Fanfiction Notes

Fanfiction Notes (from my DeviantArt essay "One of Those F-Words")

Advisory: This blog entry contains some mature subject matter concerning fanfiction composition and thematic elements. Read at your own discretion.

I thought this might apply to this site as well after I finished "What Memories May Come" for my friends. Please no disrespect to any fanfiction writers out there, but I figure I might as well throw out a blog someone would actually wanna read. It's basic fanfiction advice/notes coming from a guy who's been trying for years and years to complete fanfic projects. Overall, I hope this isn't an intrusion. Feel free to ignore this post as I progress here.

• When attempting a fanseries, especially one trying to play the crossover game, don't go for something completely overwhelming in scope unless you are more than capable of managing it. Creating your own mythos with existing characters ala League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Anno Dracula, or Philip José Farmer's Wold-Newton family can lead to exciting and grand possibilities. But going further than you can manage, be it by mixing canons or being on the eighth story in the story, can be self-defeating.

• If your work is a series that will rely on too many retcons and rewrites in order to function because you want to incorporate so many newer elements (be they newer interests or attempts to fit in with a series' canon), it might be too much for you. If you're one of those fanfic writers capable of pulling this off, consider yourself lucky.

• Try your damndest to fix idiot plots (i.e. stories that only work because everyone behaves like an idiot, especially if it's completely against how the character would act). They happen, trust me. They can happen without you realizing it. It's not your fault if it happens. It's your fault if it's still there after the revision process.

• A mature/"darker and edgier" work does not always require gorn or massive amounts of cussing or so much Rule 34 that Encyclopedia Dramatica would blush. Sadly, that doesn't register with a lot of people who missed the point of Watchmen.

• I'm going to tell you this now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a romance/shipping fic as long as it has substance. You can branch out your favorite canonical pairing or play up the what-if couple ideas. There's a grand level of potential. My personal recommendation? At most, make your pairing a major plotline of your fanfic but not the main one. Throw in a backdrop of war and governmental assaults. Mix and blend genres. Make your couple multifaceted and interesting. Play up their flaws and redeemable qualities. Don't hinge the entire work around a faux-educational rant about what you think the writers should have constructed.

• Even if you utterly hate a character, please refrain from adding another mindless hate fic to the pile. Yes, it feels satisfying for a moment but it's a waste of words when you could just as easily make the character more likeable/redeemable than their canon form you hate or even just not write about them at all. The exception to this rule is if you wish to make a work where a Karma Houdini is punished. But please, add more to the story than simply having the bad guy gunned down.

• While we're at it, we have enough pointless contes crueles littered all over the Internet. We really don't need another "Cupcakes" or "Rainbow Factory" clone cluttering up the works. Come on, people. The horror genre is my passion, but we have plenty of mindlessly grimdark stories.

• Mary Sues are a dangerous character type because they don't permit character development and they make the story self-serving instead of entertaining or insightful. You know them as the Bella Swan and Chris Thorndyke folks. Please avoid them at all costs unless perhaps you're trying for a kind of parody or satire. (An example of this would be Lila from Hey Arnold!)

• The pairing you hate will still have supporters and shippers that are decent and sane. This applies to many things but I know most will apply it to pairings. Consider this with the straight and lesbian pairings you're bound to find on this website.

• There are other forms of comedy besides Schadenfreude. Try adding some wit, wordplay, and sarcasm into that blend of cruel Tom & Jerry slapstick and Ren & Stimpy grossout humor. You'd be surprised how effective dialogue, exchanges, and rants can be. Daria and Home Movies are great examples of this.

• Male fanfiction writers, I'm going to be frank with you here. Fanservice is not bad in of itself but it mustn't be the limit of your female characters' potential. You know the basic rule: don't objectify female characters. But I'm also gonna tell you this. This is the age where writing female characters can be met with accusations of sexism if you give them or deprive them of flaws. Just look over how characterization plays a role in your work. Are they there to just be eye candy for the male demographic in Megan Fox fashion? Are they only a prop or a means to an end like the MacGuffin Girl whose only purpose is to be used like a makeshift Philosopher's Stone? Are they laden with "girly" pink aisle stereotypes that would make Lauren Faust and Hiromu Arakawa puke their guts out? Think about equality and gender-neutral traits when crafting women and girls. They'll have relatable flaws and redeemable qualities, just as you would apply to the next male character. And for the love of God, avoid that Bratz bullshit.

• Remember that there do exist Double Standards that are sexist against males too. Despite what some might say, men are not the expendable gender and rape/violence towards men is just as bad as it is towards women. Remember, horrific shit happens to everyone regardless of gender, associations, orientation, ideologies, and so on. And it's not less bad because it happens to a dude.

• If you make every character an asshole or bastard with no redeemable qualities, prepare for no one to give a shit whether or not their slice-of-life shenanigans go anywhere. TV Tropes calls it "Darkness-Induced Apathy" for a reason. Don't pull any Wanted or Allen Gregory crap unless you want to lose your audience. You can be dark and deep without having to make every last individual a jackass beyond help.

• It's not wrong to make a character based off yourself or give your interests to your favorite character. Just keep it in perspective and not raise it to promotion levels. See the rule on Mary Sues.

• Rape is not love nor a tool to justify your number one pairing. Be it yaoi, yuri, or straight works, rape is a traumatizing event that shouldn't be treated lightly because someone thinks their seme should make an uke out of an unwilling participant to catch a thrill. Please be considerate.

• In most cases, it's better to go with the "Don't Like, Don't Comment" rule. The last thing you need is a dozen people countering you with bitchy calls of "Then why are you reading/looking at it?"

• As with writing fiction, it's always good to read other works like those related to your subject. Just be diligent and prepared for the worst spelling mistakes, self-serving prophecies, and demented premises. The Internet is a vast place and there's not enough brain bleach to go around.

• Have fun with it. Or at least have an open enough mind to craft a fanfic to please your friends. But if it is something you don't feel comfortable with, don't be shy about admitting it. Otherwise, have fun. Story writing should be an enjoyable experience.