Don't feel bad, Namaste. I wrote a Veronica Mars fic and it's got one comment from someone who's not even in the fandom. One. And a couple of fluffy comments from the person I wrote it for, who hasn't read it yet, to my knowledge. It's even a popular character/pairing. :? Is it better or worse knowing that you're not getting hits or comments? I have a bunch of stuff on ff.net that's got a bunch of hits and no comments at all. P.S. zulu, you're the best.

If we've moved onto hits v comments, can I ask an ignorant newbie question? Is there any way to tell hits on LJ? It appears not from their help unless you import a hit counter (which I have no idea how to do). But I wondered if there was any rough rule of thumb (x comments = y hits) which people use to guesstimate.

:D Now you have 6 Namaste. Thank you shoving me toward a fic that is out of my usual preference. I need to do that more. Well, with gen pieces at least. It'll take much more to get me to read het and will probally involve the threat of death. 8) I actually had a fic idea about Foreman and Wilson going to a bar not long after the ep Histories, but I could never get it to work. Essentially it was him trying to figure out why Wilson was so freaked out and Wilson getting really drunk. I could never decide whether House would make an appearance. It has been one of my favorite plot bunnies that would love a good home.

But I wondered if there was any rough rule of thumb (x comments = y hits) which people use to guesstimate. I don't think there's any real way to know, since it varies from fandom to fandom and also depends on the natures and sizes of the lists where you posted, and also on your reputation. That said, I can tell you that I get around 1-2 comments for every 100 hits on ff.net. On LJ, for fics of mine that I feel are equally well written, I think the amount of feedback is influenced by pairing and genre, but that doesn't really indicate the number of readers. I do know that many times I click on stories and skim/read/like them, and don't leave feedback because of whatever reasons - but if I'm enthusiastic about a story, I'll definitely leave feedback. If most people go by my logic (and I don't know that they do, but if) then it makes sense that popular pairings get more comments even if they don't get as significantly more readers as you'd imagine. Also: And why does no one write about Foreman? When that question comes up (and it does. A lot), people tend to ignore the fact that Foreman really does appear in a lot of stories - there are gen fics, and there are gen fics about the ducklings and about medical mysteries and about, I dunno, Christmas at PPTH. People rarely write about Cameron and Wilson and Cuddy too - they write about House and Cameron, and House and Wilson, and House and Cuddy. If you're looking for good Foreman, you don't have to look for him under a "Foreman" or "House/Foreman" tag; you can also find great Foreman in a fic like Namaste's The Guilty Parties. (If you want a completely honest answer to the question, though: based on the fact that Chase's characterization is about as far from Chase it can get in most of the Chase fics I read, I can only assume that many authors are interested in Chase's looks more than his character, and that more writers in general are drawn to JS's looks than to OE's. I think that among most of the popular good authors, you'll find a more or less an equal distribution of Chase and Foreman fics, which is who Foreman tends to be compared to.) Whew! tl;dr, I feel it.

I don't think the ratio of Chase:Foreman fics has to do with looks. I think it has to do with the canon characterization. Chase is a character that many of us want to know more about. He's more msyterious, so there's a lot more room for playing with his background and the way he would react in situations. Foreman is a pretty straightforward character. We know his history. There aren't many questions to be answered. Foreman also doesn't inpsire much discussion as a character either. The comment I've seen most often is "I'm sick of Foreman." He's front and center with the patient interactions the overwhelming majority of the time and yet you rarely see page after page after page of comments about Foreman's actions/reactions/characterization. And I say that as someone who does include Foreman in my writing.

It's good to know he is doing well, Foreman that is. I'm glad that people are writing about him because although he may not be the most likeable/shagabble character on the block, he is really interesting.

(If you want a completely honest answer to the question, though: based on the fact that Chase's characterization is about as far from Chase it can get in most of the Chase fics I read, I can only assume that many authors are interested in Chase's looks more than his character, and that more writers in general are drawn to JS's looks than to OE's. I think that among most of the popular good authors, you'll find a more or less an equal distribution of Chase and Foreman fics, which is who Foreman tends to be compared to.) . I'd have to disagree with this. Yeah, a lot of Chase characterization out there is crap, but I don't think the fact there's more Chase fic out there has to do with looks (granted, he's cute, but that's not why I write him). As extra_cat points out, there's definitely an aspect of characterization that contributes to this. Frankly, I find Foreman an unlikeable character and one who hasn't really grown all that much throughout the course of the season. He's the duckling who cries "no." And is often a jerk to boot, but without any of House's complexities. I don't find Foreman all that compelling. Some authors have done some great work with the character, but I can understand why many would choose to avoid him. Chase is far more multi-faceted (so is Cameron/Sybil, but I don't know if I have the temerity to tackle her) and offers more to work with.

Honestly, I wasn't trying to guilt anyone into reading anything specific. (And Roga helped on The Guilty Parties by the way. So did sherlock21b) I'd definitely agree that pairings seem to both help and hurt attention for fics. Something with House and Wilson in it is going to draw the sizeable House/Wilson crowd. Likewise House and Cameron or House/Cuddy. Interestingly, the Chase/Cameron crowd is relatively quiet, considering its the one canon relationship. Other ignored characters? Stacy. You can hear crickets chirp when you mention her in a summary. So I guess I have a question for people who just follow their pairing ... is it because that's all that interests you? Is it a lack of time? Is it because of exposure to badfic outside of that pairing area?

zulu, you are full of lies. Who is this Foreman? The only people I've ever heard of are House and Wilson (and tangentially, Cuddy and maybe that blond kid with the accent, whatever his name was). Lovelythings, Foreman is my very own OC that you certainly never see on the show. It would be silly to devote any episode-time at all to a guy who's a mess of delicious ambiguities and has some rather fascinating hints of backstory. Surely nothing like a Long Lost Brother would ever engage fandom's interest; no one would write stories about that. Ditto the well-meaning but perhaps harsh and unexpressive father and the gentle but perhaps not all-aware mother. That kind of family dynamic is boring and not worth exploring. Why, I hear that in some fandoms, people can take just the fact that a character's been married a few times and write elaborate backstory scenarios about that! Not in this fandom though--even if a character has at least two on-screen love interests who might even be present for more than one episode, it's not really interesting enough to write about. Personally, I think that's best. I can write whatever I want about my OC and no one ever nags me about characterization or begs for sequels. What a relief! I'm glad I totally invented this Foreman guy; it makes things so much easier.

Other ignored characters? Stacy. You can hear crickets chirp when you mention her in a summary. And it's a crying shame. I've read some really interesting fics that feature her character. It is ashame. I find Stacey to be the most interesting character on the show after House and Wilson.

Namaste wrote: You can hear crickets chirp when you mention her in a summary. The reaction to Stacy always puzzles me because House clearly loved her with an absolutely poetic intensity.

I have always liked the concept of Stacy, but hated the actress. Sela Ward's protrayal of the character was wooden and forced for me. That being said, even though my favorite paring is House/Wilson, I don't like fics that dismiss House and Stacy's prior relationship. It was important to House and he loved her. So many authors in many different ships seem to think that if he really loved Stacy than he can't love again. That's a sad concept.

I have always liked the concept of Stacy, but hated the actress. Sela Ward's protrayal of the character was wooden and forced for me. You know, I've always maintained that role would have been much better if played by Rene Russo. I think she would have had nice chemistry with Hugh. I just keep thinking how sexy she was in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. Sela was just way too wooden/icy for me.