Finding good fan-fiction

[vegablack]

This was originally posted on the Sorting Hat thread but I thought it deserved its own thread in the Creative Fanwork section.

Birdg responded to this quote from Maraudercat:

Quote:I, like everyone here was very sad to see Sugarquill go down as I am now reduced to trawling fanfiction.net for decent pieces. Of course i have attempted to lift the standard there, but sadly there is quite a bit to be said for the lack of plotlines&talent in many of the stories on an un-betad site such as that.

Birdg answered:

What I tend to do with Fanfiction.net is find an author I like and then go through their favorites to find stories. I've found quite a few gems that way.

I thought that was good advice. So I ask you how do you find good fan-fiction?

[Author By Night]

I think this is a good question, because even joining communities doesn't always work - for instance, I've joined communities where fanfics were written about characters and/or ships I liked, only to find that the fanfics weren't really my cup of tea. (Not necessarily because the authors weren't good - a lot of them were brilliant. But they weren't writing what I wanted to read.)

I think that birdg makes a good point about looking at stories authors you like recommend. This has definitely worked for me before - great minds tend to think alike.

I also think that it's a good idea to do some "shopping" around the net. Look for sites and communities within sites (Livejournal groups, JournalFen groups, etc) that include fanfics you enjoy. The only problem is that you're still looking for a needle in a haystack at times, because even the best writers out there aren't going to write the sorts of things you want to read. Still, if you're patient, that's one way.

It's also okay to ask around. Sometimes if I'm craving a certain type of fanfic, I'll post about it on Livejournal. Of course, I don't always get the fanfics I want that way, but sometimes it works.

[birdg]

The looking through the "favorites list of authors I like" trick is one I use everywhere: on LJ, FF.net, Checkmated and SimplyUndeniable. I've found possibly hundreds of fics that way.

I also tend to check out the fests that run on LJ - at any given time there are several fests running. And when I say several I do mean several. I know one fest just finished posting, two are posting right now, three more are taking sign-ups or just finished, 2 others will begin posting soon and 2 more besides that will begin sign-ups soon. That's 10 fests and a whole lot of fanfiction and fanart! Again I've found hundreds of fics that way. (My favorites list is looooong.)

Also, on LJ there are communities like "Quibbler Report" which seek out quality HP fic and art of all stripes. Similar to that is a site one of my friends runs called Coffee & Chocolate which can be found www.afterthree.net. Lots of great fanfic, mostly gen and canon relationships.

[mo]

Following favorite authors is a tried and true method on ff.net....lord knows there is scary stuff out there in the slush pile.

But, how to find those favorite authors? Most of my favorite fics are those I find on canon-pairing archives like SugarQuill, Checkmated, Simply Undeniable, and PhoenixSong. However, I find some hidden gems on LJ communities like OBHWFweekly and through annual awards that focus on canon pairings/genfic. The nom lists generally include a few from the Big Wide World, and that can be a clue to new favorite authors. That said, it's been a sad February for me, as the 2008 R/Hr award nominations came out and I realized that I had already read every darn thing on the list. Darn it! That was one of my best sources of new stuff!

[birdg]

Well, don't despair. I know there's a Harry/Ginny fest taking sign-ups now and the Ron/Hermione exchange will be starting soon. (I spoke with one of the mods about becoming affiliates with my fest and she mentioned it.) So that means there will be a lot more of those two pairings to enjoy in the future.

Also, on LJ, it's worth checking out communities like Springtime_Gen, HP_holidaygen, Femgenficathon, Omniocular, HP_Summergen, Hallowedmoments and Crack_Boom to name a few. They have a wider focus than canon pairings but they do include them. You'll find a lot of great fics that are both gen and shippy.

Another handy trick for finding these communities is going to the LJ of the mods of something like Quibbler Report (a community that recommends fics every day) and checking out what they have friended. One of my LJ friends is a mod there and she friends EVERY current comm so she can look through them for interesting fics to post. So their LJs actually work as a directory for current HP fic and art communities.

[vegablack]

I love the Coffee and Chocolate site myself. Though she has taken a hiatus recently on posting new recs. She has a lot of great stuff already posted.

[birdg]

She does!

Hey, would it be all right if I posted a link to my favorites list here? In my fic journal I've been keeping lists of my favorite stories and my Harry Potter gen fic list is over 17 pages long in word so I'm sure there's some stuff that would be new and enjoyable for people here.

I also have a separate list of fics that feature pairings like H/G, R/Hr and Rose/Scorpius but since a lot of that has more mature content, I won't link to it here. Though if someone wants that, they can just PM me and I'll send them the link.

[vegablack]

For those looking for excellent canon compliant I'd like to recommend Harry Potter Missing Moments on LJ. community.livejournal.com/hpmssgmoments/

The site has collected stories featuring missing moments and alternative pov stories for all seven Harry Potter books and has them organized by chapter in each book. The story must be tied to an actual quote appearing in a Harry Potter book so the stories are very closely tied to the actual events in the books.

Even given that constraint the story's are fascinating in how wide ranging they are. Writers can take one sentence often unnoticed by the rest of us and make a world on it.

There's lots of gen and not surprisingly lots of Ron/Hermine and Harry/Ginny. They are short on stories dedicated to the earlier books which makes sense since they are required to be canon compliant and many fics written when they were the current book no longer are.

The site lives on rec's and there is an easy mechanism to make one. If you have your own recs feel free.

[pigwithhair]

I started out on FanFiction. net back in my Star Wars days and then tried it again when I first became interested in HP fan fic but never found anything there.

Over time I've ended up sticking close to my home, Checkmated, though I read some stuff on SQ on occasion and SU and TQP once in a blue moon.

[MWPP]

I have seldom found a good fan fic. All that are my favourites have come through recommedations, sometimes by story, other times by author, from other readers.

I think it would be a great idea to have a running list of both (with easily clickable links) posted on a public bulletin board here, complete with either a review or at least any warnings of situational objectionable material/ratings.


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