Maybe I just plain don't get it. Maybe I'm a terrible writer. Maybe I 
don't have a taste in writing. 

Maybe, maybe, and maybe.  I don't think any of the three are particularly
likely, though. :)

 But what is it that makes a good fanfic? 

Brief and to the point, that would be: interesting plot and setting,
talented style, interesting characters.

 And I'll slap you if you point to 'that other' piece of work by the 
name of 'How to Write Good Fanfiction.'

<points>

<gets slapped>

Ouch... ;P

 All over the place I see loads of praise for stuff like Hearts of Ice 
or DnR; is the time precedent working here? Is the number of pre-readers 
proportional to the success of the story? 

HoI really is excellently written; better than a great deal of the stuff
being commercially released these days.  Equal, IMO, to Stefan Gagne's
older works, such as Ministry of Confusion, which (also IMO) are probably
the best Ranma fanfiction out there.

DnR, I think, is famous because it was one of the first continuation
stories.  Personally, I think it's kind of humorous, but I don't care for
the plot or the style much.  (I haven't read 25 yet, though; Lawson's got a
good style so that may be different.)

Prereaders are good for making sure you don't have any blatant
continuity/grammatical errors in your story.  Otherwise, I don't know if
you'd even want to bother with that.

 Or are long, descriptive passages describing the minute details of a 
Stephen King novel, that grabs people? 

Depends on how good the passages are.  If it's really striking prose, like
the beginning paragraphs of 'A Chinese Ghost Story,' then yeah, that does
grab people.  If it's just boring description, leave it out.

 Or does my writing just plain suck? Am I destined for 2/5 when 
reaching for a 3/5? 

I haven't read your 'Loyalty, Honor' story yet, but I skimmed through it,
and the writing seems quite good.  Reminds me of something, but I can't
quite place it.  (I'll go back and fully read the story later.)

Why is it that people notice me for my bad works and 
not my (IMO) good works? 

Differing tastes, I would imagine.  Also, if your bad works are short,
people are more prone to read short works than long ones, from what I've seen.

 Back to point: what makes a fanfic good? 

Well...brief and to the point, that would be: interesting plot and setting,
talented style, interesting characters.

:)

 And so far I've come up with the following critera:

1. The author feels it's good (the easiest part)

This is important, though.  If you feel that your story is bad, it probably
*is* bad.  Real bad.  If you feel it's good, though, that doesn't
necessarily mean that it's good.  (I thought 'Wanderlings' was excellent
when I wrote it, and I've only gotten like two comments on it.)

2. Readers tell the author and others it's good

That doesn't really mean that it's good, it just means that people think
it's good.  Which kind of amounts to the same thing, but hey... :P

3. More than five people read the story and think it's good 

This isn't so important as would be not getting anything that says your
story is just bad.  If you only get five people to read it, period, that
just means that your story lacks appeal, for some reason.  (One prominent
reason would be if you happen to be writing Ranma fanfiction. :P)

4. Pre-readers catch all the little glitches in the story

That just means that you've got skilled pre-readers. :)

5. Long descriptive passages describing minute details of a Stephen King 
novel

See above. :)

6. Said fic must exist for an extended period of time 

Nah, there's lots of fics out there that've been out there for forever
which I still despise.

7. Said fic must be recognized by established reviewers as good 

This is certainly a point in it's favor.

8. Said author mustn't be overly desparate for C&C or MSTs 

Then we all suck.  After all, all of us usually write a paragraph begging
for C&Cs/MSTs at the beginning/end of our fics. :P

9. Said author must've written about something that makes sense 

Well, if your story doesn't make sense, it probably isn't going to be real
well-loved...

Rain Song
http://www.serve.com/guilds/ranma/
guilds@mail.serve.com

open hk.sig

    Tarou disappeared into the house.  "To change my clothes," she shouted
back at him.
    Ukyou was silent for a moment as he sat back and lounged on the porch,
leaning against one of the wooden supports.  After he was sure that Tarou
was out of hearing range, he burst out laughing.
    "To change his clothes!"  He guffawed.  "I swear that curse's mentality
is rubbing off on him."    
			 			-from Mirror Images, chapter 4
[hk.sig; errors-0; file terminating]