How to Write Good Fanfiction

A popular way of being a fanatic about something is to write fanfiction about it. A fanfiction, sometimes spelled fan fiction, is a story about the characters and/or settings of a fandom written by the fans. For example, if I were to write a story about Harry Potter going to a mall and buying a skateboard, it would be a fanfiction.

There are many websites for fanfiction writers to post their stories on. For Harry Potter fans, I recommend harrypotterfanfiction.com or Mugglenet Fanfiction and for Eragon fans, I recommend Shur'tugal fanfiction. The one website that is the best for any fan of anything is Fanfiction.Net. This website has fanfictions for everything, even videogames.

Most fanfiction writers enjoy getting reviews and comments about their works, so that they know how to improve them. An impolite and negative review is called a flame. When reviewing, constructive criticisms are fine, but try to avoid flames. They cause the authors to lose self esteem and can just cause tension rather than improve the author's writing. To avoid getting a flame yourself, you should follow these tips.

Stick to Canon - Canon is the fandom you are writing about. Characters in certain fandoms act a certain way in the books, movies, etc. for a reason. If you make a character act differently than they should, then you are messing up the canon and your story. It also helps to keep the setting the same. If you want to have a lake made of silver in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, write your own original story with a different forest.

Exception: If you are writing a humor 'what if?' story, it is okay to have the characters act out of character. For example, if you were writing a humor fanfiction about Voldemort wearing fuzzy pink bunny slippers, it is fine if you make him act out of character. Just do not go off Canon in a serious fanfiction.

Avoid Mary Sues - A Mary Sue is a character that is flawless. They usually have perfect hair, teeth, figures, etc. and have extraordinary voices. They may have a 'Cute Animal Friend' that they can talk to and that helps them. They also might have a magical item, such as a locket that has all their magic in it. Mary Sues always end up in a romantic relationship with the main character, or the most attractive character. A male Sue is called a Gary Stu or a Marty Sam.

Mary Sues completely ruin stories by stealing the limelight and being completely unbelievable. If you are going to write a fanfiction with an original character, your own character, in it, make sure that the character is believable. They could be skilled at one weapon or at magic, but not a lot of weapons and magic at the same time. Also, if you have to have romance, add another original character instead of messing up the Canon.

Use Spell Check and Proper Grammar - It is a lot easier to read a story if it uses proper grammar and has correct spellings. It is easier to read 'The group felt as if they had been traveling forever.' than to read 'They lyk wlaked and walkde 4 ever.' Grammar also affects how professional your story looks, and how much people enjoy it. In addition, do not use chat speak and abbreviations; "Ur hawt!" is not as good as "I find you attractive." It does not take that long to Spell Check your story, so use the Spell Check on your computer.

Learn the Proper Names of Nouns - It may be hard to remember the names of the lesser characters, but that is why we fans buy the books and movies. You are more likely to get a flame if you spell 'Denethor' as 'Dinithore' than if you spell it correctly. It goes the same for places and things. People would prefer 'Uru'baen' to 'Orobani', and do not forget that 'Nazgul' sounds far more menacing and intimidating than 'Nuzgul'.

Update as Often as Possible - People like to read fanfictions and hate to wait too long for a story to be updated. Most of us are busy people, and that is understandable, but when you do not update without an excuse, it is not acceptable. If you have writer's block, try going outside or getting a change of scenery for a while to get your brain going. It will definitely reduce those 'When will you update?" reviews.

Remember the Disclaimer - A disclaimer states that you do not own something. Saying that you own something that you do not is plagiarism and is illegal. When you write fanfiction, you add a disclaimer before the first chapter, or preferably every chapter, that states that you do not own the book, movie, etc. A disclaimer could be a simple as 'Don't own, don't sue." or it could be longer. It could also be humorous such as, "I humbly bow before J.K. Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter books that I do no own even in my wildest dreams." Sometimes a funny disclaimer actually acts as a hook for your story.

Do not add In-Story Authors Notes - People are reading your fanfiction for the story, not for your opinion. If you want to say something, put an author's note at the start of the chapter. It ruins a story when people have to skim around the (AN: lol)s and the (*wink wink*)s. It makes a story less interesting when the author inserts their two-cents every three sentences.

Keep it PG-13 - Some people actually enjoy reading M rated fanfictions and disgusting NC-17 "scenes", but most of us want to enjoy a story without losing our lunches. If you write more about the plot and less about the sappy romantic crap, you are bound to have a wider audience. It is not about the romance, it is about the story, the quest or adventure that the characters are on.

Rate It Right - This really annoys many people. If your story has many bad words in it, it should be rated T. It should not be rated lower than K+ if it has any swearing at all. If it has any "scenes", it should have a rating of at least T, based on what is in the "scenes". Do not put any M material in a T fanfiction, because you may just scar someone for life, or give him or her bad ideas.

Keep these tips in mind and you should be fine. Writing fanfiction is fun, but it also takes some effort. Do not just slap something together for the purpose of having something to post. Have fun writing!