'm a bitch about literature. ::shrug::

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Hee! We all have different standards to what makes it enjoyable

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

Good writing above all else. I want to be jealous.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I keep in mind that it is fanfic, but yes, good writing is important!

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

If the writing is poor, I won't read past the first paragraph, because the story is likely to be poor too. I'm not reading for porn, so I need to be entertained. Plus I have a lot of stories to get through, I won't waste time on the crap.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

It is more a good or quirky plot for me. I tend to scroll past the sex scenes. I find so few of them really appeal!

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

Originality is definitely a plus.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Yes, I love it. I get so bored with the same old, same old!

[shadowc44.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for a good, entertaining story. I'm NOT expecting to find Nobel-quality writing, because I think most people are writing for fun, not because it's their goal in life to be a published author. OTOH, I do expect people to try to write well, even if they're just doing it for fun or to try it out. Hopefully they'll have someone else go over it to find errors they missed.

I do get frustrated when the story is good, but there are a ton of minor errors, It's sometimes amusing, though frustrating, to read about Dean being "shitless" when he's not scared; it's obvious the author meant "shirtless" but it's those little mistakes that can leave a really bad impression. Its particularly annoying when you see that three or four other people read the story in different stages some as betas, and they all missed those errors. I think some people rely too heavily on spell-check, and don't realize it doesn't read for context, so you can have 50 errors slip through as long as they're real words.

I've been in a ton of other fandoms, though Supernatural is what I'm currently obsessed with. It's the only fandom where I'm willing to read RPF/RPS, and even then, I prefer AU.

I've found in my own writing it's best if I force myself to back off and leave the story alone when it's done, and re-read it a few days or a week after I've written it, before posting it. That way I can catch things I missed the first few times around. I've read things years later that had errors I can't believe I missed.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Yes, depending on spell and grammar check just doesn't cut it for a beta to do. If you want to take the credit for being a beta, you really should check the fic with a fine tooth comb.

I do read RPS, but prefer AU, especially with J2.