- Make sure to know exactly what you are changing and how it affects the world of the fic. Pay attention to the butterfly effect.
- If I'm writing a For Want Of A Nail fic, I should only stick to the original story when the nail couldn't logically affect that part. I shouldn't have to force my fic to go the same route.
- A nail that can only happen by making the character act OOC (like if a Leeroy Jenkins randomly decides he should have an extremely complex and meticulous plan before acting), shouldn't be what starts the story.
- If I make the main character more competent somehow, then I must:
- 1.Make sure it's in-story competence, and I'm not just making the character act like someone who has already read/seen the original and knows all the reveals/plot-points beforehand.
- 2.Also make the antagonists more competent.
- If writing an AU that changes the setting, write the fic like you would write an original story and properly introduce the reader to the things that are different from the original.
That's all for the moment, if I remember anything else, I'll write another post.
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KVApproach with caution when writing for a series you have yet to see all of and/or is still running. As much as you like the characters, you may find yourself giving Old Shame status to stories that are perfectly fine in a vacuum because they contradict (or are contradicted later) by an episode you haven't seen.
Never feel bad about focusing extensively on your favorite character, especially if most of the fics available are not about him. Someone's gotta do it, and chances are, there's someone out there who wanted them just as much as you did.
Don't be too formulaic. While formula-driven fics get more hits, more out-there ones are more likely to be reviewed helpfully.
Never completely change a character's personality to fit the story. It might seem like a good idea at the time, but you will regret it immediately, and for years, even if it doesn't get noticed.
If you have to go the OC route, try and do your best not to make the character overshadow the others. But also don't make it so your OC looks completely bland or worthless in comparison. Try and set a good balance between the two.
When you are afraid of earning ire from fans by killing off a popular character in your fic, the solution to that problem is NOT to make them undergo an un-foreshadowed Heel–Face Turn.
Shipping two characters together usually isn't a problem, but if you are going to pair two characters who never interacted before in canon make sure the development of their relationship lasts the entire story instead of making it just happen right off the bat.
Making Mario talk seriously is a recipe for disaster. DON'T DO IT.
1) Do your goddamned research. If it means seeing all of a series, do it. If it means looking up a mental disorder so that you don't insult someone, do it.
2) Oc's are not allowed to overshadow canon characters, or outright replace someone.
3) If a fic is about OC's that don't really need to interact with major canons, (I.E Hero of Another Story-type fics) Don't try to force a canon character into the plot no matter how large of a fangirl crush you have on said character.
4) Speaking of, don't let your Fangirl crushes make someone OOC. It's dumb, and makes you feel stupid when it inevitably fades.
edited 2nd Feb '14 1:30:45 PM by stargirl93
- If in doubt, keep things simple.
- Popular ideas are not always good ideas.
- Proofread. This isn't hard, and spelling/grammar mean more than you might think.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help with this if you need it.
- At first, your output will be awful and/or slow. That doesn't mean you're bad, just that you need practice. This applies to everyone.
- Seek criticism. 'Very good :D' and 'Dis sux kil ur selve' responses are equally useless when it comes to finding out your strengths and weaknesses. Ask people to explain their reasoning, and don't blow them off just because you don't like what they have to say.
- Have fun. If you're not, try something new. A new technique, a new idea, a new story, a new medium, whatever.
- If you find yourself getting bored or dropping into srs biznuss mode, take some time to chill out and refocus.
- Never stop learning.
edited 2nd Feb '14 2:56:09 PM by Snipehamster
- If you get stuck on something, put down the laptop/keyboard/tablet/notebook and go do something else. Read a book, watch a movie, go for a walk, call your girlfriend/boyfriend.
- Make sure you keep nomenclature consistent.
- Relax, it's not the end of the world if you don't update.
- Write ideas down and come back to them later.
Rules/Bible of writing a self insert fanfic:
1. Write your flaws. If you don't know how to then learn how. If you don't want to then stop writing.
2. If you want to plan a romance then work your ass off to make it work.
3. If you are inserting yourself into a action oriented series like Gundam, Kingdom Hearts or what have you; then you need give yourself weaknesses. For example, if you're writing yourself as a warrior then your not going to be good with magic and vice versa.
3a. Be original with your skill set. And if you're using a weapon that is legendary or that is said to be the only one in the world then change it please.
4. Have fun.
edited 3rd Feb '14 2:19:32 AM by HeirophantsFool
Super Robot! SUPER ROBOT! ◥▶◀◤ Also, if some of my posts don't make sense, please take note that I might lack sleeIf I went through and listed everything I'd be here all day, so I'll hit the major points that are specific to fanfic:
- The setting, characters, and tone of the story should stay true to the source material unless exploring the deviations from canon are the point of story. For example, making Ron Weasley into a Death Eater is not permissible unless the point of the story is to explore how the deviations affect the canon. I.e. if the fic is intended to examine what it would take for Ron to turn evil, you're good.
- Self-inserts are a no-no unless you make them as flawed as the other characters.
- Any rule can be suspended by Rule of Funny, but only Rule of Funny
- You must invoke Rule of Funny at the start of the story, not after the fact.
And that's all I have off the top of my head.
Reaction Image RepositoryBut what about Rule of Cool, Rule of Scary, or even Rule of Drama?
1) If you're putting a new spin on a world that allows you to fill in the blanks (like Pokemon,) make sure you don't stray too far from what made the canon likeable.
2) If you're interpreting canon differently, make sure it's for the better.
3) Replicating the feel of the original canon is the goal. Keep the characters in character, and make sure the OCs are reined in.
4) Try not to just do a revision of a story you think went wrong. Expand beyond that.
The very best, like no one ever was. Check out my Spider-Man fanfic here! [1]![]()
In those cases, if they don't fit with what's already established, they can turn into Narm very easily. I.e. If you're writing a shipfic and try to invoke Rule of Drama when turning Ron to the dark side, it just won't work unless there's a reason for it within the story. Rule of Funny is, to me at least, the only way to justify something happening without having an in-universe reason for it. I don't care if it's scary or dramatic if it isn't a logical progression from what's already established. Harry Potter riding a cyborg dinosaur would certainly be cool, but if it doesn't make sense within the context of the story it would still hurt the story.
Short version: Rule of Cool, Rule of Drama, and Rule of Scary can all fail if there's no in-story justification; "Because it's cool/scary/dramatic" isn't enough justification on its own." "Because it's funny" is sufficient.
edited 4th Feb '14 6:22:28 AM by JapaneseTeeth
Reaction Image Repository
Okay, fair enough.
Also:
- Addendum for Shinji.
- If there's an actual point to the godlike powerup (not that I can come up with a way of explaining it), or if other characters (e.g. Asuka, Rei, and the Angels) are also given equivalent powerups to keep the scale consistent, that might be a different story.
- Addendum for Shinji.
edited 6th Feb '14 8:44:43 AM by EvaUnit01
Well, I do have the Hyrule Historia now to look up little facts and tidbits about the Legend of Zelda games when I am writing fanfic for that series. I did not always have that.
As for my own rules and advice:
- If you suck at summaries you suck at fic, or at least you give that impression. Learn to write summaries.
- Original Characters should serve to flesh out the world / build the setting, and/or to be support for mains. They are not to overshadow canon characters or to be the long-lost love interest or relative. A deep-past of the world story where one is an ancestor can be done alright, but, in general, any OC should be some normal, random person in the world whose story serves to flesh out the world. (ex from something I wrote once: Random Hyrule Castle royal guard gives an account of the Twilight Invasion in Lo Z: Twilight Princess. He did not save the princess like Link does, and serves to detail why those poor soldiers in the game are filled with fear).
- If you pair, try to build the relationship and make it realistic. Also... Foe Yay? Really? It works with *some* canon settings (I saw a bit of Foe Yay in Trigun, for instance, one-sided), but for the most part, I don't like seeing sexy-times that are merely torture the villain gives the hero or, worse, the villain going all woobie and cuddly-bunny because he's suddenly fallen in love with the hero.
- Research your world and important characters. Sometimes, it can lead you to really cool places. I write Super Smash Bros. fic on occasion without having played the entire Nintendo library. I once wrote a fic in which I'd painted myself into a corner where I was going to use a character I didn't know a lick about (other than my experience with him in Smash Bros. Brawl) as an important character. Cue my coming here to TV Tropes to the Kid Icarus: Uprising page and, on the suggestion of a reviewer, looking at some game-footage on Youtube. I wrote out the parts with Pit I needed to write, and my research made me decide "I've just got to get this game!" I mean... Floor Ice Cream! I got the game - fell in love. Went back and looked over my fic... and was surprised at how in-character I got the little feather-duster on *research alone.* And, now... I have a new fandom. All starting with research!
- Don't be afraid to write original stories even as you're a fanfic writer. The two mediums can play off one another.
In which I attempt to be a writer.There are so many aspects...."do your research", "show, don't tell", "write at least 1000 words per chapter", "if you suck at summaries you suck at writing", "don't trust spell check and try to find a good beta", "know how you want the story to end" ...
But there are also very basic questions to consider like what you post where and under which user name.
Tell, don't show
as a counter-argument.
- Always ask yourself, "Would this character do this?" If the answer starts with "Maybe if...", then no, the character would not do this.
- Sturgeon's Law applies to Original Characters, so use them with extreme care, and double that if the OC's the focus of the story.
- Don't publish until every chapter has been written. You will come across ideas that seemed like a good idea at first but don't seem that way anymore, and those ideas will cause Continuity Snarls later if not dealt with early enough. And no, dealing with them post-publication's not an option; nobody likes an Orwellian Author.note
- If you write a fanfic, write it with the care and attention that you would a professionally-published story.
edited 6th Mar '14 3:24:58 PM by BaffleBlend
"It's liberating, realizing you never need to be competent." — UltimatepheerI don't know about the second-to-the-last one. I usually have the manic patience only for one-shots, but when I do write something multichaptered, I go with the flow and post chapter-by-chapter before completion. As a result, I've actually had readers/reviewers steer me into interesting directions I hadn't thought of before. In other words, the posting of chapters before I had all my ideas solidified allowed for a bit of reader-participation that ultimately improved some stories. (That, of course, lies in knowing what advice to take and what to leave behind).
It's different than original fiction writing, though. You absolutely *do not* submit that to any potential agent until your story is complete and self-edited, and if you're lucky to have someone in your life good at editing, edited by them as well.
But with fanfiction? Farts and giggles, should be handled with care, but remember, it's a fun hobby that few in the writing world take seriously, which allows more exploration of style.
In which I attempt to be a writer.Alright... been away from the site for a while, though I'm willing to share some thoughts of my own, if it helps.
In no order whatsoever (might require editing if formatting is off):
- Never, under any circumstance, do things to a story for the hell of it. Plan each change into the story from inception to a bare minimum of 20 chapter away (unless the story's going to end in less than that).
- If you're gonna write a Self Insert, be sure to do it right, kinda like how Kieran (of Beast's Lair
) does it... unless he's not something of a role model for you in terms of SI writing.
- If you want to write a crossover with more than two franchises in it, be sure not to flip-flop on the premise of the story, and stick with what it says it crosses over with (same applies to the normal crossover ideas you might have).
- In regards to OCs, if you have to use them, make sure they have a purpose... especially if they aren't a throwaway character (though this does not exempt throwaways).
- Also, for the love of Swiss cheese, don't retcon your story midway through like they did with Naruto! I mean, it might not count as a retcon, but the full details of the Kyuubi attack sure looked like one.
- Addendum: If you need to make a retcon, make sure you put it at the correct spot in your story, and include the changed details from there... yes, when I say changed details, I mean what happens that reflects the change(s) made.
- On a side note, please, don't handwave anything into the story. That speaks of lazy writing... and lazy writing does not make a good author.
That's all I can think of right now. What do you guys think?
The overarching conclusion I've had when writing my two Frozen fics and which i subsequently used as a FB status update:
"Most important part of writing a story? Love. You try to write a story that you don't love, it'll crumple up on you like a paper crane left out in the rain. Love keeps it moving even when it ought to stall, keeps you in your seat writing it even though you could be doing something else. Makes it endure. Makes it yours."
(similarities to a certain quote from Serenity entirely intentional).
Avoid Stations Of The Canon like the plague. It's the worst kind of inspite of a nail, makes for a boring read, and will kill the story dead when/if you run out of canon to cling to.
Never break the fourth wall for an author tract.
Have an outline for where you want the story to go and know the broad strokes of your ending.
Don't try to keep a scene that no longer fits with the direction of your story, even if it is what inspired you in the first place.

Create your own guidelines for writing fan fiction, of any category. Collect and share entries for your own personal fan fiction bible.
Your entries are yours; they can be as sarcastic, self-deprecating, encompassing, or biting as you wish.
List entries; for instance, mine:
edited 3rd Feb '14 6:58:00 AM by FOFD