How Do I Know What I Think Until I See What I Say?

Here's one of the many things I learned from fan fiction: you cannot predict what will be popular. Let me say that again. You cannot predict what will be popular. In fan fiction, things are popular for a variety of reasons. The characters or romantic pairings they feature, the shows they are about, the quality of the writing, the explicitness of the sex scenes, the originality of the idea, the experimental nature of the form, pre-existing popularity of the author...any of these (or a hundred other things) can dictate whether a story becomes a major story in a particular fan universe or not. Bad stories* become hits all the time over in the fan universe. It's one of the reasons outsiders make fun of fan fiction. As a result of this lesson that I learned, I learned something else, a corollary, if you will: if you write for the audience, you lose. That's right -- If you write for the audience, you lose. I don't mean by this that you shouldn't care about your reade