Setting/Character Accuracy

Even if you have perfect grammar and planned your plot well, it's still possible to fuck up. In this chapter, I'll address some common mistakes and how to fix them.

I've said this before, but it's important enough to repeat: you need to make sure that your characters actually seem like real people. You don't want one or two unique main characters and everyone else is a generic slab of flesh to fill up space. It can be hard, but it can also be done. If you didn't read the section on pre-writing, go back and find the part about characters and bios. If it's hard for you to think of interesting traits while you're writing (and maintain them), construct them before you write.

(NOTE: Your characters don't need to be exactly like the band member. They don't need to have all or even any of the same tattoos. They don't have to like the same movies. Don't bend the plot around technicalities. They're your characters).

There is a massive problem with underdeveloped females in fanfiction. I understand that gay stuff is great, but females are people too. I think one of the problems with this is that there aren't many female band members. Some people think that they have to make every single character even mentioned in the fic a band member (which I am actually pretty guilty of, oops). Most fanfic worlds are at best 80% concentrated with males, and when there are female characters, it's Jenna McDougall and/or Tay Jardine. This may come as a shock to you, but it's fine to create original characters. You can write a fic for a pairing even if they're the only band members you include. Just treat your female characters with respect, alright? Don't make them complete assholes or boring as shit, and don't cast them as one of a hundred generic scene girls on the internet.

While it is important to make every character different and unique, you also have to remember to be realistic. One of the most annoying things to read is a fic where half of the characters are gay. Homosexuality in real life happens to be uncommon. You can give me shit about bisexuality being the norm, blah, blah, whatever. Let me ask you this: if you asked fifty people on the street about their sexuality, how many of them do you think would say something other than straight? Evolutionarily, being straight is a survival tactic. Reproduction. The human race would not have survived this long if there were as many homosexuals in real life as there are in fanfictions. Basically, if your setting calls for a relatively general population, probably the only gay people should be your two main characters. It's a little different in a more particular setting, i.e. a support group for LGBTQ characters; but you can use your brain on that one.

Also remember that, in most settings, there should be some degree of homophobia. I live in Washington, which is a pretty liberal state, and may it be rare, there is homophobia here. There's homophobia everywhere. Most parents and grandparents will be repulsed by their child's homosexuality. This is even more important in historical fics. If 1950's William and Gabe hold hands in the street, I can guarantee you that a riot would ensue. Homophobia sucks cock, but it's a reality.

And now we get to the topic of emotions. Emotions can be extremely difficult to write, especially transitioning between them. Really, the only advice I can give you on this is to be careful. If Jack is blind-rage-pissed at Alex, he can't fix it just by kissing him or saying he loves him. To go along with that, you need to make sure that the romance progresses logically and at a realistic speed. You can't fall in love without getting to know someone first. There is a massive difference between attraction and romantic feelings. What's more, having romantic feelings does not equate to love. Love is a wild, intense, strong, and unforgiving feeling. It's when you don't ever want to live without the other person; when they physically feel like a part of you. If your characters profess their love for each other less than a month after meeting, we all know that you're probably twelve.

Now, it can be different with mental illnesses. There are disorders that make people obsessive. It's imperative, though, that you do your research if you're going to write about someone with a mental illness. Get to know the thoughts and actions of someone with manic depression and the differences between them. And while we're on the subject of being realistic, I want to point something out: love, usually, cannot cure a mental illness. Love can make someone with a mental illness happier, but it can't rewrite the chemical imbalances in someone's brain. Your plot should not center around Patrick helping Pete get over his depression by doing little more than fucking and saying nice things about him. A lot of times, it takes medication and/or therapy. Make sure you know your shit before writing about a mental illness.

Speaking of knowing your shit: if you're a female, it can be tricky to write about males. I like to think of gender as a spectrum. On one end is Tyra Banks or some shit, and the other end is Hulk Hogan. Depending on the balance of your feminine and masculine tendencies, you're either in the middle or leaning to one side. Still, it goes deeper than that: there is some sort of mix of nature and nurture in someone's gender identity. Males are conditioned to think and act differently than females. There are a few specific errors that female writers tend to make when writing about males. The first error is crying. Yeah, it's probably okay for a guy to cry, but that's not what it feels like. For most of us, if we feel like we're about to cry, we're going to do everything we can to stop it. I once read a fic where Tony was at school and Mike looked at him and smirked or something (because people seem to think that the dominant one has to smirk every five seconds) and Tony literally started crying and ran into the bathroom and tried to slit his wrists. I'm sorry, but this is not male behavior. This is hardly even female behavior. This is the behavior of someone who was traumatized by smirking as a child. Males are not nearly that self-conscious. We are taught to suppress any hint of insecurity and be a confident piece of shit at all times. It doesn't always work out that way, but most guys aren't that bothered by people seeing them without a shirt or anything. Just remember that you aren't writing about girls (unless you are. I'm just writing this guide assuming you write cisboy x cisboy).

One of the most annoying characters is the "sassy bitch." I get that they're gay, but gay doesn't mean Jeffree Star. Every gay guy I know is only more feminine than your average high school douche by about five percent. There are exceptions, but your male characters shouldn't give a fuck about clothes or telling Stacy Kimball that she's fugly and ratchet for stealing his boyfriend.

(NOTE: There are other sexualities besides gay, straight, and bisexual; there are other genders besides male and female. You don't have to pepper all of them into your story, though).

A lot of people conveniently forget to write about their characters' parents in a high school AU. Either that, or their parents happen to go on an impromptu vacation for a month, which enables Michael to take Tyler home and fuck him every night until they break up in chapter twenty. Do not do this. I suggest not writing a high school AU anyway since they're pretty overworked, but if you do, put in the effort to make it realistic.

There's another massive issue with tour buses. If you choose to write a non-AU (which I personally don't like much), you are in for a lot of research and fact-checking. It's a very particular setting. Something that seems to show up in every tour story is a false arrangement of people on the bus. In actuality, the bus typically holds one band and some roadies and/or manager(s). There is one bus or van for each band, but the roadies don't get their own. Oftentimes what I see in tour stories is one bus that holds the four or five band members and a bus driver who is constantly driving and never sleeps, eats, or talks to anybody. The author also never mentions the press or signings or any of the opening bands (if you remember Vic Fuentes vs. the World, I'm sorry).

And now for a few specific points.

• If your characters are teenagers, they shouldn't have a job at a bank or sell heroin.

• Do not have your characters swear or comfortably talk about their sex lives with their teachers or parents.

• Bullies do not pick on people who fight back.

• Just because your character is based off of a lead singer doesn't mean they have to be constantly writing lyrics. Writing lyrics takes inspiration.

• Not every character has to be a musician of some kind in your story. Make them like science or art or something.

• Do not make your characters have the exact same music taste as you do. Make it fit their demeanor and the setting.

• Drunkenness does not equate to amnesia. If you get drunk, you might forget bits and pieces, but you don't have a complete wipe-down of your memories of the entire night.

• Yes, Tony Perry is shy, but he doesn't need to be constantly crying or stuttering or running away from people if he says something dumb. He'd probably just think about the dumb things he said for two weeks without any external reactions.

• It is very hard to argue eloquently.

• Not everyone has to be in complete, utter denial about the bad things in their life.

• Do not make your characters get married if they aren't the types of people who want to get married. Marriage is not the only happy ending.

• Also, you don't always have to have a happy ending.

I know that last section is pretty vague, so if you have questions or want advice on anything, feel free to message me.