Guide: How to Write a Successful Fanfic!

[nikmon]

HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL FANFIC!

NOTE: Any writer with a good amount of experience can post their own tips. I will add them to the Index and give you credit for the tip!

Greetings all Fanfic writers! This is a guide to help newbie fanfic writers start off their own great adventure! The Guide will be a compilation of user submitted tips and guides. I strongly encourage any fanfic writer with experience under his/her belt to submit their own tips.

I will take any user submitted tip that was posted in the thread and create a link to the Table of Contents. I will list the tip and give credit to the person who wrote it! I really think this will help new writers start stories and hopefully finish them! I started this thread because after reading through Fanfics for an hour I felt like some only needed inspiration or help writing. I thought that a little help would go a long way and people would finally write and FINISH a good story. I hope by reading this maybe even YOU will become a better writer!

Table of Contents

-Tip 1: Starting a Fanfic by nikmon (http://outspark.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3470547&postcount=2)
-Tip 2: Helpful Tips by T3h_SyN (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3470554&postcount=3)
-Tip 3: Making a Chapter 1 by nikmon (http://outspark.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3476460&postcount=5)
-Tip 4: Making a Main Character by nikmon (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3504094&postcount=6)
-Tip 5: Helpful Tips by Daevor (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3621881&postcount=9)

[nikmon]

STARTING A FANFIC- nikmon

Starting a Fanfic is always hard. Before you begin writing think of these few vital questions

-What is the plot?
-Who/What are the characters?
-What is the direction in which my story is heading?
-How many chapters am I going to write?
-and the most important- Can i commit to this?

I will now outline things to do when starting.

When i first began to write Battle for Elderine! I thought about how much i was going to write. I first decided i would make it a five part epic. I mapped out everything that would happen in the series and then typed them up as full-fledged stories; posting a new story once in a while.

-When making a fanfic it is CRUCIAL that you know what kind of climax you are building up to. Writing a bunch of okay stories on the spur of the moment without any pre-thought can lead to a boring climax and a bad fanfic.

-It will be quiet. Maybe even silent, when you begin. Tell your friends or post frequently. Do one of the two and people will notice. Do both and you got a hell of a popular fanfic.

Next, dont start a fanfic, get bored, and stop a little after you started. (I know i am a little hypocritical in saying this because Fiestan Heroes was never followed up, my reason because i was too lazy to type BFE at the time and needed something to mix things up)

-Ask for feed-back, constructive criticism is key. Helps with grammar and plot development.

-Don't limit yourself!!!
When i began i restricted my self to five chapters and end the series for good. Then i got so in to it and started thinking of great ideas so i continued!

-Write as much as possible!
People love long entertaining sagas! Details, adjectives, all that good stuff! Your first story will almost always be short and somewhat poorly written. Both things end eventually. Soon you yourself will have long stories and very well written ones too- all comes with practice.

-Get inspiration from other authors!
In real life or from another fanfic, ideas are hard to come by. Get inspired by other stories but never copy their story or work.

-Try your best not to abbreviate areas or words. Pl0x, lol, FoS, Br, GGK, GoC, omglmfao***ttylrofl, and things like that might make sense to some better than others. We are reading not playing the game.

-Instance of me inspired from others
- I got my idea of "books" with chapters from Orchids_Mantis
- I got my idea of starting a fanfic by reading Abyss Guardians, thanks Ath!

-Uh oh, grammar! (Que dramatic scary music)
Here on the Fanfic section we are all grammar polices.
If you fail to articulate yourself then we will fail to care ;)
Okay on a more helpful side, just spell and grammar check before submission. Get it proof read if possible.

-Language: habla englis no habla espanol or any other horrible misinterpretation of English. Trust me, i have seen HORRIBLY written stories just because i doubt the person writing the story could speak let a lone write English.

-Always stay optimistic!!! If you enjoy your writing and show that in your work, then others will appreciate it too! Don't get discouraged by flamers or downers. If one person likes your work than you have succeeded as a writer.

-Have fun! Its not a job, its a hobby! Post as frequently as possible, take breaks if you have too. (I once took a six month break from forums and a ten month break from Fiesta)

If you think i missed something just tell me in a post. Have fun writing your own Fanfic!!!!

[nikmon]

WRITTEN BY T3h_SyN
Helpful Tips
1. Be Original and/or Entertaining.
Why the and/or? Because not everyone can come up with a truly original story and no one will call your story lame if you tell your character's in-game life in a really well done and entertaining fashion. On a related note, if you come up with something original but it fails to be entertaining... well, it'll fail.

2. Write how you like to write.
I can't stress this enough, not everyone can write 3~4 post epics for one chapter, some of us (myself included) like shorter chapters. Write as often as you feel like (but try to keep it often enough to keep people's attention). Write in whichever style suits you, Script or Prose, First- or Third-person.

3. Point 2 but replace the how with what.
Again, this point can't be stressed enough, if you're heart isn't in what you're writing it'll show. This isn't work, have fun with it.

4. Update your story on a fairly regular basis.
Fixed release days will not work. Trust us, we know... Approximate release time frames work better (like my "more or less once a week"). If you're having problems with it, just say so, we'll understand (we'll rage a bit but it's mostly playful fun).

5. Don't be afraid of the silence.
When you just start your story it will be quiet. Trust me, unless you tell your friends about your story it'll be quiet. Sometimes even then it's quiet. This doesn't mean that your story is fail, just keep writing and eventually people will notice.

6. Decisions. Make them.
From early too. Decide on at least where you'll start the tale and how it will climax, this allows a clear 'Main Story Arc' to be developed easily. Treat your story like a road map, you have a start and a finish and your story will be the path that connects the two. This allows you to have side-stories and even change the ending easily without detracting from the overall quality of it.

7. Never be afraid to ask for help.
Need characters to fill roles in your story? Ask the readers. Want advice on how to make a scene you have in mind better? Ask the writers. Everyone is willing to help, and nothing bad ever comes from asking for a little help.

8. English. Vital, it is.
Proofread. Spell check. We are only human, we accept a handful of spelling/grammatical errors. Outlandish slaughtering of the English language is unforgivable, and I can assure you that consistently bad English turns some people off a perfectly good story.

[nikmon]

Lol -bump- waiting for others to post their own tips ;)

Please add your input, would love to compile more and more tips :D

[nikmon]

Making a Chapter 1 by nikmon

Chapters are a vital part of making a fanfic. Whether it is to break up the story or give your readers a break. They are markers which start and stop parts of your story. This tip will go over how to write a good chapter and how to create chapter links like i did in my table of contents.

- Length
each forum post holds 15,000 characters (including coding)
Longer=Better but don't ramble on about stuff no one cares about because in that case write short and sweet.
Break Chapters into segments if necessary (part 1, part 2, etc.)

Naming
- naming a chapter should not be randomly selected or some what irrelevant. Its best to name the chapters by the main idea of the chapter.

Books or Chapters?
- There are two ways which you should break down your story.
You can post a bunch of chapters and just keep 'em in order -or-
organize the chapters into books to organize your thoughts.
Personally, i prefer the second of the two.

Chapter Links
In a table of contents/index at the top of a thread are listed the chapters. You normally can click on the name and will link you to the post.
To create these links is fairly simple. First you go the post which you want to create a link for and press the little number in the top right of the post. (For instance this is post #5) When you click the number you will be directed to a page with just that post in it. Then you go up to the html and copy the text written in it. Go to your table of contents and click the insert link icon at the top of the text box. A bar with the word http:// will appear. Delete it and paste what you copied. Press enter. It will then direct you back to your post and you will see that an area of the new link will be highlighted. This highlighted portion means you are capable of writing in it. Write the name of your chapter in it and PRESTO, you have a chapter link!

Easy enough right? (Lol easier done than said)

There is also another way to make chapters but i am not familiar with it. If you refer to Orchids_Mantis he can help you create the other type of chapter. (He displays the other format in his stories, whereas I display the format I taught in this very thread or my Fanfics!

If Orchid could make Making a Chapter 2 that would be awesome!

Hope this helps! Keep on writing!

[nikmon]

The Main Character
by nikmon

It is vital and this is how you can develop a good main character.

Reason to have one

- If you allow the reader to become attached to a certain character a personal level is added. This character doesn't have to be first person but it can be in script format too. It is really beneficial to have several main characters.

How to create one

- Believability. Making a super awesome mega god doesn't add any personal connections as the character feels distant. Also you should have times when they express fear, sadness, hatred, or even hunger or thirst. These add to how realistic your character is.

- Conflicts. The character should have at least one main conflict at hand. (Internal conflicts are good too. They are especially unique and fun to read)

- Strengths. The character, although not a super god, should not just be your average Joe. Uniqueness is key to establishing an interesting hero.

- Weaknesses. Just as important as strengths. A weakness provides danger or exciting sequences in a story. No hero is superman (other than superman but of course he has kryptonite)

How to dispose of one

- Death of a hero. With every life comes death. This does not mean you have to kill off every character but when you do kill one off, do so properly. If you are writing in first person it is very poor to write something like this: "So the monster clawed me and I died."

To avoid that just switch to third person or naturally write something like this: "Soon after the monster clawed at me, I spotted an open wound on my chest. My blood flowed for what seemed like hours and my vision became spotted. My head was pounding and collapsed on the soft earth. I took a final breath before closing my eyes, accepting defeat."

Notice how much better that sounded.

- nikmon

[jayhoot]

Example (http://outspark.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3504094&postcount=6) Did it work o: OMG IT WORKED :D

[cibercat]

Hi,I'm writing what you could call "my first fanfic", but I have written books before. I also think there is something missing here ._. ; "The reading exp": If you are writting, then I guess you also have read some books, I can say for sure that to be able to be a good writer then you must be an excellent reader; this isn't only fanfics, comics and such; real books (no, best sellers don't count). I guess you can say for sure that this is missing, thanks

[Daevor]

Hi hi everyone

I thought I'd give my opinion as well. Do note that this is merely my opinion, and it might or might not benefit you.

1. Try to limit the use of "he (or she) said" when scripting dialogue. As far as possible, use a more descriptive word, one that portrays the manner something is being said. Here's an extract from the story I'm writing demonstrating this point:

They were about to mount their movers when soldiers approached out of the woods.
“Halt, by the order of the High Council!”boomed Rhetos, in his most authoritative voice. “Which of you have been casting Black Magic?” he demanded. Then he noticed Argonos next to Daevor. This was even better than he had hoped! Not only will the death of the transgressor increase his power on the Council, but now finally he could pay back his childhood rival. “Aah, cousin,” he cooed, “you disgrace our family.”

boomed Rhetos; he demanded; he cooed. This not only tells the reader what is happening, but also helps the reader visualize how it is happening.

2. Be descriptive, but concise (don't spend paragraphs and paragraphs just describing the landscape, or what someone is wearing).

High Councilor Malau Knight sat at his well polished desk, in his comfortably padded chair, sipping from a mug of steaming herbal brew.

well polished; comfortable padded; steaming (herbal brew). Together, these descriptions convey a sense of luxury, neatness and comfort/ease, and I needed only a few words in which to do it, without breaking the flow of the story.

Basically, try to tell as much story as you can, in as few words as possible, without diminishing any part of the story.

Well, that's all for now.

Happy reading (and writing)!
~~Daevor, The Devoted

[cibercat]

Hi hi everyone

I thought I'd give my opinion as well. Do note that this is merely my opinion, and it might or might not benefit you.

1. Try to limit the use of "he (or she) said" when scripting dialogue. As far as possible, use a more descriptive word, one that portrays the manner something is being said. Here's an extract from the story I'm writing demonstrating this point:

They were about to mount their movers when soldiers approached out of the woods.
“Halt, by the order of the High Council!”boomed Rhetos, in his most authoritative voice. “Which of you have been casting Black Magic?” he demanded. Then he noticed Argonos next to Daevor. This was even better than he had hoped! Not only will the death of the transgressor increase his power on the Council, but now finally he could pay back his childhood rival. “Aah, cousin,” he cooed, “you disgrace our family.”

boomed Rhetos; he demanded; he cooed. This not only tells the reader what is happening, but also helps the reader visualize how it is happening.

2. Be descriptive, but concise (don't spend paragraphs and paragraphs just describing the landscape, or what someone is wearing).

High Councilor Malau Knight sat at his well polished desk, in his comfortably padded chair, sipping from a mug of steaming herbal brew.

well polished; comfortable padded; steaming (herbal brew). Together, these descriptions convey a sense of luxury, neatness and comfort/ease, and I needed only a few words in which to do it, without breaking the flow of the story.

Basically, try to tell as much story as you can, in as few words as possible, without diminishing any part of the story.

Well, that's all for now.

Happy reading (and writing)!
~~Daevor, The Devoted

Very useful tip; the description is the "flesh" of a story, while the story itself, what you're telling, are the "bones"

[fireyair]

-Write as much as possible!

T.S. Eliot and Edgar Allan Poe would murder you for this sentence.

[nikmon]

T.S. Eliot and Edgar Allan Poe would murder you for this sentence.

lol that is probably true. Hemingway is probably spinning in his grave. I am a actually a fan of Poe. Let me clarify. That sentence was meant to be taken as: Be more descriptive or Elaborate! Not write for the hell of it, as those authors you listed were never fond of. Writing small, simple stories is charming, but it certainly isn't going to be as successful as the immense novels that many authors in Fanfic conjure out periodically. That was what I meant to say in a more clear, less ambiguous fashion.