Seriously, I feel like I've read everything in the DLP library. I know it's not true, but it feels like it. I'm down to sifting through the recycle bin and reading fics in the for review section, ignoring the crappy ratings most of them get. I know I can't be the only one here who finds a promising fic in the library, gets halfway through the second chapter before remembering that they've already read it. And it's incomplete. And the author sends Harry to "Merlin house" in chapter six, or sends Harry to an alternate world where he died instead of his parents at the end of the first book etc.

There are just so many fics out there and I think I've been relying on DLP as a crutch to find decent ones and I've forgotten how to search (and get reasonable results).

So, when DLP is feeling stale to you where do you go? What methods do you use to find the gems that eventually make it to the library?

Ficwad has some gems, but there isn't a search that works, and the rating system blows, making crap almost indistinguishable from gold. I've browsed this heavily but I just can't bring myself to wade through the crap anymore.

FF.net has everything from the best to the worst and a decent search. But the volume is so high that actually finding anything good is unlikely. I mean if one of my fics can break 1.9k reviews, anyone's can look good. Everything will look fine until suddenly the Weasley twins start making out.

Fictionalley: Has standards, but everything is organized by author or story title. If you don't already know what you want before you get there it's almost impossible to find it. The best you can manage is a crappy tag search that rarely mentions the pairings, let alone what the story is about.

Sugarquill: Where canon goes to die. It has a few really good authors and the rest is RW/HG fluff. Not my last resort, but close.

So, where do you usually find the good ones? What do you do? I've been mooching off of DLP and haven't submitted a single fic to the review section, and that really needs to change.

 

Find a person on DLP who goes and does all the sifting, and then makes friends with them in order to get lots of easy recommendations. Also helps when they have tastes that coincide with your own, especially those that might not always be the most appropriate for DLP.

Hi Kens.

 

There - I prefer that phrasing. You make me sound like a deviant with your phrasing.

And honestly, when I ran out of HP fics to read? I branched out into different fandoms. Oh - I also relied on the favorite lists of authors I like on ff.net and follow up on the stories that the recc.

 

I like nonjon's C2 most of it is quite good, although there are some questionable fics there. He really is just a snarky greasy git.

 

Wow. Already found a good one. Thanks Xantam!

 

I've never been without something to read. My interests are pretty broad, though.

 

I had a similar feeling earlier last week. So I started looking for more. What I found were the TVTropes fanfic recommendation pages. Some good, some bad, some hella ugly. Some of the real gems listed on that site were in the Black Lagoon section.

 

Do as others have suggested here...or you could start writing your own stuff.

 

Pretty much this. I have read tons of stories, some even twice, but when i cant find anything to read I just continue with my own story.

Also, as far as personal taste go, a lot more options up if you are willing to expand your tastes. For example, I like to use harrypotterfanfiction.com when i am looking for stories that are hard to find on ff.net. The way stories are archived there is different, but I really like the way you can search by era. It is very easy to find a founders era story, or a post hogwarts story. However, it is annoying to being able to search by word count, instead having to sort by novel, novella, oneshot, and that is unreliable as fics alter in size. Also, there pairing searching option is quite dubious and not large enough.

 

To be honest I either go on stumble upon, homework or I start watching a new tv series on a stream site.

Unfortunately for me only one of those things doesn't rely on the internet and it is the least entertaining.

But I'm also in a pretty big social group at school and am well liked so when I don't have anything to read on a weekend it's no biggy because I can find someone else I know whose bored and invite them over for a movie or a "study "session" and I'm good to go.

 

Is this code for "Friends come over to motor boat my DDs" ?

 

No. It's code for "Come over and bring alchohol, pizza, movies and some textbooks and pens to put on the table so we can look like studious little angels when my parents walk up the stairs."

 

There are several reliable ways to find good fics:

- Sifting through award competition results
- Browsing specialized communities on ff.net
- Searching through the favoured stories and authors of good ff.net writers

Especially the last option brings quick results, because people who are able to write good, novel length HP fics don't torture themselves with fangirl rubbish.

 

That is infinitely less cooler than how it went down in my head.

 

I read books.

 

I spend lots of time on reddit.

 

I sit on FF.net approx 30 mins a day trying to find new stories. The Almost recommende thread is fucking mint, really recommend that if you havn't alreayd visited it.

When I get desperate I browse harrypotterfanfiction.net, adultfanfiction.net and ficwad.com


Other then that, do something outside of reading fanfictions. I had a hiatus from reading for like a month and when I came back there were loads of good stories just waiting to be read!