Getting my fix...

So I've been reading a lot of fanfics lately. My vice is the Naruto fanfics, especially KakaSaku and Itasaku. I also enjoy lots of other older Saku-centric het fics. Hehe I dunno, I guess I've grown to like the girl, especially when the standard image I have of how her character's grown has been influenced by all the great fics I've read! I'm not into yaoi or yuri so much but that's just my preference=)

Generally though, what I think makes a great fanfic boils down to 3 things:
1. Great believable plot. Even more awesome if the plot is fresh/original in a sea of other stories starring a similar pair.
2. Great grammar and articulation. It's just harder to immerse myself in a fic when this is lacking.
3. Great style. What I mean by this is the author's individual style and approach to writing. Using an art-oriented analogy, say we have the great plot and infallible grammar...then this is like a semi-blank canvas where the author/artist can add his or her bits to (like one may have roses on one side while another may have stars printed all over the canvas), as well as his or her own individual approach (much like watercolour vs. oil paints). Fanfic-wise, this refers to things like how many lines before the next paragraph, writing in dialogue form, subtlety in writing, the ability to utilize sentences and words to make an impact, the ability to use words to hook their readers in, intricate style of writing, descriptive style of writing...a whole lot of stuff basically. And therein lies the fun in creating a fic=)

So a bunch of stuff I've been reading lately...

Naruto-oriented...
1. A drabble "Poor Mrs. Hatake" by ronsmyhero. (I love love love her stuff. Truly awesome.)
2. "Salvation" by oliviabenton.
3. I've stumbled across this really good author on ff by the name of Celtic Oak. I've been reading her stories which are seriously good reading. I've read a NejiSaku "Hidden Green Behind Silver", 2 GaaSakus "Sunagakure Belly Dance" and "Magnetism". I like how she portrays Saku as a strong woman - rawr! Check her page out=)

Nana land...
1. ›:‹ 7 plus 7 equals 3 ›:‹ by Suzumiya Haruhi over at ff.
2. There was this one other TakuHachi story which is basically someone's take on the night at the mansion where Takumi 'rapes' Hachi. Can't remember what it's called now though. I might have to look that up...