Fanfiction can be a great stepping stone for beginner writers.
The characters and world are already established, so you can fully concentrate on plot, structure and language.
But even then, there’s some things to be careful of before you dive into the fabulous world of fanfiction!
During the last stream, a subscriber requested that we go over how to write good fanfiction.
You can watch the full video here to or scroll down to for highlights.
What is Fanfiction?
- Fanfiction is when you write a story based on a story that already exists
- For example, if you wanted to write Harry Potter fanfiction, there are a ton of different options: write a story that takes place after the 7th book, write a story that takes place over one of Harry’s summer vacations, write a story that’s a prequel to the series, write a story from your own original character’s POV, etc.
- Fanfiction is great writing practice for beginner writers because a lot of the legwork has already been done for you: the characters, setting, and rules have been established, so you can focus on plot, structure, and language
Four Elements to Good Fanfiction
#1. Start With a “What If?”
- The best fanfiction starts by asking “what if?” about a story
- For example: “What if” Harry’s parents hadn’t been killed? “What if” Katniss hadn’t volunteered for her sister Prim? “What if” the story of Gravity Falls continued with Mabel and Dipper in high school? “What if” there was a crossover between Star Wars and Star Trek?
- More than just a sequel, fanfiction lets you explore stories in ways they would never usually be, so have fun with it!
#2. Plan Out What Story You Want to Tell
- Do you want to write flash fiction (a few paragraphs), a short story (a few pages), or a long story (several chapters)?
- Decide beforehand and plan out your story all the way to the end by making an outline
- Knowing where your story is headed before you start writing will make it a lot easier, will take away stress, reduce potential writer’s block, and prevent you from getting lost/stopping
- If you’re posting chapter by chapter, consider ending each chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger to keep readers coming back!
#3. Ground the Reader in What is DIFFERENT
- If you’re writing a sequel, prequel, midquel, AU, whatever, make it clear from the very beginning
- Don’t just tell the reader when/where your story takes place in a summary before they start reading, show it to the reader in the story itself using vivid, fun, and clear description
- For example, if you’re writing a Harry Potter AU that takes place if Voldemort won the war, then you need to make that clear starting from the very beginning or readers will get confused
#4. Stay True to Everything that is the SAME
- Aside from the things you’re specifically changing something for your fanfiction, the rest of the original story should stay the same (characters, setting, rules, etc.)
- Characters not acting like themselves is one of the easiest ways to turn off your readers. They’re fans of the original story, so they want to see their favorite characters act the way they should!
- For example, turning Harry into an angsty goth, Hermione into a prankster, and Ron into a jock might sound like fun, but without proper setup it’s going to frustrate readers
Don’t Forget the Usual Good Writing Stuff!
- 1. What’s clear in your head is not necessarily clear on the page. If you want the reader to be able to visualize/feel something, be sure to describe it in vivid/fun language.
- NO: “Harry walked out of his apartment to his car.”
- YES: “Harry stumbled out of his broken-down apartment, the stench of his morning pick-me-up drink steaming from his lips. Before he could even pull the wand out of his pocket to lock the door behind him, the doorknob fell right off, third time just this week.”
- 2. The parts you’re excited to get to as the author are not the parts we’re excited for as the reader. We want to see little character interactions, fun buildup, juicy dialogue, not just fights and revelations.
- If you do a Star Wars/Star Trek crossover, we don’t just want to see a battle between the Empire/Federation, we want to see the fun interactions between Luke/Picard!
- 3. When you’ve finished writing the story, you’re only halfway done. Now it’s time to edit, get feedback, incorporate that feedback, and repeat!
- Typically, aim to spend at least as much time on editing as you spent on writing.
After that, chat voted that we write this fanfiction: What if The Lion King was written by J.R.R Tolkien?
Here’s what we came up with:
Simba, Timon and Pumbaa crawled their way to the top of Pride Rock, exhausted from their incredible journey. All around them, the once-green pasture was now in blazes as the dark skies lapped down with blasts of electric fire. The howls of hyenas mixed with the howls of the winds, blowing sparks and embers against Simba’s charred fur as he struggled to take the last few steps toward the edge of the rock.
The same rock where his father, King Mufasa, son of Ahadi, Lord of the Kingdom of Light, rightful Heir to the Stone, had brought Simba to be raised to the sun by the grand wizard Rafiki so many years ago. Now, it was time to take it back.
“Just a little further, buddy!” Timon said, patting Simba on the back. “And then we can feast like you’ve never imagined. Grubs! Grasshoppers! Stink bugs!”
“Oh, don’t say Stink bug,” Pumbaa said, his stomach rumbling. “You’re gonna make me burst.”
“Hold steady, Pumbaa!” Timon shouted. “Simba, keep going!”
Simba pawed his bloodied claws to the edge of Pride Rock. Staring at the fires below him, consuming his homeland, he knew what he needed to do. It was time.
He reached over with one paw to the other, clasping around the sacred heirloom of the royal line. The ring made of bark from the Elder Tree, hide from the First Antelope, and washed with bloodied rains from the Creation Sky. It was the Circle of Life.
And now it was time to put an end to the Circle’s reign. For too many generations it had ruled life on the savannah. Dead lions fertilized the grass, the antelope ate the grass, and the lions ate the antelope — it was easy to see who got the short end of the stick in that circular relationship. The only way to restore the balance was by putting everyone on an equal level, destroying the Circle of oppression and replacing it with a Circle of equality, where all could sit and speak as equals.
But as Simba slipped the ring off his paw and held it in the air in front of him, a whisker’s breadth away from finally being destroyed, it felt like it clasped even harder around him, as if it had roots digging into his very soul. It whispered sweet lines into his heart alone, singing to him the songs of his future progeny, if only he slipped it back onto his paw and walked the other way.
Timon scurried on top of Simba’s head and yanked on his ears.
“What are you waiting for, Simba? Toss it already!”
Pumbaa groaned from behind them. “Speaking of tossing, I’m about to toss my cookies.”
“You don’t even eat cookies, Pumbaa!”
“But I’ve been thinking of going to culinary school.”
It was all background noise to Simba. All he could hear was the Circle telling him all the things he wanted to hear. You are the rightful king. Take me, and take your place at the center. The Circle revolves around you.
“You know what?” Simba said softly to Timon and Pumbaa. “I don’t think I want to get rid of this ring, after all.”
The faces on the boar and meerkat fell as Simba moved to put the ring back over his claw. Their journey, weeks spent getting to this point, brushing with death again and again, just to have Simba betray them at the last second. Even as the fires roared below them, their broken hearts shattered like ice.
Just then, a slobbering scream came from behind them. A hyena crashed into Simba, knocking Timon off him and sending Simba sliding to the edge of the rock. He barely held onto the edge with the tips of his claws digging into the stone as his body dangled precariously off the crumbling edge, flames licking the tips of his feet.
The Circle bounced off the stone and right into the mouth of the hyena as it leaped over all of them, and fell down toward the engulfing inferno.
“I have it! I have the Precious!” the hyena laughed as the fires lapped at its fur. The Circle glinted in its mouth as the flames consumed him from every angle. “I have it! I have it! I have—”
And then he was gone. Along with the Circle.
A small puff of smoke rose from the ground to the darkened sky, instantly clearing the storm away. The black clouds faded to gray, then white, then blue as the sun shone over the crusted valley for the first time in too long.
“Timon! Pumbaa!” Simba cried, still holding on for his life over the edge of Pride Rock. “Help me!”
Timon and Pumbaa exchanged glances, remembering the terror they had felt from their friend just moments earlier. But with a shrug, they both clasped onto Simba’s paws, Timon with his hands and Pumbaa with his strong jaw, and pulled him up to safety.
“Thank you,” Simba said to them through pained breaths. “And… I’m sorry about what happened. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s okay,” Timon said, patting Simba’s side. “You know what we always say. Hakuna mata.”
“Yeah, that and…” Pumbaa raised his back hoof and let out a flatulent so loud it echoed through all of Pride Rock and tremored through the entire valley, killing thousands of poor innocents who had managed to survive the war up to this point.
“Pumbaa!” Simba and Timon scolded together.
The pig blushed. “Sorry.”
Be sure to check out the video if you want to see more, and if you want a dramatic reading of the story!
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you join us on Twitch.
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Featured image: PAKUTASO