A Guide for Newbie Fanfic Authors -- Spontaneous Writing Meta
A Guide for Newbie Fanfic Authors (Alternately: A Diversion for Those Who Are Interested in Pretentious Writing Metas)
Section 1: Get the readers’ attention.
Here we’re going to be assuming an unbiased readership (the playing-ground is level because the potential audience knows nothing about the various authors, and nothing about the story beyond its header info). All things being equal, how do you get a person to read your story instead of someone else’s?
TITLE:
*Pick an interesting title, preferably more than one word. (Think about it: would you, as a reader, be more likely to read a story entitled “Angels” or one called “and god in his heaven turned his back on me”? Exactly.)
*Don’t be afraid to lift titles from parts of a poem, story, quote, etc. (Just make sure to credit whoever/whatever you got it from.)
*Don’t be afraid of titles that are comedic and/or simplistic.
*Avoid using titles that have already been used before.
OTHER HEADER INFO:
*At the very least, include the pairing(s) (or say it’s gen, if that’s the case) and rating (pet peeve: don’t say its rated “Adult.” Make it easier for reccers, okay? Give it a specific rating-generally: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17.)
*You might want to list the author, as well, especially if you’re posting with a fic journal or the fic has two or more authors.
*You should also include a concise and intriguing summary (unless your title is self-explanatory). Your summary can either be a brief description of the story (just the basic premise, don’t give everything away) or a quote from the story (it can be funny, powerful, and/or indicative of the premise-just make sure it’s interesting).
*Include all appropriate warnings (what kinks/squicks are in the story, mention of any spoilers for recently-aired episodes). If there’s a surprise squick you don’t want to reveal because it’s a spoiler, make sure you mention there’s a surprise squick, even if you don’t reveal what it is.
*Including the genre and the word count is always considerate, too.
*A disclaimer helps cover your butt, even if it’s just a simple one.
*Keep your author’s notes/dedications/thank-you’s short.
*Don’t disparage your work. Saying your fic sucks discourages people from reading it.
*Don’t beg for or demand reviews. Ever.
*Keep grammar and spelling correct. I jus want u 2 kno this isn’t a txt mssage.
Section 2: The actual story
FORMATTING
*Don’t fiddle around too much with settings. The text needs to be easy to read.
*Stick with dark text on a light background. (Light text on a dark background is hard on the eyes.) At the very least, don’t make the text and background so similar in color that it strains the eyes.
*The text should neither be too large nor too small. The default text size should work fine.
*Don’t use a weird/unusual or noticeable/intrusive font.
*If you absolutely must change around the format, at least provide a link to an easier-to-read version (for example, on LiveJournal/Insane Journal/Greatest Journal/Dead Journal/any blogging site that uses LiveJournal’s source code, you can add either ?style=mine or ?format=light to the journal entry’s address).
*Break up large chunks of text into more visually-manageable portions and put spaces between paragraphs.
CONTENT
*I’m going to start off by quoting Elmore Leonard (from his Ten Rules of Writing) and say “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” Simply put: get in as late as you can, leave as early as you can, and skip the boring parts in between.
*Start in the middle (the fancy name for it is “in medias res.”) Leave out boring build-up and introductory descriptions and exposition and jump right into the action! Flesh out the background details on a need-to-know basis. No one wants to read an info-dump or wait around during the set-up.
*Limit your use of epithets and modifiers. Don’t say “the shorter boy” or “the older girl”-say the character’s name. Don’t say “the bright red, vibrant, boisterous flower petals in the calm, dull, muted green grass,” say something like, “the flowers a violent red, a slash of color in the placid field.”
*Dialogue should sound authentic and speech patterns should stay true-to-character. Don’t be afraid of contractions and dialect. There is a lot of difference between “I’m gonna go to the store. Want anything?” and “I’m going to go to the store. Do you want anything?” even though they’re both saying the same thing. Listen to what your character is saying and the way he’s saying it.
*99.9% of the time, use the dialogue tag “said.” Don’t worry about repetitiousness-“said” is one of the words we, as readers, are trained to ignore. We don’t notice it, and that’s the point. We will, however, notice if your character “grumbled” and “mumbled” and “whispered” and “shrieked,” and so on and so forth. Dialogue tags other than “said” draw attention to themselves; they’re intrusive and should be avoided.
*Avoid euphuisms and flowery language. They’re silly and distracting. Say what you mean. Example: don’t say “orbs” when talking about eyes; just say “eyes.” (Actually, try not to talk about eyes, or the emotions contained therein. It’s become cliché.) Another example: don’t say “spear” or “rigid member” or “ apple-eyed tickle-monster” or some-such when you really mean “cock.” For all our sakes, just say “cock.” The same applies to “pussy.”
*Avoid clichés. If you’ve seen something before, so have the readers, and they don’t want to see it again. An exception to this guideline: you can use a cliché if you’re making fun of it. Let it be charming in its ridiculousness.
*Make sure that your sentences (on average) are not too long or too short. Individual preferences will vary, but you generally don’t want a sentence that takes up half the page or twenty-seven consecutive sentences all composed of three words or less.
*Know the grammar rules, but do not feel constrained by them. They’re guidelines, more than anything-not unquestionable; not infallible. Do what’s best for your story.
*Stay consistent: in tone, in viewpoint, in characterization, in genre. Stay true to the world you have created and your readers will stay true to you.
Comments, suggestions, questions, and porn welcome.
Section 1: Get the readers’ attention.
Here we’re going to be assuming an unbiased readership (the playing-ground is level because the potential audience knows nothing about the various authors, and nothing about the story beyond its header info). All things being equal, how do you get a person to read your story instead of someone else’s?
TITLE:
*Pick an interesting title, preferably more than one word. (Think about it: would you, as a reader, be more likely to read a story entitled “Angels” or one called “and god in his heaven turned his back on me”? Exactly.)
*Don’t be afraid to lift titles from parts of a poem, story, quote, etc. (Just make sure to credit whoever/whatever you got it from.)
*Don’t be afraid of titles that are comedic and/or simplistic.
*Avoid using titles that have already been used before.
OTHER HEADER INFO:
*At the very least, include the pairing(s) (or say it’s gen, if that’s the case) and rating (pet peeve: don’t say its rated “Adult.” Make it easier for reccers, okay? Give it a specific rating-generally: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17.)
*You might want to list the author, as well, especially if you’re posting with a fic journal or the fic has two or more authors.
*You should also include a concise and intriguing summary (unless your title is self-explanatory). Your summary can either be a brief description of the story (just the basic premise, don’t give everything away) or a quote from the story (it can be funny, powerful, and/or indicative of the premise-just make sure it’s interesting).
*Include all appropriate warnings (what kinks/squicks are in the story, mention of any spoilers for recently-aired episodes). If there’s a surprise squick you don’t want to reveal because it’s a spoiler, make sure you mention there’s a surprise squick, even if you don’t reveal what it is.
*Including the genre and the word count is always considerate, too.
*A disclaimer helps cover your butt, even if it’s just a simple one.
*Keep your author’s notes/dedications/thank-you’s short.
*Don’t disparage your work. Saying your fic sucks discourages people from reading it.
*Don’t beg for or demand reviews. Ever.
*Keep grammar and spelling correct. I jus want u 2 kno this isn’t a txt mssage.
Section 2: The actual story
FORMATTING
*Don’t fiddle around too much with settings. The text needs to be easy to read.
*Stick with dark text on a light background. (Light text on a dark background is hard on the eyes.) At the very least, don’t make the text and background so similar in color that it strains the eyes.
*The text should neither be too large nor too small. The default text size should work fine.
*Don’t use a weird/unusual or noticeable/intrusive font.
*If you absolutely must change around the format, at least provide a link to an easier-to-read version (for example, on LiveJournal/Insane Journal/Greatest Journal/Dead Journal/any blogging site that uses LiveJournal’s source code, you can add either ?style=mine or ?format=light to the journal entry’s address).
*Break up large chunks of text into more visually-manageable portions and put spaces between paragraphs.
CONTENT
*I’m going to start off by quoting Elmore Leonard (from his Ten Rules of Writing) and say “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” Simply put: get in as late as you can, leave as early as you can, and skip the boring parts in between.
*Start in the middle (the fancy name for it is “in medias res.”) Leave out boring build-up and introductory descriptions and exposition and jump right into the action! Flesh out the background details on a need-to-know basis. No one wants to read an info-dump or wait around during the set-up.
*Limit your use of epithets and modifiers. Don’t say “the shorter boy” or “the older girl”-say the character’s name. Don’t say “the bright red, vibrant, boisterous flower petals in the calm, dull, muted green grass,” say something like, “the flowers a violent red, a slash of color in the placid field.”
*Dialogue should sound authentic and speech patterns should stay true-to-character. Don’t be afraid of contractions and dialect. There is a lot of difference between “I’m gonna go to the store. Want anything?” and “I’m going to go to the store. Do you want anything?” even though they’re both saying the same thing. Listen to what your character is saying and the way he’s saying it.
*99.9% of the time, use the dialogue tag “said.” Don’t worry about repetitiousness-“said” is one of the words we, as readers, are trained to ignore. We don’t notice it, and that’s the point. We will, however, notice if your character “grumbled” and “mumbled” and “whispered” and “shrieked,” and so on and so forth. Dialogue tags other than “said” draw attention to themselves; they’re intrusive and should be avoided.
*Avoid euphuisms and flowery language. They’re silly and distracting. Say what you mean. Example: don’t say “orbs” when talking about eyes; just say “eyes.” (Actually, try not to talk about eyes, or the emotions contained therein. It’s become cliché.) Another example: don’t say “spear” or “rigid member” or “ apple-eyed tickle-monster” or some-such when you really mean “cock.” For all our sakes, just say “cock.” The same applies to “pussy.”
*Avoid clichés. If you’ve seen something before, so have the readers, and they don’t want to see it again. An exception to this guideline: you can use a cliché if you’re making fun of it. Let it be charming in its ridiculousness.
*Make sure that your sentences (on average) are not too long or too short. Individual preferences will vary, but you generally don’t want a sentence that takes up half the page or twenty-seven consecutive sentences all composed of three words or less.
*Know the grammar rules, but do not feel constrained by them. They’re guidelines, more than anything-not unquestionable; not infallible. Do what’s best for your story.
*Stay consistent: in tone, in viewpoint, in characterization, in genre. Stay true to the world you have created and your readers will stay true to you.
Comments, suggestions, questions, and porn welcome.