I just had a conversation with somebody - an 'outsider' - about the unique and fsacinating world of fanfiction, and it got me thinking: If you were to introduce someone into the fandom, somebody completely new to fanfiction, what fic would you show them to draw them in? Would you show them a cute little novella or oneshot, or perhaps a longer, more serious work? Would you show them an Independant!Harry archetype, or a time-travel re-do fic? Would you show the Skitterleap, or Wastelands of Time? How would you pop somebody's Harry Potter fanfiction cherry? Personally, I think I'd go for a liberal dose of A Black Comedy. But this outsider shall not be introduced into the fandom. WizardGod help me if real people discover that I read and write fanfiction.
I just did this recently and I linked them the Skitterleap. Which is kind of funny, since I still haven't finished reading it. Anyway, she ended up liking it (not that she really knows anything about decent writing, considering she's a major Twilight fan) so it turned out pretty well.
Well, some people take to it and others don't. It's just a matter of the person in question. A lot of people don't understand the point of fanfiction and think the whole thing's ridiculous, no matter what fic you introduce them to. If I were going to do it though, I'd probably pic a well written oneshot, something to lure them in without massive effort on their part.
The thing about The Skitterleap and Wastelands of Time is that they are one-of-a-kind in the most literal way. They aren't representative of the fandom at all. Starting off with these kinds of stories which have the most creativity and might be the most intriguing places the person you're introducing to fanfiction at the pinnacle, and it'll be all downhill from there. Reading any good recent work in progress now makes any of the older "classics" unreadable. It's hard to lower your standards that much. Even stuff like Harry Potter and the Summer of Change by lorddwar, which is still fairly well-liked, is unbearable to read. Which may be a good thing. It's a lot more convenient now with a good and reasonably thorough archive like the DLP C2. It removes the sifting through pages of illiterate stuff, which is one of the negative aspects of fanfiction, since there's such an over-saturation of bad fics now.
Depends, really. Most people, I'd start off with a selection of Rorschach's Blot, Nonjon and Ruskbyte. A lot of my close friends, however, read a fair bit of fantasy and grit type stories - probably start them off with the Denarian series. One of my close friends, I recced Make a Wish and the Denarian Renegade to him, though he won't start them anytime soon - he's on a crusade to finish Wheel of Time, + engineering .
I'd send'em to fanficauthors.net. It's like ff.net in miniature - all kinds of stories, most pairings, etc
Pretty much this. Maybe not Blot - but Nonjon and Ruskbyte have some very solid stories that aren't heavy on the negatives on the fandom.
I've linked A Black Comedy to pop one FF cherry. She's now written a Snape/Hermione story... I don't even know why I'm friends with her anymore
Comedy is probably a safe entry point if someone has absolutely no experience with fanfiction. That way it's just like any other caricature, and after they enjoy that it might segway into other genres/fics.
What I do whenever I start with a new fandom is read crossovers. That's how I originally started on the Harry Potter fandom, actually: crossovers are excellent for letting one get into said fandom because often there's a lot of explaining done within the story, inadvertently or not, of both fandoms. For example, characters getting used to the new world they're introduced to, or the author intentionally trying to make it accessible to read for those less familiar with what they're writing, which often happens due to the broader nature of crossovers. So yes: If I wanted to start a new person off in fanfiction I'd point them to the crossover section on FF.net and let them meander across it on their own. The problem with directing a person to the excellent stories, as has been pointed out, is that it either ruins the rest of the fandom for them or they simply won't appreciate the stories' quality at all. It takes a long time until a person is up to scratch quality-wise in their tastes via. simply reading stories from FF.net, but, as many of us can attest to, it's a good way to get there with experience on the side. How can you appreciate what constitutes originality if you've never properly experienced the unoriginal drivel of the masses, after all? You'll find one major flaw with this method, though: you want to make your potential reader you've introduced to fanfiction be interested. Quite a bit of it comes down to personal taste, and certainly there is no easy way to draw the line, but it's fairly essential in this regard to balance the interesting against the accessible. And that's why I recommend clichés. Clichés, in themselves, do make excellent stories until you realise they're clichés, and until you get bored of them. That's why they catch on in the first place: people love them, and want to make their own. They are, by nature, accessible. They are, by nature, interesting. And thus you have your solution. Don't expect the person you've introduced to be up to your standards in regards to quality for a long long time: in fact, expect to be constantly critical of their literature choices and possibly annoyed at them for not appreciating the good things as you do. But be thrilled that they're interested: with a bit of guidance, they'll get there.
Nightmares of Future Past is a gateway for a lot of new readers. It's well written, doesn't require any former knowledge of the fanfiction sub-culture and is interesting enough to be immersing while not close to the best of the fandom.
I would start them off with something that can reasonably happen within the limits of canon without having to go AU. That is so they can better identify with the characters and know what to expect. I started to read fanfiction because I was curious as to what happened between Voldemorts death and the epilogue. during that period of time I probably read twenty fics on Harry becoming and Auror and the like, and havn't read one since. It really depends on what the other person is interested in. If he simply wants to explore the canon universe in depth, then most likely they will start reading stories with other characters who are prominent. I know that upon my discovery of hpff.net, one of the highly ranked tonks/remus stories was one of the first I read. If course, the person could just be looking for something with sheer entertainment value, with well made characters and doesn't involve too many fanon made ideas. I would probably go with "brown coat, green eyes." In fact, that is the exact fic I emailed my mom, who has never read a fanfic before, and she loved every chapter of it. I don't expect her to immerse herself in fanfiction like I have, so I don't feel like I have set the bar too high by having a few dozen comparable quality fics.
Don't forget that you need to consider how snobby they are - I have a friend who really likes George R R Martin and Gene Wolfe and thinks Jim Butcher is a pretty poor author (and he's not wrong, really), so that means I would need an objectively quality fanfic... And I'm not sure it exists, unfortunately. I just started reading wastelands of time, so maybe that will be good enough to share.
Hmm, I've never actually talked to someone about FF, but if I had to introduce someone I would have to gauge their personality and their knowledge of canon, get to know their likes/dislikes etc. If they have a good sense of humor and want a fic that is unique but easy to understand: "The Lie I've Lived" by Jbern If they want something with more adventure and action: "Wastelands of Time" by Joe I guess those are two of the best stories I can think of that would be appropriate to introduce someone to the world, I'd probably just end up just linking someone to this site.
This, but for other reasons. I discovered fanfic out of frustration with the limits of the Firefly universe that was explored. So much of that world seemed ripe for expansion, but between 14 episodes and the movie there just wasn't enough. This is a great way to explain WHY fanfiction exists. 200,000 different ways to make Harry fall in love with someone else doesn't really sell a newbie on the literary value that extrapolation offers. Saying instead 'wouldn't it be cool if they explored what happened with Zuko looking for his mom?' would excite the fans of AtLA more readily than 'don't you think Zuko and Katara should have hooked up?' For a newbie, I'd suggest finding out what media they liked and bemoan ending, then hunt down a decent derivation fic (PG13 or lower) to whet the appetite. When they ask 'is there more?', you're ready to unload 'A Black Comedy' or 'This Means War' on them. When they ask 'why Harry Potter?' you can then explain Sturgeon's Law (90% of everything is crap) and show them the numbers of Potter-fics vs. other subjects.
In most situations, I would recommend avoiding The Office. A decent crossover (if you can find one) is a good way to impress upon a complete newbie the things that can be done in fan fiction that will NEVER be done by the owners of the respective franchises. Harry Potter/Firefly? Not in this lifetime. But fan fiction can provide.
Depending on if the person knows what Firefly is, I'd link Browncoat, Green Eyes. It's a good story that shows off all kinds of awesome aspects of fanfiction. For a more casual start, I'd recommend something a little more short and not too complicated (but still good). I'd say Contemplating Clouds.
I would recommend "The Lie I've Lived", it has badass humour, great action and with H/F a very sexy ship.
