Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Rate Fanfics by Genre

I've often wondered what sort of stories the FoLCs prefer... so I though why not ask you to sort them according to your own priority.

Here are the basic categories that I could come up with - stories of Lois and CLark, both NFic and PGFic of any length included:-

1.. Romance/ WaFFy
2.. Erotic (Roleplay, public seduction, pheromone stuff etc., not mild tender romance)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
4.. Dating
5.. Married
6.. Revelation
7.. Elseworld (historical/ new beginnings)
8.. Altworld (another Universe)
9.. Paranormal (supernatural/ horror etc.)
10. Superfutures (Focus on LnC's kids and their life )
11. Married, with small kids
12. Pre-revelation (partners/ friends/ lovers)
13. A-Plot (Villains)
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
15. Lois/Clark dating other people
16. Episode Rewrites
17. Angst/ Drama
18. Crossovers


Can you please sort them according to your liking?
Here's mine, starting with the most favorite...

1.. Romance/ WaFFy
2.. Erotic (Roleplay, public seduction, pheromone stuff etc., not mild tender romance)
5.. Married
4.. Dating
11. Married, with small kids
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
6.. Revelation
16. Episode Rewrites
17. Angst/ Drama
12. Pre-revelation (partners/ friends/ lovers)
7.. Elseworld (historical/ new beginnings)
13. A-Plot (Villains)
9.. Paranormal (supernatural)
8.. Altworld (another Universe)
18. Crossovers
10. Superfutures (Focus on LnC's kids and their life )
15. Lois/Clark dating other people
14. Deathfics (of main characters)

... ending with least favorite.

Great idea to rate the genres, Coolgirl! My list is quite similar to yours, although it is not identical:

1.. Romance/ WaFFy
2.. Erotic (Roleplay, public seduction, pheromone stuff etc., not mild tender romance)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
6.. Revelation
5.. Married
11. Married, with small kids
17. Angst/ Drama
8.. Altworld (another Universe)
7.. Elseworld (historical)
12. Pre-revelation (partners/ friends/ lovers)
16. Episode Rewrites
4.. Dating
9.. Panorama (supernatural)
13. A-Plot (Villains)
18. Crossovers
10. Superfutures (Focus on LnC's kids and their life )
15. Lois/Clark dating other people
14. Deathfics (of main characters)


Let me make a few comments on my list. I just love, love, love WAFF and romance. As for the erotic stories, I really want them to be at least somewhat WAFFy and romantic, too. I need them to be character-driven and have some sort of a plot beyond the merely sexual, because if Lois and Clark just take off their clothes, I'm a bit bored. I have to say: I waited for more years than I care to remember for Lois and Clark to take the next step (and not having it completely ruined the next moment and never making it right again), so if Lois and Clark have sex, that is in itself an enormously important added bonus to me. I mean, I still almost can't believe that they would actually do it! However, I don't necessarily need to see the sex scene described in great detail - but I do need them to be strongly affected by it.

(Oh, and... I have to admit... I do think that some stories are in themselves just unbelievably sexy... such as a recent Sue story where Lois and Clark actually did it in an alley.... )

I just love a well-written comedy!

As for revelation... I know that a lot of people here get their greatest kick out of hearing Lois say "Clark, I love you". Well, when it comes to things I want them to say, my hands-down favorite is "Lois, I'm Superman".

The good thing about married stories is that you know that at least they have sex! Of course, for me to really like the married story, I need their sex life to be at least somewhat commented on. At the same time, I need their married story to be more than a "just sex" story.

I really, really like it when Lois and Clark have children! Maybe I should have put the "married with children" above the just "married" stories. A risk, when it comes to the "married with children" stories, is that the focus of the stories is on Clark teaching his kids how to be super, while Lois is pushed into the background and given a housewifely role.

I'm not too much into angst, but a good drama can be absolutely riveting. I'm assuming that there will be an at least somewhat happy ending.

I like both altworld and elseworld stories. I like seeing Lois and Clark being put in different situations than the ones we are used to. And then I love to see how they prove themselves to be really Lois and Clark anyway.

Pre-revelation...I don't know. It depends. I assume there will be no revelation in such a story, which is disappointing. However, Coolgirl pointed out the possibility that Lois and Clark might be lovers in such a story. Now that would be fascinating.

Episode rewrites... well, I haven't even seen most episodes, so to me that is not so fantastically interesting. I mean, I have nothing against episode rewrites, don't get me wrong, but to me this particular genre holds little additional fascination. (Although even I think that some episodes offer fantastic possibilities... TOGOM anyone? )

Dating... how come I put that so way, way down the list? It's because I'm assuming that there will no revelation and certainly no sex in these stories. If there were, they would be defined as revelation stories or erotic stories. There will also not be a great amount of humour in them, because then they would be defined as humorous. Dating, defined simply as dating, where Lois possibly tells Clark that she loves him, and she and Clark exchange a tender kiss... it's sweet. But I'm bored.

Panorama... as a non-religious person, I'm sort of put off by the supernatural. I have a particularly hard time with creatures that seem to be linked to either the Devil or God, like vampires or angels, so I have to make a conscious effort to believe every time the supernatural critters appear. Of course, a great writer can write a great story about the supernatural. Alcyone is doing a great job with her vampire story right now.

A-plot... the less I have to see of villains, the happier I am. Really.

Crossovers... there are some great crossovers, as Shayne proved to us recently with his Buffy crossover. For the most part, I find it irritating to have a whole set of other people running around in the story and interfering with Lois and Clark's life.

Superfutures... hey, they are not Lois and Clark stories!!! Chances are we will see extremely little of Lois in particular.

Lois/Clark dating other people... gaah. Of course, such a story may still turn out great, if Lois and Clark find their way back to each other after a lot of trials and tribulations. But if they actually end up with other people, then there is only one kind of story that I dislike more. And that is, of course...

...the deathfic!!! Especially the Lois deathfic. Need I say more? No, I don't think so.

Ann

Great and fun idea, Coolgirl!

1.. Romance/ WaFFy
2.. Erotic (Roleplay, public seduction, pheromone stuff etc., not mild tender romance)(Minus the phermone)!
6.. Revelation
5.. Married
12. Pre-revelation (partners/ friends/ lovers)
16. Episode Rewrites
4.. Dating
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
11. Married, with small kids
10. Superfutures (Focus on LnC's kids and their life )
17. Angst/ Drama
15. Lois/Clark dating other people (A gal can wish right; about Clark, that is)!

As far as I am concerned the bottom 5 can "all go away!" Lol.

8.. Altworld (another Universe)
7.. Elseworld (historical)
9.. Panorama (supernatural)
13. A-Plot (Villains)
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
18. Crossovers

Mona

Who says we can't post it here, Mona? Sue's nfic is called Lunch


Romance/ WaFFy - which would include married, dating, etc, so I suppose it has to be tops. But, importantly, there must be some substance to the waff, or what's the point. Same goes for the next one.

Erotic (Roleplay, public seduction, pheromone stuff etc., not mild tender romance)

Angst/ Drama - but this depends on the subject matter... SQD's What Makes a Man upset me beyond belief when I read it a couple of months ago - I couldn't sleep for 2 nights I was so disturbed! DO NOT READ this; if you're anything like me you'll wish you hadn't!

Revelation

Dating

Episode Rewrites - TOGOM, anyone? (edit: Great minds, Ann)

Pre-revelation (partners/ friends/ lovers)

Deathfics (of main characters) - looks like it's only me, but I love a good deathfic. They're cathartic - I have a little cry and then forget it. Although I do hate deathfics where one of their kids dies. I can't stomach those!

Married - can be dull.

Married, with small kids

Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy - hard to do well

Lois/Clark dating other people - they're usually guaranteed to come to their senses eventually.

Superfutures (Focus on LnC's kids and their life ) - though I'm loving Honesty

Altworld (another Universe) - I'm only really interested in our LnC; but don't mind if one of them goes to an altuniverse, or someone like AltClark comes to ours.

Crossovers - depends on the crossover

Elseworld (historical)

Panorama (supernatural) - don't you mean paranormal?

My own special worst fic genre 'category' :The ones where Clark suffers some sort of physical damage. Like when he comes home from NK(something else I don't like) minus an arm or whatever, and you see how they cope with that. I just can't stand those (SQD! ). Lois can suffer a similar fate and it doesn't bother me for some reason, but not Clark.

I’ll bite and give my rationale:

Angst/Drama- Any fic that makes me feel that the characters earned their happy ending through trials and tribulations, often learning something in the process will catch my attention. Particularly if it swerves away from rosy picture-perfect visions of the characters. In fact, the more flawed the characters, the more muck they have to wade through, the more interested I am and the more likely I am to get emotionally invested.

A-plot- I really enjoy a tightly plotted story. It makes the adrenaline rush and serves as a counterpoint for the relationship. Nothing like a good mystery to solve or a worthy villain to pit against our heroes, so they can show us how smart and resourceful they are.

Alt World- Some of my fave fics have been alt-worlds. There is such freedom in this category and yet, the authors who I admire, still somehow manage to keep the feel of the characters that I’m comfy with (though I admit, this is not hard for me, I’m pretty flexible ).

Pre-revelation- I like the suspense, the possibilities that a pre-revelation fic has going for it. In what ways does the not knowing affect the story?

Revelation- How can I like angst and NOT like revelation fics? I always like seeing how authors will depict the characters reactions. How do they overcome the whole deceit thing? How does the timing of the relationship change things?

Episode Rewrite- It depends on which of course, but they’re generally interesting. I do confess to not being very into reading fanfic that seeks to be _just like the series_ I prefer my fic to go into new non-ABC territories. The episode rewrites that do this are the ones that catch my eye.

Erotic- I have to admit I’m not so much of a PWP fan. Some are quite good regardless, but it’s what sex means in the context of a story that I find interesting (and the best PWPs gesture to this). How does this sort of intimacy affect the relationship?

Elseworld- Meh, I am not much of a fan of the LnC historical genre, but it might just be that I haven’t found the right one yet. I’m not opposed to it.

LnC dating others—Is this a genre? I dunno, I suppose I’m okay with this if it’s some sort of plot device (Yes, I’m that shallow and hurray for plot devices!) that shows us some character depth.

Deathfics- I have nothing against them, it’s just they feel so final. It’s hard for them to feel original and not cliché to me. It’s a genre thing, I suppose. A deathfic usually can’t go anywhere but down.

Romance/Waffy- See my main interest could broadly be called romance since it’s the relationship of the characters that draws me, but I'm just not that into the "awww" moments, if I don't feel them 'earned' in some way.

Panorama- I don’t know what this means exactly. I haven’t encountered enough supernaturally tinged fics--unless you mean fics that have telepathy as some sort of plot device. That’s another awesome plot device.

Married- More than anything I would need some sort of big time conflict--be it a-plot or b-plot. I generally look away because married fics tend to present the couple as being to ideal for my tastes.

Humor- Very iffy for me. My sense of humor is twisted, so LnC humor rarely gets me.

Married with Children- Nope. Unless there is a slamming A-plot involving the kiddies, I’m not even looking in that direction

Superfutures- Not so much interested in other people that are not LnC

Crossovers- I just can’t have two fandoms in my head at the same time.


That said, this is a general sketch of my preferences. I've found married fics I've liked and waffy fics that have made even me feel all gooey, not to mention various blends--like a-plots and drama and revelations, etc. It ultimately depends on the story and how it's written.


alcyone

Skimming this thread, I was a little puzzled by this:

Do you mean paranormal?

Also, a suggestion: if what you're interested in is the popularity or otherwise of particular genres, you could turn this into a poll.


Wendy

How do I turn this into a poll?

If you go to the Forum Home page, you can find, at the very bottom, the Fun With Polls folder. Open it and follow the instructions about how to post a poll. The first time I did it, I found it hard to understand and follow the instructions (I can be unbelievably dense sometimes). In this case, you are probably going to need just one question - How would you rank the following LnC genres according to your preferences? - and then I guess some computer function would tally the answers and come out with a "perfect" list.

Ann

Before this gets turned into a poll I'll list my genre preferences which might not exactly follow the given lists.

1. Loiscentric fics.
2. Fics where Jimmy is horribly killed or maimed.
3. Everything else.

Tank (who likes to keep things simple)

As an nfic writer, I have to take exception to your second category of erotic being considered "roleplay, public seduction, pheremone stuff, etc., not mild tender romance." So what about everything else in the nfic folder that doesn't fall into those categories? There are a lot of nfic writers whose work does not fall into the parameters you have set, and therefore must not be considered erotic?!?

Ironic, considering a lot of my favorite nfics, including "Platonic," "Mxysplit," "What Are Friends For," "Walk In My Shoes," and "The Next Step" are incredibly sensual and hot. But I guess there isn't a category for them?

I personally think "mild, tender romance" is WAFF and can be done as gfic. However, I think "erotic" is a much broader term than just roleplaying or "pheremone stuff," (whatever that is) and public seduction. But by these terms, the middle-of-the-night lovemaking in "Walk In My Shoes," L&C's ice-cream sundae in my "Inside Out," and the kitchen scene in "Faustian Bargain," all of which have been brought up as incredibly sexy scenes, aren't considered erotic because they didn't take place in public.

And honestly, I am not a fan of "rating" fanfics anyway. I think it could make some people feel bad about their preferred genre of writing of people start rating it low and/or with comments that could hurt feelings. After all, not everyone responds to polls and posts. But that's just my opinion.

Eh... sorry... I can't remember "Walk In My Shoes"... who wrote it?

Ann

I think that was one of Sheila's wasn't it? Hang on...yup, it is. You can find it at Annesplace .

LabRat

I like plot-heavy fics if the fics are of any real length. Keep the romance and the humor and work it in to the story. But have a plot - plot may be character introspective and doesn't require a villain, but it has to be more than 70+ pages devoted to Lois and Clark getting together. Prefer to be set after finale - with kids or not is fine. I also really like Clark-childhood fics revolving around Clark and his discovery of how different he is and his relationship with his parents (but don't want Lois in those).

For little shorties, romance and humor. And just "moment in time" fics where it's all about a character's reaction to an event - Superman's first appearance, announcement of Nightfall, etc. Love "The Child Who Fell From the Sky" too, and fics like that.

I really, really, enjoy a good crossover. It's hard to find one where everyone is in character and there's a plot (besides them meeting), but when you find a good one, it's great. I do not like crossovers where it seems the only reason they meet each other is so they can fix each other's love lives. I do like team-ups against common foes or one helping the other. And sometimes short little one-sceners can be great, if characterization and circumstance is right. Or if it's humor and one character totally mis-evaluates the other character(s).

I do like AUs - with plots. And with Lois as a reporter. Just can't get into fics where she's not a reporter. I love seeing things happen a different way, them meet differently, etc.

I do not care for historical, fairy tale, or any different time-frame (future on a space-station) elseworlds, but I do like those where the whole world is different than ours - different government, plague, etc.

Future generations - depends on the plot and characterization, and they have to be grownups, not kids. Again, with plots. But I do prefer a love interest be brought in, as I love romance.

As a general rule, I do not like episode re-writes or revelation fics. Too attached to canon. If it's a complete AU, then great, but I don't like putting a different course of events into the existing story, if that makes any sense. One exception though, is "All Shook Up" - I'm just a sucker for amnesia fics and will read any ep-rewrite I see of this one.

Don't like death fics. I'm a happy-ending person. Also have no interest in seeing them date others (I'm good with canonical stories set when they were dating others, just not with adding new characters for that purpose or making the other relationships more than they were).

I don't have much time to make a list, so I'll just give you my number one.

REVELATIONS!

Hands down--I'm a sucker for revelations. This thread was a great idea, btw. I wish I had time to make a list.

I don't think this poll is about just NFics. Lots of NFics fall under the other categories out there numbered 1,3,4,5...18! Probably the only exclusive NFic category is the "Erotic" one.

As for the definition, I think the etc. there means a lot of other possibilities exist! Not that I'm arguing that what I've said there is the only apt definition, but I still think that the other stuff you mentioned would come under "Hot, sensual" category... which unfortunately I omitted, but not deliberately as you've implied!

And I never mentioned that my list is exhaustive or that I couldn't have omitted any category.

Nope. I checked out Annesplace, I checked out Sheila's stories there, and I checked out the stories listed under "W". No Walk In My Shoes.

Ann

EDIT: Yes! There is a Sheila and a Sheila Harper at Annesplace. I checked out the wrong Sheila.

(But Walk In My Shoes still isn't listed alphabetically. )

It's listed alphabetically on the list that I can see, Ann. The first entry under W. And under Sheila's name, the last entry under "Solo Efforts".

Kathy

I've always found the Annesplace site a bit hard to navigate. Maybe I'm looking at a gfic list instead of an nfic one. Indeed, that is almost certainly the case, since the first story listed is Wendy's 24 Hours, which isn't an nfic. If so, though, I can't find the list where nfics titles are listed alphabetically.

Ann

EDIT: Okay, I found it.

Okay, well, usually my writing tastes tend to differ from my reading tastes, so I shall make a list for each one.

My list of what I like to read basically has two categories. They are 'what I like to read' and 'what I don't like to read.'

Within these two, they have no specific order.

1.. Romance/ WaFFy
2.. Erotic (Roleplay, public seduction, pheromone stuff etc., not mild tender romance)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
9.. Paranormal (supernatural/ horror etc.)
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
4.. Dating
5.. Married
6.. Revelation
7.. Elseworld (historical)
8.. Altworld (another Universe)
12. Pre-revelation (partners/ friends/ lovers)
13. A-Plot (Villains)
16. Episode Rewrites
17. Angst/ Drama


And this group, I really do think that it really depends on the story. I've read some of each that I really enjoy. *nods*

10. Superfutures (Focus on LnC's kids and their life )
18. Crossovers
11. Married, with small kids
15. Lois/Clark dating other people

Now, the following is a list of what I enjoy writing the most, and although my tastes vary, this is basically in order.

14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
17. Angst/ Drama
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy
14. Deathfics (of main characters)
3.. Humorous/ Playful/ Comedy

For some reason, I don't think that deathfic will be going away, much to the dissapointment of some people... Much as I am (painfully) aware that, woe me, some of the fic I don't really care for won't go away, either...

LOL, Catherine. Your inner Grim Reaper triumphs!

c.

I found a really cool picture, illustrating this kill-laugh behaviour, but I couldn't post it. So imagine I didn't post this.

Ann

PM me the link!!!

I wish, Coolgirl, but I can't even find the picture any more.

However... speaking of new ideas for deathfics... (not that I want to give Brucie any ideas, mind...) and maybe getting a bit of a laugh out of it as well... how about this image?



Ann

Oh Ann! You made my day!

I've never laughed so much in my entire life, and from what my hubby says, neither has he!

I use Google to search... how else do you find anything? (I think I asked for Google to find images illustrating the concept "off with her head" or something....)

But guess what I don't know? It's how the rest of you manage to find all those great Lois and Clark images. Google offers only a few LnC images, and when I've exhausted those, I'm stumped!

Ann

I always thought that Alt-fics referred strictly to the alt-universe seen on the show, and elseworlds referred to new beginnings.

Given what I normally write, it's obvious I like new beginnings.

I love revelations and A-plots and angst and drama. I like the occasional crossover as well, although they are hard to do well. I like dating and romance.

In the middle are superfutures, and pre-revelations.

My least favorites are erotic, married with children, married and episode re-writes (although I’ve seen the occasional brilliant re-write.) Deathfics aren’t my favorite, although they don’t revolt me like they do Ann.

(I like the occasional nfic, but usually I like them because they fit into another category, like a-plot, revelations or angst.)

Those are my favorite categories.

I’ve been thinking about this since the discussion began, trying to figure out what my favorite genre is. And... I realized that I don’t really have one. I mean, there are a couple I don’t like. I’m not a fan of death fics or of fics where Lois or Clark end up with someone else - just because I thrive on happy endings (which to me is Lois and Clark living happily ever after - or at least until the next story ). On the other hand, I don’t have a problem if people want to write such stories - ‘cause I can just skip to another story I’d rather read (and these days, I don’t have time to read much anyway )

But mostly, I want everything. I want waff. I want romance. I want playful. I want cute. I want comedy. I want naughty (as in, the ‘n’ in nfic). I want suspense. I want A-plots and B-plots. I want villains and drama and angst... In short, I want it all! I don’t care if Lois and Clark are friends or colleagues or dating or married or have children or are old. I don’t care if it’s an elseworld fic or an alternate universe or a previous or a future incarnation. I don’t care if it’s a completely new story, an episode re-write or an in-betweenie (remember those?).

What I’m looking for in a story is something that will capture my imagination and that will bring the characters that we all know and love to life for me once again.

In other words, give me a good Lois and Clark story and I’ll be happy.

ML

Amen to that!

And that's why I wish you'd post stories more often, ML.

Right on, ML. When coolgirl first began this thread, I thought it was simple enough. But I discovered that actually it was harder than it looked. I may not enjoy Genre A as much as Genre B, but then there's that story by Author X that I really loved, so maybe I do like A after all... And then there are always exceptions to any rule that mess up the entire equation.

I ended up not making a list because I kept contradicting myself. So I think I'll just go with your sensible answer.


LabRat

ME too, Labby! ME TOO!

Well, I still think it was a fun idea, coolgirl.

LabRat

Hi,

ML, you are a reader and writer after my own heart. I agree totally with everything you say.

But reading the lists, I now see why the fics I write aren't very popular. My stories seem to tick every box of the bottom requirements for fics.

Oh, well. I suppose I always knew that, but I have to write what I'm comfortable with, and I think I do have a few loyal readers out there.

Yours Jenni

Reading through the different types of stories I have to say that I have definite likes and dislikes with a group that I read but I don't have a strong opinion about.

So my list:

1. Romantic - be it pre- or post-revelation.
2. Humorous - particularly if it is romantic and humorous.
3. Pre-revelation
4. Dating
5. Married
6. Erotic - but must have story - not erotic for erotic's sake.
7. Revelation
8. Married with kids of any age.

After that it doesn't much matter except my least favorite are:

Deathfics, and villian fics. The villian fics mainly because Lex Luthor and Tempus are heavily favored and I am totally burned out on both characters. Now if it was a totally invented new character that would be different. I don't much care for the paranormal (ie Baron Sunday) or the (shoot what was it called) where Lois and Clark are dropped in other worlds like The Lone Rider or Baron Tempus stuff. Elseworld is okay where we see the other Clark.

I really like the stories where there is definitely a plot and it is developed well and character driven.

I knew I forgot one of my least favorite types of stories. CROSSOVERS. I never watched Buffy or some of the other crossover shows used so I have stopped reading most crossovers because they just don't make sense or doing nothing for me. So for me Deathfics and Crossovers are both dead last. In other words 95% certainty that I won't read them.