A guide for anyone already or thinking about writing a fanfiction!
(Section One, getting started)
First off, you'll need a topic or base for your fanfiction.
It can be based on anyting, play experience, something you thought of, or somthing that happened to you.
You'll have to juggle around ideas with yourself, like the main idea and plot.
Where the Climax will be, the conflict, the resolution, etc, etc.
Plan this out, revise and revise, you dont want to have the plan for everyone to live, then get distracted and have everyone die, right? Dont write the story right away, plan this BEFORE you write, so you dont panic and make ideas at the last moment. It not only confuses you, but also makes it prone to ERRORS to the story.
(Section Two, WWWWW)
Wwwww is Who, what, when, where, and why.
Try to think,
•Who will be in the story.
•What will happen to them.
•When events will happen.
•Where they will go.
•Why they will do so.
These are the main backbone for your story, keep them in mind.
(Section Three, Character Recruitment)
Next step, get people to try to read it. Make a meme for characters, (Note, this is optional, as making your own characters is fne as well)
EX:
Name:
Gender:
Personal Color:
Arsenal:
Personality:
Of course, you dont need to stick to this Example,in fact, encourage yourself NOT to use this example, add more fill-ins to it, like Race, or Friendly? Dont try to add so many fill-ins it takes you a minute to fill in everything. Make the Meme not so fat, don make it really slim either.
(Section four, Revise revise revise!)
Really good writers make the story on a computerized writing program, like OpenOffice or Microsoft Word. You can download either one, but take note, this is NOT neccessary, as all you need for this is that it makes a seperate object you can use for writing the draft, so you dont upload it right away and it's full of mistakes. Plus, these programs come with nifty spellcheck and "I" checkers. You can search for the program of either, Openoffice is free and is the program I use.
(Section Five, Word choice)
NOTE! A COMMON MISTAKE IS THAT YOU USE COMMON AND DULL WORDS REUSED OVER AND OVER!
Although it may seem geekish, USE A THESAURUS!
You have no idea how much it helps to NOT use the word "said".
>Excerpt Example
(Char 1) said, "Hai"
"Hai" (Char 2) said back.
"Hey, you coming to (this place)?" Said (Char 1)
You get the idea, not a very well written story, right? Well, use THESE words instead.
Snarled.
Growled.
Muttered.
Stammered.
Asked.
Questioned.
Murmured.
Yelled.
Answered.
Screamed.
Yelped.
See? All of these words STRAIGHT from the Thesaurus.
Keep in mind though, dont overuse the Thesaurus, as in.
He jumped over the Plywood.
To : He soared over the Plywood.
(Section 6 Neat Tricks)
Try to SHOW, DONT TELL.
Like for example, dont say,
(Char 1) Jumped,
Boring, try to say,
(Char 1) leaped over the chasm, narrowly falling in as he landed on the other side.
The use is to use a bunch of low-quick sentences that support details.
One thing you MIGHT use, how to EMPHASIZE and BOLDEN words.
Emphasizing requires you to put a <[em]> to start. (NOTE! I PUT THE []'s THERE TO PREVENT THEM FROM WORKIN!) You place the words in the middle, and then put at the end of the Emphaszed words. Do the same with Bolding, only you use strong instead of em.
(Section 7) Hooks and Clinchers
Hooks are sentences that will grab the attention of reader and keep their eyes glued to the page.
Ex of hook:
A sudden explosion rocked the room as (Char 1) was thrown to the side, the room rattling in every direction.
A clincher is the opposite, the last sentence that leaves the reader with a final thought.
Ex of clincher: Btw, Question clinchers are the most commonly used.
Would you have revolted against it?
Hooks ad clinchers are vital to a good story, keep them in mind.
Well, I guess thats all I have to tell you, feels like you got lecture from your Language Arts teacher, eh?
I cant say I can blame you, have fun and be creative with your fanfic.
NOTE! PLAGUERISM IS BAD! >:U
Very nice little guide! :)
One thing, though.
Re: Section five.
This is both great and terrible advise. A varied vocabulary is one of the best things to have when writing, but don't add a whole bowl of pepper where a dash of salt is needed.
The example text, while excused by being a swift example, is not dull because of the word "said" being repeated. It is dull because nothing happens at all, and it might as well have been written as something like:
(Char1) and (char2) greeted each other politely.
"Hey, you coming to (thisplace)?" asked (char1).
Skipping what is actually pretty insubstantial dialogue is not a bad thing. Meticulously typing out every bit of a conversation can be okay, but it does take some effort to pull off interestingly.
Still, though, avoiding repetition is GREAT advise. :) Just don't thesaurus mindlessly, always use words that fit the given situation and mood.
On that note, it's kinda funny how words can change the mood.
(Char 1) snarled, "Hai"
"Hai" (Char 2) screamed back.
"Hey, you coming to (this place)?" growled (Char 1)
(Char 1) stammered, "Hai"
"Hai" (Char 2) muttered back.
"Hey, you coming to (this place)?" yelped (Char 1)
(Char 1) yelled, "Hai"
"Hai" (Char 2) answered back.
"Hey, you coming to (this place)?" questioned (Char 1)
That should illustrate what I'm talking about reasonably well.