What makes a fic popular?
Well, first you have to grab some readers, and that's done with good summaries, covers/banners and titles. The stuff that tickles curiosities, so to speak.
The second is a good hook within the first couple of sentences/paragraphs to keep the reader from back-buttoning.
The last, and most important thing?
Well, it varies.
If there's a seasoned fan fiction reader, new ideas and old ideas told in a refreshingly new way would probably hook them, and it also hooks new readers if interesting enough.
If there's a new reader, they're probably looking for fiction that fits with how they view canon, and then branch out from there.
But the most important thing is to tell a story in an interesting way. Even the most perfect of stories will sound dull when droned like a bad history lesson, likewise, the history lesson will become infinitely more interesting and memorable when performed with emotion and variance. Try watching different documentaries about the same event, and note which ones you liked the most and why.
If the story is interesting enough, and it grabs the reader, many times grammar and spelling problems are overlooked. Though if it's too difficult to read, it's no good.
There's also genres:
Canon Character vs Original Character Stories: Canon Characters wins, hands down.
Fad Genres such as Dark Fics, will be popular during the fads (I remember the Age of the Dark Fics in Pokémon fandom years ago, it makes me feel old).
Staple Genres such as Journey Fics, keeps an average popularity with the occasional dip or rise. There's a great glut of them, so it's harder to be seen.
Safe Genres such as Humour, keeps a slightly above average popularity as a whole. People like to laugh, and there's isn't always such a great demand for accuracy and detail, or even good spelling and grammar, so if the writer manages to be funny, they're pretty safe. This doesn't mean that those things aren't appreciated, however.
There's also word of mouth, and having succeeded in other fandoms and so on.
There really isn't one single answer to the question of popularity (maybe you narrowed it down to a single fan fiction, one could dissect it).
At least, this have been my observations during the 11 years I've been around this fandom (similar things have also shown up in similar fandoms, like Yu-Gi-Oh and Digimon and so on).
Well, first you have to grab some readers, and that's done with good summaries, covers/banners and titles. The stuff that tickles curiosities, so to speak.
The second is a good hook within the first couple of sentences/paragraphs to keep the reader from back-buttoning.
The last, and most important thing?
Well, it varies.
If there's a seasoned fan fiction reader, new ideas and old ideas told in a refreshingly new way would probably hook them, and it also hooks new readers if interesting enough.
If there's a new reader, they're probably looking for fiction that fits with how they view canon, and then branch out from there.
But the most important thing is to tell a story in an interesting way. Even the most perfect of stories will sound dull when droned like a bad history lesson, likewise, the history lesson will become infinitely more interesting and memorable when performed with emotion and variance. Try watching different documentaries about the same event, and note which ones you liked the most and why.
If the story is interesting enough, and it grabs the reader, many times grammar and spelling problems are overlooked. Though if it's too difficult to read, it's no good.
There's also genres:
Canon Character vs Original Character Stories: Canon Characters wins, hands down.
Fad Genres such as Dark Fics, will be popular during the fads (I remember the Age of the Dark Fics in Pokémon fandom years ago, it makes me feel old).
Staple Genres such as Journey Fics, keeps an average popularity with the occasional dip or rise. There's a great glut of them, so it's harder to be seen.
Safe Genres such as Humour, keeps a slightly above average popularity as a whole. People like to laugh, and there's isn't always such a great demand for accuracy and detail, or even good spelling and grammar, so if the writer manages to be funny, they're pretty safe. This doesn't mean that those things aren't appreciated, however.
There's also word of mouth, and having succeeded in other fandoms and so on.
There really isn't one single answer to the question of popularity (maybe you narrowed it down to a single fan fiction, one could dissect it).
At least, this have been my observations during the 11 years I've been around this fandom (similar things have also shown up in similar fandoms, like Yu-Gi-Oh and Digimon and so on).