Things to Know Before Starting Your Fic

Technically, I'd say you should learn everything in this book before you start writing, but these will help specifically with pre-writing.

The absolute number-one mistake you can make is neglecting to plan your story. You think that outline you had to do for English class last week was bullshit? Well, actually, that kind of stuff can seriously help you not fuck up. If you write a story, every single thing you do comes out of your own brain. You are the one typing the words on the screen. If you want to write a good fanfic, you have to make sure that it's as perfect as you can make it. That's why pre-writing is just as important to the process as the writing itself.

The first step is to get an idea of what you want to do and where you want the story to go. This is important: do not steal anyone's ideas. Not only is it fucking rude, but it seriously detracts from the appeal of the story. MaiaMDMA wrote A Splitting Of The Mind, and suddenly, there are five thousand fics about schizophrenic Gerard Way. You want your story to stand out. The best way to do this is to come up with an original setting, or at least one that isn't overdone. If you really want to set it in a "classic" (or cliché) place, i.e. high school, make sure there's some sort of twist.

Once you're confident with your idea, you either start on research or planning. You only need to do research if your fic will deal with an environment, activities, or anything else you aren't familiar with. If you claim that one character has panic attacks but actually exhibits behavior of moderate anxiety, there will be trouble. I once read a fic where the author was obviously in elementary school because they referenced recess and walking in straight lines in a high school. Having a bunch of errors in your setting, characters' attributes, etc. will only harm the appeal of your fic along with your credibility. If you're not sure of something, look it up. Bullshit essays as much as you want, but don't bullshit your fanfiction. No one will read it.

Planning can be done in a variety of ways. Sometimes I make a timeline or a calendar, sometimes I write out what will happen in every chapter; sometimes I do both. Either way, you should know exactly what's going to happen in your fic. If you make it up as you go along, I guarantee that you'll get impatient and have Mike fuck Tony four chapters too soon. Planning is the logical part of the process. You can assess whether it progresses at the right speed, whether the events are in order, eliminate plot holes, and get a general idea of the meaning of the fic. It can be beneficial to stick in a few filler chapters, which add character depth.

(NOTE: Common misconception, a filler chapter isn't a chapter without romance and shit. It is a chapter that is detached or non-influential of the plot).

One benefit of pre-writing is that you can input foreshadowing. I really fucking like foreshadowing. I don't mean the "little did I know" shit, I mean the full-on Fight Club "I know this because Tyler knows this" gold that you don't even know is foreshadowing until the book is over. A fic shouldn't just tell a story, it should fuck you up a little bit with all the tricks the author inputs.

Another tip: It's okay to torture your readers to an extent. Secondhand embarrassment, shit luck, whatever. If you want to write only shit that will make the reader's heart flutter, do a oneshot. Too much of a good thing exists and it is a problem.

The last thing about plot: If you input a plot twist, it should be unexpected. Not stupid and abrupt; it should make sense, but don't give too many clues. If the reader knows it's coming, especially more than a chapter away, it is not a plot twist and it isn't exciting. It's so annoying to read, "Yeah, for some reason Ryan gave me his favorite guitar yesterday," and you know Ryan is going to attempt suicide. Basically, just be careful.

The next step in planning your fic is to develop your characters. I usually plan every somewhat significant character's identity pretty thoroughly. You want your characters to seem like real people, so every single one of them should have flaws. Now, I don't mean the usual depression or self-esteem issues. It's okay to write them, but I think that, at this point, they're very overdone and you should work toward something more original. I recommend writing a short bio for each character (for your eyes only; don't post them) containing information about their personality and facts i.e. age, pet peeves, whatever you want. In your actual writing, you don't have to include every detail you put down in your bios, especially for more minor characters. Generally, your writing will end up conforming to your plan without too much effort. The bios are just there to help with keeping a solid, consistent idea.

To go along with that, you should develop a general image in your mind of where the story will take place, and maybe even sketch it out. This will help loads. Continuity errors aren't the worst of all evils, but if you say Brendon lives on the second floor in chapter one and the eighth floor in chapter three, someone is bound to notice.

Now that you have a plotline, decent characters, and an image of the setting, you need to decide on a tone. Let me put something out there: You don't need to use sophisticated language to write a good story. You still can, of course, but if it's a struggle for you to maintain, go for something more casual. Your tone should fit with the setting. If it's historical fiction, use a dialect appropriate to the time period (an excellent example being Swingdancin' or The Sky Under The Sea by @ofmiceandmoshpits). If Alan is a hardcore cocaine addict in a biker gang, he should probably swear profusely in his inner monologue (although you need to make sure the curses flow. Not fucking all over the fucking place like fucking this). If you don't want to try for distinctiveness, try for eloquency. It can help you get your point across in a more specific manner (read something by @piercethemayfire to get an idea of what I mean here). Either way, pick something and stick with it. There will be more on this in the next part if you need more information.

By now you should have enough planning to start actually writing. The beginning of a story can be tricky. I advise that it should have something to do with the meaning of the story as opposed to a paragraph about what the character is doing at the time. It can describe an action, but it should be meaningful. If the opening line says something like, "I woke up to the shrill, grating sound of the alarm clock," I will click out of it immediately. To go along with that, be careful in opening with dialogue. "Wake up for school, Austin," or "So are you going to prom on Friday?" just isn't attention-grabbing unless you have a waking-up-for-school or going-to-prom-on-Friday fetish. If you're not sure about your opener, you can message me and I'll help you out.

(NOTE: Do not name your fic after a song title or lyrics. There will be a billion fics with the same name as yours).

This is getting pretty long so I'll end with a few do's and don't's.

DON'T describe clothing/rooms/etc. in agonizing detail. Assuming you're writing the gay, your main character probably shouldn't give a fuck about what everyone is wearing. Even if it's a hetfic, your readers don't want to hear about your character's pale-pink-with-a-hint-of-salmon halter top (or whatever girls wear). It can be helpful to describe the room a tiny bit, but anything over two sentences is pushing it.

DON'T mention the ship name or fanfic in your story. I don't care if you think it's cute for Tom to ship Oli and Josh and call them Fransykes; if I see the ship name in the text, it's impossible for me to take the story seriously. And reading fanfiction is generally a teenage girl thing to do. Yes, I read and write fanfiction and I'm a teenage boy, but this is a rarity. I know zero guys in real life who write fanfic; I've only met them online. Just leave it out.

DON'T make references in your fics. Avoid it at all costs. I know that sometimes you can't resist, but if I read one more fanfic where Vic says, "Darling, you'll be okay," I will pack my shit and move to Greenland.

DON'T base a story off of your own life; don't base a major character off of you, your friends, or family members. Small details are fine (i.e. names of restaurants, fillery events), but M. Night Shyamalan is not a genius for acting in every one of his movies; he is a douchebag.

DO be descriptive. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "show, don't tell," at least once in your life. A good story should feel real; it should reflect what it's like to live in the world. Real people use their senses; your character should use their senses. And here's a reminder about character depth: give insight to your character's thoughts and emotions. I don't mean, 'the bullies made me feel sad,' I mean describe what it feels like, how your character's disposition is affected.

DO write with the beginning and ending in mind. A character needs to get from point A to point B. This growth should be smooth and gradual; don't cram all of the emotional maturing or whatever into the last few chapters just because you remembered that Tyler is supposed to be over his grief at the end.

DO let your readers make inferences. You don't need to spell out exactly why Jaime avoids crossing train tracks. You want to make your readers think and wonder. Some of them won't get it, and they might ask you what something means, and that's okay. Letting your readers infer is a powerful tool for depth. If you explain that Jaime was abandoned by his parents on a train in chapter one, you've lost all hope for that intriguing atmosphere of mystery.

From here, you can do one of two things. You can write your entire fic before posting it, or you can post as you write. Either way, you're going to have to do some proofreading. If you write it all first, check carefully for plot holes. You want to catch them before your readers do. If you post as you go, you still need to proofread for mistakes and things like that, but it's better to trust yourself as far as plot holes go because if you read your fic five thousand times, you will hate it.

It's decent to let your readers know how often you'll be updating. If circumstances change and you can't update for awhile, find a way to tell them. This way you won't get five hundred comments saying 'update' every time you post.

Hopefully you got some solid advice from this. The next part should be slightly shorter. Let me know if you have any questions.