What I'm kind of the same way -- I'll try any genre once (except for supernatural/AU, my brain just isn't hard-wired for that sort of thing), but it mostly depends on what fandom I'm writing for. I've only been in LJ 2 years and had 3 fandoms: I spent enough time in American Idol RPF fandom to try everything from humor/crack to angst, depending on the pairing; I was a hardcore Isaac/Peter shipper in Heroes fandom, so my fics were all dark and twisty, with occasional flashes of humor; now I'm in Glee, and I doubt I'll stray far from the romance/humor wheelhouse.
As for story length, I think it's not dependent on which fandom, but my experience with different fandoms. The more fandoms I've been exposed to, the longer my fics tend to be. Back in Heroes, I used to think 4,000 words was long. Now, post-Idol where long fic was the "in" thing, I find 10,000 words to be average. I do fully-fleshed out plots now, with large supporting casts, so that usually means a longer story overall.
Why I used to do prompts and fic challenges, but now that I've started college, I don't have the time for it -- I only write when a plot bunny bites down hard and doesn't let go. I find that the more inspired I feel about a plot, the better the story that comes out of it.
I do, however, have a habit from fandom to fandom of writing gift fics for my frequent reviewers; I ask them to give me a prompt and a pairing, and I make something out of it. I do better with very specific prompts (even outlandish ones).
How I can take anywhere from 4 hours to one month to complete a fic, depending on how inspired I feel to write it. I almost always write in a linear, start-to-end fashion; it doesn't turn out quite as nicely if I jump back and forth between scenes.
The thing about beta readers is, it's extremely difficult to find a good fit. You don't want someone who has the same set of strengths and weaknesses that you do, because then there's a certain level of error-blindness involved. Conversely, you don't want someone whose style is radically different from yours, because your styles might clash and the fic kind of loses its essence after all the edits. I've lucked out with exactly one beta, who taught me a whole lot about writing, but outside of that, I prefer to self-edit.
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I'm kind of the same way -- I'll try any genre once (except for supernatural/AU, my brain just isn't hard-wired for that sort of thing), but it mostly depends on what fandom I'm writing for. I've only been in LJ 2 years and had 3 fandoms: I spent enough time in American Idol RPF fandom to try everything from humor/crack to angst, depending on the pairing; I was a hardcore Isaac/Peter shipper in Heroes fandom, so my fics were all dark and twisty, with occasional flashes of humor; now I'm in Glee, and I doubt I'll stray far from the romance/humor wheelhouse.
As for story length, I think it's not dependent on which fandom, but my experience with different fandoms. The more fandoms I've been exposed to, the longer my fics tend to be. Back in Heroes, I used to think 4,000 words was long. Now, post-Idol where long fic was the "in" thing, I find 10,000 words to be average. I do fully-fleshed out plots now, with large supporting casts, so that usually means a longer story overall.
Why
I used to do prompts and fic challenges, but now that I've started college, I don't have the time for it -- I only write when a plot bunny bites down hard and doesn't let go. I find that the more inspired I feel about a plot, the better the story that comes out of it.
I do, however, have a habit from fandom to fandom of writing gift fics for my frequent reviewers; I ask them to give me a prompt and a pairing, and I make something out of it.
I do better with very specific prompts (even outlandish ones).
How
I can take anywhere from 4 hours to one month to complete a fic, depending on how inspired I feel to write it. I almost always write in a linear, start-to-end fashion; it doesn't turn out quite as nicely if I jump back and forth between scenes.
The thing about beta readers is, it's extremely difficult to find a good fit. You don't want someone who has the same set of strengths and weaknesses that you do, because then there's a certain level of error-blindness involved. Conversely, you don't want someone whose style is radically different from yours, because your styles might clash and the fic kind of loses its essence after all the edits. I've lucked out with exactly one beta, who taught me a whole lot about writing, but outside of that, I prefer to self-edit.