#i've haven't written a fanfic in over a decade and am incredibly out of practice

[jackiegaytona]

I absolutely love your fics! Any advice for someone who wants to start writing a lengthy wwdits fic for archive? I have so many ideas but I'm so nervous about writing and posting this. I haven't written a fic in years now. The most charactet and story writing I've done is for d&d.

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy my work! I’m more than happy to share a little of my own current experiences within the fandom. Believe it or not, I only saw the movie around a month ago, and then binged the TV show after. So I’m very much a WWDITS noob. But I am HOOKED.

My recent foray into wwdits fanfiction has been amazing, I’ve been getting so much writing done - more than I have in probably a decade! This fandom is the first I’ve written for in around 15 years, but the reception has been so encouraging. The comments I’ve been receiving have been a shining light in what is obviously a difficult time right now.

So with that said, my advice would be: Just start writing! Pathetic advice, I know, but beginning is the hardest part, and it gets easier after. Here are some pointers I hope will help (feel free to follow or ignore them):

·         Before you begin, change the background of your word processor to a darker colour – I recommend a mid-range grey. If using Word, you can change both the interface colours and the page’s background colour. I write on a dark-ish grey page. So basically, my Word interface is all grey. This helps my eyes, and also doesn’t look nearly as intimidating as a glaring white page!

·         Make a bullet list of your notes and use them as a guide, but don’t get too hung up on the planning stage if that’s not what you like doing. I’m not a plotter. I can’t write unless I give myself free rein. When I start a story, I might have a vague idea of how it ends but I have no idea what will happen until I start writing. A lot of writers say this is bad practice, and yes it sometimes results in your story hitting dead ends. BUT – and I say this for both art and writing – there are no solid rules. Creating is a very individual process, and you need to find what works best for you.

·         Begin somewhere – doesn’t have to be the beginning. Start with a scene that interests you or that you want to get written out. Once you’re over that initial hump of “blank page jitters”, it gets much easier.

·         As for multi-chapter fics, I approach them the same way I approach smaller fics. I don’t give myself a set word-count. I don’t do much planning, just a few dot points of ideas. The beautiful thing about fanfiction is that your reader has background knowledge of the show and characters, so you can literally start anywhere, at any point in time, and although your story should have some kind of resolution at the end, it doesn’t necessarily have to follow the traditional layout of a novel.

 If you’re nervous about writing fanfiction in particular, and the reception/comments you’ll receive (believe me, I was up until I posted my first fic. I’m not a confident writer), keep in mind:

·         Fanfiction is great because some of the work is already done for you! The characters, places and themes already exist and thus give you loads to work from. But you can also add your own little twists in, and that’s where things get really creative. I have read a lot of fics that follow the timeline of WWDITS, for example, and although the events in these fics are very similar (because they happen in the show, or are likely to happen) – the writing styles and outcomes are all so different that it’s like reading a new story each time. Each writer brings their own imagination to the table, yet we all have a shared interest. Which usually involves vampire-familiar sex.

·         Remember, you’re posting your work to a bunch of frenzied fans who want any tiny scrap of content they can get – ME INCLUDED. GIVE US CONTENT. So yeah, people will love your work, regardless of your skill level. Someone will read it and someone will love it (usually multiple people). I haven’t read a fic I haven’t loved.

·         Fanfic writing is very self-indulgent. Eg. we can write our favourite ships, or bend the show/fandom to suit us, which is a very enjoyable experience. Even a little addictive.

·         In terms of WWDITS, the fandom is freaking AWESOME. Everyone is so friendly and it’s so active, there are some incredibly creative people and I’ve made a lot of new friends. So don’t ever be afraid to share your work, or try something new, like a multi-chapter fic. We WILL read it and enjoy it! For what it’s worth, I personally love long fics. The agonising slow-burns are my faves…so frustrating. So delicious.

 I’ll stop there since this is already very long, but I hope that helps! If anyone ever wants me to play editor for their fics or beta read, I’m more than happy to help out as best as I can!