Share any tips you might have for writing fanfics. I found this one on Facebook.
Fanfic tips
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
- Start date
My tips might not apply to everyone. If you're just writing for sh*ts and giggles and don't care about whether your story ever gets finished, then you can probably ignore this post. But, if you're trying to write a quality fan story, and you want to actually finish it, then here is my two cents.
Complete the story before you start posting it.
Posting chapters as you write them leads to all kinds of problems. Multiple unfinished projects going at once. Wanting to go back and add things to earlier chapters that people have already read.
Readers swaying your writing in ways that screw up the story. Lots of headache.
One tactic I've been using is to write out all the chapters I want, then post each chapter as I edit it. That way the fic can still be posted in increments, but the story is all set in stone. If someone suggests a genuinely good idea for your story, you can always add that in later.
Shorter is usually better
Better chances you'll actually finish writing it, and better chances readers will choose your fanfuc out of millions to add to the pile of fiction they're already keeping up with.
Be wary of advertising your story as a "shipping" fic if romance isn't the focus.
I made this mistake a lot. I labeled stories with certain romantic pairings, knowing it would guarantee me a devoted audience. But when people think they're reading a "shipping" fic, they prioritize the "ship" over all else. Shippers are the reviewers who will be begging you to shift the story's focus to characters or elements that might not be right for that story.
Of course, this may not be a problem if one is following that previous bit of advice, and completing the story before posting any of it.
OCs:
The stereotype is for the fanfiction OC to be too "unique," but in "Star Trek" fanfics I've seen the complete opposite problem. For a franchise filled with alien races and all kinds of interesting groups, the fanfiction Mary Sues tend to be incredibly dull. It's usually a shy ensign from Earth, on her first assignment.
The "Star Trek" galaxy is full of underused races and demographics. How would a Klingon former-drone handle being freed from the Borg Collective? What about all those other baby Changelings the Founders sent into the galaxy? What advantages might a Trill or Andorian captain have that Kirk didn't? Even among humans, there are countless groups, real fictional, who need attention. Off-world colonies, people raised on starships, ex-Maquis, former Borg drones, Augments, underrepresented countries and ethnicities, the list goes on.
If you really want to write about yourself joining Starfleet, there are ways to base a character on yourself without making her one more average, Earth-born Human from mainland USA. If she's also from the 21st Century, then please beam yourself into the warp core. Sorry not sorry.
Complete the story before you start posting it.
Posting chapters as you write them leads to all kinds of problems. Multiple unfinished projects going at once. Wanting to go back and add things to earlier chapters that people have already read.
Readers swaying your writing in ways that screw up the story. Lots of headache.
One tactic I've been using is to write out all the chapters I want, then post each chapter as I edit it. That way the fic can still be posted in increments, but the story is all set in stone. If someone suggests a genuinely good idea for your story, you can always add that in later.
Shorter is usually better
Better chances you'll actually finish writing it, and better chances readers will choose your fanfuc out of millions to add to the pile of fiction they're already keeping up with.
Be wary of advertising your story as a "shipping" fic if romance isn't the focus.
I made this mistake a lot. I labeled stories with certain romantic pairings, knowing it would guarantee me a devoted audience. But when people think they're reading a "shipping" fic, they prioritize the "ship" over all else. Shippers are the reviewers who will be begging you to shift the story's focus to characters or elements that might not be right for that story.
Of course, this may not be a problem if one is following that previous bit of advice, and completing the story before posting any of it.
OCs:
The stereotype is for the fanfiction OC to be too "unique," but in "Star Trek" fanfics I've seen the complete opposite problem. For a franchise filled with alien races and all kinds of interesting groups, the fanfiction Mary Sues tend to be incredibly dull. It's usually a shy ensign from Earth, on her first assignment.
The "Star Trek" galaxy is full of underused races and demographics. How would a Klingon former-drone handle being freed from the Borg Collective? What about all those other baby Changelings the Founders sent into the galaxy? What advantages might a Trill or Andorian captain have that Kirk didn't? Even among humans, there are countless groups, real fictional, who need attention. Off-world colonies, people raised on starships, ex-Maquis, former Borg drones, Augments, underrepresented countries and ethnicities, the list goes on.
If you really want to write about yourself joining Starfleet, there are ways to base a character on yourself without making her one more average, Earth-born Human from mainland USA. If she's also from the 21st Century, then please beam yourself into the warp core. Sorry not sorry.
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Losing interest in the story/being distracted and not finishing it.
Yep, another huge problem I've struggled with.
If you fear you're the kind of person who might succumb to this, write several short stories that don't have to be connected instead of one long one.
YES! Any time you can convince yourself to make the idea a "oneshot" or a short novella, do so!
A few things that came to mind:
Have fun: That's my first and best advice.
Getting started: I suggest setting your stories in the same period of the series, or other Trek content, you like best. It might keep you motivated when the going gets rough. Granted, it can also be fun to explore a time period or series setting you don't know as well.
Need ideas? Think of the Trek stories you like best and then write about the day before or after, or a second contact (like in Star Trek: Lower Decks). Also, you might get ideas by taking an existing Trek episode/story but changing some part of it, by asking "what if?"
Let the hate flow through you: If there's a story or series that you didn't like, you could use that dislike as fuel to write the story the way you envision it, which of course is the "right way".
Need characters? If you are struggling making characters, there's a galaxy of already existing canon and non-canon characters that were underused or one-offs. You could take them to build a story around or use them as inspiration for an original character. Of course, there's also nothing wrong with using the established big names too, it's all about writing what you want.
Beyond Star Trek: Don't feel a need to be confined just within Trek lore when doing Trek fanfic. Crossovers and mashups are fine.
Have fun: That's my first and best advice.
Getting started: I suggest setting your stories in the same period of the series, or other Trek content, you like best. It might keep you motivated when the going gets rough. Granted, it can also be fun to explore a time period or series setting you don't know as well.
Need ideas? Think of the Trek stories you like best and then write about the day before or after, or a second contact (like in Star Trek: Lower Decks). Also, you might get ideas by taking an existing Trek episode/story but changing some part of it, by asking "what if?"
Let the hate flow through you: If there's a story or series that you didn't like, you could use that dislike as fuel to write the story the way you envision it, which of course is the "right way".
Need characters? If you are struggling making characters, there's a galaxy of already existing canon and non-canon characters that were underused or one-offs. You could take them to build a story around or use them as inspiration for an original character. Of course, there's also nothing wrong with using the established big names too, it's all about writing what you want.
Beyond Star Trek: Don't feel a need to be confined just within Trek lore when doing Trek fanfic. Crossovers and mashups are fine.
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I didn't limit myself to short form. I just began a series (first Star Trek Hunter, now The Star Beagle Adventures) and started writing episodes. Just like the franchise, you don't have to read previous episodes to enjoy the one I'm posting at any moment.
But I didn't start posting until I had 10 episodes fully written. While I was posting Episode 2, I might still be making a few edits to Episode 5, even while writing Episode 12.
Amen. While I tend to write in a series format, I keep each update short. With Star Trek Hunter, each update (which I labeled as a Scene) was limited to no more than 2,000 words. Which makes it easy to keep up with my stories even if I'm posting an update every 2-3 days.
Beagle updates are even shorter, limited to 1500 words per update.
For The Star Beagle Adventures series, I'm using Yes lyrics as writing prompts. Which is tremendous fun as some of my favorite lyrics are "Shining, flying purple wolfhounds show me where you are..." and "There'll be no mutant enemy we shall certify..."
So you know those shining, flying purple wolfhounds and that mutant enemy both had to show up in my stories...
WRITING A SERIES?
At the beginning of each episode, the first time a long-running character appears, you should re-introduce them for readers who are starting at that episode. Senek is a blonde vulcan. Dutch Holland wears a luchador mask. Skip Howard wears eye shadow and fingernail polish.
The first time a character is mentioned in any update, it's a good idea to use their rank and full name. Skip Howard is, actually, Captain Ronald Howard, XIV. So I use his full name and rank the first time I mention him in any update.
This kind of repetition helps readers who are keeping up with several series remember who the players are in your series.
TAGGING
I can't tell you how many times I've seen dialogue and lost track of who was talking at any given moment. You can get away with, maybe, two exchanges between characters without tagging them, but any more than that and you run the risk of losing your readers.
SHOW, DON'T TELL
It's a rule in movie making, but also in written form. Wherever possible, craft the scene for your readers and provide as much exposition of the plot through dialogue as possible. Or you can use the Frank S. Herbert (DUNE) trick of exposing plot through the internal monologue of your characters.
The more you just explain the complexities of the plot and background instead of presenting it through action and dialogue, you run the risk of writing a Wikipedia entry about your story instead of actually writing fanfic.
I'm planning a "series" of my own, and this is great advice!
I don't necessarily think this is the right path and can lead to locking yourself in with little inflexibility as you release it and get feedback. I think one should have a clear and detailed outline already of where the story needs to go, including plot "signposts," your major set-pieces, and your ending. Once you have a solid bedrock like that, it's easier to go ahead with writing up your chapters and posting them as you go.
Before I started posting season 1 of my fic, I had a 40-page outline of all 26 episodes, plus scattered notes for season 2. I then posted a new episode each month for the first half of the season, then every two weeks the second half. I was generally two months ahead of my scheduled release dates, which helped me focus and get down to writing.
For my second season, I'm far enough ahead that I have first drafts finished for all 16 episodes before my premiere in March.
What's your thoughts on creating non-canon alien races?
Show, Don't Tell is one rule I had hard time mastering until recently.
I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I've felt like, why waste a really original idea on a fanfic, when I could use it for an original story or novel? On the other hand, said fanfic could be a test run, or a rough draft, for an idea that can be improved on later.
If you're thinking of writing original scifi stories, and aren't sure about using your alien ideas in a fanfic, here's a tip: when inventing aliens for a fanfic, focus on making alien races specific to the "Trek" universe. For example, an alien race that lives in "Star Trek" styled wormholes. Or aliens that feed specifically off of warp particles. Or a Humanoid race that evolved from something very un-humanoid, like mushrooms, due to the Progenitors' interference.
As opposed to an original scifi story, where your aliens would fit into whatever conventions your own universe uses.
I second saving really good original ideas for your original work instead of using them in your fanfic, if you intend on writing to get paid eventually. I do like the idea though of testing out some ideas in your fanfic (just change the name or some aspect of the idea if necessary to protect the originality).
I created an "original" race for my series, the Alshain, in part because I really liked the Lycans from the Underworld movies and wanted to write a species that looked like them, and also it allowed me to practice building an alien species. I took the name Alshain from a sci-fi comic written by Steven Barnes, but a lot of the culture and history was created by me and other United Trek creators. Ironically, Star Trek: Discovery introduced a different species called the Alshain in their fourth season. I've toyed with how to make my species connect to theirs.
In the course of writing, I've created other species as well, but none as developed as the Alshain. When making aliens, planets, or technology for fanfic I suggest thinking long and hard about what you want to keep and what you are willing to give away. The advice already given about finishing your story before you put it out there is really good because that can give you time to look at your story again and see if there is something in it you would like to hold back for an original work beforehand.
I created an "original" race for my series, the Alshain, in part because I really liked the Lycans from the Underworld movies and wanted to write a species that looked like them, and also it allowed me to practice building an alien species. I took the name Alshain from a sci-fi comic written by Steven Barnes, but a lot of the culture and history was created by me and other United Trek creators. Ironically, Star Trek: Discovery introduced a different species called the Alshain in their fourth season. I've toyed with how to make my species connect to theirs.
In the course of writing, I've created other species as well, but none as developed as the Alshain. When making aliens, planets, or technology for fanfic I suggest thinking long and hard about what you want to keep and what you are willing to give away. The advice already given about finishing your story before you put it out there is really good because that can give you time to look at your story again and see if there is something in it you would like to hold back for an original work beforehand.
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I first encountered the Alshain in Gibraltar's eponymous series. Kudos on great critter design and culture design.
I'm a musician and have a pretty good career as a contract writer, so I'm not holding anything back from my fanfic in hopes of getting a big contract. I've created LOTS of really strange critters for the Star Trek Hunter and Star Beagle Adventure series.
One of the most unique are the Foozies, whom the original colonists of Fender Marsh initially thought of as a kind of sweet natured rolling dog with no arms or legs, no eyes and a hundred mouths. They resemble kind of a large, furry ball, about 5' in diameter, and can travel at very high speed simply by rolling wherever they want to go.
It was only after a few decades that the Federation colonists realized that the Foozies were the most intelligent species on the planet, including the Federation colonists themselves, and the Foozies had used bio-engineering to turn Fender Marsh into a perfect environment for themselves (and for the colonists.)
Fortunately, a few populations of Foozies were established within a few other Federation colonies, including a couple of colonies on Earth, before the Jem'Hadar destroyed Fender Marsh, killing the entire planetary biosphere. There isn't even an atmosphere there anymore.
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Eh, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I can only talk about my perspective, but when I started the fanfic "Schweinehunde unter sich", which I also posted here, I immediately put it up to the NCIS-board, I was visiting back at the time.
And - you know what? People did read it. They commented, they interacted - with me, with each other - it was nothing short of amazing. Not my writing, but the interaction of the interested readers.
That's something, I never experienced with a fanfic - certainly not befure, and unfortunately not after. But these - I'd say: 5 months - were awesome. I met my girlfriend through the fanfiction, met other people, they were interacting, they were guessing, how the story might progress... it was really great. And - like I said: It was lightening in a bottle. I don't know, what I did there, probably it was the right story, the right readers and the right topics at the same time, but, like I said: Something like this never happened again.
Does "being british but pretending to be from Germany" suffice? Okay, my character has more stuff going for him - mostly his crewmates, who get him out of trouble. And no, they're not Kirk, Spock, McCoy, but other own characters.
Yeah, that happened to me with my latest story. It was not the "losing interest"-part, it was more the "Huh - people loved the first story, what is wrong with my writing now"-part that did lead me into second-guessing and then working on other projects.
These are just my tips from one writer to another; not my royal decrees as tzar on all fanfiction.
Speaking as someone with editing experience, I was tempted to say, "if you can't find an editor for your work, at least find a beta reader to review it before you post it," but then I found myself wondering whether people who post fanfic essentially consider the people in this forum to be their beta readers?
Either way, if you want the most polished work you can get before you post it, at least get one or more beta readers, and ideally get an editor who will tell you the things you need to hear.
Either way, if you want the most polished work you can get before you post it, at least get one or more beta readers, and ideally get an editor who will tell you the things you need to hear.
Not just what you want to hear...
Beta readers are useless unless you take their comments seriously. Speaking of which, the number 1 thing my beta readers pointed out to me was:
THE CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE
Meaning that the writer knows what things are, how they work, who people are, etc. You can't assume your readers know all this stuff, or that they'll pick up on subtle cues you write into your story.
Occasionally, my readers have been amused that I bothered to describe what a bat'leth looks like, what a mek'leth is, how a dk'tagh works. I did that because some of my readers have a vague idea of what a klingon is, but no clue what those weapons are or how they work.
Also, I invent lots of devices and found I had to explain those as well. For instance, the Cardassian band rifle, which works a lot like a Tommy gun. Even though I described it in use, I found I really needed to introduce it as a "repeating projectile weapon, not unlike a machine gun." (Why would cardassians have something like that? Because it works inside an energy dampening field, when phasers don't...)
Nice one. And you're right, it's just something, I noticed concerning my writing. But I'm in no way, shape or form 'repräsentativ', as we in Germany call it.
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