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rynrising44 · 2 months ago

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Some fanfiction tips and tricks:

Hi hello how are you- I've been writing a lot of fanfiction recently (shocker) and wanted to make a little list of helpful tips when it comes to formatting and getting thoughts in order. I still fall prey to many of these errors and see a lot of them out there on AO3, which stifles a good chunk of fics that readers, especially English only speakers, ultimately lose interest in/are unfamiliar with.

NOT HARD AND FAST RULES. Just what I've noticed throughout my process.

English speakers/ writers use quotation marks in their writing. They look like this: "I can't believe you've done this!" she screamed. Using << I can't believe you've done this! >> she screamed, OR 'I can't believe you've done this!' she screamed when writing in English are foreign to most readers. If you're having trouble reaching audiences and are using one of the two formats above, it's probably because of the way your dialogue is written.

NOTE: if you are writing in another language which uses <<+>> or '+' keep using those formats. This only applies if you're writing in one language but keeping the structure of another.

You don't have to say, 'he said,' or 'she said,' after every line of spoken dialogue. Have fun with it and go back and forth! Here is an example in present tense:

"You're about to get sacked after being shot by Russian sleeper agents and stealing a helicopter," he says with bad taste. "How does that make you feel?" "Getting shot? Or getting fired?" Mackey asks. "Getting shot and then getting fired." "Seriously?" "Just... taking the piss, alright?" Mackey doesn't bother replying.

Epithets are not your friend. Do not use them. Get in the heads of your characters! Would the wife of your main character refer to him as 'the taller man' or 'the blonde?' NO! We refer to others by their name, nicknames, and pet phrases (don't overuse the pet names though).

Read books! The best way to learn how to write is to read. This will really help you understand the way sentences flow and how to end/begin sentences.

The quotations go outside the period. "Like this."

Pick a tense and stay with it. Don't go back and forth between 'said, went, replied,' and 'says, goes, replies.' This is a mistake I see people do a lot, especially when first starting out.

When tagging your fics, don't use tags like "Bad at tagging" or "This is garbage I don't know what I'm doing." That is YOUR WORK. Your fic is yours and you should be proud of it. If you don't stand by your creativity and ideas, then why should anyone else?

One shot collections should be in a series. NOT in a multi-chaptered fic. Unless they are complete, in the same universe, and follow a timeline, try to post them individually. That way, if someone likes one but not the other, you aren't screwing yourself over.

Use your summaries wisely. Quotes, action scenes, and eye-catching statements will draw a reader in. (Please don't say something like "Bad at tagging and summaries.")

Write what you want to read. Not what others want to read. If you love writing rare-pair F/F fanfiction with established relationships, DO THAT. (Shameless plug there.) Don't go chasing pairings and tropes that you hate just for views/kudos. The good feelings will not last, and you will pigeonhole yourself into things you don't like. (want proof. Try it out and see what happens.)

Get involved in the fandoms you write for. Comment on other author's works, especially if the fandom is small. Chances are, they will click on your fic, read it, and share it with others. Also, you can yell at one another and keyboard smash all day long.

Give each other shout outs on Tumblr.

The summary section for your fics is NOT where you put things like 'taking requests. give me a request. please comment fic recs.' Save that for Tumblr/ Twitter (rolls eyes, 'X') and Wattpad. AO3 is for stories, not algorithms. If you really feel the need, include it in your profile.

WRITE SOMETHING IN YOUR PROFILE. People love personalization. Also, you can give blanket statements about your rules on gifts, inspirational works, and other things.

Do not overtag your works if those tags do not apply. Writing 50+ tags for a 1k fic is a little head-scratching. Focus on the main ships only and the top relevant categories (and any triggers, oc). If it's a 1k fic, people will honestly just get annoyed at seeing all the space taking up their AO3 pages. (I say this with love. We all remember that one 'Untamed fic.')

Don't like. Don't read. Don't bash. Don't be cruel.

Do. Not. Hate. Fics. Publicly. On. Tiktok. Or I swear to the gods I will hunt you down and skin you alive. Save your scathing reviews for private messages and private DMs on Discord. Fanfiction is free and authors don't owe you anything. (YES! This includes drabbles. And incest. And any/all of the clerical errors I have already discussed above.)

Also, comment on older fics.

Comment on all fics, actually.

Also, read WIPs. If you want fanfiction to continue and you want longer works, support the authors that write those works. Don't be greedy and entitled by closing up your mind. If you want to read complete works only, that's your right. But you don't have to brag about it/ moan about not having anything good in your fandom of choice when you refuse to keep an open mind to like, half of the fics on there. (This is not a statement about my works, btw. I have a little group that comments/I know is aware and interested in some of my stuff. This is more for the general public.)

Kudos aren't limited. No one tracks them. Literally no one cares what you like. If you're worried or embarrassed about something you like that's between you and god only, private bookmark it. But kudos everything you like/re-read because if you don't, the author probably assumes you didn't like their work and that will make them sad.

AI is not art and you should never use it. Not even to help you come up with ideas. You're better than that, okay? And if I see/read an AI work on AO3 I will block you and mute all your works ASAP without a second thought.

There are definitely so many other things that come to mind when thinking about AO3 and writing in general, but I feel like this is a good place to stop. Again, not trying to step on any one's toes. Heaven knows I use purple prose and commas and the words 'and/ gods/ absolutely not' like they're candy. But I'm also aware that I am doing so and being aware of my habits and tendencies make all the difference.

(The writers curse does exist btw apologies in advance, but your life will probably go through changes the instant you press that 'post' button.)