Well-written fics that aren't my favorites (but maybe they'll be yours!)

[doranwen]

So I realized the other day that all those rec posts I posted back in September… only featured fics I had marked as favorites (ones I'd like to re-read). That actually is not the same thing as well-written fics, as I have some I like that I have to admit aren't very well-written, and there are very well-written fics that just don't appeal to me for whatever reason. (I liked them enough to read through them and save them, it just means I probably won't re-read them very much if at all.) I went through my fanfic database and added a separate marking for the ones that I thought were very well-written, whether or not they were on my favorites lists. These had to strike me as exceptionally well-written, not just decent. You may disagree with my choices, and that's fine. :) But you can rest assured that any on this list are not riddled with SPAG errors, and show a good command of the English language, even if the style isn't always your thing.

I created a query of just the ones that were very well-written but NOT on my favorites list, for whatever reason, and I wanted to showcase them here. Just because they're not something I want to re-read a bunch doesn't mean they shouldn't be noticed and appreciated by someone, and hopefully one of these will appeal to you! Please kudos/comment as you feel comfortable doing for them, and enjoy! (Most of these are pretty tiny fandoms, but that's a function of what I've got in my database so far.)

Most of these I don't recall off the top of my head what they are about in order to describe them, but I put what notes I do remember. If you need a recs list that's more tailored (to avoid a particular theme or whatnot), please let me know - one of the major bonuses of using a database is that I can create all manner of queries to select just what I want.

Ratings are taken from the fics themselves and adapted to a combined rating system in my database, with ff.n fics getting G through R, and AO3 fics getting G/PG to X. AO3 fics and those on blogs without ratings are marked Unrated.

Alphas

Cadhla - Binary Data
1203 words, PG
Gary-centric.

HopefulNebula - An Equal
850 words, PG
Gary and Anna.

HopefulNebula - Like Me
673 words, G
Gary and Anna. Companion to An Equal.

samjohnsson - Line Up the Pieces
1030 words, PG


Anthropomorphic

cnoocy - A Real Romance
3860 words, R
A very mathematical tale of two numbers' meeting. Math geeks should love this one.

kanadka - Written by the Winners
100 words, PG
Language anthro.

magelette - Purpose
1350 words, PG
Library/book anthro.


Deep Impact

kristin - and the road will stretch before me
3751 words, Unrated


Fried Green Tomatoes

rebecca-in-blue - Wild Honey
2118 words, PG-13
Idgie/Ruth


Push

I think all of these are Nick/Cassie, and some may have Underage.

ishie - Open Up the Door and Let Me In
6958 words, PG-13

kittydesade - Consequence
1766 words, PG-13

loveparade - Almost a Whisper
1922 words, Unrated

pwincess - Eventual
1676 words, PG

redbrunja - My Heart Will Surely Fail
626 words, R

victoria_p (musesfool) - yes I said yes I will Yes.
1226 words, PG-13


Rookie Blue

I'd have tons more in this fandom but I only entered a couple during testing early on; I'll return to it when I get done with some other fandoms.

lowriseflare, threeguesses - all at once on our tongues
7174 words, R
Sam/Andy


The Matrix

Most of these are probably Neo/Trinity or else gen.

Emma-G - Dance With Me
5246 words, PG-13

kurushi - This, our illusion of free will
3228 words, PG-13

Lizzen - a child of the light
1303 words, R

narie the waitress - Siren
2869 words, PG-13

procrastinatingbookworm - tell me where i came from (what i will always be)
1000 words, PG-13

Silver-Ashes - Lines
1183 words, R

wintersheir - Just Before Waking
500 words, PG


Hope someone enjoys some of these!

Comments

[frausorge]

Oh, I love that Fried Green Tomatoes story! Thank you very much for sharing the rec.

[yourlibrarian]

Such a good idea for a rec list! I remember at one time I did posts that pulled quotes from fics that I wasn't reccing otherwise, because I don't think something has to be the best thing ever for it to get shared with others.

[doranwen]

One of these days I should just make a total "everything that isn't favs or exceptionally well-written" "recs" post (or two or three), lol, which would be enormous because the bulk of the fics in my database fall under that category. (Just in case someone else wants something to read that might have imperfections in it.) But some of those fics, just because I thought it was worth reading once, doesn't mean everyone else does too. I have a really hard time with the "subpar" vs. "decently-written" line because my tolerance for the former fluctuates depending on the content, and I don't trust my objectiveness to say "this is really poorly-written" except with the very worst (which I don't save anyway).

At least with the A+ fics, as I use the shorthand for in my database, there's something about the actual writing I can point to and go, "This. This is really well-done. This is something I couldn't deliberately do if I wanted to." (Though I've sometimes managed it without trying and then I feel really impressed with myself, haha.) And I felt bad that these were really good fics but just didn't grab at me in a particular way - and was sure they would grab at *someone*. Plus it's really not hard to structure the query (and build a report from it) to pull them in particular. (Now all I need to do is figure out a way to automate the post-processing that I have to do to make it link to the story and put the number of words and rating on the same line and all…)

Edit: Thanks to some very helpful online friends who are geekier than I, I now know the correct Linux command to transform the output of my reports into post-ready HTML. Sweeeeet. XD Instant recs posts any time I want to make one. Think I should do the "everything else" recs post I mentioned? lol

[yourlibrarian]

Now that's helpful alright! For every reader their book, there are sure to be stories that become someone's favorite.

[indywind]

This is a neat and helpful way to organize recs, thank you!

[doranwen]

I'm glad you like!