How To Get Started In Fanfiction?
Getting started in the fanfiction world is actually pretty easy and doesn't require much work, just an interest in something, the ability to write and the imagination.
I’m sure you already have a fandom in mind that you want to write about. Whatever it is, make sure you know it well and the characters. Then devise a plot, a setting and any possible extra original characters (OCs) of your imagination that you might want to add on.
However, be sure that OCs are absolutely needed. Usually made-up characters that are not originally apart of the canon world you're writing for, don’t always make a story better. For some readers OCs are even frowned upon in certain fandoms for a number of reasons. But don’t let that deter you because you should always write for yourself and not for others.
A good starting point is to create a plot for your story. All it takes is an idea and usually just brainstorming can help with that. Try asking yourself plenty of ‘what-if’ questions. For example, it could be:
What if so-and-so hadn't died?
What if so-and-so and so-and-so had gotten married/ended up together?
What if so-and-so was put into this situation?
What if this happen to so-and-so instead of so-and-so?
What if this scene didn't happen?
What if this so-and-so did this instead of that?
What if the story took place in another time period? Or another world?
What if so-and-so were turned into an elf, vampire, demon, human, dragon, etc.? Would they still be the same person? What about the other characters? How much would the plot change?
As you can see, asking yourself questions is very helpful because you'll get several ideas for a plot. It can even give you a better understanding of the details as well. Whatever your idea for a story is, you can then begin to write it. Don’t focus too much on being perfect with your writing, in particular the grammar and spelling. It’s important that you get the writing done first and then later you can focus on correcting those mistakes.
After you are done with a few chapters of your story or your entire story, revise and proofread it to make sure that there are no spelling mistakes, grammar errors or inconsistencies (like plot holes, out of characterization, etc). It really does help if you read it out loud to yourself. You can even put it through a grammar checker to double check. But what many writers find really helpful is to get a beta reader, which is someone who will look over your work for you to help improve it.
I also suggest that you check out writer's guides specifically written for fanfiction writers because they do help to make sure that your story is good. And it doesn't hurt to check out the forums too, where people rant about their fanfiction pet peeves. It's a helpful way for fanfic writers to get into the readers’ mind and know what they dislike seeing when they read fanfiction. You can use that knowledge to make your story much more appealing to them.
For example in a fanfiction pet peeve forum I’ve read about how most readers don’t like it when they see the summary for a fanfic containing any of these things:
"I suck at summaries", "The title says it all" or no summary at all. It gives the readers the impression that the story itself is lacking. If the writer didn't put any effort into writing the summary, than why would they as a reader bother with the story?
The summary is very important because it's the first thing readers will see and if there isn't one then they won't bother with the story. They want to know what they’re getting into first. That’s one of the reasons why all books contain blurbs on the back of them. It’s gives the readers a general idea of what it’s about without revealing too much.
There’s three key components for a summary: who is the main character, the primary conflict they face and what’s at stake. If you’re struggling with this bit than take a look at your favorite books for examples. Or look for writing guides about blurbs since there’s plenty of free advice in the internet that anyone can search.
Once you’ve got your story out of the way, the next step is to post it online for people to read. That's also known as publishing your work. There are numerous websites specifically meant to publish fanfiction and many of them are completely free. Majority of the people go to Fanfiction.Net because it's the largest and most well known fanfiction site.
However, many don't like it because the terrible quality of fanfiction on it and so many will search for a better website. For example, on Lunaescence Archives, they moderated the stories, which means they make sure that each and every story posted there is written well (with minimal spelling mistakes and grammar issues) because they care about the quality and not quantity of fanfiction on their website.
Here are some other fanfiction sites:
Archive of Our Own (also referred as AO3)
