Definition of Common Terms in Fanfiction

A newcomer to fanfiction might feel like summaries and descriptions are written in code. Actually, there are many terms that a fanfiction writer will expect her readers to already know. To help the newcomers - or even the old readers who never knew what a certain term meant but were afraid to ask - is a short dictionary of fanfiction terms that are common across many fandoms.

A/N - Author's Note, a note at the beginning or end of a story providing backstory or explanation.

AU - Alternate Universe, a "what if?" story in which certain canon events are changed. A common form is the "fix-it" fic, in which the author ignores a character death, romantic pairing, or other event that she dislikes and continues writing as if it had never happened. Alternate Universe stories which take certain characters and put them in an entirely new situation - for example, portraying Luke and Leia as high school students and Darth Vader as their corrupt principal - is sometimes called an Alternate Reality (AR) story instead.

Beta - A beta reader is someone who reads a fanfic before it is published to check for things like spelling and grammar errors, continuity, and characterization. Many fanfiction authors will thank their beta readers by name at the beginning or end of the story. Others will sometimes warn that a story is "unbetaed," i.e. it has not been proofread by anyone but the author.

Canon - Outside of fandom, the word originally meant the books of the Bible that a Church expressly acknowledged as true; by extension, in fandom it means anything the creators of a TV show, movie, book, etc. expressly acknowledge as true. Fans may argue over whether this means just things that are written or said in the source material itself, or if it extends to things that authors or creators say in interviews. See also: fanon.

Crossover - A fanfiction story which incorporates characters and ideas from one or more fandoms. For example, a story in which Willow goes to Hogwarts would be a Harry Potter/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover. Sometimes abbreviated "Xover."

Drabble - Properly, this means a fanfiction story of exactly one hundred words, although in practice it is used to refer to any short (under 500 words) piece of fanfiction.

Fanon - A portmanteau of "fan canon," this term refers to things generally accepted by fans as true, even though they are not officially canon. In some cases, fanon expressly contradicts canon; for example, fanfiction writers often portray Draco Malfoy as a "bad boy" with a good heart, when in the Harry Potter books he is intentionally evil. In fandoms where there is a good deal of communication between writers and fans, fanon may eventually become canon - for example, Jack had referred to artifacts as "rocks" in hundreds of fanfics before he used the phrase in a Season 8 episode of Stargate SG-1. Fanon that is later contradicted by canon is said to be "Jossed," a reference to Buffy creator Joss Whedon's tendency to kill fan theories about the show and characters.

Femslash - A story featuring a romantic pairing between two women. In some fandoms this is called "saffic" (a pun on "sapphic"), although this is not widespread. See also: slash.

Filk - Fanfiction in the form of a song parody. This term may also refer to song parodies about computers and technology.

Fluff - A light, humorous fanfiction story, usually short and often romantic.

Gen - A fanfiction story which, depending on the fandom, does not feature sexual situations, does not feature romantic pairings at all, and/or is rated G or PG.

H/C - Hurt/Comfort; a story in which one character is put through a painful and traumatic experience and another character must comfort him. Used to strengthen or create a friendship or romantic bond.

Jossed - See: fanon.

Mary Sue - See the separate article "What is a Mary Sue?"

Newbie - Someone new to a fandom or fanfiction writing.

OC - Original Character; a character created by the author. May be specified as OFC (original female character) or OMC (original male character).

OTP - One True Pairing; an author's favorite pairing in the fandom. A "pairing" involving three or more characters may be termed an "OT3," "OT4," etc.

R&R - Read and Review; an author's request for feedback about her story.

RPF - Real Person Fic; fanfiction written about the actors themselves rather than the characters they portray. If the story contains a homosexual pairing, it may be labeled RPS (real person slash). Some sites do not allow real person fanfiction for legal reasons.

Ship - Short for "relationship"; a heterosexual romantic relationship between characters. The term originated in the X-Files fandom.

Slash - A homosexual romantic relationship between characters (specifically, between two men). The term comes from the slash used to denote romantic pairings (e.g. Kirk/Spock). In some fandoms, the term "slash" specifically denotes a story with explicit sexual situations, and so a non-explicit story with a homosexual pairing may be labeled "pre-slash." See also: "femslash."

Songfic - A story that incorporates the lyrics of a song, usually to highlight a character's emotional state.

Spoiler - Something that gives away the ending, or a major plot point, of a story (either the fanfiction or the canon).

WIP - Work In Progress; a story that is being posted chapter by chapter as the author writes it, rather than all at once.