Perhaps I'm a crazy person, but I look at the skill of the writer first. Is the prose compelling, well crafted and interesting? Does the plot move forward, is it original? Is there a connection made betweeen characters and reader? If the answer to any of those questions is no, then I move on.
Granted, I really don't have much spare time to read, but I do try. Most are dropped because of the amatuerish style of writing, or the total lack of plot.
Any writer, if he/she is good enough can make the reader believe, move them outside their comfort zone and take them on a journey that they never knew they wished to embark upon. Those writers in this fandom are few and far between. And the loyal readers of these fics stay not because of high schoolesque cliches, (which abound in this fandom) but because the writer is a storyteller in the true sense of the word.
I applaud any writer who can touch someone else with their vision.
B