Reading SPN Fanfic
Aug. 20th, 2009 08:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonshaydeI've found this is very hard for me to do. I don't read as much as I like, but I also have a hard time finding what I do like.
I'm a picky reader. I have been for a long time. When I first started reading SG-1 fic, I read anything I could get my hands on. I went nuts. But after years in the fandom, I started to filter what I read until by the end there were only a few authors and types of stories I could read.
This apparently has carried over into SPN fandom. I won't read Wincest or most OC fic, though I've read a couple OC fic from writers on my flist that I enjoyed. Mind you, most of the time I don't get a chance to read anything due to time constraints, and I barely can write anymore. But I try to sneak some in every now and then.
In addition to not reading Wincest and most OC fic, I tend to not read ship fic, unless it's someone I know, and I stay away from the heavy crack stuff, virtually all hurt/comfort since there tends to be too much smarm, and anything where I feel the characters are wildly OOC. Now, everyone has their own definition of what is in character and what isn't, so I don't claim to be the authority on this. I just don't find much fic that models how I see the characters, just like I'm sure some people have looked at my fic and have gone, um no. LOL
Smarm drives me most insane, I think, though I enjoy a good fic that has character development for both brothers and has them care for each other without reaching smarmy levels. I can't deal with excessive whumping, either, though I have a major soft spot for hurt!Dean with Sam trying to help him, yet again I wish to avoid smarm and want Dean to be proactive, too. I prefer canon, but I've read a couple of AUs that were great. I like humor, but prefer stuff that isn't silly. I think some charm/hex/spell fics are great, but if they are too cracky I tend to stop reading the fic. I hate deathfic.
Is it any wonder that I don't find anything to read when I am this picky? LOL
There are many great writers that write the above type of fic. Writers I think are talented. I just keep shying away from different "subgenres" in SPN fic.
There are always exceptions. If I am in a particular mood and feel like doing something different, I might read something that I normally don't. I've read fanfic here on my flist that I normally wouldn't touch at all - that's a testament how much I trust your writing and also how I value you as a friend - but overall there seems to be certain things I want and desire and I am so so finicky about them.
Of course, when I write I tend to break many of my no-no's as long as I feel I can stay within character. But again, what is in character and what isn't is subjective depending who you talk to.
What about you? What kinds of fic do you avoid? What kinds do you like?
I'm a picky reader. I have been for a long time. When I first started reading SG-1 fic, I read anything I could get my hands on. I went nuts. But after years in the fandom, I started to filter what I read until by the end there were only a few authors and types of stories I could read.
This apparently has carried over into SPN fandom. I won't read Wincest or most OC fic, though I've read a couple OC fic from writers on my flist that I enjoyed. Mind you, most of the time I don't get a chance to read anything due to time constraints, and I barely can write anymore. But I try to sneak some in every now and then.
In addition to not reading Wincest and most OC fic, I tend to not read ship fic, unless it's someone I know, and I stay away from the heavy crack stuff, virtually all hurt/comfort since there tends to be too much smarm, and anything where I feel the characters are wildly OOC. Now, everyone has their own definition of what is in character and what isn't, so I don't claim to be the authority on this. I just don't find much fic that models how I see the characters, just like I'm sure some people have looked at my fic and have gone, um no. LOL
Smarm drives me most insane, I think, though I enjoy a good fic that has character development for both brothers and has them care for each other without reaching smarmy levels. I can't deal with excessive whumping, either, though I have a major soft spot for hurt!Dean with Sam trying to help him, yet again I wish to avoid smarm and want Dean to be proactive, too. I prefer canon, but I've read a couple of AUs that were great. I like humor, but prefer stuff that isn't silly. I think some charm/hex/spell fics are great, but if they are too cracky I tend to stop reading the fic. I hate deathfic.
Is it any wonder that I don't find anything to read when I am this picky? LOL
There are many great writers that write the above type of fic. Writers I think are talented. I just keep shying away from different "subgenres" in SPN fic.
There are always exceptions. If I am in a particular mood and feel like doing something different, I might read something that I normally don't. I've read fanfic here on my flist that I normally wouldn't touch at all - that's a testament how much I trust your writing and also how I value you as a friend - but overall there seems to be certain things I want and desire and I am so so finicky about them.
Of course, when I write I tend to break many of my no-no's as long as I feel I can stay within character. But again, what is in character and what isn't is subjective depending who you talk to.
What about you? What kinds of fic do you avoid? What kinds do you like?
