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What are you favorite alt-beginnings stories? This can also include when altClark meets his Lois for the first time, or a first meeting between any altLois and/or altClark.

If you mean just not your standard Pilot starting point, here are a couple of my favs:

When Larry Met Charlie by Wendy Richards

Is one of my all time favorite alt beginning stories (and LnC fics in general). It parallels the Pilot's plot but with a few very important variations.

Meet me in Kansas City by Chris Mulder

Is also fabulous. It's an entirely different initial circumstance as well.

There are many other very good ones out there, but I'll limit myself to just these two =)

Definitely Addicted and Damaged by Yvonne. Talk about a Torture Fest.

JD

There are so many good ones out there. However, I love WAFF and for me it just doesn't get much better than Field of Dreams by Caroline K.

I love AUs and stories about how Alt-Clark found his Lois. Here's a list of my favorites:

Jeff Brogden's Lost and Found .
Kaylle's In Dreams
The Long Road Home by Erin Klingler.
Tryst by Pam Jernigan
Meet Me in Kansas City by Chris Mulder
Raconteur's Lifeflight Series.
Many, many stories by ML Thompson , especially Lost in Time , Cause and Effect , Escape from New Krypton , Roadtrekking , the Matter of Destiny series, the Other Woman series and the best of all, the Without a Superman series.
I'll give a hearty second to Carolyn K's Field of Dreams
Also, The Extraordinary Man series and Some Kind of Angel by Chris Carr.
Don't forget to read the S5 and S6 Alt-Clark stories by Kathy Brown, et al Through the Looking Glass and Movers and Shakers
And for the shameless self-plug, read Master of Disguise by yours truly.

There. That should keep you busy for a while. :p

I will give a third to Caroline's "Field of Dreams," and a second to Erin's "The Long Road Home," which just may be my favorite gfic ever.

I also love Sheila Harper's "In The Beginning," and ML Thompson's "Cause and Effect."

I will third "Field of Dreams"...it is maybe the best "feel good" story I've read.

A other good ones....

Long Strange Trip by L

Second Choice by Nan Smith

Learning to Love by Carol M

/me SQUEES at being on someone's list

I second [or whatever number we're on now] Field of Dreams. Same with Long Road Home.

ML's There\'s No Place Like Home is another fave.

I'm sure there's a million others...

Carol

I'd like to add:

Shayne Terry's Duet , Family Hour , Forever Young , Fugue , Single White Kryptonian , and Strong .

C Leuch's Shades of Gray and Bolt from Dubuque .


Barb Pillsbury's Smallville Players

Oh, I love the alt- and else-beginnings... second When Larry Met Charlie. Field of Dreams is great -- WAFFy but not shallow, if that makes sense.

Okay, in the elseworlds category (the Pilot never happened or is re-written):
Sheila Harper's In the Beginning
B.B.Medos' In the Beginning
Four Days to Nightfall by Nan Smith
Master of Disguise by BJ
Between Floors 7 and 8 by Jessi Mounts
Possibly my very most favorite two:
The Girl Next Door by Janet Owens
Stardust by Caroline K

And when you're tired of reading about Dr. Platt ... Alt-Clark stories:
In the Bleak Midwinter by Wendy Richards
Then Came You by Jeff Brogden.
How I Spent My Christmas Vacation by Nan Smith
Long Strange Trip by L


...and in the Shameless Self-Promotion department, I'll also mention two I wrote:

Hearts Divided (elseworld)
My Interview with Superman (alt-universe) (short, but w/four sequels)

I know I'm missing some but that's a good start. For more fan favorites, check out the Kerth Awards -- most years there's a Best Elseworlds, Best Alt-Universe or combined category, and stories don't even get nominated to the Kerths unless they're pretty darn good.

PJ

ps., thank you BJ for mentioning Tryst!

For me, what makes an alt-fic special is the uniqueness of the way in which alt Clark meets his alt-Lois. Also, it would include enough twists to keep the story interesting and yet still keep the characters true to "Lois and Clark". I think it's that contrast between the characters we love and the newness of the scenario that adds to our understanding of the characters. For me, of all the alt-fics mentioned Jeff's was one of those. (along with a few others: a couple cited, others not)

c

Thanks everyone for your replies I've really been the mood for alt beginnings lately. I'm sure I've read almost all of these stories at some point, but it has been awhile so it's time to get to re-reading (or re-re-reading).

Anytime! Thanks for writing it so we can all enjoy it.

Oh, and thank you to all of you that provided recommendations. I've read a lot of stories in the archive, but every once in a while, I discover a new gem, like Jessie Mount's "Between Floors 7 & 8". Very nice alt beginning.

I also loved Tryst. (I almost cried when she woke up with Clark's voice)
Another favourite is Through the Window, by CC Aiken
Also loved The PenFriend and Soul...Mates by Wendy Richards
And I am now going to go and find Field of Dreams...

I made you cry? What a compliment No, seriously, I'm glad it worked for you, 'cause I worked hard on it. It is always nice for an author to hear that someone remembers and responded to one of their stories.

And Between Floors 7 and 8 is an old favorite of mine -- short and sweet, and funny, too.

PJ

I wonder if readers regard alt-fics as different from 'new beginnings' fic? If so, why do you think that is?

For me it does make a difference - generally I really enjoy alt-fics, but mostly I find 'new beginnings fics' less interesting, although like all 'rules', there are exceptions - there's one 'new beginning 'fic' on my top 10 list.

There's often something wondrous in an alt-fic that's rarely there in 'new beginnings' fic (for me, that is) Don't know why ?

c.

Although I included both in my earlier list, I do see alt-beginnings as different than an Alt-Clark story. In my own mind, I reference them as AU or Elsewords, but when I say Alt-Clark, I'm specifically referring to the character we met in "Tempus, Anyone."

A well-written alt-Clark story has a little extra umph for me because I came to know and care about Alt-Clark. He endured so much more heartache in his life (losing the Kents, his engagement to Lana, no secret identity, no Lois) than our Clark did, so it means that much more to me when Alt-Clark finds Alt-Lois.

I am curious now, C. What's in your top ten list? And when you referred to the one alt-beginning story, was that Jeff Brogden's "Lost and Found"?

BJ, you've explained your interest in alt-Calrk much better than I did.

But I won't post my top 10 list here. First, it's not a firm list , and - probably more like a top 20 Also, I have difficulties with the idea of posting such lists - while they do make those authors cited feel great, I know that those who are excluded feel badly. Always true of these lists, and I'm sorry now that I added in my 'me too' with respect to one of the stories mentioned earlier.

But I'll send you a private note about my favourite 'new beginnings fic' .

c.

There's never been a universally-accepted definition in this area, but I'll tell you what they mean to me.

Alt-beginnings are rewrites or sidesteps of the Pilot; it's still "our" Lois and Clark, up until the point of the alt-beginning. Caroline's Stardust, for instance, has a Clark and a Lois who are pretty much identical to those on the show, up until a chance encounter --their first meeting -- throws a severe spin on subsequent interactions.

Elseworlds are different; they're different universes, with fresh new characters -- they're basically Clark and/or Lois, of course, but with new circumstances/backgrounds/experiences. In Janet's story The Girl Next Door, Clark is (mostly) the guy we all know -- but Lois grew up with superpowers. That's a pretty fundamental change. Or maybe baby Kal-El went to New Krypton instead of Earth, or Lois grew up in Smallville.

Alt-universe stories involve the specific Alt-Clark that we saw in Tempus, Anyone and Lois and Clarks. Usually the stories pick up post-Lois and Clarks, so they don't change his circumstances, just introduce scenarios wherein he goes on to meet/find alt-Lois. Alt-Clark was such an appealing and heart-breaking character that we want to give him a happy ending. Connections, for instance, is an alt-universe.

Distinctions can be murky, of course, and it's possible to combine them; I wrote In Any Universe, which was an alt-beginning alt-universe -- I took the basic facts of the alt-universe but went back to rewrite it so that Lois never went to the Congo.

I think the key is the initial state of the characters. As of the very beginning of the story:

--Did the events of the Pilot happen? Then it's the canon universe, no matter how different it gets after that.
--Are L&C identical to pre-Pilot canon L&C, but the Pilot was altered or never happened? That's an alt-beginning.
--Are L&C different than pre-Pilot canon L&C? That's an elseworld.
--Are L&C identical to canon (post-Lois and Clarks ) alt-Clark (lonely, no privacy) and alt-Lois (disappeared in the Congo)? That's a proper alt-universe.

Anyway, that's the way I mentally classify them. We've had many long argu- I mean, discussions over the issue for at least a decade now, so this is by no means authoritative.

PJ

As always, Pam, a very thorough and useful definition. But I was trying to get at something else, too. To go beyond the defintion, so to speak. Do readers have a preference for one of these genres, you've described over others? If so, why is that? I'm guessing that Rona V doesn't have a preference, given the way the initial post was phrased, but I could be wrong. At any rate, I'm always interested in the reasons people have for the preferences they have.

c.

As a reader, I'm not sure I have a preference, genre-wise, between the three. I like Elseworlds because playing with universes is fun. I like alt-beginnings because there are so many delicious possibilities. The show created such terrific potential, and they couldn't possibly explore all the variations. And I'm quite fond of burgeoning romance/revelation stories, and those elements are usually found in alt-beginnings.

I like alt-Clark stories because I want the poor guy to finally get a happy ending. People have written wonderful wonderful stories in all categories.

As a writer, Elseworlds might be my favorite. There's a lot more freedom there. I was just re-reading Hearts United, and it was fun to create that universe. Hearts Divided was the longest thing I've ever written, and Tryst is second, and they're both elseworlds.

Actually, if I have a least favorite genre, it would be one in which absolutely everything is canon. What fun is that? At least during the time period of the show; alt-Clark stories are usually canon but there's not a lot of details there so there's still a degree of freedom. And post-S4 stuff is canon, albeit with a whole lot more established backstory to work with.

PJ

Interesting, Pam. You wrote: I'm going to disagree somewhat, though. I've often found that fics that are canon have to include 'more'.

By that i mean, they have to really explore or delve into the characters, and yet keep character consistent with the details we saw in the show. Also these canon fics have to develop solid A plots to hold our interest. (I'm talking about longer fics here, and not those lovely 'inbetweenies' that take a smalll detail and fill in the gaps for us) So for me, a well-written 'canon-fic' is a pleasure.

Not to say here that an original reworking of things doesn't make for a great fic, though. (referring to my top 20 list again. )

But the least interesting? The preganancy genre - I find they're often predictable, etc. And any fic that changes the character of either Lois or Clark - Just not for me. What's the point? I'm not then reading about "Lois' or "Clark" but about Fred and Wilma or whoever.

Wonder what others think?

c.

I've always liked Zoomways "Always something there to remind you."
This would be a proper alt-universe.

Yes, I've always liked that alt-universe, too. I think Zoomway might have been the first author to manage to give alt-Clark a new secret identity, to let the boy have some privacy again, and fix what Tempus destroyed.

PJ

I always wished Zoomway would write a follow-up story to Always Something There To Remind Me - because I loved Clark's new secret identity (especially with the blind guide-dog and Clark ending up taking Lois' name ). But, allas, she never did.

ML

Well, my favorite genres are Elseworlds, AltBeginnings and NextGen, whereas I have to specify NextGen as 'when the kids are old enough to develop powers'.