James and Lily met at Hogwarts, felt teen-age hormonal urges, had sex, and died shortly after giving birth to a son.
The End.
What about that plot makes it such a recipe for success?
There are thousands of versions of that same plot alone on this site. What is it that the reader gets out of reading about drawn-out scenes of angst and ardor (sometimes badly written ones, no less)? Sometimes it seems as though we have no choice but to keep on toiling through seas of mediocre work looking for something which grabs us and satisfies our interesting and ever-changing conception of romance.
Let's hope that the audience of fanfiction.net does not take the characters of Harry Potter too seriously. If you're feeling frustrated, go outside and live you scoundrels! If you catch yourself reading anymore worthless stories on this site again, hoping in vain to find some appetizing morsel of literature, go to your nearest library or bookstore. You never know, you might find another kindred spirit who has perhaps left this site as well and make a story worth writing about.
We've been reading too many of these in too short of a time. Already trying to get rid of previous pessimism and mix things up. Read our stories with an open mind. Hopefully we'll shed light in some dark places and be original, if not brilliant.