I wasn't going so much for a definition as an example, and I was using a pretty extreme one in trying to get my point across. Don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending. But a happy ending doesn't always have to mean "and then they got married and had ninety* babies."
But there are some continued themes, ideas, and motifs that come up over and over again that it takes something really special to make a fic stand out. For example, "Sylar roadtrip fic" could be a genre all its own at this point. What's compelling about them is how they differ, not how they're similar.
And I totally know where you're coming from with the "no character names" thing. It's really tough in an Elle/Claire fic. "The petite blonde woman..." WHICH PETITE BLONDE WOMAN.
I, on the otherhand, like the narrowness of layouts. I have a harder time reading wide layouts (which is why I never read fics posted on ff.net, if I can help it).
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But there are some continued themes, ideas, and motifs that come up over and over again that it takes something really special to make a fic stand out. For example, "Sylar roadtrip fic" could be a genre all its own at this point. What's compelling about them is how they differ, not how they're similar.
And I totally know where you're coming from with the "no character names" thing. It's really tough in an Elle/Claire fic. "The petite blonde woman..." WHICH PETITE BLONDE WOMAN.
I, on the otherhand, like the narrowness of layouts. I have a harder time reading wide layouts (which is why I never read fics posted on ff.net, if I can help it).
*YES NINETY WHAT UP.