I almost never read fanfic, not because I don't like it, but because the majority of stories (that I've read) are either out of character or completely out of tone with the show.
Terry, you have a good point. Stories need some drama. The show definitely had serious, emotional moments, but it did not dwell on them. There was always hope, even when there wasn't, and the show only focused enough to get a feel of the reality in the episode. When Clark almost died, they let us see the family's grief; but as soon as it was possible, they let us see their hope. We did not see Lois sobbing at her own place or Martha and Jonathan soberly waiting to hear news. We saw the next morning, and then came the call that Clark was awake.
For me, I'm just picky about characterization. If the first thing Lois does when finding out Clark's secret is think how great of a pulitzer it would make (even if she would never write it), I'll be turned off almost immediately. I don't care if it's in season one or later, or how many trust issues Lois has. She would never do that. Clark would never have fallen in love with someone as horrible as that. However, I realize some people have different opinions on this, and I respect that.
On the contrary, Clark running off after Lois rejects him in BatP and ceasing to help her is so completely out of character I can't even understand where the writer is coming from. Maybe they just wanted to explore another option-what would happen if Clark did this or that? And that's fine, except that Clark
didn't do this or that, since we know how he reacts; but more importantly, a lot of times Clark would
never do this or that. And that bugs me, because usually it's something that degrades the character.
No one's going to get a character perfectly, and I'm actually pretty good at ignoring things. But sometimes it does get to be a bit much, though that's just my opinion.
I'll read heavy angst if it's well-written. If Lois and Clark only get stronger through it, if there are hopeful moments in the darkness, and if they fix the situation together, I think it can make a great story. But if we had a circumstance like TAGD, where Clark is faced with a truly hopeless situation (if Clark can never come back from NK, or if he can't find another way to save his friends and the city at the same time), it's doesn't fit in well with the tone of the show or of Superman in general. Superman's all about hope, all about there being another way. I would prefer, in that situation, to read something more hopeful.
By all means, though, keep writing! I've seen some great writing out there, even if I'm not always the right audience for it!
