Everything you ever wanted to know about fanfiction...
And a lot of stuff you probably didn't.
So, you want to write fanfiction?
Excellent! Every fandom needs authors, especially authors who are committed to telling a great story!
In this (hopefully brief) tutorial, I'll go over a few of the basics and give up a few secrets. All the tools that I reference will be linked at the bottom. And some nifty information will be there as well.
1) You need a great word processor.
There are many processors to choose from. You can use whatever came standard on your computer or you can check out a few freebies. I personally use Rough Draft. I heard a rumor that this is the program that J.K. Rowing used to write Harry Potter with and I was sold. Rough Draft is perfect for what I do. There's a built in notepad that you can quickly jot down your ideas on and there's a built in HTML conversion tool that makes publishing your fanfiction easy, breezy, and beautiful. (Sorry, I'm watching America's Next Top Model)
What you need to know if you're posting your story from a program like Microsoft Word or your email ... you *must* copy it and paste it into a program like Notepad in order to preserve your formatting. If you don't do that, your fic will run together without paragraph breaks, like this:
"What are you doing?" Derek asked.
"I am about to gut you with my scalpel!" Addison replied.
"Uh, why?" Derek shifted nervously.
"Because I've been reading incorrectly formatted fanfiction and I am homicidal."
See? There are no breaks. If you will copy your fiction from your Word Processor into Notepad (there's no HTML there, you're fine) ... and then paste it into Livejournal ... you're good to go.
2) Livejournal cuts my fic off after so many characters. Why?
If you post directly from the Livejournal post option, then you are going to get cut off at around 10,000 characters. I don't know why. But it's annoying. I've found a backdoor around that, however. If you utilize one of the updating tools like Semagic (which is my personal favorite), you can eliminate the character restriction. I've posted up to 15,000 words per chapter by using Semagic to post. And it's also very easy to format, preview, and edit your post with Semagic. You can add italics, bold, underline, usernames, community tags, etc ... with one click. Semagic is your friend if you want to have your fic looking nice and don't want to spend all day trying to format it.
3) Why the fanfiction header is your friend.
Headers are basically the resumes of fanfic. This is where you list your pairing, your rating, and summary. People will decide whether or not to read you based on your header and one sure fire way to make sure that no one reads you is to get lazy with your header. Check this out:
Title: Untitled, I suck at titles
Author: Me
Pairing: Just read it.
Rating: R-ish????
Summary: Just read it.
Would you read that? The purpose of the header is the hook the reader. So, you really should be decisive about your title, your rating, and your pairing. If you plan on surprising the reader with a new pairing and don't want to spoil it ... at least list one character in your pairing so the reader can go into it prepared. That goes for multiple chapter fics as well. If you want a hook up to be a surprise you can get away with not listing it in your pairing, but after it happens and in new chapters, you should list it. It's a fantastic way to get new readers. If you're only writing Arizona/Callie, but then add Derek/Meredith later on ... maybe the Derek/Meredith fans will go back and give it a try.
Let's look at the mandatory components of a header:
Title: This helps the reader remember your fic.
Author: We want to remember you so tell us your username or your name.
Pairing: I don't want to accidentally read Meredith/Lexie, okay?
Rating: Even if THIS part is PG, rate the overall fic. If there WILL BE smut, it's NC17.
Summary: Even if you're bad at a summary, try it.
Disclaimer: This is a big one. Cease and desist letters happen far too often in fandoms. Put your disclaimer in your header. Use a REAL disclaimer and not something cute like "I don't own them, yo". Your disclaimer needs to make it CLEAR that you not only do not own them, but you also make no money and mean no harm. This is for YOUR protection. Don't skimp on your disclaimer.
And what you don't want to do with a header? Is write something so long that the reader is left scrolling for ten minutes to get to the cut tag to read the fic. By then? Not interested. Keep it short, simple, concise, and to the point.
And everything you post needs a header ... even if it's a second, third, fifth, or twentieth chapter. Everything.
4) Making peace with lj-cuts.
You should put your story behind a lj-cut to preserve friend's lists. Think about how many fictions are posted daily. All that fic would make the page MILES long and hard to navigate. So, please ... even if you are posting your fic to your own journal ... lj-cuts are your friend. It will also make it easier for readers to find all of your stories if they don't have to scroll through long chapters and can just read the headers instead. I know it's hard to believe, but a lot of people still use dialup. Please be user friendly and love the cut. The cut will love you, too.
5) Multiple chapters!? Where are they!?!
Some authors are verbose (raises hand guiltily) and can write a 50 chapter story in the blink of an eye. As a courtesy to your readers it's always a good idea to post links to previous chapters under the lj-cut. You can do them in a straight line or right beside each other, but having those links in one spot is an excellent way to encourage new people to read you. If they click on chapter 18 and read it ... and wonder what the hell is going on ... they're more inclined to go read chapters 1-17 if they can scroll to the top and find them easily.
What I do when I have a multi-chapter fic is save all the HTML for the links in a Notepad file with the header and then post that along with each new chapter. It gets easy after a while and it's very convenient for your reader.
6) Beta reader! I don't need no stinkin' beta reader!
Even the best, most polished authors need another set of eyes. You can miss words or grammatical errors because if you are the one who wrote it ... you are more inclined to see it the way you intended it to be. I can't tell you how often I cringe when I see my own typos. I should have always had a beta reader and now that I do ... life is much, much easier.
If English isn't your first language, finding someone English to work with you is a great plan.
And beta readers, this is for you, please take your duties seriously. If you think a sentence doesn't work or someone is out of character ... SPEAK UP. You are the screening audience and the author relies on you for your honest opinion. :)
7) Updating too often. Yes, it's possible.
In my opinion, when you are writing a multi chapter fiction, you should NOT post a new chapter until you have at least 1500 - 2000 words. Me? I only post when I have 10,000 words. I like for a reader to be able to settle in and read my work for a while. You may not be like me, however, but I can tell you that 500 word chapters really only work for James Patterson and even he takes a lot of flack for that from his peers.
So pace yourself. Set a personal goal to write 1500 words before you post. It will not only make YOU a better writer ... it will occupy your reader for longer and that's what you want.
8) Formatting woes and why reading all cursive will make you insane.
My personal rule of thumb when posting fanfiction to communities (even my own) is NOT to tinker with the major formatting. Ever. A lot of people read fanfiction on their own friend's list and if you change the font to white and their background is white ... it's not pretty. The same with the font. If a reader doesn't have the font you specify saved on their computer, they won't see it. They may get some crazy cursive font that is in all caps and pull their hair out by the time they read the first paragraph. I've personally given myself a wedgie to take my mind off of the Buffy font that my favorite author just used to post her entire update.
Communities have fonts that are set up for that community for a reason. So, don't make your font size a ten, or use Mural Script, or underline everything, or tinker too much with the formatting because that's bad, mmmkay?
If you want to underline things in your header or make use of italics for dreams or flashbacks then go for it, but close that command at the end.
And ALWAYS preview before you hit post.
But please please please leave the fonts and colors alone. Our eyes are begging you.
9) Word, word, word, word. You keep saying that word! I do not think it means what you think it means.
Repeating yourself in a paragraph can ruin the flow of your story. What am I talking about?
Spiderman stood beside the door. The door was closed. He put his hand on the door and stood leaning against the doorframe while he waited for her to knock on the door. He knew she was on the other side of the door. His Spider sense tingled as he pressed his palm against the door and exhaled, hoping she heard it on the other side of the door.
DOOR DOOR DOOR DOOR!
This is where I go and slam my head against the door, then slam my hand in it, and then take it off the hinges and throw it outside. Your beta reader should catch this for you, but it's also something that every author should be aware of as they're writing. If you train yourself to catch overuse of words ... you'll catch yourself doing it before you send it to your beta.
And on the subject of words ... the English language is full of pitfalls. Words sound the same, but they're spelled differently. Words are spelled the same, but sound different. And a lot of it is interchangeable.
Me? I struggle with "wraith" vesus "wrath". It's my own inner moppet to spank.
Learn the differences between they're, there, and their. Figure out whether you're supposed to use lay, laid, or lie. Is there an excess or an access? Did he wonder or wander? This will only help make you a better author.
For instance:
they're = "they are"
e.g.: "They're ready to go to the operating room." OR "They are ready to go to the operating room."
there = a location
e.g.: "No, Alex! Don't put the clamp there."
their = shows belonging
e.g.: "Callie and Arizona kissed and leaned their foreheads together and finally understood that they were lesbians. Because that's what lesbians do."
I have become very good friends with www.rhymezone.com because I can find synonyms when I'm overusing a word, but also find the definition and proper usage right there in one spot.
10) Feedback! Gimme some! NAOW!
This piece of advice will probably land me in hot water, but I'm going to say it anyway:
If you are writing simply because you want and need feedback, if you post a story and then wait on pins and needles for validation, if you get angry when no one replies or blast people demanding that they comment ... you are writing for the wrong reasons.
Maybe I've been doing it so long (over twenty years now and no, I am not an old coot) that I have different priorities, but I write for me. As much as I love interacting with readers and hearing what they've enjoyed or disliked ... I don't have to post anything to feel accomplished. I have a TON of fanfiction that I wrote just for me and it will never see the light of day, but I still feel exhilarated when I read it myself or write 'The End' at the bottom.
Write for yourself first and foremost. If you are happy with your story, then it doesn't matter if anyone comments. But here's a secret ... when you make YOURSELF happy ... that comes through in the story. When you are passionate about *writing* and not *feedback* ... that's when you'll get the most feedback. Because the quality of your story is up to your OWN standards first and foremost and we are all our biggest critics. So make yourself happy. If you build it instead of throw it together ... they will come.
11) Unsolicited advice. You can has it.
After years of writing 'Facts of Life', 'Santa Barbara', 'Days of Our Lives', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', 'My So Called Life', 'Dawson's Creek', 'Grey's Anatomy', and several movie fandoms ... I've pretty much seen and done it all. I've failed a million times, I've made a mess of a decent story more often than I can tell you, and I've thought about quitting so often that I should have 'quitter' tattooed on my forehead, but I'm not going anywhere. This started out as a hobby and has become a huge part of my life now. I'm thankful for fanfiction for teaching me so much and bringing so many amazing people into my life.
Fanfiction is fun. Playing in someone else's playground can be ... and usually is ... a lot easier than starting something original. You're working with established characters, a huge fanbase, and loyal followers when you dive into fanfiction, but certain rules still apply.
You need to write to the very best of your abilities.
You need to marry yourself off to grammar, punctuation, continuity, and spelling.
You must be in it for the right reason ... because you LOVE it ... and not because you like to have your ego stroked.
And you must, must, must be prepared to fail.
Not every story will work. Not every pairing, story arc, or original character will resonate with the readers, but don't let your readers write the story for you. Stick to your plans and write what you are passionate about. Please yourself. Always.
And finally ... have a good time with it. Don't let anyone steal your joy. Own it. Believe in it. And write.
Some helpful links in one nifty place:
Rough Draft: Word Processor of the Stars
Semagic: Livejournal Made Easy
Rhymezone: Where the Words Live
Everything You Need To Know About Writing
Bad Fanfic! No Biscuit! - What To Avoid
How To Write Fanfiction
Writing Smut
Write 101 Archives: Knowledge On The Go
Is Erotica Right For You?
Tests: Know Your Weaknesses, Learn Your Strengths:
English Grammar
Punctuation and Spelling
Some Sample Writing Tests
And that is all, y'all.
Disperse.
And thank you VERY much for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it and it makes posting a little easier. :)
Love, hugs, and backrubs,
burningeden
P to the S, thank you aclairec for cropping the banner and putting text on it. :)
So, you want to write fanfiction?
Excellent! Every fandom needs authors, especially authors who are committed to telling a great story!
In this (hopefully brief) tutorial, I'll go over a few of the basics and give up a few secrets. All the tools that I reference will be linked at the bottom. And some nifty information will be there as well.
1) You need a great word processor.
There are many processors to choose from. You can use whatever came standard on your computer or you can check out a few freebies. I personally use Rough Draft. I heard a rumor that this is the program that J.K. Rowing used to write Harry Potter with and I was sold. Rough Draft is perfect for what I do. There's a built in notepad that you can quickly jot down your ideas on and there's a built in HTML conversion tool that makes publishing your fanfiction easy, breezy, and beautiful. (Sorry, I'm watching America's Next Top Model)
What you need to know if you're posting your story from a program like Microsoft Word or your email ... you *must* copy it and paste it into a program like Notepad in order to preserve your formatting. If you don't do that, your fic will run together without paragraph breaks, like this:
"What are you doing?" Derek asked.
"I am about to gut you with my scalpel!" Addison replied.
"Uh, why?" Derek shifted nervously.
"Because I've been reading incorrectly formatted fanfiction and I am homicidal."
See? There are no breaks. If you will copy your fiction from your Word Processor into Notepad (there's no HTML there, you're fine) ... and then paste it into Livejournal ... you're good to go.
2) Livejournal cuts my fic off after so many characters. Why?
If you post directly from the Livejournal post option, then you are going to get cut off at around 10,000 characters. I don't know why. But it's annoying. I've found a backdoor around that, however. If you utilize one of the updating tools like Semagic (which is my personal favorite), you can eliminate the character restriction. I've posted up to 15,000 words per chapter by using Semagic to post. And it's also very easy to format, preview, and edit your post with Semagic. You can add italics, bold, underline, usernames, community tags, etc ... with one click. Semagic is your friend if you want to have your fic looking nice and don't want to spend all day trying to format it.
3) Why the fanfiction header is your friend.
Headers are basically the resumes of fanfic. This is where you list your pairing, your rating, and summary. People will decide whether or not to read you based on your header and one sure fire way to make sure that no one reads you is to get lazy with your header. Check this out:
Title: Untitled, I suck at titles
Author: Me
Pairing: Just read it.
Rating: R-ish????
Summary: Just read it.
Would you read that? The purpose of the header is the hook the reader. So, you really should be decisive about your title, your rating, and your pairing. If you plan on surprising the reader with a new pairing and don't want to spoil it ... at least list one character in your pairing so the reader can go into it prepared. That goes for multiple chapter fics as well. If you want a hook up to be a surprise you can get away with not listing it in your pairing, but after it happens and in new chapters, you should list it. It's a fantastic way to get new readers. If you're only writing Arizona/Callie, but then add Derek/Meredith later on ... maybe the Derek/Meredith fans will go back and give it a try.
Let's look at the mandatory components of a header:
Title: This helps the reader remember your fic.
Author: We want to remember you so tell us your username or your name.
Pairing: I don't want to accidentally read Meredith/Lexie, okay?
Rating: Even if THIS part is PG, rate the overall fic. If there WILL BE smut, it's NC17.
Summary: Even if you're bad at a summary, try it.
Disclaimer: This is a big one. Cease and desist letters happen far too often in fandoms. Put your disclaimer in your header. Use a REAL disclaimer and not something cute like "I don't own them, yo". Your disclaimer needs to make it CLEAR that you not only do not own them, but you also make no money and mean no harm. This is for YOUR protection. Don't skimp on your disclaimer.
And what you don't want to do with a header? Is write something so long that the reader is left scrolling for ten minutes to get to the cut tag to read the fic. By then? Not interested. Keep it short, simple, concise, and to the point.
And everything you post needs a header ... even if it's a second, third, fifth, or twentieth chapter. Everything.
4) Making peace with lj-cuts.
You should put your story behind a lj-cut to preserve friend's lists. Think about how many fictions are posted daily. All that fic would make the page MILES long and hard to navigate. So, please ... even if you are posting your fic to your own journal ... lj-cuts are your friend. It will also make it easier for readers to find all of your stories if they don't have to scroll through long chapters and can just read the headers instead. I know it's hard to believe, but a lot of people still use dialup. Please be user friendly and love the cut. The cut will love you, too.
5) Multiple chapters!? Where are they!?!
Some authors are verbose (raises hand guiltily) and can write a 50 chapter story in the blink of an eye. As a courtesy to your readers it's always a good idea to post links to previous chapters under the lj-cut. You can do them in a straight line or right beside each other, but having those links in one spot is an excellent way to encourage new people to read you. If they click on chapter 18 and read it ... and wonder what the hell is going on ... they're more inclined to go read chapters 1-17 if they can scroll to the top and find them easily.
What I do when I have a multi-chapter fic is save all the HTML for the links in a Notepad file with the header and then post that along with each new chapter. It gets easy after a while and it's very convenient for your reader.
6) Beta reader! I don't need no stinkin' beta reader!
Even the best, most polished authors need another set of eyes. You can miss words or grammatical errors because if you are the one who wrote it ... you are more inclined to see it the way you intended it to be. I can't tell you how often I cringe when I see my own typos. I should have always had a beta reader and now that I do ... life is much, much easier.
If English isn't your first language, finding someone English to work with you is a great plan.
And beta readers, this is for you, please take your duties seriously. If you think a sentence doesn't work or someone is out of character ... SPEAK UP. You are the screening audience and the author relies on you for your honest opinion. :)
7) Updating too often. Yes, it's possible.
In my opinion, when you are writing a multi chapter fiction, you should NOT post a new chapter until you have at least 1500 - 2000 words. Me? I only post when I have 10,000 words. I like for a reader to be able to settle in and read my work for a while. You may not be like me, however, but I can tell you that 500 word chapters really only work for James Patterson and even he takes a lot of flack for that from his peers.
So pace yourself. Set a personal goal to write 1500 words before you post. It will not only make YOU a better writer ... it will occupy your reader for longer and that's what you want.
8) Formatting woes and why reading all cursive will make you insane.
My personal rule of thumb when posting fanfiction to communities (even my own) is NOT to tinker with the major formatting. Ever. A lot of people read fanfiction on their own friend's list and if you change the font to white and their background is white ... it's not pretty. The same with the font. If a reader doesn't have the font you specify saved on their computer, they won't see it. They may get some crazy cursive font that is in all caps and pull their hair out by the time they read the first paragraph. I've personally given myself a wedgie to take my mind off of the Buffy font that my favorite author just used to post her entire update.
Communities have fonts that are set up for that community for a reason. So, don't make your font size a ten, or use Mural Script, or underline everything, or tinker too much with the formatting because that's bad, mmmkay?
If you want to underline things in your header or make use of italics for dreams or flashbacks then go for it, but close that command at the end.
And ALWAYS preview before you hit post.
But please please please leave the fonts and colors alone. Our eyes are begging you.
9) Word, word, word, word. You keep saying that word! I do not think it means what you think it means.
Repeating yourself in a paragraph can ruin the flow of your story. What am I talking about?
Spiderman stood beside the door. The door was closed. He put his hand on the door and stood leaning against the doorframe while he waited for her to knock on the door. He knew she was on the other side of the door. His Spider sense tingled as he pressed his palm against the door and exhaled, hoping she heard it on the other side of the door.
DOOR DOOR DOOR DOOR!
This is where I go and slam my head against the door, then slam my hand in it, and then take it off the hinges and throw it outside. Your beta reader should catch this for you, but it's also something that every author should be aware of as they're writing. If you train yourself to catch overuse of words ... you'll catch yourself doing it before you send it to your beta.
And on the subject of words ... the English language is full of pitfalls. Words sound the same, but they're spelled differently. Words are spelled the same, but sound different. And a lot of it is interchangeable.
Me? I struggle with "wraith" vesus "wrath". It's my own inner moppet to spank.
Learn the differences between they're, there, and their. Figure out whether you're supposed to use lay, laid, or lie. Is there an excess or an access? Did he wonder or wander? This will only help make you a better author.
For instance:
they're = "they are"
e.g.: "They're ready to go to the operating room." OR "They are ready to go to the operating room."
there = a location
e.g.: "No, Alex! Don't put the clamp there."
their = shows belonging
e.g.: "Callie and Arizona kissed and leaned their foreheads together and finally understood that they were lesbians. Because that's what lesbians do."
I have become very good friends with www.rhymezone.com because I can find synonyms when I'm overusing a word, but also find the definition and proper usage right there in one spot.
10) Feedback! Gimme some! NAOW!
This piece of advice will probably land me in hot water, but I'm going to say it anyway:
If you are writing simply because you want and need feedback, if you post a story and then wait on pins and needles for validation, if you get angry when no one replies or blast people demanding that they comment ... you are writing for the wrong reasons.
Maybe I've been doing it so long (over twenty years now and no, I am not an old coot) that I have different priorities, but I write for me. As much as I love interacting with readers and hearing what they've enjoyed or disliked ... I don't have to post anything to feel accomplished. I have a TON of fanfiction that I wrote just for me and it will never see the light of day, but I still feel exhilarated when I read it myself or write 'The End' at the bottom.
Write for yourself first and foremost. If you are happy with your story, then it doesn't matter if anyone comments. But here's a secret ... when you make YOURSELF happy ... that comes through in the story. When you are passionate about *writing* and not *feedback* ... that's when you'll get the most feedback. Because the quality of your story is up to your OWN standards first and foremost and we are all our biggest critics. So make yourself happy. If you build it instead of throw it together ... they will come.
11) Unsolicited advice. You can has it.
After years of writing 'Facts of Life', 'Santa Barbara', 'Days of Our Lives', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', 'My So Called Life', 'Dawson's Creek', 'Grey's Anatomy', and several movie fandoms ... I've pretty much seen and done it all. I've failed a million times, I've made a mess of a decent story more often than I can tell you, and I've thought about quitting so often that I should have 'quitter' tattooed on my forehead, but I'm not going anywhere. This started out as a hobby and has become a huge part of my life now. I'm thankful for fanfiction for teaching me so much and bringing so many amazing people into my life.
Fanfiction is fun. Playing in someone else's playground can be ... and usually is ... a lot easier than starting something original. You're working with established characters, a huge fanbase, and loyal followers when you dive into fanfiction, but certain rules still apply.
You need to write to the very best of your abilities.
You need to marry yourself off to grammar, punctuation, continuity, and spelling.
You must be in it for the right reason ... because you LOVE it ... and not because you like to have your ego stroked.
And you must, must, must be prepared to fail.
Not every story will work. Not every pairing, story arc, or original character will resonate with the readers, but don't let your readers write the story for you. Stick to your plans and write what you are passionate about. Please yourself. Always.
And finally ... have a good time with it. Don't let anyone steal your joy. Own it. Believe in it. And write.
Some helpful links in one nifty place:
Rough Draft: Word Processor of the Stars
Semagic: Livejournal Made Easy
Rhymezone: Where the Words Live
Everything You Need To Know About Writing
Bad Fanfic! No Biscuit! - What To Avoid
How To Write Fanfiction
Writing Smut
Write 101 Archives: Knowledge On The Go
Is Erotica Right For You?
Tests: Know Your Weaknesses, Learn Your Strengths:
English Grammar
Punctuation and Spelling
Some Sample Writing Tests
And that is all, y'all.
Disperse.
And thank you VERY much for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it and it makes posting a little easier. :)
Love, hugs, and backrubs,
burningeden
P to the S, thank you aclairec for cropping the banner and putting text on it. :)