I am and always will be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes and dreamer of improbable dreams. - the Eleventh Doctor

Hello all!

I am an American college student with a name, an age, a gender, a heightened sense of internet security, an odd sense of humor, and a firm belief in the Oxford comma, all of which is probably rather obvious. I'm a Sagittarius and a Hufflepuff and an Amity and an ENFP, for those of you familiar with Myers Briggs. I love musicals, cats, and books, among other things. I’ve been writing here since April of 2014, but I only really took off in June of the following year (which is also the time I discovered Doctor Who...). As you can see, I write for a whole various variety of things.

An update: I'm done. I have completed what I wanted to do, and am finished. Thank you all very much for your time. I will always respond to PMs, and usually to reviews, though! ...although apparently past me is a liar. Sorry, folks, but I still make no promises.

If you are here looking for a beta, look no further. I absolutely adore being a beta reader, and frankly have too much time on my hands anyway. If you're worried about grammar, curious as to how to ramp up a plot twist, or just plain want a second opinion, feel free to hit me up.

I also want to say that if you're having a rough day, got a problem you can't work through, or just want someone to talk to, I am always open and ready to listen. I know how much it hurts to have a problem you really can't tell to anyone, and I've found it often helps to have an anonymous ear to talk to. I promise to do my best to help with anything, no matter what the issue.

My sister Ward Orphan and I are writing an Endless Ocean fanfiction together, which we have largely planned out, but have little time to do things together, so the going is slow. It'll basically give all the story background, though, so if you know anything about that and want to read some quality writing, fire away.

Aside from the Frozen one, all the rest are either dead or finished, as far as I’m concerned, so sorry not sorry about that.

Feel free to peruse whatever I’ve got below at your leisure. Thank you all!

-Forever the Optimist

Fanfiction for Dummies:

So! You’ve decided to write some fanfiction, huh? Good for you! You’re about to embark on a most entertaining adventure, one that can be a bit complicated at times, but fear not. This guide is written just for you, by someone who has been down this exact road several times. I do my best to anticipate every trap that might confound you, but if ever you run across something that’s unclear, do please let me know.

I’ve laid out a ‘simple’ three step plan that will get you well on your way to literary greatness. Consider it a flowchart, with each section offering you a series of choices. If you’re anything like me, something will just jump out at you as right for each story. But that might just be me, I wouldn’t know; I’ve never been anyone else. If not, try some things. Plan out a passage in your head, just to see how it fits. Work through your idea in the plan you find, to give it a test run. Keep in mind, this is in no way official, it’s just based on things I’ve observed during my time as a reader and author here on good old fanfiction.net, and as an avid reader myself. I hope you enjoy!

I will note that a friend pointed out to me that my first draft was rather biased towards the sort of story I enjoy reading, and she may well have been right. I’ll tell you right now: I like long stories with interesting plots, and I love canon with everything I have. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO AS WELL. Unless otherwise noted, everything I say here can be applied to canon or noncanon, short story or long, complicated or very simple, fluffy or serious. Don’t let my personal preference keep you from doing what you want. You do you, friend, and I won’t stop you. I’m merely here providing a guide to help you along.

Also, I write for books mostly, with one TV show and a Wii game on the list as well. I don’t claim to know much about writing for any other sources, so this guide is geared mostly toward that sort of thing. However, I have high hopes that it should be applicable to just about anything. Plus, I doubt you’re reading my page if that’s not also the sort of thing you’re looking for.

So, without further ado, let’s get on with our process!

Step 1: Get a plot

This step is deceptively simple but very crucial. Your story idea is the backbone of your creation, and without an idea, you won’t be getting very far. Hopefully you’ve got at least a very basic plan for what sort of a story you might want to write. The guide below will help you nail down what you want to do and refine it into something great.

Type of story

First off, you want to choose what sort of a story you want to do. I’ve noticed in my time here that there are basically five types of fanfiction. I list them here, along with a brief description. Is this in any way official? Of course not, and it is by no means an exhaustive list, but I’ve found it rather helpful. Also, I’ll be using Harry Potter to provide examples, because I think that’s sort of the universal fandom, and if you aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, you do not belong on my page.

Alternate Perspective: An alternate perspective story takes events that have already happened canonically and looks at them from the point of view of another character. This is especially good for one-shots (read on), and usually focuses on important events of some sort. For example, it might be interesting to retell the first meeting of the trio from Hermione’s view, or the final battle through Voldemort’s eyes. These stories can certainly be interesting, but they lack the sort of suspense that other stories command, simply because the reader already knows what will happen.

Alternate Universe: This is by far the most popular and the broadest category of fanfiction. An alternate universe allows you to take any element(s) of your canon source (ex: setting, powers, job, ability, sexuality, gender) and change it to whatever you want, while leaving the rest unchanged, and retell how events might have gone. What if Harry was gay? What if Hermione was actually 30? Suppose Fred and George are actually FBI agents working undercover? The possibilities are utterly endless.

Prequel/Sequel: I think this is fairly self-explanatory, but even so - these are stories that take place before or after the canonical source. For Harry Potter, this might be a Marauders story, or one about the trio’s children at Hogwarts.

Lost Adventures: This is my favorite category of fanfiction. A lost adventure is my name for something that may have happened, but no one can prove it. This can either be something mentioned offhandedly but never fully seen (Quirrell fighting his way through the traps to get to the Philosopher’s Stone) or an event of your own creation that is not referred to at all in the source (Luna’s potions class would be very entertaining, I think). Can you prove to me this didn’t happen? Not at all. This is tougher to do in books and movies, but with TV shows and games and things, this is ideal. What happened in the gaps between episodes? Something, I’m sure, but we’re never told what - it’s left up to you.

Crossovers: This is simply a story of any kind that draws on more than one fandom. I personally don’t like crossovers, but the mix of things you can do are often fun, and it opens up infinitely more possibilities. Just think of how much faster Harry could have beaten Voldemort if he’d had help from the technology of Star Wars or Doctor Who or something. It is easy to get cluttered with these, though, so watch out.

Keep in mind, you are not limited to choosing just one of these types. Some of the most interesting stories blend two or even three of these at once. These just describe the most basic categories.

I should note that I have written at least one of every type in my time as an author, so if you want a real example, I’ll list them here. Read on if you’re interested; if not, feel free to skip ahead. You’ll see that several of mine fit under more than one category, not necessarily the most or least successful of the bunch.

Alternate perspective: Guardian Angel. Alternate universe: Of Trickery, Torture, and Triumph; Guardian Angel. Prequel: The Road to Truth. Sequel: Cherry Chocolate Fudge Murder. Lost Adventures: A Different Legend, Mystery Girl One Moment, Uncivil War, Percy Jackson and the Zygon Campaign. Crossovers: Percy Jackson and the Zygon Campaign.

Length of story

Once you’ve got your basic idea in place, you’ll want to choose an approximate length for your story. I don’t mean number of chapters or words, because that is almost impossible to predetermine (for me, at least). Once again, I’m talking about choosing a type of story. The ones I have listed are quite basic and get longer as you go down.

One-shot: The most basic type of fanfiction, a one-shot is a simple one-chapter story. These are usually fluffy in nature, although they can do well for missing scenes in a story. For example, writing out, say, Remus and Tonk’s wedding wouldn’t be enough for a proper story, but would make a fabulous one-shot. One-shots and alternate perspective stories often go together very nicely.

Basic story: This name sucks, but it does the job. A basic story is exactly what it sounds - a story with one plot, start to finish. This is the most common kind of story, for obvious reasons. It can be any length - this is not what defines the category. It only really becomes its own category when compared to…

Saga: My personal favorite of the three, sagas are the longest and often most complicated of stories, but when done right, they yield the greatest rewards. Sagas are the season rather than a single episode, the entire book series packed into one. A saga will have multiple smaller plotlines, usually tied together with one overarching plot, known in TV as a story arch. They are often ridiculously long, but also often ridiculously good.

A note of warning: sagas can be dangerous in the fact that it’s easy to lose sight of your story arch. If you haven’t got one, don’t make it a saga. It’s much kinder to your readers to just have several separate smaller stories that are slightly related than one long, drawn-out saga.

Another note: A saga is very different from a series. A series is several stories, published separately, with separate storylines that have the same characters. This is how we think of most book series - separate books as we know them. A saga, by my definition, is one single story with multiple separate storylines that are connected by an arc. The difference lies largely in how it's published.

Unlike the type of story, these are mutually exclusive. You can only choose one of the three. However, all of them can be part of a series - there you can mix and match.

Step 2: Develop, develop, develop

No matter how good you think your plot is already, it can always be better. I personally like to write things down in a sort of outline, to get a feel for how the story will go. Then I can see everything and add in the fun little nuances that make my stories so fun (for me at least). I’ve found that the truly brilliant things come when I plan them out beforehand. In fact, the entire back of my school notebook is full of just fanfiction outlines. This is, of course, only my personal preference, and not everyone will find it helpful, but I say it’s worth a shot.

Also, if you don’t know what’s going to happen, you can’t do any foreshadowing. Foreshadowing, if you don’t know, is basically dropping hints about what’s going to happen later in your story. And obviously this is impossible if you yourself do not know your character’s fate. Foreshadowing, while simple, can greatly improve the quality of your writing. It’s that that makes the reader stop and throw their hands up in the air after a big reveal, something I get a real bang out of.

I should note, pretty much all of this step is irrelevant for one-shot writers, because one-shots require very little actual development. So if that’s you, feel free to skip all of this.

Beginnings

Stories (and for the rest of this step I mean basic stories and sagas) can begin in a variety of ways. Once again, I’m offering you a choice. Just think of it as the next branch in the flowchart.

Begin simply: This is your average “It was a typical Sunday afternoon” type of beginning, where everything is going perfectly normally until suddenly it isn’t. This is the classic way of beginning, tried and true, and is a great way to set up all the background information a reader needs to know. This type of start can make it difficult to grab the interest of the reader, but it can certainly be done. Harry Potter begins this way, and that is the golden example. Even with other beginning types, you’ll probably end of having this in there somehow, so it’s nice to have one ready.

Begin with the end: Not exactly the end, but a snapshot of it. It’s always fun to start a story with a snippet of a scene from the grand finale, usually leaving off with a tremendous cliffhanger before going back to the beginning of a story. This is a great way to build suspense and get a reader hooked into what you’re doing. However, it does require having your story well enough planned out that you can write the end before the beginning and still have it make sense once it comes around again, and this can be tricky (I for one find myself quite often drastically altering my plots as I think of better things. This is why I outline, kids). But it creates a fabulous hook, which is what will buy you readers.

Begin mid-action: This is very similar to the above, except rather than use a cut scene from the end, you jump right into the story without bothering to provide any background knowledge. This does mean, however, that you will have to find a way to incorporate your background information into the later story, which can be difficult to do smoothly. However, I think it is well worth it. If you’re looking for an example, my Mystery Girl begins this way.

Begin mysteriously: This is, once again, similar to the above two, except it provides a scene that has nothing to do with the story. The identity of the characters will not be immediately apparent, nor what they are doing there or why. This is fun because it gives you an excellent device for slowly revealing your background info while still creating a hook. Once you’ve done this scene, though, you probably still want to jump into a simple beginning. The Harry Potter movies sort of have this sort of beginning, with Dumbledore and McGonagall appearing at Harry’s door to drop him off.

Begin with another perspective: While less used, this is just another way to hook a reader. This works best for a story written in second or third person (read on) because this allows you a unique glance into the thoughts of one character before you really get to know them - it’s a fabulous way to create a strong first impression, especially in a character that will undergo some serious character development. By allowing the readers to make some assumptions by seeing into their thoughts right away, you can help them change with your character, which is always a lot of fun.

Once again, this is by no means an exhaustive list, nor must you use any single one of these (although if you can think of something that fits none of these, please let me know. I’d be most interested).

Characters

Your characters are really what will make or break your story. In fanfiction, you very much want them to be accurate, of course, but that comes with the territory. Even in AUs, the thing that makes that character who they are is their personality. Lose that, and you’ve got an entirely different character with the same name. When deciding which characters to use and how their dynamic will work, there’s a few things to take note of.

Hierarchy: Every character knows more about some things and less about others than the rest of the characters. In the general context of your story, it’s a good idea to keep a rank of who know what. This is really only important when you’re explaining a new point, because it largely determines who asks the questions and who answers them. For example, a general Harry Potter hierarchy might go Dumbledore, Mcgonagall, Hermione, Harry, Ron. Of course, your hierarchy will change depending on the situation. When it comes to, say, knowledge of Hogwarts, it might go Fred and George, the Marauders, Dumbledore, the trio. Keep in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

Quirks: A truly well-written character has certain characteristics that really make them stand out, things so firmly associated with them that it’d be odd to see them without them. This can be anything from Hermione reading obsessively to Ron enjoying the Chudley Cannons. This is easier to note in a film setting (the 11th Doctor cracks various joints a lot, did you notice?). By no means are you required to put these in, but it will add to the credibility of the characters and possibly make your readers smile. It’s one of the small things that elevate a good story to a great one.

Villains: Villains are often the most interesting character of a story (in my opinion). There are roughly three kinds of villains that I've found so far: classic villains, love-to-hate villains, and jokers. I'll just do a brief description with some examples of each below.

-Classic villains: These are just what they sound like. The typical, "I am obviously evil there is nothing about me that you like or are supposed to like." This is basically every villain in Doctor Who that appears for a single episode. Voldemort and Umbridge also fit in this category. They usually engage in a lot of posturing and drama, with the big plan reveal at the end, only to be defeated at the last second by the valiant hero.

-Love-to-hate villains: I'd think this would be self-explanatory, but these are the villains that, despite knowing that they are scum-of-the-earth evil, you can't help but adore them, usually because of their wit or their interactions with the hero. Some prime examples would be Moriarty of Sherlock and the Master (particularly Missy) in Doctor Who. Such a villain is really extraordinarily hard to write, but absolutely brilliant if you can.

-Jokers: These are a form of the love-to-hate villains that are terrifying because of their macabre humor and irreverence. Bloodshed, death, pain, and suffering are hilarious to this sort of villain. They generally have a very manic, almost bipolar personality, often switching from hysterical amusement to serious malice in mere seconds. This includes, of course, the Joker from Batman, and I'm inclined to put the guy from Nightmare Before Christmas in here too. Also, if you're familiar with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the narrating character, while not entirely a villain, falls into this category as well. While I adore this kind of character, they are quite uncommon and it takes a certain kind of hero to play off them well.

A backstory is, of course, for a villain very important. This is usually what determines whether they fall into the classic or love-to-hate category, although both can have or lack a backstory to still function well. Keep in mind that providing a backstory, particularly a tragic one, will make your readers more sympathetic to the villain and create more emotional conflict. If this is going to be a main point of your story, then carry on. If your purpose is something else, though, exercise caution.

Villains also, I've noticed, tend to speak very formally, particularly classic villains. I do love writing villains for precisely that reason.

The rest

I haven’t got a whole lot to say here; what you do will depend on your individual story. All I can provide is some basic plotline advice: however you start, it’s a good idea to build up to some main climax at the end. I also find it entertaining to add some other plot twist at the end, a sort of “look the world is saved! Oh wait it isn’t” sort of thing. I’m sure you all know the sort. Just as extra shock value, but then, I’m in it for the feels. You do you, and best of luck to you when you do it.

For the sake of your readers, do please do your best to wrap up all loose ends by the end of the story. Nothing is more annoying than a question raised but never answered. However, if you want to leave something open for another story/sequel, well, that’s another matter entirely… Anyway.

Step 3: Start writing

You’ve gotten through all the planning, now it’s time to dive in. Or, almost. There’s just a few more things to deal with before you can really start up. All those mechanical things you need to properly put a story from an idea into words. Basically a lot of the stuff your teacher taught you in English class (it does indeed still apply outside of the classroom). A lot of this might be review, but it can still be a good checklist to make sure you know what you’re doing.

Point of view

First person: First person point of view uses the “I ran, she flies, we will swim” sort of thing. Using this form means that you will constantly be inside the head of one character at a time (Note that you are not limited to one character for your entire story - you can change characters at chapter breaks, or wherever you see fit, really. Just be careful to be sure the audience knows to whom you are switching). This can be tough, as you are never free from the affectations of the character, but it’s also very fun for the reader. It helps add action as well by placing the reader directly in the shoes of the character, and thus right in all the action.

Second person: For your own sakes, don’t. Second person, unless done really well, looks sloppy and can devalue your story. Second person uses all the same pronouns as third person (read on) but also directly addresses the reader at times, using “you” to speak straight to them. There is a very unique sort of writing style associated with this (read The Tale of Despereaux), and it’s terribly difficult to pull off. Unless your source material uses second person, I wouldn’t. But! Be brave! This website is (or at least, should be) a judgement-free zone, and I for one will not shame you for trying. Push some boundaries, if you like. Far be it from me to stop you from doing something that feels right.

Third person: Third person is probably the most common and most instinctual of points of view. This uses things like “Sally ran, he flies, they will swim.” You will only ever see an “I” or a “you” in dialogue (which you should still probably have, don’t get me wrong). Third person is nice because you have more options! Yay!

Third person limited: This allows you access to the thoughts and feelings of only one character. It’s basically first person but with different pronouns and less stress, in my opinion. Like first person, it is possible to switch narrators, but again, only on major breaks in your story. By changing more often, it becomes...

Third person omniscient: With this, you still use the third person pronouns, but you have access to the mind of any character at any time. Unlike with first person, you can switch character thoughts with even simple paragraph changes, making for a much more flexible story.

I highly recommend using the same point of view as your source material - it lends credibility to your work and makes it more believable. For books, follow what they do. For movies, TV shows, games, comics, and anything else you watch in any way, I would do some form of third person, because that allows you to put your readers into the position of invisible observer that is inherent in third person point of view. Do you have to? Not at all, and it could be very interesting not to. This is fanfiction, after all. Make your own choices. Branch out.

I should also note that while third person and second person cannot be combined (that simply makes it second person), it is possible to combine first and second person, having your narrating character speak directly to the reader. However, keep in mind, this brings with it all the problems of both points of view. Percy Jackson does this on occasion, I believe, and it works for Rick Riordan, so it is possible. Just tough.

It is also possible to switch between second and the two thirds at will, even from chapter to chapter. For example, if the chapter has only one of your main characters in it, it makes sense to go from only that character’s point of view, even if the rest of your story is in third person omniscient.

Narrator

Depending on what point of view you’ve chosen, you want to choose your narrator carefully. They will provide the framework for your entire story. For first person stories, this is especially crucial; for third person omniscient, you will have several narrators. It is a good idea to make the narrator the main character (I don’t think you really need to hear that), because they will be central to the action and put the reader at the center of everything that happens.

I wrote about a hierarchy of characters earlier, and I'll say now that it's a good idea to make your narrator the main character who is LOWEST on that list. That way they know hopefully as much or even less than the audience, which means that they can ask all those helpful questions you use to explain things to your readers.

There is one notable exception to this: Many stories, particularly of the fantasy-type genre, have the one character that’s all-knowing and mysterious (Dumbledore, Gandalf, Sherlock, Chiron, the Doctor, etc.). It is advisable to steer clear of this character as a narrator, because their mysteriousness is half of what makes the story suspenseful and interesting. Again, am I saying you can’t? Of course not. Do as you will.

Also, I will add that it is possible, though not advisable, to go without a set narrator at all. This basically means that because you can't get inside anyone's head to hear how they'd describe things, you have to do a LOT more description in your basic writing (the writing that isn't dialogue). It's hard and a pain in the butt, and frankly I wouldn't recommend it, but if you truly feel that no one character is fit to be a narrator or if they all fall into the above category, then go for it, and best of luck.

Tense

This might seem like a simple thing, but it will define how you do your story. Once again we have three choices. However, in this case, the choices are absolute. You can choose one and only one.

Past: This is by far the most common type of fanfiction, and story in general. Past tense is also the most instinctive, probably because that’s what most things are written in. Past tense simply means everything is set in the past - “I ran, he flew, they swam.” I like past tense the best, I’m not really sure why, but do what you will.

Present: This uses the “I run, he flies, they swim” type of verbs. Present tense can be more difficult to do, just because it goes against your instincts, but it is certainly a viable option and places the reader right in the middle of the action. Plus, there is always the suspense of not knowing for sure if the character will live… It’s less common than past, but still often used.

Future: Future tense is almost never used as the main tense, just because it’s wordy and weird. This is the “I will run, he will fly, they will swim.” The only book I’ve ever seen written this way is a children’s book called If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. I would highly highly highly recommend you avoid future tense like the plague.

You will probably end up using all three of these in dialogue at some point in your story, and that’s perfectly fine. This section deals only with what tense you will use for the bits between the speech.

Grammar

I don’t plan to say too much here, you all know how it goes. I will suggest, though, if you know that grammar is something you struggle with, get yourself a beta reader. Here on fanfiction.net there are hundreds if not thousands of people ready and willing to proofread your works. To find one, just search on the page and send them a message. I myself am a registered beta reader, so if you want me to proofread something for you, shoot me a PM and I’ll see what I can do for you.

One definite thing to take note of, even if your grammar is good, is variation. Do not, for all our sakes, just use ‘said’ and ‘asked’ over and over again. Try ‘inquired,’ ‘snapped,’ ‘hissed,’ ‘pleaded.’ Thesauruses are beautiful things, and you can find them online. Even tacking an adjective on the end brightens up a sentence and clarifies the exact connotations of the sentence for the reader.

Adjectives: Use them, and often. I know I just said that, but it’s worth repeating. They are beautiful things created to allow the reader to get directly into your head and know precisely what you mean. Language was invented for expression, and it does a very good job at it. Let it work.

Of course, there are caveats: English adjectives, almost without exception, must be in this order: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, Noun. Great green dragons is fine, but green great dragons? Ugh. It just feels wrong. That’s why phrases like ‘little old’ stick so well together - they’re directly next to each other, so they shouldn’t ever get separated. Tiny details, but they make all the difference. You probably do this naturally, but it’s something to consider.

Editing

For everyone’s sake, definitely read and reread what you’ve written before you post it. If you need help or aren’t confident in your abilities, get an editor. This website provides beta reader services, so go hunt down a profile. I also do beta reading, if you want. Feel free to PM me at any time about it.

In addition, don’t be afraid while editing to chop up a story. Every sentence in your story should serve a purpose, and if it doesn’t, it becomes filler. Filler is not a good thing. A lot of times, even things that do serve a purpose aren’t really needed, and that might be another good thing to ask an editor about.

Other Random Tips

Cheers, friends. I often come up with extra little bits that should be in here, but don't really fit anywhere, so here you go. This will most likely be growing as I come up with stuff. Hopefully this will be helpful.

Truth and Lies: When writing a fanfiction, particularly a science fiction type thing, it's important to keep a balance between canon and invention, fact and fiction. Basically what I mean is this: a story will be ever so much more convincing if it's got bits of truth seeded into it all over the place. (This also works for lying, but I didn't tell you that.) So if I'm writing a story, I might take some of my ideas or settings from actual science and tweak it a bit to fit my needs. For example, I learned recently that Mercury used to have an atmosphere but it got burned off by proximity to the sun. Which for me begs the question, what did it look like before it got burned away? And voila - a setting is born. Then if a reader happens to know that, they look at my story and go 'this person knows what they're doing'.

Have a Crutch: In most adventure-type stories, there is something that probably has an actual literary name but that I like to call a 'crutch'. This is that wonderful thing that allows you to bridge the gap between the possible and the impossible, but that no one fully understands and so can't say you can't use it. Something needs doing or has to be found out that you can't find any way of doing normally? Go to your crutch. It's the thing that you lean on (Get it?). That's probably the world's most confusing explanation, but let me see if I can help with some examples. For Harry Potter, the crutch is magic, plain and simple. For Doctor Who, it might be the sonic screwdriver, maybe the TARDIS, or there's always good old alien technology. For something like Sherlock, which is a little more reality-bound, it could be Sherlock's mind palace or his deductions. Nearly every such series has one, and if you're having trouble figuring it out, you're probably thinking too hard. If in doubt, shoot me a PM and I'll see what I can do to help you.

Fake It 'Til You Make It: Simple. Writing will throw curveballs at you, every time. I have yet to write a story without largely altering the plot halfway through. It happens. Be flexible, and don't fight what's happening. Accommodate it, but don't let it run away and take over the point. And if anyone asks, you meant to do that from the beginning.

Background Music: I'm not sure this even counts as a tip, but if you're struggling to convey a certain mood in your story, I highly recommend listening to music with the same emotions. For me, at least, having a soundtrack in your head is a wonderful way to bring out emotion in your writing. It's better, I'd say, to use an instrumental score rather than something with words, because you'll be less distracted that way. (I personally use the Doomsday theme from Doctor Who a lot to write emotional, heartbreaking scenes, and it usually does its work too well.)

Plot Holes: Like the similar-sounding ‘potholes,’ these are little things that may not make a huge difference, but will jarr a reader. A plot hole is simply something in your story that is never explained. Anything that makes the reader go “well, why didn’t they just do this?” is a problem. To fix this, it’s best to play devil’s advocate: go through what you’ve written, or what you plan to write, and put yourself in the position of the character. Ignore for a moment what needs to happen and concentrate what you would do in that situation. If any of the possible solutions seem more reasonable than the solution you’ve chosen, you need to do something to make it impossible for the character to choose that solution.

Take Notes: You never know when ideas might strike, so stay ready! I keep a notepad by my bed, and a running series of notes on my phone. Any little idea, even if you don’t yet have a story to put it in, should be written down, because you will hate yourself later if you don’t. Trust me.

And you're on your way!

Once you’ve got all that done and ready, you should be good to go! So prepare to dive in, and I wish you the very best of luck in your endeavors. If you’ve got questions or you think I’ve missed something in my lists, please don’t hesitate to send a message my way. I’m always willing to help out a fellow author. And one final tip: learn from my mistakes and ALWAYS KEEP A BACKUP COPY. Thank you, have a nice day, and do feel free to share with anyone and everyone who you think could use a bit of help. :)