Forum for Fanfic Recommendations

[Spyridon]

I've set up a forum for Fanfic Recs and Challenges for Harry Potter, Power Rangers, and Stargate SG-1. Each Category has Theme Sub-sections under each that are most relevant to the Category that it's under. The Posting Threads in each Sub-section will have titles in reference to the Pairings (slash/het) or Gen.

I'm starting to post some of my favorite fanfics on there to give a clue as to how I've set up the organization. I'll be moving the recs I have on here over there and will be adding some others that I didn't post on here.

I know how hard it is to look for stories that I would like because either it's the wrong theme or the wrong pairing. Kind of getting tired of falling into stories that have recs for Harry/Hermione or Jack/Sam or Tommy/Kim. The only obstacle is that one will have to register as the spamming issues that Maureen had was kind of red herring for me.

Plus I need help on themes for Stargate SG-1. Been so out of the loop on that one, I've forgotten some major themes. I only have Alternate Timeline/Universe, Season 6, and Timetravel on there. Hmm, maybe I should add Ascension Fics on there as well now that I remembered. . . .

The link to the forum is http://www.createforum.com/caerarianrhod/index.php?mforum=caerarianrhod

[MaureenT]

Plus I need help on themes for Stargate SG-1. Been so out of the loop on that one, I've forgotten some major themes. I only have Alternate Timeline/Universe, Season 6, and Timetravel on there. Hmm, maybe I should add Ascension Fics on there as well now that I remembered. . . .

By themes, do you mean categories/genres (i.e. drama, action/adventure, humor, etc.)? If so, with the exception of certain special ones that apply only to Stargate, such as "Meridian/Ascension", they're pretty much the same as you'd see in other fandoms, particularly sci-fi show fandoms. For ideas, you could check to see what I have for genres on Scientific Minds at http://www.stargate-horizons.com/scient ... _guide.php . Some are standard genres, whereas others are far less generic ones I created because some of the stories simply did not fit well in the other genres.

[Spyridon]

At BWS, Category, Genre, and Theme aren't the same.

Category is like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Stargate. Genre is Action, Adventure, Romance, etc etc.

Theme is more suited to that Category. So for Stargate, it'd be Ascension, Post Season Five fics, Doomsday fics, Goa'uld Fics, Tok'ra Fics, etc. For Harry Potter, it'd be Wrong Boy Who Lived, Dark-Harry, Azkaban-Harry, Dumbledore Bashing, etc.

The forum is organized by Category, then Themes. It'd seem easier that way to search for fics people might like. Well, it's how I search for fics anyway.

So, Maureen, since you've been a fanfic author for a longer time than I've been a reader, do you have any fanfic recs?

[MaureenT]

At BWS, Category, Genre, and Theme aren't the same.

Category is like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Stargate. Genre is Action, Adventure, Romance, etc etc.

Theme is more suited to that Category. So for Stargate, it'd be Ascension, Post Season Five fics, Doomsday fics, Goa'uld Fics, Tok'ra Fics, etc. For Harry Potter, it'd be Wrong Boy Who Lived, Dark-Harry, Azkaban-Harry, Dumbledore Bashing, etc.

The forum is organized by Category, then Themes. It'd seem easier that way to search for fics people might like. Well, it's how I search for fics anyway.

Yes, I remember that now. When I set up Scientific Minds, there was the option of using themes, but I turned it off since there was no need for them.

So, what happens if a fic doesn't fit any of the available themes? Does a person have to name a theme? For instance, what if it's a Season 3 relationship drama, no Goa'uld, no Tok'ra? Such a story would not fit into any of the themes you listed above.

I'm also curious about why there is a Post Season 5 theme. That lumps Seasons 6-10 all together, and there are huge differences in those seasons. S6: no Daniel, S7: Daniel's back, S8: Jack's the base commander, S9/10: Vala, Ori, no Jack. Personally, I'd have a Season 6 theme and a Season 9/10 theme instead since those are the two periods in the series' history that have the biggest differences. Then, when someone saw that it was a Season 6 theme, they'd know in an instant that the story would likely have Jonas instead of Daniel.

By the way, there's a very important one that you need to have: Kid Fics. Stories in which one or more of the main characters has been turned into a child, has a clone that's a child, or takes place in the past when the characters were children are wildly popular in the Stargate fandom.

So, Maureen, since you've been a fanfic author for a longer time than I've been a reader, do you have any fanfic recs?

I have a few, which I never got around to even posting here. To be honest, I do a whole lot more fic writing than reading. In fact, I haven't read any Stargate fics in many months.

[Spyridon]

So, what happens if a fic doesn't fit any of the available themes? Does a person have to name a theme? For instance, what if it's a Season 3 relationship drama, no Goa'uld, no Tok'ra? Such a story would not fit into any of the themes you listed above.

I can see what you mean. As Jack says, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Those might be considered Alternate Universe though, under the pairing type (since it doesn't follow canon).

I'm also curious about why there is a Post Season 5 theme. That lumps Seasons 6-10 all together, and there are huge differences in those seasons. S6: no Daniel, S7: Daniel's back, S8: Jack's the base commander, S9/10: Vala, Ori, no Jack. Personally, I'd have a Season 6 theme and a Season 9/10 theme instead since those are the two periods in the series' history that have the biggest differences. Then, when someone saw that it was a Season 6 theme, they'd know in an instant that the story would likely have Jonas instead of Daniel.

Most Archives that I've stumbled on have Post Season 5 fics or what they're called? Jonas fics?
And they just clump Seasons 7-8 with Seasons 1-5 together and Seasons 9-10 in another. There was even a site where they didn't allow Season 6 fics unless it had Daniel in there as a major character. I'm a band-wagoner on that thing as I skip Season 6 fics too.

By the way, there's a very important one that you need to have: Kid Fics. Stories in which one or more of the main characters has been turned into a child, has a clone that's a child, or takes place in the past when the characters were children are wildly popular in the Stargate fandom.

How did I miss that? Hello. Hmm, team fics is another but could be considered Gen. I wonder if that's more a theme. . .

[MaureenT]

I can see what you mean. As Jack says, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Those might be considered Alternate Universe though, under the pairing type (since it doesn't follow canon).

No, I'm not talking about just romantic relationships. I'm talking relationships period, which include friendships. For instance, my story, A Friend in the Dark, would not fit into any of those themes. It's S5, not an AU, and does not have either the Goa'uld or the Tok'ra. It's a drama that focuses on friendship. No one would be able to recommend that story on your forum. In fact, the majority of my Gen stories could not be recommended there. They would not fit in any of your themes.

As for lumping all non-canon ship fics into Alternate Universe, that is not something any other archive I've been to does. Not all non-canon ship fics could be called AU. I know of one where Daniel and Sam have sex during the time that Jack was missing in A Hundred Days. It happened as a result of grief, worry and a bottle of whiskey, and it was pretty clear that it wasn't going to go beyond that one time, so it does not affect anything else in the series. Then there are the ship fics that happen after the events of the second movie. Anything goes with those stories. You can't really call any of them non-canon because it's after the series is over.

This is the problem with themes. You have to have a lot of them. Otherwise, there are just too many stories that will be left out in the cold. Just going to the Gen fic page of my site would illustrate that. Out of the 24 stories/series, only 10 could be listed on your forum.

I'd say that you definitely need more themes under Stargate. I'm having a tough time coming up with others because I don't think in terms of themes, but, rather genres: drama, romance, action/adventure, humor, angst, hurt/comfort, etc., etc., etc. That's probably because I think as an author rather than a reader.

By the way, your Kid Fic theme doesn't include stories that take place in a character's past during their childhood.

[Spyridon]

Should I add Romance, Friendship themes to the list? I'm thinking adding Seasons 1-8 minus 6 with the Seasons 9-10 in another. The movie sequels could be added in another.

And I found a big booboo. The Sections and their lists were set up to be looked at by registered users so I've opened them up to public. The only thing bothering is the fact that people can post that are not registered so I'm still working on that. The other parts of the forum are still hidden.

I'll come back later once I take my philosophy test.

[MaureenT]

Should I add Romance, Friendship themes to the list? I'm thinking adding Seasons 1-8 minus 6 with the Seasons 9-10 in another. The movie sequels could be added in another.

I don't think you need to separate the different periods of the series into themes. Besides, they don't fit the definition of themes or genres. I know that you have a Season 6 theme, but if you require that people include in their info what season a story takes place in, I don't think it's necessary to have Season 6 as a theme, and there just aren't enough true Jonas Fics out there to bother having that as a theme, especially since most stories with Jonas also have Daniel.

Here is a list of the themes that I'd recommend (listed in alphabetical order):

Action/Adventure
Fics that are mainly action and/or adventure driven.

Alternate Universe/Timeline
Stories in which events differ noticeably from the way they did in the TV series. Does not have to be a completely alternate universe or timeline, such the ones created in the TV series (i.e. Point of View, Moebius, etc.).

Angst & Hurt/Comfort
Fics with lots of emotional angst and ones with physical or emotional hurting and comforting. (Not to be confused with Whump Fics.)

Ascension Fics
Stories with Ascended Daniel or that are about his ascension.

Crossovers

Dark Fics
Fics in which one or more main characters are written darker than they are in canon or have become dark or evil.

Friendship
Stories that focus mainly on the friendship of two or more characters.

Humor/Parodies
Parodies and stories that focus on humor and humorous events.

Kid Fics
Fics where any of the main characters have been turned into a child or have a clone that is a child and stories that take place during a character's childhood.

Missing Scenes/Episode Tags
Episode-based stories that take place during the course of an episode or shortly following one.

Romance & PWP
Stories that are all about romance or romantic feelings without much angst and fics that are all about sex, no plot to speak of.

Whump Fics
Stories that are mainly about one or more characters getting whumped (seriously injured or made ill, often repeatedly and/or brutally). May also include stories in which the whumpage is severe emotional or psychological suffering. (Not to be confused with Hurt/Comfort stories, which focus on both the hurting and the comforting given by others.)

Under each of these themes you'd have five subcategories or whatever you wanted to call them: Gen (no romance), Het (M/F romance, pre-ship or UST), Slash (M/M romance, pre-ship or UST), Fem-Slash (F/F romance, pre-ship or UST), and Multiples (three or more people engaging in sex at the same time) that is unless you don't want slash fics on your site. Then you'd have just the first two. Obviously, under the Romance theme you wouldn't have the Gen one. I believe that this is important because it allows people to easily avoid or focus upon stories with pairings and specific gender pairings. If I'm looking for just Gen stories, I don't want to wade through a bunch of Ship fics.

I don't know how much darkfic there is in the Stargate fandom, so that one might not be necessary. I have the description different than what you have in the other categories because not all darkfic has a character going complete "dark side". Some just portray them as darker than they are in canon.

You could add Time Travel Fics to the list, but most stories that involve time travel would fit into Action/Adventure, so it probably isn't needed.

Though Action/Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort and Humor/Parody are all genres, without them you'd have too many holes in the coverage of fics, and to come up with true themes that would cover the same fics would be all but impossible. Besides, you were already considering Romance as a theme, and that's a genre, too.

You'll notice that I have the description for the AU theme completely different than what you presently have. That's because AU is one of the most confusing and misunderstood genres, open to varying interpretation. Some people think of AU stories only as ones that take place in completely alternate universes, like the one in Point of View, whereas others consider AU stories to be all fics that have anything happen differently than it did in the series, no matter how small the difference. These are two extremes of the spectrum. Personally, I won't classify a story as AU unless the differences from the series are significant, and I will not classify a story as AU if the only difference is that it has a non-canon pairing. For instance, A Pretense of Romance is AU because, in it, Sam resigned during the events of Chain Reaction, but I do not consider Definition of a Date as AU because, though you know that Daniel and Sam's romance will be affecting episodes from then on, it doesn't actually show the differences.

I think that with the themes I listed here, you'll cover the majority of fics. I did not include Drama since most dramas would fit under one or more of the other themes. You could add it in if it looks like it's needed.

One thing that I think you need to stress somewhere is that a person can put a rec only under one theme and that it should be the theme that's most appropriate. Most stories would fit two or more of these themes. For instance, my What You Already Know series is AU but also has a lot of action/adventure, yet I would put it in AU because the AU element is what's strongest.

And I found a big booboo. The Sections and their lists were set up to be looked at by registered users so I've opened them up to public. The only thing bothering is the fact that people can post that are not registered so I'm still working on that. The other parts of the forum are still hidden.

This board is a phpBB board, and, as I'm sure you know, unregistered users can read to their heart's content. They just can't post anything. I don't know what your board is, but there must be a way to set it up so that unregistered users can read messages, but can't post anything. That is a very basic ability of all message board software. It would be in the forum settings and is likely set individually for each forum, what you are calling categories. With phpBB board, it's in the setting for user permissions.

[Spyridon]

This board is a phpBB board, and, as I'm sure you know, unregistered users can read to their heart's content. They just can't post anything. I don't know what your board is, but there must be a way to set it up so that unregistered users can read messages, but can't post anything. That is a very basic ability of all message board software. It would be in the forum settings and is likely set individually for each forum, what you are calling categories. With phpBB board, it's in the setting for user permissions.

Ah found that. I guess the board is set up with Registered (hidden) and I took all the way down to public. So I went in the middle which is Registered. So, I know that control.

As for the pairings, any and all welcome except for incest, minor, etc. I'm still debating on the kinky. The pairing a story is placed under must be the major pairing that it is focused on. So no Sam/Daniel in the beginning to have it where Sam dumps Daniel and goes with Jack. That story goes under Sam/Jack with Sam/Daniel as a minor pairing or placed in the Add. Info part. I had that happen to me once.

As for the posting of a story once, that's going to be hard to mod. But then again, you have a lot of posts. Since I'm updating the lists myself, that shouldn't be too hard.