Fannish Preferences
I made these lists before writing my NaNo as a guide for my own writing, and then decided I'd like to have it up as a reference to point to, so here it is!
Things I Love (in no particular order--I may have gotten carried away):
-Hurt/Comfort. So. Much. Sex is nice but not always necessary. Explicit porny sex, fade-to-black sex, soft-focus-romance-novel sex, no sex at all? All of them work. It's more the whole process--the fear/worrying and subsequent relief/joy--that makes me happy. And really, the best kind of H/C for me is when there is a bedside vigil involved. Unconsciousness? Fever? Delirium? The whole confessing to someone you think is asleep or unconscious, but they heard you all along? Yeah, I'm a fan. ♥
-Character-driven pieces
-Girls kicking ass
-Smart characters (being smart!)
-Witty humor, dry humor, intellectual humor
-Best friends
-Sidekicks, mentors, teachers and their relationships with the main character and each other I have SUCH A THING for sidekicks. Ron Weasley. Robin. Lois Lane. Xander. The overlooked background people.
-Unexpected characters kicking ass. Damsel in distress saving the Prince? The retired hero saving the day? The child everyone thinks can't do anything because they're 'just a kid' saving the day? Yup.
-Characters not getting along, getting into stressful situations and seeing that there's more to one another than they previously thought, bonding under stress, eventually getting along? Yup, I like it.
-Happy endings.
-Alternate POVs
-5 Things fics (or any number! Really, I enjoy any kind of storytelling--standard storytelling, fun formats, whatever!)
-The Redeeming Power of Loooooove. Yes. I said it. Redemption! Through Love! It doesn't have to be romantic love, though. But I'm a sucker for that, too.
-Okay, anything happening because of love. You're dying, and you think of your daughter and it helps you pull through? The thought of your wife pulls you back from the abyss? Gives you the strength to go on? A second wind? Yeah. Giant girl here.
-Redemption
-Parent-child relationships
-Sibling relationships
-Selfless sacrifice. I know, I know. But it works for me. Martyrdom, not so much, though.
-Character A is angry/hurt/scared/sad, character B calms them down and makes them happy.
-Snuggling
-Friendship or family fics
-Kid-fic
-Time travel
-What-ifs and AUs
-Playing around with canon
-Oh yeah, porn. ;) But with plot, please.
-Het, gen and slash! OT3s! (With the caveat that I prefer my OT3s to be stable and balanced, rather than feeling like an excuse to be with someone without technically cheating.)
-The occasional cliché (stuck in a cave! Must snuggle or have sex for warmth! one bed, oh no! etc)
-Happy, fluffy schmoop
-Angst with a happy ending
-Traveling Quests (Holy cow, so much. Lord of the Rings, Deathly Hallows, anyone?)
-Betrayal/Secrets/Lies exposed, with eventual forgiveness for love interests/friends/most family
-Happy endings
...I'm really, really, really easy to please. ;)
Things I am not especially fond of:
-Femslash (I do not mind it, but it is not really my thing, and I have to squint hard to see it. Brittany/Santana from GLEE are about the only f/f pairing I ship that's not canon. I'd much prefer to read about strong, powerful female friendships.)
-Stupid humor, physical humor, embarrassment humor
-Martyr characters (woe is me, pity me)
-Irredeemably evil characters (okay, irredeemable evil is acceptable for some villains)
-Action stories with little characterization
-Lots of typos/spelling/canon errors
-Purple prose (I once found a book on writing that said "don't ever use the phrase 'purple-helmeted warrior of love' when you mean 'penis'." This is what I mean by purple prose.)
Things that may make me cry:
-Deathfic
-Character bashing/making a character awful just to break up a canon couple
-INCEST. Sorry, this is a huuuuge squick for me.
-I'm kind of vanilla where it comes to porn. A little kink is fine, but pain and suffering or embarrassment or anything non-con or dub-con is not my thing.
My list of likes is a whole lot longer than my list of dislikes. ;) Please don't take these lists as a judgment on your tastes, if something on it is what you enjoy. It's just a matter of personal taste, but I make no judgments on people who do like them!