I'm not entirely sure if this goes here, but I can't really think of a more appropriate place for it.

While I know that the most common criteria for judging fanfiction are spelling/grammar, plot, pacing, and writing style, a significant portion of my "grade" for a fanfic is how strong its "taste" is, or in other words what sort of feelings thinking of the fanfic conjures up.

For example, Circular Reasoning draws up feelings of dark bloody violent hacked-to-pieces as best as I can describe it. Forging the Sword makes me think cold determined smart. These two obviously aren't the only fics that have strong tastes but they are among the strongest. However, certain fics that are considered classics (even by me) don't necessarily have this kind of reaction. For example, Wastelands of Time only draws a slight irritation for being too long, despite the fact that I easily acknowledge it being a cornerstone of the time-travel genre even though it was completed only half a year ago. I know that it was a good fic, and was one of the first that I ever read, along with the aforementioned Circular Reasoning, but it wasn't nearly as memorable and doesn't seem to carry "taste" (pfft, need to think of a better term).

Does anybody else have this sort of reaction to thinking about fanfics that they've read? I just want to know that I'm not going crazy :awesome

and maybe pick up a few good fics to read

 

The Denarian Trilogy certainly has an adventurous panache that I enjoy and HP and the Assassin's Creed has an ambience reminiscent of a coming-of-age story. Another one is Control by Anonymous58 which has a very Lovecraftian feel to it.

 

It sounds a bit like you're asking if some fics seem to leave a more visceral impression on your mind than others. Well, I'm going to proceed as if that's what you're asking, anyway, so tough titty if it isn't.

I thought for a decent length of time about Wastelands after you mentioned it. I decided that it's definitely not the most visceral thing I've read. Parts of it drove me into a state of agitation (the good kind), and that's a testament to its quality - it means that the fic drew me in. But when I think back to it, I wouldn't say that my response is deeply tied into an emotional color. The most I can say is that I feel a sense of structured vastness when thinking about it. Hmm - I guess I'd say that Wastelands went down very hot, but very smooth. Not much aftertaste.

Joe's Hero trilogy, despite being a cruder, lower quality work in many ways, left more of a visceral afterimage for me. And I guess that shows that such a thing isn't my most important criteria, because I still like Wastelands more than the Hero trilogy. Inception isn't emotionally charged for me either, but I'd rather watch that than quite a few "emotion-laden" movies.

What fic was the most visceral for me? Probably Thanfiction's Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness. You can find any number of fics that kill off shitloads of minor canon characters, but not many make an attempt to develop most of them before killing them off. Because of that, the fic's rendition of the Hogwarts battle gave me a delightfully numb, harrowing feeling - one that persisted for quite a while after I finished reading it.

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about, and I definitely agree with DAYD - the fic was very harrowing throughout, with all the torture and such. Really rather put it into perspective compared to Harry's side of the story in DH, and almost seemed canon-ish.

 

After thinking about it I finally remembered the fic that left the best 'Taste' in my head once I was done with it.

Harry Potter and the Lost Demon

And it tasted like salt water. I actually shed tears at the end of this fic. I was twelve...

I get what you're saying. Kinda the 'feel' and the ambiance of the fic. Something that can actually draw some emotion out of you. I've found that if you want a taste of frustration all you need to do is pay a visit to Tinn Tam's FFN profile.

Very few fics actually have this fabled 'taste' that you speak of. Some that do include By the Divining Light which has a very bittersweet taste to it that lingers for quite a while after you've finished. Also there's Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived which has a wide variety of flavours ranging from complete and utter joy to rage.

In all honesty fics that try to rip your heart out through your chest are my favouites. They also happen to be the easiest to do. Take a character, make the reader love them, then destroy them in the worst way you can think of.

Fuck yeah.

 

I'm going to respond to blazzano's definition of visceral impact. There are a few fics that resonate with me like that; some examples are By the Divining Light, Anarkia, and In Light of Silver Memories. The first one I can't really explain...it's just so cool and creative and awesome (better than the sequel imo). Anarkia because of similar reasons, even though it could use some more polish. It's a pity that Naia has stopped updating it, especially since it was starting to get into the meat of the plot. In Light of Silver Memories has the best monologue I have ever read in fanfiction. It leaves you with a feeling of epicness and is all you need to end any Muggles vs. Wizards argument.

I can't really think of other examples at the moment. That doesn't mean other stories don't evoke powerful feelings in me, just that they didn't leave me feeling as if I were a gong on the receiving end of a mallet. In fact, I could probably name stories that were better or enjoyed more than the examples above. Visceral impact isn't equivalent to quality.

 

For me, it would be Harry Potter and the Hero's Path by TheJackOfDiamonds. That story contained all I ever wanted to read in a Harry Potter fanfic and more. I was so drawn in, that after reading it for the first time, and finding out that it was practically a dead fic (the author is dead I think), I thought about continuing it just for myself. I was that much into it. Of course, I was not actually going to do that, but I wanted to read the damn thing so bad.

 

Ergh, really? I got like 3/4 of the way through after seeing it recc'd in a Slytherin!Harry request thread, and then just stopped reading it. Maybe it's an era thing, but somehow I have difficulty believing that there weren't better Slytherin!Harry fics even in 2006.

 

Psh, Harry was fuckin' awesome in that thing. Give it another go, and if your opinion doesn't change, I'll eat my sock!!

 

Says somebody who has this on their favorites list. I mean, I'm all for a good HP/DG story too, but if you're reading something like that I really wouldn't impugn my tastes for not liking Hero's Path.
It has all the classics: extreme abuse, super-wandless-powers (including healing), OC family, self-sufficiency, 25yo-maturity, you name it. The only remotely interesting thing is the Snape sideshow which is only interesting because a Snape who isn't Dumbledore's lapdog is so rare in fanfiction. Apart from its uniqueness, I suffered from the same total disbelief of the stupidity of the entire situation that haunted me throughout the story.

 

I'm going to have to go with the first part of the Stranger Trilogy by Jono it was one of the first five fics I read and the only one that still impacts the way I rate stories today.

 

I use the same system you do, as I hate alerts. Still, I'd never even read past ch. 1 in some of yhose stories. Whatever, not really important.

 

My favorites list is utterly impeccable, and I'm still impugning your tastes for not liking Hero's Path.

It's you, not TheJackOfDiamonds.

 

It struck me as the equivalent to Slytherin!Harry fics as Power of Time was to Indy!Harry fics, but that's just me I guess. Also kept violating my sense of immersion with constant wtfs, like the way he dominated Malfoy.

 

This is the thing that irritates me. I admit everyone has a certain criteria for stories, based on which they give 'em a shot. But just because an idea, or multiple ideas seem cliche or overused, doesn't mean that they can't be made awesome.

Case in point

 

Dude, I love the NotW. But it's amazingly written, as well.

 

The author who wrote Hero's Path died? Well, that sucks.

 

As far as I know he just sort of dissapeared from the internet. Could be death, could be a really needy and judgy girlfriend. Unless there's proof, we'll never know.