How to write great Fan Fiction!

[Soviet Heavy]

#1. Have utter disgust for the source material, claim you could write it better, alter the main character so he was raised by a physicist and is a child prodigy, then have the child make glib observations about how the universe he exists in makes no sense under the scope of SCIENCE!

Then make him befriend his in universe rival, fantasize about raping classmates, and then proceed to smugly defend how "superior" your fanfiction is to the published work.

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, fuck you and your arrogant author.

#2. Publish your fanfiction which uses licensed characters and plagiarized cover art, then complain on the internet about prejudice when Hasbro finally orders a C&D.

 

[yeti585]

My biggest tip on writing fan fiction? Write more of it.[sup]Or, you know, you could turn 360 degrees and moonwalk away from the keyboard[/sup] The world always needs more.

Oh, and don't forget a sex scene.

 

[M0rp43vs]

Write who you know. So make your OC yourself. After all, who understands you more than you(...stop crying) and we all know you are an amazing person who is able to win the love and affection of everyone everywhere. But because you are very humble, refute all accusations that the OC is you.

Remember, Dark, gritty, bleak and moody are "mature" regardless of source material. Toss in Gore, swearing, whining, angst and misfortune into your story.[Sidenote: I want to see someone make a Neon Evangelion fanfic more bleak than the original]

What's an easy way to get "drama"? Rape! Toss one into your story with the subtlety of a boat crash to show how "edgy" you are. Have a character raped and overcome it in record time with only minimum angst(for your story of course) to show how "strong" he or she is. Or go whole hog(Oh God, don't bring animals into this...) and have your character rape a character from the show you are most attracted to. You know s/he would enjoy it and how day s/he ignore your advances. How dare they get creeped out by the weird shrine you have in your bedroom devoted to them and how everyone will rue the day they laughed at it....
Call anyone who complains about your handling of the theme for being a pussy and not "getting it". Throw in something about censorship while you're at it.

Crossovers. Even if they make no sense. Handle the crossover as you would with the source material. Have the different universes interact with each other in ways that in no way are consistent with the original characterisation. Don't forget to pair characters between universes.

In the original material, this guy raped an orphaned dog right after he ate his adopted parents with some fava beans and a nice cianti. He's just misunderstood! How dare the protagonist try to stop him from being free to commit acts of vileness. Obviously, right this wrong by turning the dog raper into a sad tortured soul and the "hero" into a no-fun lawful evil bastard with a grudge. Now he needs a love interest because "romance" and projecting. Howabout the hero's girl who you love because she is so sweet, kind and loving? But turn her into a cruel kitten kicking ***** "thanks" to his influence. Have this character rape her(see because he's a dog raper and she's a bitc- aw, fuck it, cut this joke).

And now, if you excuse me, I have to dip my fingers in acid for typing that and dipping my head in bleach for remembering all the bad fanfics to write this.

-Edit- Oh, one more. Why not? Wanna make an OC design? Take a pre-existing character. Change the palette. Most likely to red, black or pink because it's EDGY!

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Remember, if you ever fail at writing with depth, you can always make a Warhammer 40000 fanfic! Who cares about pacing or character development, it's just Bolter porn, and every single chapter needs to have explosions and people getting their faces torn off! Because blood is so important and "edgy"!

[small]Don't shoot me, I actually am writing 40K fics. Trying to avoid constant warfare and break up the monotony with introspection on the characters and how the conflict changes them.[/small]

On a more serious note, although I don't expect much from extended universe novels (Halo, Star Wars, etc, I still enjoy them) I've been tentative to pick up Warhammer 40K novels because I'm worried it would be like that.

I'd recommend picking the Sabbat Worlds. It's set within the Gaunt's Ghosts timeline, but it is a collection of short stories by various authors. Combat is of course the main focus, but there is a lot of variety, from resistance cells, interrogations, air force dogfights, sinister plans, and even a story dealing with rebuilding a lost Hive World. It might not sell you on 40K lit, but it wouldn't hurt either.

Another one I've enjoyed is the Horus Heresy books. Especially early on, before writers succumb to the lure of Primarch-on-Primarch fighting, there are some really well developed characters, and you get a real sense of what it would be to be a human among these godlike beings, and a Space Marine somewhere between the two.

 

[Spector29]

ITT: Fanfic hate.

So, OP, what are your opinions on fanfiction in general?

 

[Dangit2019]

You forgot the most important part!

If you're writing a light and fluffy show with innocent characters and conflicts, make sure that your fanfic is FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH DEATH, SEX, AND GORE. AND MORE SEX. The show was okay, but what it was missing was horrifying amounts of incredibly explicit material for no reason. If anyone questions this, just call them a bunch of pussies and you'll be set for getting popular purely on controversy!

(I'm looking at you, Agony in Pink, Cupcakes, and countless others)

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Make a character who has a tragic back story, incredible powers, and is loved by all...

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Took me to the second entry to realise that yep, this is definitely satire. After just the first entry could have gone either way really - the other way being genuinely bad advice, ofc.

Anyway. There's a reason I don't read fanfiction...

 

[Phlakes]

There's something I found that's a foolproof way to hook readers instantly.

Just start your fic with "The [adjective][noun][verbed] through/in/over the [adjective][noun]".

e.g. "The cool wind blew through to green valley."
"The red leaves covered the dry ground."
"The throbulent (go with it) tentacles... nevermind.

Instant hook. Completely inspired and original.

[sub][sub][sub][sub]For srs, that's actually a typical novice thing in all writing. That kind of "hook" is an elementary school idea, and I guarantee you'll see it a lot from young writers.[/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub]

Also, dark and mysterious badass loner characters (preferably with trenchcoats and narrative scars) are automatically the most interesting characters in the story. But only if they're introduced standing in the corner of a crowded room.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Make sure to give your main character a sword. It doesn't matter if swords are completely useless in this setting or even if there's any fighting in the source material, make people fight the guy with the sword.

It has to be a black sword, though.

 

[Hazy992]

What's even more artistic is putting together two real life people or even better, one real life person and one fictional person

Because art needs to CHALLENGE the minds of the simple Internet plebeians >.>

Like that groundbreaking piece of ART where Goku falls in love with Anne Frank and fights Hitler who's also a Super Saiyan?


There are authors who will still be remembered centuries from now, greats such as Charles Dickens, The Bronte Family, Mark Twain and now Gopher-Chan.

 

[AsurasEyes]

I...I can only salute you good sir. I can only salute you.

 

[Misterian]

Here's my tip for knowing how to start writing a good fanfic:

first and foremost, think of an idea that neither the franchise nor most other fanfics of the franchise in question you know of.

Second, think about how said idea can fit well with the franchise you're writing about, and think through the rest from here.


..............


What? you were expecting me to write something ironic?

Okay then, I watch Hello Kitty while tuning a Harley Davidson bike.

 

[saintdane05]

Binnsyboy you silly little man! Don't you realise that your guide is redundant? My Immortal has already been made! There is no need for further instruction on how to make the perfect fan-fic.

My Immortal is a paragon of fantastic writing, but clearly you haven't seen some of the amazing stuff out there.

You cannot possibly believe that there's better out there?! My Immortal had an Emo Beatles Calendar in it. Simply inspired!

Please. Have you read <link=http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2554200/1/HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH>HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH? It has chainsaw dicks.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

If you're writing anime fanfiction, don't do any research into Japanese language or naming. For your main OC, just use the one Japanese name you know. For the rest, either take a random Japanese word and hope it's a name, or make something up. If you need to name a place or object, just use Google Translate. It'll probably be pretty close to accurate. No one will be able to tell the difference. Seriously, it's just fanfiction, it's not like anyone cares.

-

This [http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/196763-green-with-envy-crab-helmets-foe-fiction-rise-of-the-dragon-lords/] is a topic on Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Maker where a particular member reviewed fanfiction from the site. It is exceedingly humorous.

(All the links in the opening post are dead, so to find each review, you'll need to go through the agony of scrolling through the topic)

 

[shrekfan246]

There's something I found that's a foolproof way to hook readers instantly.

Just start your fic with "The [adjective][noun][verbed] through/in/over the [adjective][noun]".

e.g. "The cool wind blew through to green valley."
"The red leaves covered the dry ground."
"The throbulent (go with it) tentacles... nevermind.

Instant hook. Completely inspired and original.

[sub][sub][sub][sub]For srs, that's actually a typical novice thing in all writing. That kind of "hook" is an elementary school idea, and I guarantee you'll see it a lot from young writers.[/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub]

Fuq dat, I went with the even better format of:
[Onomatopoeia]. [Onomatopoeia]. The [nouns] of a [noun] [verbing] [adverbingly] with [noun][nouns] [verbed] through the [nouns].

Oh, wait, I'm not writing a fan-fic though... dammit, all of that hard work for nothing.

 

[Lunar Templar]

D: i suddenly feel bad for trying to keep mine as close to canon as possible ...


OH!!! i have one

you like several series across several mediums? use ALL of them, in the same story, like a Sailor Moon/Mega Man X/Mummy's Alive cross over, don't worry about coherence, if they can't follow whats happening they the clearly 'don't get it' and should go back to reading the cat in the hat, and leave you work to the people who understand your art

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Binnsyboy you silly little man! Don't you realise that your guide is redundant? My Immortal has already been made! There is no need for further instruction on how to make the perfect fan-fic.

My Immortal is a paragon of fantastic writing, but clearly you haven't seen some of the amazing stuff out there.

You cannot possibly believe that there's better out there?! My Immortal had an Emo Beatles Calendar in it. Simply inspired!

Please. Have you read <link=http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2554200/1/HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH>HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH? It has chainsaw dicks.

Eh, it's alright, but it doesn't quite have the mastery of prose and grammar that My Immortal does.

 

[Lugbzurg]

Well, about the first half of the first point was sensible enough. Adjectives are important. But everything after that just turned to amusing satire. Guess that worked. That one half truth up there had me fooled briefly that this was serious.

I don't recall where exactly I read this, but I remember reading this one guideline about fanfiction somewhere...

"If the thought of something makes me giggle and guffaw for more than fifteen (15) seconds, it's probably a bad idea."

 

[Erttheking]

Since this is a bit of a joke thread, I think I'll write some actual fanfiction tips, coming from a 4 year veteran.

1. Keep your OCs in check. You can have as many of them as you want as long as you evenly balance out time between them and the original cast, and as long as they don't end up outshining them in combat, debates, sex etc.

2. Keep your OCs rounded. Have them have moments when they're beaten, when they're wrong or when they're jerks for no good reason, and have them be called out on that. Don't make them perfect, give them flaws.

3. Character development is your best friend. Either have people change over the course of the story, or give the reader a good look at them so that they can have a good idea of who they are.

4. While sending people out to the movies in the middle of an alien invasion is bad, a story doesn't have to all be action. Simply showing characters sitting down at lunch and talking to each other can be used to develop character

5. Bashing (even if it's directed towards people who deserve it) is a huge no no.

6. Foreshadowing is your friend.

I may add more if I can think of more. The following ones are my personal opinions

7. Give love interests something to do besides stand there and look pretty.

8. Love triangles are the stupidest thing that the Human race has created. Don't write one unless you're intentionally trying to make one of the people in it to look like a prat.

9. IMHO prose is completely pointless. I prefer a minimalistic route to describing how people look and how the scenery looks, I prefer to focus on what they say and what they do.

10. Flying cars are the second stupidest thing that the Human race has created, don't write about them

11. Give all major characters at least one scene where they have the spot light.

EDIT: Is it just me or is the escapist incapable of seeing the positive aspects of anything? Aw well, maybe I'm biased as someone who's tried really hard over the last half decade to write GOOD fan fiction.