This is my half-assed attempt at explaining why and how I recommend the fic I do. It's probably incomplete, and no doubt at least a little confusing, but I'm doing my best here, okay?
I read in a lot of fandoms. Basically I'll read fic for any media that I've actually seen or read. I tend to seek out fic for smaller fandoms because of the sheer novelty--however I do not rec fics just to add another fandom to my list. I don't care of there's only one fic for a given fandom ever written--if it's crap, I'm not recommending it.
That said, I do rec imperfect fic. Sometimes I read a story, and I like it, but the grammar isn't especially good, or some of the characterization's a little wonky, or it has some typos. The question I have to ask myself is, Does the goodness outweigh the other stuff? Most of the time it does, because I don't read fic all the way through if I don't really like it. My list of "fic to read" rarely gets below 75. I just don't have time to read stuff unless it's very good. But...sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I like fic until the very end, and then I hate it.
So...what are the most important qualities for fic, to me? Dialogue and characterization are up at the top. I need to feel like these are the same characters from canon, and I need to feel like they're actually doing what they're doing. That means they need to have a fully-realized environment. I'm fine with different writing styles, genres, perspectives, etc.--as long as they're well-done. Plot is great, but I will only very rarely rec a story solely because of the plot.
I don't think I can better explain what "good fic" means to me, per se. The only way you'll really know if you like my taste is to look through the fics I rec and see what you think.
I originally didn't include ratings with my recommendations, because at the time I found myself purposely not reading fic just because of its rating, and then going back later and finding out the fic was good. I really didn't like that. Now my feelings on the matter have changed a little, and I'm now including ratings. I now feel like sometimes I'm just looking for a specific rating, because I really want a particular type of content, not because of a bias against any other ratings. To make things simpler, I only use the PG-NC-17 rating system. I also will never label a rec "G," even if that's what was originally used--I want to make it very clear that this site and all the recs it links to are for mature readers only. If a fic was originally unrated, I label it with a rating I feel is appropriate, for the sake of uniformity.
I like to say there is no kind of story that I won't read. And that's mostly true. It's why I don't put content warnings on my stories. There are a lot of great things I've been persuaded to read which I wouldn't have read if I looked at the warnings first. I feel like I'm cheating my readership by giving away key plot points. I usually do at least mention that the content of the story may be disturbing, sad, etc. I know some people are extremely squicked by certain topics. If it is so bad for them that they can't just stop reading a fic when they realize where it's heading, then this site is probably not for them. Sorry.
In a similar vein, there isn't any relationship/character, or lack thereof, I won't read--but there are some I prefer. I like a lot of 'ships--but often not the most popular ones. For example, there are only a few fandoms, most of them lit, where I prefer the canon pairings over the unconventional. When you go through my recs you will quickly see which relationships I especially like. When you only see a rec or two for a popular 'ship, you'll know why.
I find myself frequently recommending fic by certain authors. This always makes me a little uncomfortable, to be honest, because I've noticed a high level of elitism and cliquish behavior going on at a lot of recs pages. So, I'll take a moment here to explain: I have good friends in fandom, who write fanfic. Sometimes I recommend their stuff. Since they're my friends, I probably read more of their fic than other people's, too. Then there are other people in fandom whom I don't even know, whom I recommend a lot. And then there are a giant pile of people whose fics I would gladly recommend more, if they wrote more fic. But...to be honest, I rarely read fic because of who wrote it. And I always recommend fic, not authors. In fact I originally debated even including authors' names on this page, and ended up only doing so because it seems like the only way I ever find recs for my fic is when I do a Google for my name. So they're there as a courtesy to the author, not the reader.
So, yes, that's pretty much all I have to say about my fic recommendations. Except that I read at least 4 times more fic than ever make it to this page, and therefore, if you're here, it is indeed because your fic is excellent. Even if I make a critical comment about some aspect of the story. Because it wouldn't be here if I didn't love it. Yes.
Disclaimer:
This is a not-for-profit, fan-made website created for entertainment purposes only. Neither the site nor anyone connected with it are in any way officially affiliated with the original media on which the linked fiction is based. No infringement intended.
A panavatar.net production.