What Would You Say...

[kriadydragon]

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while, just for fun :)

If a first-time fanfic writer asked you for advice on writing fanfic, what would you tell them?

Me...

Straight forward - don't have your first story centered around an original character you made up. There's nothing wrong with putting an original character in a fanfic, but people read for the canon characters. If you're just writing fanfic because you have a nifty original character you want to share with the world, but don't really care much for the fandom you're writing in (you just think your original character is cooler than everyone else and would fit in perfectly) then you shouldn't be writing fanfic. If you believe centering a fanfic story around an original character will make you story popular, you're setting yourself up for a massive let-down.

The best way to handle an original character in a fanfic, in my opinion, is to have the story just as much - if not more - about one of the canon characters than your made-up character. And whatever you do, don't heap all the interesting stuff only on your original character. you're better off saving the good stuff for canon characters. Again, no one reads fanfic for nifty original characters, they read for the characters on the show.

Before posting, get someone else to look over your story. Barring that, read through your story at least twice - preferably three times - before posting. The cleaner the story, the better the reception.

When asking for advice on how to better your story, don't listen to anyone who tells you that adding romance/slash/whump to your story will bring in more readers. They're just serving their own purposes by telling you how to write. Do listen to people offering advice about how to better what you already have in the story. You don't have to necessarily practice what they're preaching in your story, but you should at least take what they have to say into careful consideration.

Put up warnings, ratings; if the story contains sex, slash, violence, swearing. It doesn't give anything in the story away, and no one appreciates being blindsided.

Going along with that, decide in advance what your genre will be - romance, slash, gen, whump, dark fic. Again, no one likes to be blindsided, and to have a gen fic suddenly turn into romance or slash without warning is incredibly unfair to those readers who aren't a fan of those genres. If your story does take a turn into another genre, then put in the proper warnings.

Comments

[karri-kln1671.livejournal.com]

If a first-time fanfic writer asked you for advice on writing fanfic, what would you tell them?

I'd be one of those obnoxious sorts who would lob a bunch a questions at them first. You know, like: What made you think of writing fanfic? What are you hoping to get out of it? Etc.

Aggravating questions like that, because depending on the answer, my advice might be don't write fanfic. or, Go ahead and write your Mary Sue, but don't expect it to go over well. or, Find someone you can trust to give you honest opinions and critiques. Get to know the character and universe you want to write about well.

So it won't so much be a, "Can you give me advice?" with a response of, "Sure, here's my advice." as it would be a discussion of the ins and outs of fanfiction and writing in general.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, good one. Heh, although I think if you'd asked me those question when I first started writing fanfic, I probably would have run screaming for the hills;). I first got into because it looked like fun and because it was a way to get ideas of episodes I would have liked to have seen out of my head.

Which is why I would go for generic answers, because I would assume that the new writer is getting into fanfic for the same reasons I did - it looked like fun and was a way to manifest an episode of their dreams. It wasn't until later that I realized that fanfic could be a means to bettering ones writing skills. In turn, it got me more involved in fandom in order to better those skills.

So a discussion would probably be better, especially if someone were using fanfic as a way to enhance their writing ability.

But if they didn't care about bettering their skills, they're just into fanfic because it's fun, then I would stick with simple generic answers... mostly to spare the readers from aggrivation ;)

[karri-kln1671.livejournal.com]

first got into because it looked like fun and because it was a way to get ideas of episodes I would have liked to have seen out of my head.

And those would be perfectly acceptable answers that would give me a better understanding of what advice to give. ;)

Heh, although I think if you'd asked me those question when I first started writing fanfic, I probably would have run screaming for the hills;).

I think a person needs to realize, more now perhaps than they did back when I got started a decade ago, what they're getting into when they get into fanfic and to understand their own motivations for getting into it. Fun is an excellent reason to do it, but the world of fanfiction can be very not fun sometimes.

I have some friends who write to entertain themselves and others who write for the accolades of the readers. The advice I'd give to someone writing to entertain themselves would be a lot more relaxed than the advice I'd give someone hoping for accolades.

Yeah, what you said!

[(Anonymous)]

My opinion may not matter much seeing as I'm not a writer (I just don't think I'm any good at it).....but I do know good material when I read it and I know what I like.

I am soooo glad you brought this up. There used to be so many good stories on fanfiction.net. It's where I found some of my favorite authors (i.e. kriadydragon, Titan5, Friendshipper, Kodiak and many many more)

Lately though about 95% of what I'm finding is the dreaded MarySue, and romance, or slash. It's just NOT my thing. (I know, I know.....to each his own....but where has all the good CANON, friendshippy, whumpy, H/C gone???)

Anyway, I thought you had excellent advice. I agree wholeheartedly:

If you write fanfiction, it's about the 'fans' of a character, group of characters, and/or show.

Keep your original character secondary and out of the realm of the 'end-all, be-all' (I've read stories with some very impressive original characters - if utilized correctly, they're a real hit) Heehee.....I really liked Snacks!

Lastly, concentrating on the plot & writing style is important. Along with all any warnings.

I've actually read some stories that are slightly outside of my comfort zone (only slightly -- usually barely borderline if you squint, but still) because the story line was really good and was well written. However, I knew what it entailed and made a decision. I would not have like to have been "blind-sided" (i.e. death-fics put me in a real funk for the rest of the day.) Blah!

I'm a dork! I could have just posted that 'I agree with everything you just said!' LOL

Have a good one!
November

Re: Yeah, what you said!

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

My list really is more of a wish-list - not so much of what I wish writers would do, but what I wish I could tell them. One, because, yes, I'm being selfish. But two because there was a writer who asked for advice to make her fic better. Someone told her (I'm assuming it was a her, the story struck me as very "most likely to be written by a girl in Middle School") to include romance, and she did. It didn't make the story any better (it wasn't that good to begin with - a bad fusion, OC getting whumped more than a canon character, poor writing skills, etc) but it ended up getting me to think about what I would tell a newbie writer if they asked. That was several weeks ago and it's been dancing about my head ever since, so I thought I'd get it out of my mind by getting it out into the open ;)

As a writer, I really do have to side with people being able to write what they want and what makes them happy. But as a reader, there are times I wish there were rules or guidelines or a handbook on how to write good fanfic or "something," because there is far too much crap and the majority of the time there's no reason for it (i.e. all the writer needs is a beta or at least a couple of rereads to clean things up.)

I think you've confused Snacks with Sherbet, unless you did mean Snacks. Sherbet's my creature and Snacks is a creature created by another author. People seem to get them confused quite a bit ;)

Re: Yeah, what you said!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I DO mean Sherbet! I like Snacks too, but Sherbet was what I had in mind when I was posting. (Boy is my face RED! LOL) Reading back over my post, it looks like I could have used a beta myself! LOL.

I understand alot of people like to write because they enjoy it, and it would be wrong of me to criticize their efforts (I can't write, therefore I read!)

However, there are stories out there that I can't help but think "this could have been a great story if they had only........"

Some problems are grammar, spelling, etc. which I try to ignore. Other issues come in with hugh holes in the story line, lots and lots of loose ends. Unexplained healing of injuries, superhuman feats of strength and skill etc. etc. (i.e. the character just suffered a life threatening injury and is lying near death and then two sentenses down is up running around shooting up the bad guys with no sign or mention of any such injury. Wow the character just spontaneously healed?

I read a chapter fic (quite long) that was just amazing.....when it suddenly veered off into a tangent leaving the reader going "whaaaat?" (A long time ago in a different fandom far, far, away)

It was a wonderful build-up. Good strong characters, nicely built and well utilized original characters, canon characters were on target and then the story did a complete 180. It went totally against the entire premise/plot line/main idea, and title of the story.

It was supposed to be a story about what would have happened to the characters had a certain event not taken place. (AU ending to a Canon story.) It was going very well and then all of the sudden, the event that was not supposed to have taken place, (the whole reason behind the story itself) did. *Um okaaay*

Anyway, I guess I'm trying to say, new writers could benefit greatly from the advice of more skilled/experienced writers and betas.

I guess I could have just said that to begin with. (See! This is why I don't write! I tend to ramble....on and on and on) LOL

Have a good one!
November

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

The first thing I would tell them is READ. Read, read, read. Books, magazines, newspapers, everything. Find the best fanfic authors of your chosen fandom, and read their stories. Writing a fic is different than writing an ep - tense, viewpoint, etc. Don't try to copy their styles - have your own - but watch how they develop a character or a theme or a storyline. Invest in a dictionary and thesaurus while you're at it.

Next, write what you want to write. You don't have to define yourself by genre. If there's a story you want to tell, tell it.

Third, get thyself a beta. It really does make a difference to have someone to bounce ideas off of and to have another set of eyes (or two or three) looking over your story. Find someone that is technically proficient and honest - someone that will tell you if the story is crap then offer suggestions on how to make it better.

Lastly, don't give up. If you really enjoy writing fanfic, keep writing even if you don't receive a thousand reviews. Listen to constructive criticism but don't bend the boundaries you've set for yourself or change your style simply because some readers want ship/slash/whump/humor/whatever. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Have fun.