1001 things you don't do in a fanfic

^^ Very true. Though it would be fun to be Dickens for a day...

It's personal opinion I suppose, what type of writing you like to read.

Different styles get different feelings across. All can be sucessful, and are when used properly, and it's nice to see them used by writers.

I agree, it certainly shouldn't be written off, I use it quite often and have been told it is effective in the places I've used it. All writing techniques are great in their own little ways.

 

I agree on the accent thing but sometimes you can't help it, I'm British, although since watching the American shows I keep saying Apartment instead of Flat now, but there the odd occasions when I'll put a british word in instead of the american but it's alright if it's once or twice here and there, but when someone is doing it all the time then that's when it gets annoying.

As for the Incest thing I totally agree, I've seen several fics where's incest and I won't even touch the fic It probably is written well but I just don't want to read Incest, no offence. I also am not keen on Slash fics either, I've not got anything against people being gay/lesbian/bi-sexuel but I just don't like reading it, sorry. And MPreg I've seen a few of those, and sorry but it's kinda disturbing, I wish that guys could get pregnant then us woman wouldn't have to go through that, but men can't get pregnant so please don't put it in a fic. I've seen it mostly for Supernatural along with the incest, I know off-topic, I've also actually seen some CSI mpreg fics, I've not read them.

Just want to mention about the grammar/spelling/punctuation thing, I have trouble with that because I have Dyslexia and English is one of my main problem areas, but I have improved mainly through reading a lot, but I do use spell check and I'm planning to find beta's, anyway my point is that some people struggle with spelling/grammar/punctuation, but it doesn't mean you should stop writing because of it.

 

^ You did a good job writing that, so don't worry too much

mpreg? That's men getting pregnant, right?

That's .... that's.... Oh my. People actually write it? It's medically impossible! I get it for an AU fic where the characters like, alien or something... but people write it for CSI?

Gosh, glad I've never seen that, or someone would have one hefty review!

 

Thanks, I definitely need a betta for my NY fic when I eventually get the first chapter written, a little stuck on that.

Anyway yeah, I mostly see it in the Supernatural section on FF.Net, probably because of the fandom, it being supernatural based but still, I did actually find a Greg/Nick MPreg one actually let's just say I didn't read it.

Another thing I have to mention is about making characters in your fic gay when their obviously not in the show. I know it happens and it's not impossible but sometimes it annoys me when people do that, I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying that.

 

While the majority of this thread is good advice for writers in general (not just fanfic) I find it kind of sad that there seems to be an undercurrent here that says "the majority of people will want to read it if..."

I'd hate to think we're encouraging anyone to only write what it seems like the majority of people want to read. How watered down and blas'e would print media be if it was all the same regurgitated junk that the 'majority' wants?

There are thousands of great writers in the world. But they're not great writers to everyone. People gasp in horror when I say I hate Jane Austen but I do. I don't think she's a great writer. I just don't. I understand what she did and who she was and what she stood for... but that doesn't mean I have to like her work. Just as there were and still are people who will never appreciate Hemmingway or Shakespeare, or Chesterton or any other writer under the sun.

Honestly, write something if you want to write about it. Write it if you find it interesting. Write it if you have a knack for writing it because if you're writing it for everyone else's tastes you're not going to be doing much, if anything for developing your writing skills.

 

I think it's a pretty wild assumption that you can look at person, or character and say they don't act 'gay' so they're definitely not.

 

I didn't meant for it to sound that way but if it did then I apologise, I do agree that you should write something because you like it or because you want to write it but not because someone else will or won't like it, so I didn't mean for any of my post to sound as if people should right something just because someone may or may not like it, all I mean was that it's not to my tastes, but what I probably should have said was that there are people who may like that. And I do respect other people's opinions. Like I respect the fact you don't like Jane Austen, I do, but you don't and I don't think there's anything wrong with not liking her, it's not to everyone's tastes, again I'm sorry.

I also don't think that just because someone doesn't look gay doesn't mean they aren't. I'm sorry for the way that comment sounded.

 

I have to jump in here and say that I understand how some people don't like the thought of writers making characters gay. I use to be like that. The thought of my fav character being gay was just insane. Now I find myself reading more slash fics then straight, and even writing it. Fan fics are about the writers imagination. So if we want to write a fictional character being gay then it's our right. It's not like we don't warn people w/ slash warnings so people not into that don't have to read it. There are a lot of people into slash now and the demand for it is growing. I also agree with Roximonoxide about not being able to tell if someone is gay. I've known a lot of gay people that I had not a clue were gay just by the way they looked, talked, walked, or acted.

 

I do agree with you on what you all said about that gay thin which is why I feel a little bad for my comment, I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I agree that if people like writing slash then they shouldn't stop. As for the incest thing, it's not my thing, but I do respect other people's opinions and stuff and if someone wants to write a Slash/Incest fic then go ahead. You can write almost anything in any fandom within reason I guess.

 

I'll say that I think the most important thing is to make sure fics have warnings. I don't care for slash either but I would never flame anyone or whatver for doing it. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes and the way to ensure everyone is happy it to just properly label fics.

 

I know someone commented that there shouldn’t be complicated fics out there, but I think if they’re well written and understandable, why not? If you can’t understand it, that’s one thing entirely. I’m writing something complicated now, and I’m viewing it as a challenge to see if I can do it, and make it come out cool in the end. So far, my readers are still with me nine chapters in.

One thing that really bugs me is a perfectly good story that goes to smut in the end just because the writer can do it. The smut oftentimes ruins the perfectly good story because there’s no reason to put the smut in there. If the smut serves no purpose, don’t put it in. I just don’t like reading constant smut, which seems to be a lot of fics. Use it in moderation and make it well written, then it will be worth more, in my opinion. I also agree with whoever it was that said not to go into the details of their every move. Unless it’s the characters first time together and things go wrong, or it ends up funny somehow, glossing over smut usually does tell the reader a lot more than pure porn.

I can’t stand when people don’t include a summary for their piece. Either they leave it blank or just say “Summary inside,” or “no summary, just read”. I want to know what the story is about before I click the link! Writing a summary is hard, especially when it can only be a certain number of characters long, like on ff.net, but I view that as a challenge. A challenge to me, as a writer, to write the best summary I can to entice readers to check out my work. Of course, don’t forget, the summary should be properly labeled as MacsGirlMel said above. I don't care if it's a GSR fic or The Love or whatever, I like to know what ship it is because that can determine whether I read it or not. It’s annoying to think a story is one ship, and find out its another. Labeling fics also helps to lower the amount of flames too. I can understand getting defensive over one’s ship, because there are a lot of flamers out there who don’t leave nice reviews just because of the ship, but there are pleasant ways of being defensive, all caps is not one of them. Some I’ve read are really quite funny: If you flame my work, I’ll just use it to make Smores. Those I like.

As for slash fics, it all depends on the writer's imagination, sure. But also, when I watch CSI, I don't see the chemistry between Griss and Sara. When I first started reading fics about The Love (Nick and Greg) I was shocked that people wrote about it. But now, after going back and rewatching old eps, I can see the chemistry, and there's loads of subtext there. It's just that you might not be able to see it the same way I can't see GSR, and that's even cannon. So, besides the writer's imagination, it's also in some cases, just a matter of who can see the chemistry and the subtext between the actual characters and who can't. I also agree that I find most slash fics to be much better written than most het fics. I think they tend to be written by older people who have more writing experience, but I could be wrong on that.

Another challenge is keeping the personalities of the characters. If their personality or their past is different than the cannon, explain it. When writing AU stories, of course these two things can change, I’ve read very good stories where both have changed, and it’s worked out, but it all needs to be plausible, and properly labeled as AU if that’s what it is. I think what really bugs me is the little things when characters speak, and not necessarily their speech patters, but the actual words they say that you know they wouldn’t say. For example, Griss is older and more intellectual, so he wouldn’t be speaking like a fourteen year old girl. Of course, fanfiction is AU, technically anyway, so some leeway should be allowed, but still, I wouldn’t go overboard depending on what’s being written.

As for ignoring latest shippings when writing slash fic, I don’t think it matters either way. Sure I write for The Love, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to explain away CatNip if it were to ever happen on the show. The same goes for Het pairings too. Sexuality doesn’t matter.

I will admit, a while ago I was writing a long chaptered story and life got in the way and I took forever to update, and hence, I lost all my readers. When I finally did finish it, no one came back to read it. At all. I learned my lesson. It bugs me too when I’m left hanging on a story for months, or for the rest of my life. When I write, these days, the reviews keep me going, keep me excited about my work, but I don’t leave anything unfinished. If I have to take a break for a while, I state that’s what I’m doing, and approximately when I’ll post again. I feel like that helps create a bond between writer and reader and will make the reader want to stick around for more if they like the story.

I’m also bugged by readers who put my story on alert and on their favs list but never review. I can’t really put a name to how it makes me feel, but it’s not a good feeling. Almost as if I’m not good enough to deserve a review, even though they seem to like the story. I’m confused by the reader’s actions.

Song fics bug me too, because you can write something with so many songs out there. I usually do ignore the lyrics, because they tend to get in the way and the story is usually very unoriginal. If you’re going to do a song fic, work hard to make it original and not dependent on the song so much.

And one last thing that really bugs me is when the POV changes without warning in a story. Sure you can change it up a bit, for example have every other scene with a different POV, or every other chapter, or whatever, but don’t say: Catherine knew Grissom wasn’t happy the way things had turned out in the meeting with Ecklie. Walking down the hallway, Grissom felt like he was walking on the yellow brick road to Oz the way the case had turned out. (Random example, I know, but still.) Even if you’ve got a paragraph break, it’s still annoying. If you’re changing POVs put in a scene break at least, and have the whole scene from one person’s pov. It helps the solidify the story and helps the reader understand what’s going on. The same thing with tenses too!

And of course, I agree that writer's shouldn't write to the masses. They should write for themselves first, write what they want to write. As you've all pointed out, just because it's written doesn't mean you have to read it. Put a good label on it and people will do with it as they will.

One last thing, there have been a lot of words thrown around this thread that many people might not know as well as millions of others not mentioned here. One example is Mary Sue. I’ve created a wiki dictionary for fanfic terms, and invite you all to add to it! You can find it at fanfictiondictionary.wetpaint.com. It just might help the reader and the writer.

 

I'm guilty of the starting a fic and not finishing it. I started a House fic, but only posted two chapters before I was able to post anymore, then I had problems with my laptop which ultimately left me unable to log into the account my fic was on, I was planning to finish it on my new one, but I've tried several times since and just haven't been able to write anything more, and I feel guilty about that. I also wrote a one shot, but as it was a one shot there were no other chapters to add so it's ok.

Sometimes if you're having problems with chaptered fics why not try writing a few one shots, or if your in the middle of writing a chaptered fic but haven't published it yet and know that it might be awhile, maybe do a couple of one shots, I prefer chaptered fics but I do like some one shots.

But at the moment I'm trying to write a couple of fics but whatever I write I always end up deleting because I'm not happy with it, I also get self conscious that people won't like it or something or will find something wrong with the way I've written it. And I guess I should get out of that, but I can't help it. So if anyone could help with that.

I always try not to write my OC characters as Mary sue's, the Mary Sue test was a great help. I can't remember the link now though.

 

http://www.onlyfiction.net/marysue.html

is the original one I believe.

 

For some reason I always thought a Mary Sue was putting yourself into the story. Don't know why though.

Heh, and sorry my last post was so long! Guess I had a lot to say. And yes, I did edit it several times before posting it.