Q: What is Fanfiction?
Fanfiction is the idea of using previously created works and expanding them in the form of stories for entertainment, further exploring a fandom, and/or to develop better writing skills.
is for fanfiction, but is also for editors, writers, and readers and has expanded the idea of fanfiction into one site where the three work together. As said, it's also for "unleashing your imagination" and leans more towards a creative and fun perspective and not a serious one.
Commonly Used Terms
A/N: Stands for "Author's Note." Is used when an author wants to say something before/after a chapter.
AH: Mainly used in fanfics where there is supernatural characters. Stands for "All Human."
AU: Stands for "Alternate Universe." Usually is where the plot is explored as if something happened differently. (Example: In Twilight, it could be, "What if Edward was killed by the Volturi in New Moon?")
Beta: Someone who edits a writer's work or gives suggestions on it.
Canon: A character mentioned in a movie or series.
Community: A gathered group of stories written by multiple authors.
Collaborate Fic: Two or more people working together to write a story.
Crack Fic: A story where characters tend to be OOC/crazy, or has a non-existent/unique plot.
Crossover: A story that is a cross between two books/movies.
Drabble: Short story that is only meant to portray a certain theme or genre.
Fandom: What book, movie, comic or show a story is written for.
Fanfic: A story.
Fluff: Fics that are light-hearted, usually very cute, or very romantic.
Femslash: Story where female characters who have romantic relationships with one another.
Flames: Basically an extremely negative review to a story.
Gary-Stu: The male version of a "Mary-Sue."
God-Mod: An "indestructible" character; one who hasn't been/never is defeated.
IC: Stands for in-character. When a character's history and personality mentions that of the fandom they come from.
Mary-Sue: A "perfect" character, which makes them unrealistic. Perfect or a lot of talents, no or very little, un-noticable flaws in appearance, history, and/or personality.
Non-Canon: A story in which few or no canon characters are used.
One-Shot, Two-Shot, Three-Shot: One-shot would be a one chaptered story. Two-shot would be a story with two chapters, etc.
OC: Stands for original character. Character completely of an author's creation.
OOC: Stands for out-of-character. The opposite of IC/in-character.
OTP: Stands for one-true pairing. As in, a ship you adore so much, it's your most favorite.
POV: Stands for point of view.
Slash: A story in which two male characters have a romantic relationship with one another.
Shipping: The specific types of couples an author writers.
TBC: Stands for to be continued.
General Technical Uses
(This is simply just general instruction, mainly for those new to fanfiction . . . For further information or if you have any questions on any of this, please PM/Comment.)
Uploading Documents: Log in, and go to the sidebar and click "publish." Then click "Document Manager (Upload)" and upload a document from there. (: Make sure you have a document on your computer to upload first, though.
Posting A New Story: Go to Publish again, then to "New Story." Make sure you have your story in a document, and then accept the guidelines if you haven't already, select the fandom/category it's in, then fill out the rest of the information for your story.
Adding A New Chapter: First, make sure you have the next chapter in a document. Then, go to "publish" then "manage stories." Click on your story title, then "add/upload new chapter" and upload the next chapter.
Spacing: I've heard some questions on spacing multiple times; as shown below, hitting shift enter will only cause single line breaks, and won't automatically fix any spacing issues. Simply just click enter and spacing should be fine.
Editing Stories: Use "manage stories" for this and you can change the title, genre, characters, summary, and all other information for your story.
Profiles: Under "Account" go to "profile" and simply put whatever you want on your profile there. Because of a recent site update, hyperlinks no longer work, so it's best to just put the full link if needed.
Alerts: You can see who you have under alerts there, and also can add/remove users, as well as disable alerts.
Image Manager: Simply upload an image under "manage stories" first using the image manager to upload the picture.
Polls: Polls can be added. All instructions for polls are there when you go to create them. If you want it to be voted on, though, it's best to allow it to be shown on your profile by clicking the button and selecting "yes" on the top right to display it on your profile.
Reviewing: Reviews cannot be removed or edited. At the bottom of your story, simply type your comment and post it.
DocX: DocX is for sending and receiving documents. First, you must visit "connection" and make the connection with whomever you are sharing documents with, then visit the "outbox" to send documents and "inbox" to receive them.
Traffic Stats: The traffic stats for your stories, forums, or communities.
Betas
Betas: A "beta" can be another word for an "editor" but can also be someone who helps with plot ideas and suggestions, too.
They are useful and there are tons of betas on the site. Some beta through e-mail, while others use the DocX feature in order to beta. Either way works, and it just depends on the preference of the beta and who they're working with. Different betas edit different types of stories and specialize in different things. If you would like to see what these are, you can look at their "beta profile" under the "PM message" tab on their profile. If this tab isn't on their profile, it means they aren't a beta or have removed their beta account.
Becoming A Beta: To become a beta, visit the "Beta Reader" tab in the sidebar once logged in, and you can create and open a profile there.
It requires you to have a certain amount of stories or amount of words written to become a beta, though. Although after you open your profile, you can request to beta for someone, or just continue writing and if someone looks at your profile and wants you to beta for them, they'll ask.
Getting A Beta: To get a beta, you can search above using the tab "Betas", then fit your specific category/fandom for your story, and request below or PM. Remember, check to see if the Beta is available first.
Communities
Communities: Communities are groups of stories that are sometimes used for contests but mainly publicity or for readers looking for a certain thing to read. They usually are only for one certain theme.
How to Create A Community: You can create one using the "community" tab on the sidebar.
How To Get Into A Community: Search a community and talk with the administrator to get your story(ies) in.
Writing Contests
Contests are basically where fanfics are entered to publicity or to win awards or get reviews . . . So mainly for publicity. There are all types of contests, and each one works differently. Some are only for certain themes, fandoms, or characters. Some are large and open to the public, where as others are smaller. Some contests stretch over different sites and have a long time to enter them, whereas other contests are strict and you have days to write and enter.
To enter a writing contest, you can search under "author" and type in "contest" or a story for a contest. Find a recent one, check out the profile for information, and try to enter it if it is running.
How to Get Your Fanfic to Be Successful
Effort: If you really want reviews, you are going to have to make your fic "review worthy". You will need to comb through your work and make sure it is the best of the best. Ignore the impulse to click save when you're finished and post. You'll be surprised how much you catch and improve if you would just take a day or two to look the fic over. You will also need to put your fic out there, be frequently updating, and working hard with this fic. If you are to slack off and write sloppily or update infrequently, writers will quickly lose interest.
Spelling: "And then I walekld to the husoe to eat my brakefast." If a reader sees that, or a ton of similar mistakes, they are instantly going to be turned off. Even if some are accidental, frequent spelling mistakes will instantly turn readers off. It doesn't take much effort to spell check your writing before you post it.
Grammar: Grammar is just the same as spelling. Seriously, if you don't have at least a junior-high level of grammar education, get a beta. I know that sounds harsh but when people write like this - '"Okay" he said: then he kissed me: i kisses hims.' Any reader will probably go right back to the search engine. Please, learn basic grammar and self-edit and/or get a beta if possible.
Self-Beta'ing: Most authors out there are stronger writers than they are posting. As said above, you need to ignore the impulse to complete then post. Take a day or two to re-read your fic. You'll find quite a few things to change, fix, and improve on. Readers enjoy a clean, well-written piece over a sloppily, thrown together one.
Content: If you're going to write about the whole crew shooting off to space to find donuts . . . there is a big chance that you won't be recieving a throughly devoted audience. Of course, you might get a few giggles and smiles, but it's rare. This is a teen site, and although FF doesn't necessarily have high expectations, maturity is a must for the big fics out there. If you're going to write humor, you'll need to make it at least in-character and enjoyable. Characters should be in character and the plot should be smooth. Try to pre-plan for multi-chapter fics and get a direction to be headed toward for one-shots so you can work up to it and make reading enjoyable.
Follow the Fandom: "Bella is a powerful fairy mermaid witch with impossible to beat powers, and Edward is a dirty beggar who lives off of the dirt beneath his feet...They meet, and Edward turns out to be a monster, but love finds them somehow when Bella finds out she's a monster too and is meant to slay him..." Unless you have some serious writing skills, most readers aren't attracted to that. You need to try to stay logical with the fandom. Use events, characters, ideas, and qualities of the fandom. If you go completely OOC and overboard with your fic, readers won't want to read it. Try to at least hold onto a few elements of the fandom in your fic. Finally, please don't turn the main character into yourself who falls in love with the main character and is the coolest thing on earth who everybody loves. . . That is a big "reader turn off".
Originality: Be original! Readers tend to enjoy something fresh and new - it draws them in and is much more interesting. Yeah, we've all seen countless fics of Cullens reading the books and Edward leaving a pregnant Bella beyond. Think of something new that is inspired by yourself and not a rip-off or repeat of another author's work.
Title: Interesting titles pull readers in - it's as simple as that. Titles like "OMG THE BEST DAY EVA!" aren't going to get many hits. Try to tie your title in with a main idea of the fic and properly write it out.
Summary: Your summary needs to draw readers in. NEVER say "Plz review" or "I suck at summaries, give it a chance!" all of those just waste space. Of course you want reviews, and if you suck at summaries, don't admit it. Try to make a good, well-thought out summary. Keep it brief but interesting. Sometimes, just a quote from the fic will do it. Or, but a brief overview with a question or two. All of those are great but simple ways to write a good summary.
Rating: Correctly rate your fic. If you are going to have no language, adult content, or violence, its a K. If you are going to have lemons, profanity abound, and gore-filled deaths every other scene, you have an M. However, extreme adult content is not in the site guidelines and you're facing the chance of your fic being removed. So please, keep it just below the "graphic" level, but you will need a correct rating to draw more readers in. Someone who is in to T rated fics probably won't look into a K rated fic.
Author Notes: Of course, many writers add author notes into fics as a way to thank readers and write out to them. However, they tend to be distracting, especially when it's in all bold and a mile long. Less is more with author's notes and readers, because they can turn readers off. Also, FF doesn't allow authors notes as chapters, so if you have a chapter that's only an author's note, you'll want to be careful because if the wrong person comes across it, it can be reported and removed, just for that. /:
Reviews: If you get reviews, congrats! Bet it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, like most writers. :D But one thing to remember is to never threaten to not update until you get a certain number. Instant turn off that can and usually will cause many readers to not review. Keep in mind that many users choose to lurk and not comment, but those who do comment, you should thank with a response. Also, if someone says something negative, don't go beserk and send them a long, hateful PM. Maturity comes back to this as well. Not every user is going to like your fic. You should respect the opinion of readers and thank them for taking the time to share their opinion and/or try to help you review. Of course it is frustrating when you don't get reviews or when someone says something negative, but as long as you keep going and don't let it get to you, you'll be rewarded for it.
Writing for the Crowd: If you are just starting a fic and are hoping for reviews, you'll need to write something interesting. Most readers go for certain popular canon pairings and genres. Be specific with it and make it well detailed. Big audiences do flock in to popular shippings as well as romance/fluff/detailed fics. It all depends on the fandom, really. Sticking to the main genre(s) of the fandom tends to draw in more readers.
When to Post for Reviews: In the USA, the best time to update is from the evening, around 7-9 PM. (Yeah, I have tested it many times.) Weekend nights tend to be bigger, generally, as people are stopping by to look through fanfiction before they start another work week.
Promotion: If you are going to promote, target interested audience. Be friendly, not forceful. Ask and don't beg. Also, respect any other users opinions. They've taken the time to give your fic a chance and every author should appreciate that whether it was good or bad. Being immature and/or rude is giving off a bad vibe and will tend to not only chase readers off, but it will give you a bad reputation on the site. Also, if you are going to promote, please be civil and patient with it. Don't go crazy posting links to your fic everywhere you can get, because that also sends out a note of desperation, which turns readers off.
Finally - and possibly most importantly - have fun with what you write.
No author should write something that they don't enjoy. You're writing for yourself and your interest, and you'll find the quality of your fic is much better if you enjoy what you are writing. Personally, I have found that readers are actually more attracted to a writer writing for the enjoyment than a writer writing for publicity.