Find Good Fanfiction
Let's face it--FF.net is a dump! There are loads of boring stories that you don't even want to bother to read! Instead of wading knee-deep through grammar mistakes and spelling errors, you'll be able to find an exciting story that takes your breath away!
Steps
- Don't overuse the filters. The filters can help find specific characters that you like to read about, but cutting out too much of the content can lead you to overlooking some of the best stories. However, if you can use them sparingly, they may offer some good choices. While you may want to only find completed stories, many of the best stories out there are still in progress. Be especially careful of filtering out all "Mature" material, as many writers include that tag "just in case" despite not having any content that would be objectionable to even the average older child.
- Remember author names. If you come across a really good author that you like, chances are they'll have something else that you like. On FF.net you can make a user account and add the best stories to your favorites and then check the author of the story for more fanfics. If you are browsing through LiveJournal or other sites, make a note of the author's name and add it to a list to look for later.
- Google fanfiction recommendations. There are loads of fic recommendation everywhere on the Internet. LiveJournal and discussion forums for specific fandoms are good sources of lists for you to explore. Large fandoms such as Harry Potter or Naruto have pages and discussion forums specialized for specific pairings and genres.
- Look at the favorites list of the authors. If an author has written something you like, the chances are they will recommend higher quality stories than the average reviewer.
- Don't limit yourself to fanfiction.net. Go to other sources, such as LiveJournal or fanfic lists for a specific fandom and see what wonders await you there. Authors also sometimes have personal websites where they post stories, which goes back to paying attention to author names.
- Keep an open mind. Just because an author does not use your preferred pairing or subscribe your particular pet theory about a show doesn't mean their story can't be enjoyable. While you may not personally like OC's or some pairing, don't immediately write the story off just because it includes that in the summary. Read a chapter or two and see if the writer's style is engaging.
- Read the summaries. A good shortcut to know if a story is worth the time to read it is by looking at the summary. If it has misspellings, all lowercase, or phrases like "I suck at summaries, just read it" you should simply skip over it. While it's possible you might miss a good story that way, you will certainly avoid wasting a lot of time wading through poorly written stories. Likewise, if you start and fic and you find that the first chapter is riddled with mistakes, drop the story before you invest a lot of time in something that won't be satisfying.
- Search through communities. Communities (CCs) hand pick stories with specific qualities to them that there are no filters for. Look for communities with large numbers of members but not too many recommendations.
- Look at people's favorites section. Look for people with fewer stories on their favorites list and that include stories that you have already read and liked.
Tips
- Make an account. If you have an account, it lets you save all your favourite fics and authors, as well as giving you the option to be alerted when an update/ new posting by an author has occurred.
- Pay a quick visit to MediaMiner.org. They have featured stories and winners of contests for you to read.
- Also, keep in mind that there maybe stories that are really popular, but may be written in a way that you really don't like, or not of high quality. While a high review count/favorite count can help prioritize your search, it should not restrict or define it. There are many higher quality fics buried far down the list by a mass of bloated stories with younger (read immature and not discerning) fans.
- Make sure you accept all ratings. This is how many mature and fascinating fanfictions are easily missed. Bear in mind, by default FF.net excludes Mature rated fics from the listings. You need to change the filters or you will be missing a large percentage of stories.
- Don't be fooled by a summary. While a badly written summary probably indicates a story you should skip, a meager introduction does not mean the story is bad.
- There are options that let you sort by the number of reviews or favorites. The more people who review each chapter of a story, the better it will probably be. However, there are very big exceptions to this.
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