How to Read the Best Fanfiction on Fanfiction.Net

Because the Best Writing on the Site is Sometimes Hard to Find

Mimi Wex, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Aug 1, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Fanfiction is the term for stories of shows, books, or movies made by fans.

For those of you who don't know, www.fanfiction.net is the largest online database of archived fanfiction. The site has a wonderful categorization system, and you can find fanfiction on the site of almost any movie, TV show, or anime that you have seen.

However, there is a large downside to this wonderful archive: quality control.

You see, there is nothing stopping a writer who can barely put together a sentence from creating a story full of typos and mischaracterizations, and submitting it to the site.

This is why most fanfiction on fanfiction.net is mediocre. Many people dislike fanfiction because they claim it makes a mockery of the official work, from changing the personalities of characters completely, or inserting original characters into the storyline who are unrealistically perfect (a.k.a.: Mary Sue).

The amount of bad/barely-passable writing in various fandoms makes it difficult for the casual reader to find a truly impressive piece of fanfiction (and believe me, there are some incredible works out there). So how do you wade through everything and find what is best?

The following is my way of making sure that I read the best of what is available on fanfiction.net.

1.Find the show/movie/book/etc that you want to read about.

2. On the main page, you will find lots and lots of stories. Click on one with lots of reviews (or has an interesting summary)

3. Skim the story. If the writing is to your liking, then save the story. If not, repeat step 2.

4. After you are done saving, click on the author's profile.

5. On the author's profile, you will find works by the same author. These stories are worth checking out, because one story of their has already met your approval, and there is a high likelihood that their other stories will do the same.

6. Still on the author's profile, look through the author's favorite stories and authors.

7. Follow the favorites (both stories and authors) to other works you enjoy.

8. When you find another work you like, click on the author's profile and repeat step 5 again.

Also note:

In some popular sections, there is an option of where you can specify the rating of the story you want to find, and also which characters appear in the story. Taking this step before you browse the main page is a good idea if you want to find stories about specific characters, or if you only want to read non-graphic stories.

There are other ways to find good fanfiction on the site. Certainly, you can read browse through every fanfic there is, but that would take lots of time, and reading bad writing can hurt your head after a while.

Another way to easily find good fanfiction is to look through the various communities on fanfiction.net. This is an excellent way also to find pairings that you like best, as there are many communities dedicated to very specific romantic pairings. Furthermore, there is often also quality control on the communities, because fanfics must be approved before being submitted onto the community.

Published by Mimi Wex

myeh. I'm here. I write. View profile