Fanfic writing advice

I made a video about this on You Tube, but here's my advice:

1. Make sure you check your grammar and spelling. You could have the most interesting fan fiction out there, but it will be ruined if the grammar is terrible and no one can understand what you are saying. Make sure to read over your fan fiction and check for grammatical errors.

2. Know the characters you are writing about. Sure, in fan fiction, you can write the characters any way you want, but fans want to read about characters they enjoyed and the best way to bring those characters to life is to do some research on that character.

3. Have fun! It's no good writing fan fiction if you don't have fun with writing a new story for the characters used!

1) Keep checking on a fandom's wiki page or the source material while writing, especially if you are writing for a fandom that is an adaptation.

2) Avoid the stereotypical pitfall. Nothing does a character greater disservice than deciding that because they're Mexican-American they are a great singer who can play the guitar and worked at a Mexican restaurant, especially if there is not a single clue of that in canon.

3) Tying tangentially into 2- you can delve into characters, but try not to add to them. You want to take a cheerful character from canon and make them somber? Show us the process, and make it an understandable progression. You'd be amazed at the flexibility of stories that keeping characters in character can have, though- think of canon as extremely fertile ground instead of limits.

4) Plow on ahead. As long as you are respectful and do your best on your fics, you shouldn't have to worry too much about flamers. And if you are lucky, you will have diligent reviewers who give constructive criticism. Embrace them, for they only tell you what you do wrong to make it better. Love the criticism.

Disagree. While where to draw the minimum line will vary depending on the genre you're writing, there does come a point where you can say, its too damn short.

Agreed, but I'd also add its worth having some points in the middle as well to act as markers. Point A may be where you start, and Point B may be where you end but having points C, D, E, F and so on between them is also useful

Oh hell yes. Especially when you're writing first person fics. Author as translator in first person stuff is one thing, but since metre, kilo etc are perfectly valid words in English, but substitution pounds, miles etc you're passing the line of ostensible translator and going full blown interlocutor.

To add my own five cents, don't be afraid of exposition and elaboration. Not just "X did Y", but "X did Y because of reason Z". It can add depth of characterisation, world building and many other fine, narrative features.

And never forget the most important rule: Show, don't tell.

Relevent counter-point.

Not really...the author of this article doesn't really understand what the "Show don't tell" rule is about. For example when Berry tells the reader that there is a nanny who is a dog, he does it to set the tone for the story and show them what unusual family they are dealing with.

To elaborate: The "Show don't tell" rule means that 1. You should avoid overused phrases as a short-cut 2. You shouldn't overdo it with expositions in your story (using a narrator is not the same as adding an exposition dumb, especially when it is not necessary) and most importantly 3. that whatever you tell your reader has to concur with what you show

The worst offender of point three is Twilight...the reason why so many people consider Bella a psychopath is that what she tells us (she is plain, nobody likes her, it's terrible to be new at a school) doesn't fit with what happens (there are immediately people who are friendly to her, multiple boys are interested in going out with her aso).

Naturally there are authors who successfully subvert this rule...the unreliable narrator is an example of it. In this case someone deliberately tells the reader one thing while the narration points in another direction. But this works because the writer is aware of the "show don't tell" rule and subverts it deliberately in order to get his point across.

Basically, you can't play with this rule...but you have to be aware of it.