Okay, class can begin. Sorry I'm late, it's just that my roommate is a bit of a jerk. That means you, Erin.
So I know that it has been a while since we last had a class, but that was only because no one turned in the homework I assigned. That is all water under the bridge, of course. I'm a lazy bastard and probably wouldn't bother grading it anyway.
On to today's topic: Cover Images.
You may be wondering what this has to do with writing fanfiction. The truth is that it has little to do with writing fanfiction and more to do with getting people to read it. That is why books, games, and movies have illustrated covers. You may write the best story in the known universe, but no one is going to read it if you don't give them any reason to be interested. A good cover image goes a long way toward gaining readers.
The titles, characters, and length specific to a story are also draws, of course, but they are all just more text on a page filled with text. To really draw someone's eye, nothing works better than a cool picture. Don't include anything that gives the story away, but make sure it will draw attention and get people interested. That said, it should be relevant. A search page full of pictures of men and women in skimpy outfits or throwing nuclear devices will just blend, like a succession of like photos and, presumably, like stories. Choose something that tells what your story is and what to expect, but don't give us all the details.
It would be lovely if I could provide you with a few examples, but as we are on fanfictionnet, I doubt that any I upload would actually appear. But what about the cover image for this story, you ask? Why, that is an excellent point! Take a look at it and ask yourself if it properly describes what can be expected in this story or if it seems completely irrelevant or boring. Learn from it and all the others. Then, once you know what you want (and don't want) you can make one of your own. Or just steal one from online; that's what Erin likes to do.
You don't have to be an expert with photoshop or anything like that. Heck, even just using paint can turn out well. I even know a few people who have made good advertisement art with just text. Words are an art unto themselves, after all.
Try not to make it anything illegal or against site rules and it will probably not cause you too much trouble, but if you want to succeed, make it relevant, interesting, and original, just like your story.
That's it for today. I expect you all to come to class next time with a good cover image for your story.