What are your personal "green flags" before reading any fanfic?

I like 'what-if' fics that are over a certain amount a lot, because they tend to be well thought out (not always, but seeing what could happen is interesting). I also gravitate towards Gen, Canon pairings, and TBD for the same reasons as given above, but really rare/unusual pairings also draw me in.

I'm usually sold if I see the words " captured" "kidnapped" or "hostage", along with good grammar. pairings , I don't pay much attention too. (but if I see "Takari" or "Pokeshipping" or "Kelx Dom" I'm all over that.

I like plot-centric stuff, not romance based. that's why my stories include only minimal romance.

also things that are retellings of fairy tales, I usually go for. I love fairy tales.

What-ifs hook me.

"AU. Locke didn't give up faith on the Hatch and stuck it out with Mr. Eko."

Part of my thing with the abstract, not a full summary, just enough to make me wonder what else went wrong/how far we're jumping off ship. See how far a universe went wrong.

edited 24th Oct '13 7:21:29 PM by FOFD

Oh yes....but when I read the first chapter an realize that they don't just change the one aspect and keep adding unrelated changes and stuff I don't like (OC's, fanfiction clichés aso) this can turn into a red flag fast.

I'm encouraged if I see the fic appearing on the favorites or follows list of authors I like. If it's an unusual pairing that has a lot of comments, then I figure there must be something to it. To be honest I barely read summaries; I can skim the first chapter and see if I like it or not. (though "I suck at summaries" is obviously a red flag)

Original characters take a lot of skill to win me over. Typically my green flag regarding OCs is if they immediately provide interesting scenarios for the main characters, like exploring a part of their personality that might not otherwise come out as much but was established to exist in canon.

Agreeing with the above troper, if it has fairytales I'm all over it. If I'm getting Angela Carter feels from the first chapter, I'm sold.

I'm a sucker for First Contact.

I'm kind of odd about OCs. My general rule of thumb about them seems to be that they are more tolerable when part of backstory, or are used to make everything make sense (ex. it's a fic about the past and the OCs are a character's dead parents who were never even given real names). Heck, I've read a fic where an OC was a major character, but I was fine with it because the OC's parts were mostly diary writing as events of the past unfolded, and because the author wanted to not only explain how everyone was related but give a character a non-evil family member.

I also love crack pairing fics that try to develop the crack pairing in a logical way, so that you can see two characters getting together. (heck, crack pairings tend to catch my attention because it's never been done and popular pairings can quickly become annoying to see everywhere)

It really depends on the OC...I myself wrote once a story which featured an OC, though it was a villain, and it is easier to write villains that characters the readers are supposed to like.

True, villainous OCs are better, since a lot of media has one-shot villains (thus these OCs could be any one of them), and can be made interesting without turning into Sues more easily than heroic OCs (I once read a Teen Titans fanfic where the bad guy was a villain who was a former coworker of Beast Boy's dad, and she was really well done)

If a fanfic is a character introspective piece, I'll give it a try. It usually means the writer at least put a lot of thought into the character they picked, and that tends to translate into a good quality fanfic.

I like missing scenes, especially when they fill some holes I would like to see filled.

Missing scenes, fics that fill up canon plot holes (or make something in canon work), what-ifs, introspection, friendship, behind-the-scenes type of fics... I love them all.

I was originally going to say, "Anything that isn't in the red flag thread" But one thing that really stands out to me, and keeps me hooked on to a fic, is a good amount of world building. It may not be welcome in some fandoms or genres, but others, usually set in their AU's I tend to find really interesting.

Length, recommendations, interesting scenarios, author.

Length: One shots can be any length they want but ongoing works should be meaty enough to give me something to sink my teeth into. If I can finish too quickly it loses my interest. (For that reason I like to give some fics a chance to build up so there's a decent amount to read before I dive in).

Recommendations: If someone whose tastes matches up with mine (or at least has some overlap) points me in the direction I'll at least give it a go. (This site's fanfic recs pages are a boon in that regard)

Interesting scenarios: Pretty self explanatory I think. I tend to prefer plot driven stuff so an interesting set-up is generally a good sign.

Author: If the author has written something I've liked before, that's generally a good sign. Not universal as I've come across some what have written only one or two good fics and the rest are absolute clunkers. Similarly just because I like what someone writes doesn't mean that I'll also like what they recommend.

There is a writer who has written one series I absolutely adore...but I can't get into any of the other works. But not because they are bad, but simply because they dive into themes which don't interest me or which I consider off-putting.

I admit, if I see a on-shot which has 10.000 words or more, I immediately pay attention. Usually only the most dedicated writers put so much in one chapter instead of splitting it up.

And here I was thinking if my one-shots got too long I should split them into what usually turn out to be "four-shots."

Well, ymmv, some readers are intimidated by such long chapters, but in my experience they are the mark of a dedicated author who would rather put a lot of time in polishing his story instead of hastily posting it to get some praise.

Interesting. Personally how long I want my fics to be depends on my mood and whether I am reading it on my computer or my phone (longer fics on my phone, because I usually want to read something while on the train every day instead of searching when the internet might cut out, computer I usually have other things I should be doing). I only ever look at one-shots under 1k if they're on Tumblr or if I trust the author.

Fic recommendation pages are amazing, but sometimes when searching through recommendations I get really angry when I see an inordinate amount of fic recs being focused on one pairing, season, or set of characters. (The only reason I don't put tons of season 2 character focused fic recommendations for Young Justice on this site's recommendations page is because I don't want to clog it up... but I get so tempted...)

I myself tend to write chapters ranging from 7,000 to sometimes 10,000 words, of course most of what I write tend to include the different perspectives from different characters and are formed into something of a Game of Thrones episode. While I could just do one character perspective per chapter (Which would probably be around 1,500-3000 words), I feel more satisfied with what I've written when I've covered a lot of ground in a single chapter.

I can see why it can be bothersome to some, though, myself personally I prefer reading long fics that hold a lot of detail in the setting yet still cover enough ground. Sometimes I feel unsatisfied when a single chapter is nothing more than a conversation, it can be an important conversation that can have repercussions, but if they say left to go to a food market at the beginning of the chapter and don't reach it at the end, then I feel like the story isn't moving along as fast as it could be.

I have two rules for my chapters (only exception are Interludes): 1. they have to be at least 1.000 words long (it is actually hard to write less) and 2. they should bring the main arc at least one step forward.

The latter is mostly a rule for fanfiction, because, well, with a regular book that is less an issue, since the writers can just go to the next one immediately. But if you post your story in chunks, you better give the reader something new, or he will be disappointed about the lack of development.

I like my stories to have good flow (although that's a general fiction rule). Sometimes long chapters can just feel like a dead weight, because even if something is happening it's taking way to long in the chapter for it to happen. Chapters less than 1000 words feel like I'm eating flavorless popcorn- quick and easy, but with so little substance you wonder why you bother.

Some writers make shorter chapters work well, some writers work well with longer chapters, and some are flexible. It just really depends on the writer.

My issue with less than 1000 words chapter is that I like to "sink" into the story. Reading a chapter which has less than this gives me barely time to sink under the surface.

I completely agree. I myself like to keep my chapters almost episodic so that each, if not most of the characters get to advance in one way or the other, accomplish something, lose something, uncover a mystery, uncover a truth, otherwise it's unsatisfactory as both a reader and a writer.

And I agree, as someone who both adds as much detail into surroundings as I can while adding ship-loads of dialogue between characters, even when it's just fun/pointless babble, I find it basically impossible to write under 1,000 words. I find myself having to go back and shorten it as much as I can without "Wrecking" the story, otherwise I'd be worried that the length could bother some people.

my chapters are usually 1,500-5,000 words, depending on how much needs to happen before I get to a good end point. (I consider Wham Line cliffhangers good end points,though, so....) but yeah, 500 word chapters are not something I enjoy much.

I tend to try for at least 2,000-3,000 words on my regular, multi-chapter stories, but I think my record is 7,000 or so. I'll usually stop a chapter when there is a major timeshift and/or character POV shift.

edited 1st Nov '13 10:46:35 AM by ScorpioRat