Rules for Writing Fanfiction

[Killbert-Robby]

For the sake of the whole art form of writing, I'm gonna have to ask you to stop right there

[Princess]

13. Learn to write first. Please?

I do not agree with this- how do you learn without doing?

[Phact0rri]

13. Learn to write first. Please?

I do not agree with this- how do you learn without doing?

actually most people when learning to do something wait until they've done it a few times before putting it on the internet....

..okay who am I fooling *l*

[Spaceprincess]

35. Please keep the sex scenes to a minimum or forgo them altogether.

Fan fic should only be about erotica, mainly between characters who would never hook up. Kirk and Spock, Hermine and ginny, lando and chewie.

[Killbert-Robby]

35. Please keep the sex scenes to a minimum or forgo them altogether.

Fan fic should only be about erotica, mainly between characters who would never hook up. Kirk and Spock, Hermine and ginny, lando and chewie.

Did you read the Kirk and Snape one!?

[Joel Fagin]

13. Learn to write first. Please?

I do not agree with this- how do you learn without doing?

Hm. Well, you can take a creative writing class but you still have a point. Let me rephrase then...

13. If you are learning to write, understand that you are learning to write. That is, keep your arrogance in check, make an actual effort to improve and keep your expectations modest.

- Joel Fagin

[Princess]

that's more like it

[McDuffies]

All these advices seem like rules for writing any fictional work, with one find/replace intervention. I guess writers of fanfiction should be good writers fully capable of writing their own work too. In which case I don't understand why they're writing fanfiction at all but whatever floats your boat.

But also I got an impression that mary-sue and self-insertion is the very reason why many people write fan-fiction. A day-dreaming that dreamer thought should go publicly.

I usually don't react this strongly to anything

You react strongly to everything.

[Brynnie-chan]

All these advices seem like rules for writing any fictional work, with one find/replace intervention. I guess writers of fanfiction should be good writers fully capable of writing their own work too. In which case I don't understand why they're writing fanfiction at all but whatever floats your boat.

See, now, that's the stereotype I want to get rid of. I mean, crack-fiction can suck, because it's supposed to suck. Same with troll fiction, however annoying the writers of that can get. But there is some fanfiction out there that's really good. You just need to go by what those writers did. And maybe listen to your English teacher. (I'd be majoring in English education if I had more patience for stupidity.)

But also I got an impression that mary-sue and self-insertion is the very reason why many people write fan-fiction. A day-dreaming that dreamer thought should go publicly.

Not gonna lie, that is a pretty big reason. But it can be tolerable - as long as the person is a good writer.

[Wendybird]

Yes, that is a big reason for writing fanfiction, but the reason a lot of people read fanfiction is to find the kind of thing they'd write but done by someone who is better at it than they would be. So skill is important there.

That is not why I write or read fanfiction. At first I did write fics to learn how to write, because I was slow to develop my own distinctive characters with their own ways of speaking when I couldn't write smooth dialogue yet. Now I usually only write a fic when I feel that the original story is incomplete in some way. My favorite was an episode of Firefly I wrote to go after the movie and tie up some loose ends. I also write fan poetry purely for fun.

So there are a lot of reasons to write fanfiction, and if you want to write stuff that other people would enjoy, you do need to practice. And like I've said, the internet may not be the best place to get constructive feedback, but it's sometimes the only means available.

Yes, there are a lot of people not really interested in improving their technique, but they're not going to be the ones paying attention to these rules.

I guess a good rule for writing and reading fanfiction is, find a community where they appreciate the same kind of fics you do.

[Spaceprincess]

35. Please keep the sex scenes to a minimum or forgo them altogether.

Fan fic should only be about erotica, mainly between characters who would never hook up. Kirk and Spock, Hermine and ginny, lando and chewie.

Did you read the Kirk and Snape one!?

KIrk and Snape? outrageous! If it's written in klingon that would be double plus good. I know someone who loves trek and Potter fan fic and would probably dig that.

[Killbert-Robby]

Argh, can't find it, but have some Picard and Elrond

Elrond went further by clutching Picard with his fingers, pulling at the fabric of his slacks to feel what was underneath.

The telltale bulge in the elf's leggings stood out between them, especially with the weight it had against Picard's thigh.

Elrond moved over Picard's body like a serpent and sharply nibbled at a peaked nipple.

[McDuffies]

Love the serpent metaphore.

[Spaceprincess]

wow! looks like picard crossed the final frontier! he boldly went were no elf has gone before. If you can get worf and gimli in there you've got something.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I usually don't react this strongly to anything

You react strongly to everything.

This is true. My friends and I recently determined that I have some sort of anti-sarcasm bubble around me that causes most sarcastic comments to fly gaily over my head.

[Joel Fagin]

In which case I don't understand why they're writing fanfiction at all

Because while editors will, at best, say something like "We'd like to publish your story", fans will often say stuff more along the lines of "Wow! That was completely unexpected and cool! You rock!"*

Appreciation keeps you motivated, don't'cha'know?

- Joel Fagin

* Actual quote.

[BrownEyedCat]

Personally, I don't see the point of putting limitations on fanfiction, or whether or not you should post it. I suppose I think of them as the equivalent of doodles. No matter how little time you put into them, how well or poorly you fashion it, how pornographic or pedestrian the content, when posting it so that one or two friends from school can easily look over it is exactly the same as posting it for the whole world to review, who gives a damn whether or not their posting their fantasies in 'public'?

Sure, if you take your scraps of fiction, post links everywhere to get some exposure, then get pissed because exposure breeds criticism, you deserve what you get, but really... I've got no idealogical problem with even the dregs of fanfiction.

[Blackaby]

From a business perspective...

#whatever - Remember, your fan-fiction can launch your best selling writing career, get you an agent, nab you a publishing career, and pad out your resume - but that's at the pinnacle of a long, long learning arc. The fanfic community will teach you more about your writing than any course, online or offline, and for the first time in your life you'll actually have an idea of the quality you need to write in order to 'make the grade' - and you'll also get a heck lot more support when it comes to editing and improving your work than you will anywhere else. Fanfic can teach you character development, scene-setting, plotting, and just about every other skill you could possibly require as a writer. Be open to the support that comes your way, and make use of your friendships within the community - you'd be surprised how many authors, agents and publishers lurk around the fanfic scene.

[Joel Fagin]

Remember, your fan-fiction can launch your best selling writing career, get you an agent, nab you a publishing career, and pad out your resume

Some publishers look down on fan fiction (and in fairness I can see why). This is part of the reason I use a nom-de-plume on the web.

- Joel Fagin

[McDuffies]

In which case I don't understand why they're writing fanfiction at all

Because while editors will, at best, say something like "We'd like to publish your story", fans will often say stuff more along the lines of "Wow! That was completely unexpected and cool! You rock!"*

I mean I don't understand "why they're writing fanfiction instead of work with original characters", not "why they're publishing on web instead of in book stores."

Fanfiction is kinda limiting. You can deal with your characters only within the guidelines of someone else, and what's worse, should your work get any popular or good, you'll be prevented from picking up the fruits of your hard work, which I imagine would be very demoralizing for me.

Frankly the reason why fanfiction is so popular lies in fact that everyone thinks they can write it.