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Part 1 – Introduction: The Reality

If you want to write fan fiction, you do it because (usually) you have a desire to see something occur. Be it a fill in of a missing moment, two characters finally getting together, or exploring a ‘what if’ scenario. You do not (usually) write fan fiction for fame and you definitely don’t do it for money (or at least you shouldn’t because then you just broke a ton of laws).

I’ve been writing and reading fan fiction for a very long time, since 2004 to be exact. Since then I’ve seen the good with the bad. The funny thing is, the bad could have actually been pretty good if the writer had followed some simple rules and avoided classic pitfalls. I thought I would share what I’ve learned in hopes of helping others achieve their Fan Fiction dreams.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, here are two things you need to know.

Writing Involves Writing:

While Fan Fiction is not as ‘serious’ as pro-fiction therefore allowing a certain level of forgiveness by readers, this is not carte blanche to ignore the basic fundamentals of writing. There are so many small things a writer can do to make their fan fiction so much better, but, for whatever reason, they don’t and their story ends up a hot mess.

This isn’t to say you have to write as well as a professional, no one really expects that when they read a Fan Fiction (sometimes plot isn’t even a necessity). But you do have to make the story clean and orderly by following simple rules like not rushing a scene, keeping characters in character, and remembering where you parked.

If you want a bigger audience, putting effort into your writing is a great way to start. But again, it will involve actually learning how to write almost at a professional level, but as this is Fan Fiction, you don’t have to reach that far.

Playing to the Audience:

Sure, writing fan fiction might lead to certain level of fame but it almost always starts out with the writer feeling the need to express something about their favorite story or characters. To this effect, don’t start writing a story because you think other people would want to read it, write it because you want to read it.

What I’m basically saying is that some subjects of fan fiction are popular with a built in fan base (Luke/Mara, Harry/Ginny, Castle/Beckett) and some… not so much (Luke/Callista, Harry/Cho, Castle/Anyone Else). When you go into fan fiction you have to accept that you may not get any readers simply because there is no audience (or not a large enough one) for the pairing or story you envisioned.

Do not let this detour you though. Sometimes the audience is there but no one has bothered to write any fan fiction for that story or pairing. You could make what someone has been looking for and hasn’t been able to find. All trends in Fan Fiction start somewhere.

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