Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Favorite Fanfic Fun by Genre

What is your favorite fanfic genre? What sort of stories do you devour like an e-bookworm? Which stories do you think are worth reading again and again and wish that they never end?

Vote now!
You may choose (at most) three genres...

Just a suggestion - you need to make this a two-part poll so we can list the three categories we dislike most as well.

I didn't select "erotic" because of the description you gave. I love a dirty story as much as the next reader, but the whole "roleplay, public seduction, etc." made me leery (as did the implied exclusion of anything "tender" in an nfic). I (perhaps erroneously) understood your definition of "erotic" to mean only rough stuff or out-there scenarios. In stories like that an author has to tread extremely carefully (and be willing to toss characterization out the window). I've only read a handful of stories where the author can make it work.

Yep! You're right! Erotic (at least my definition of it) means exactly what I specified there.

All the stories where Lois and Clark are intimate comes under romantic or WaFFy, and those stories in which Lois and Clark do *it* without developing even a slightest bit of affection for each other before/ after the act as erotic.

But I can't help but consider certain stories such as Mxysplit by Sheila, Without Consent by Wendy, A Perfume by Any Other Name by Ultracape, (Thanks for the correction Labrat!) Strangers in the Night by Julie Mack etc. as erotic, even though they end differently.

So I guess it all depends on how one views it. So basically, it is one of those situations where no perfect definition can exist. So I would say, any story which describes Lois and Clark's intimate relationship but doesn't evoke even a slightest bit of tender feelings in us as erotic ie. all passion and lust but no possibility of it ending in love in near future!


Okay now my question is, can I change this poll to include the other question "Choose your Least favorite Genre" or do I have to create a new one?

e-rot-ic: from the Greek eros : of or arousing sexual feelings or desires, amatory

The very word is derived from "love" - and to me (and this is apparently where we differ wildly) it's the love between Lois and Clark that I want to read about. Sex for the sake of sex can be found on countless web sites. I'm here for the characters and the deeper meaning behind the action when things turn amorous. I've read the stories you mentioned by Sheila and Wendy and the reason why they resonated for me is precisely because underneath the erotica was their love for each other.

Like JDG, I wasn't able to choose Erotic because your definition varies wildly from mine. (I also have to agree with her that the stories by Wendy and Sheila that you use as examples seemed to have plenty of love and tenderness in them when I read them )

Perhaps it might have been an idea to have two catagories there. Erotic - the fic you fit into that category, coolgirl, and Nfic - a category that fits a broader definition to include the rest?

As far as I know, you can't edit a poll once it's been posted, so you'd have to set up a new one for the least favourite genre.

Also, can I ask why the Elseworld category has historical after it? That qualification seems to knock a lot of Elseworlds out of the running and narrow the category considerably. By historical do you mean Soul Mates Elseworlds, btw? That is, stories where Lois and Clark are earlier incarnations of themselves, from various periods in history?

Oh and I think A Perfume By Any Other Name was one of Ultracape's stories - wasn't it? Don't think Wendy wrote that one.

LabRat

Okay! I guess the list I made has a lot of drawbacks in it... only I didn't see it before posting!

I generally take erotic in this sense to mean a PWP-- which is not to say that the characters don't show love, tenderness, etc, just that the focus is more on depicting sexual intimacy, a "slice" of the relationship. Longer fics tend to have this as an ingredient not the focus.

So given that, I wouldn't fit Walk In My Shoes in that category. That does not mean that it doesn't have "erotic" moments, but that those moments are secondary to a more general exploration of the relationship.

You can just divide the two as erotic and nfic, but I'm leery of nfic as a category because it defines a fic by the existence of adult content-- which can be as little as one nscene. That's a bit reductive.

I add, that I'm not going to whine against the system in place, I know the reasons for it and I agree. But "nfic" tells us nothing about the type of fic only that there might be adult content.

alcyone

What nfic tells us is that the story is from the genre nfic. If we're trying to list fanfic by genre, then it seems to me that nfic is a fairly logical addition to the list.

Granted, it's a wide definition - but then so are most of the others in the list, because genre as a concept is pretty wide-ranging. And, yes, we could spend a lot of time breaking down these genres into different sub-categories, but that's another project, I think.

LabRat

Well, I voted for erotic stories. But I really meant that I like LnC nfic, not that I want Lois and Clark to have casual, "hard" or very kinky sex. (With one exception - and Sue gave me what I wanted in that respect with her story, "Lunch". )

But really, I was trying to say that to me nfic and gfic are different things, and WAFFy gfics are not the same things to me as WAFFy nfics. So consider my vote for erotic stories a vote for nfics.

Ann

Well, I'm sorry, but that's utterly ridiculous. I agree with JDG and Labrat in that it's a narrow definition. So I guess the rest of our nfics don't count for anything in your eyes or the eyes of this poll? (Can a poll have eyes?)

I also agree that it is hard for a writer to truly pull off an outstanding "erotic" story. I have seen two authors, and two alone, be able to do that: Sue and Sheila. So rock on, ladies, and know that your fics count.

Okay we begin from the premise that all categories are shady. But for the sake of entertainment, let's put that aside for a second.

I just don't think "nfic" is a genre like "waff" or "angst" is.

In fact, to me, nfic is a rating system. Why? Because the only thing that makes a fic "n" is adult content rigidly defined (i.e. whatever makes it unacceptable for the lighter side of the boards).

I disagree. Lets take a random nfic as an example. PG-fied it'd be tentatively under the "angst/drama" category.

But if we go along the assumption that "nfic" is a genre like "waff," that fic can ONLY be labeled as nfic, regardless of what its actually about.

So its PG version category ("angst") does more justice to the actual content (even if we understand its a matter of interpretation).

My counter is that the "nfic" label is not analogous to the labels "waff" or "angst." It's analogous to "PGfic."

I think about it this way--when one goes to the video rental place there are all sorts of genres--action, comedy, romance, whatever. Under those there are a variety of movies with different ratings.

To argue that "angst/drama" is the same genre as "nfic" is like arguing, the "drama" genre at blockbuster is the same as the "R" rating.

alcyone

Well, I actually thought of putting just GFic stories into the list and omit the Nfic category (The-so-much-criticized-"Erotic") completely because there are so many readers out there who don't have the eligibility or inclination to read/register-for the NFic stories. And it simply wouldn't have made sense to include an option which many people cannot vote for!

But as an afterthought, I *just* included it. I didn't think that so many people are going to be mad at the my definition of "erotic", not did I think "Lemme insult those authors who write such stories!"

So basically I don't think I was wrong in coming up with 18 or so categories, just because I omitted one or two (albeit major) category - Hot/Sexy/Steamy stuff and one for Elseworld - others!

And I still believe that most (if not all) stories fall under the ones I've written there. If you people still don't think its not worth it - I mean, a lot of people (GFic readers) are going to be satisfied with just the other 17 categories out there - I'm ready to ask the mods to close the poll and begin a new one with those additions!

Or perhaps I should completely exclude the "erotic" and add another option for "Elseworld - others" and make this a completely GFic poll with a huge banner saying:
"I'm sorry if I've left out any category. I don't mean to insult the authors who wrote such stories, just that my brain wasn't active enough to remember to include them! And another huge sorry for any definition that doesn't seem good enough to you."


I think even FEEDBACKS do that! You see numbers there beside your story FDK, don't you? So are we gonna go remove that FDK option and keep the archive empty just like so many other boards (which I'd hate to do)?

Besides most authors would have realized by now what sort of stories would be welcome to the FoLCs out there to feel so disappointed by the voting results. Instead I think it gives them information about the general idea of popular categories! Not that the others are any less, nor have I implied anywhere that the omitted/ low-ranking categories aren't worthy!

So I probably should start a poll as well asking people to vote whether they want me to close down this poll!

The description of gfic as 'lighter' troubles me somewhat. To tell the truth, most nfic strikes me as light - frivolous. This is not a negative criticism btw - just my perception that most nfic is fluffy distraction, whether it's erotic or not.

Those nfic interlude bits that are added into gfics have rarely added anything 'dark' - unless it's a graphic rape scene or worse.

Some of the most "adult" stories in our fandom haven't been nfics. in my opinion.

c.

My use of "lighter" was in reference to how I've seen the nside called the "dark side" of the boards. In this instance, it was nothing but a sort of slang term and not meant as my take on PG fic, which lies outside the bounds of this topic and the point I was trying to make about genres.

alcyone

This poll is for both PG as well as NFic categories. And PG is not light -I think most of the other emotions can be brought out well only through a PGFic because in the NFic, I think the *N* part *usually* predominates any other underlying but strong emotion...

...though I've seen some authors do a fantastic job with their NFic stories which concentrate on something more than the *N*. Believe it or not, I enjoyed the PG version of "Rest and Reproduction" by Meredith Knight more than the N version, but even when I read the N version, I *still* somehow felt that the author had paid enough attention to the dramatic effect as well as the N part, which, *in my opinion*, is rare, since the Nfics do gobble up the PG versions.

Only some PG versions stay in my mind even after reading the N version of the same story, and that's one of those! Another is Wendy's Faux Pas.

If I might make a suggestion, Coolgirl... Next time, just add a final choice: "Other (please explain)" You'll find it solves a multitude of problems since none of us can think of everything

Anyway, interesting poll. I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

ML

Hey, Coolgirl. A lot of people seem to be irritated with you, but don't take it so hard. I think this poll was a great idea. So your definition of the genres isn't quite what several people would like to see (and I, too, would have liked a much broader nfic definition).

Well, so what? This was your first poll. No wonder you couldn't get everything perfectly "right" the first time. But really, you're not going to please everybody no matter how you define the genres here, so just don't worry about it! If you get people arguing, that's not so bad, is it? And I repeat, the poll was a great idea. Thanks for posting it, because it was a long time since there was a new poll here!

Ann

Whoa! I am not irritated with coolgirl! I was simply baffled by her definition of "erotic". To me, it seemed that she had made it into a very narrow category that really isn't seen very often on these boards.

My posts were meant as an illustrative question for me and a constructive comment for her. I apologize if I hurt your feelings, coolgirl. That wasn't my intent.

Coolgirl says: I think even FEEDBACKS do that! You see numbers there beside your story FDK, don't you? So are we gonna go remove that FDK option and keep the archive empty just like so many other boards (which I'd hate to do)?

I stumbled into this post this evening and have to say that I haven't posted anything I have written yet but I have been reading on the board for a couple of years, just not as registered, and I feel that I would rather have 1 or 2 really great feedback comments than 100 "great story" and that's it. And also, from what I have seen on this site and on others, is that a lot of feedbacks are boosted by authors responding every two or three comments. So someone could have 20 feedbacks and really 15 of them are their own.

Nor I. If you check back through most of the polls in this folder, you'll find comments about how a certain option couldn't be used by a particular voter because it landed outside their own personal perameters, was too specific or...whatever. I don't think they're mostly intended as criticism, so much as they're intended to just explain why a particular voter didn't choose a, b or c.

Really, that's just a natural, built-in hazard of polls! You'll never think of all options. And your poll doesn't significantly differ from any of the others in this regard, coolgirl. In fact, it's pretty typical. <g> Plus, there are very few of us who've figured out exactly how a poll works on the first try.

Nor do I think at all that you intended to insult anyone with your poll or your list of options, coolgirl.

Don't you dare!

That's actually a quite recent innovation on this forum, SlotMadden. If you go back a little bit you'll find that until fairly recently, most fdk folders would only contain an acknowledgement/thank you post from the author at the end of a list of fdk posts. Perhaps now and then, there'd an additional odd author's post or two, where they felt a reader's question needed answering or commenting on immediately. But it was rare to find the type of conversation you mention.

But there's nothing wrong with either version of fdk, imo. It depends what you want out of it. Some of us want fdk and nothing but. Some of us enjoy the back and forth conversations between authors and readers. Yes, if you're simply counting post numbers on a story's fdk folder to gauge it's popularity or judge whether it's something you want to read then the latter form of fdk will artificially bump up the fdk post. So to speak. But that really only matters if you're only counting numbers as an indication of popularity. Generally speaking, you'll find that most of the stories which generate the most conversation are the ones you'll want to read anyway. One way or another.

It's really up to the author which kind of fdk he/she receives. If it's something you feel strongly about - you want just plain fdk for example - do say so at the top of your story when you post. Our readers are generally inclined to go with an author's request on this kind of thing.

LabRat (who always thought the conversation between reader and author was the best part about posting a story )