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Okay, so I was wondering if they’re is a thread for Fan Fiction writers of our little ONCE family. So I’ll start one. This will be a place to discuss Fan Fiction’s, the best way to write them, how to do certain types like Crossovers or Adventure, how to do certain moments like writing a action scene involving a magic duel. You know basically a place to exchange stories and Tips. Feel free to link you works if you want.
I’ll be the first I’m am currently writing a My Little Pony/ Once Upon a Time Crossover fic, (Warning much like the Frozen arc, The MLP characters take the front seat while the Once Characters take the back though I do try to integrate them as much as possible and Rumple is prominent.) https://www.fimfiction.net/story/223412/once-upon-a-equestrian-girl
[adrotate group="5"]I’ve been writing fan fiction for a long time. Only two tips I can think of and both refer to writing multi-chapter fics.
The thing I do nowadays when working on a MC fic is write out as much as possible in one document first and then, when the story gets to be like 20-30 pages long, split it up into chapters. I’ve always found MC fics intimidating to write and hard to finish.
But when you’re not thinking about chapter length to start, it’s less scary.
The other thing, is after splitting up said fic into chapters, keep the writing consistent. Work on it everyday. No breaks. That’s what I did with my CS fic, If You Love Me. I had an idea and just ran with it.
Action scenes I know are hard to write. I write angst better than action, although one could argue writing a “taco” scene is action and can be tricky too.
Just don’t force it. It’s good to have an idea for how it should go but don’t force the action in the writing.
Also, watching movie scenes similar to what you want help too.
Awesome idea for a thread btw.Great idea for a thread.
One thing I learnt from writing a multi-chapter fic is get yourself a few chapters ahead before you start posting them (if it’s going to be a long story, if it’s a shorter one then it doesn’t matter so much). If you’re posting each chapter as you finish it, then when the dreaded writer’s block strikes, gaps between updates start to get longer and longer which puts more pressure on you to get something written which may not end up as being as of good quality as the rest of the fic.
Taking breaks from a fic isn’t necessarily a bad thing so long as it isn’t too long of a break. Writing fanfic is supposed to be enjoyable not a chore. Sometimes a break is useful, especially if you’ve just been hit by Writer’s block as it gives you chance to re-energise. Reread what you’ve already written after having a break so you can pick the story back up again.
Work on your story chronologically but if you have a good idea for a scene in a later chapter or a bit of dialogue, jot them down somewhere until you’re ready to use them. It’s more difficult writing chapter 2 first then having to write chapter 1 specifically to lead into chapter 2 rather than starting at chapter 1 and allowing the story to flow from there.
Let the story and characters take on a life of their own. Let it and them flow in a natural direction rather than trying to force a specific scenario.
I find writing conversations difficult because I don’t want to repeat words too many times. For example, “said”, “answered”, “replied” etc. I find writing the dialogue first in script form helps then filling in the rest like a character’s emotions, their tone, etc.
One tip I would suggest is don’t hold your chapters to ransom. I’ve seen some fanfic writers say they’ll only post the next chapter of their story if they get so many reviews, and frankly that would put me off even bothering reading the fic because why should I waste my time getting invested in a fic when said fic may not even continue.
Write in the style that you feel most comfortable with. I tend to write in third person because I don’t like writing or reading in first person for fiction. If you’re more comfortable writing angst and drama rather than fluff and romance, do that. Trying different genres though will enable you to work out which you prefer.
Also write the story you want to tell, not what other people tell you to write. Other people might give you ideas or you might ask for their opinion on how you’ve written a character, but at the end of the day it’s your story and you’re the one who needs to be happy with it.
I think it is harder writing a tv show fanfiction than a movie fanfiction especially if the tv show is still ongoing because so much could change depending on if you like to keep your fic in continuity with the show. Also the people likely to read your tv show fanfic are also more diverse shipping wise than a movie fanfic. Not all your fics will necessarily be as popular as your previous fics so don’t take it to heart, people’s preferences vary, more so for tv fanfics.
Lastly, when posting your fanfic on fanfiction.net, make sure your fanfic is rated T or below. Anything above a T won’t show up on the general index so unless someone is looking specifically for an M rated fic, they won’t see your fic at all.
At the minute I’m working on two OUAT fics, a Christmas one and a longer one, having done a Lost Boys movie multi-chapter fic previously. (I would generally advise against having two fics on the go at the same time, but that’s just me).
The Christmas one is a short two parter involving Belle which can be found here. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10882484/1/Naughty-or-Nice Part 1 is up, Part 2 coming shortly.
The other fic I’ve had to put on the back burner for now (but I’m still kind of working on it by jotting down ideas for scenes and stuff), involves Henry trying to bring Neal back but ending up in the Netherworld instead so Emma and Regina have to go and get him. I’m hoping to work on it over the hiatus but it won’t be posted for a while because I want to get a few chapters ahead.
I hope this has helped.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixGreat idea for a thread.
One thing I learnt from writing a multi-chapter fic is get yourself a few chapters ahead before you start posting them (if it’s going to be a long story, if it’s a shorter one then it doesn’t matter so much). If you’re posting each chapter as you finish it, then when the dreaded writer’s block strikes, gaps between updates start to get longer and longer which puts more pressure on you to get something written which may not end up as being as of good quality as the rest of the fic.
Yup, I’ve been through this. I start posting a fic and then hit a serious writer’s block, I just drop the fic in the middle of posting. That’s why I try now to finish up multi-chapters before posting so I don’t leave my readers’ waiting.
But I know I have a lot of unfinished fanfics, even unposted unfinished fanfics. They’re just sitting saved somewhere.
A few tips I’ve learned over the years.
First, Re-Read your stuff…That’s a given. Not only for spelling but sometimes I find reading a chapter (OR chapters) you tend to find yourself adding additional scenes or lines of dialogue which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and can even help with your narrative especially if you want to go in a specific direction.
Not only as PoM said let the characters take a life on their own but if you’re like me and you’re doing a crossover set in a specific time (Example a Crossover set during Season 1 of ONCE) never be afraid to deviate a bit from the original story even to the point in deviating a lot, if you can’t find a way to add one set of characters with the other then don’t, just say (A.B.and C happened in the background while one set of characters/ The One’s you focus on in the story did this thing.)
I tend to find (At least for me) writing Dialogue is the easiest, I myself tend to tell a story through dialogue. Never be afraid to do that especially if you are a character driven person.
I’m curious, when writing a chapter and there’s dialogue between characters, anyone actually see the scene as its played like a movie in their head? I tend to visualize more how I want my characters to respond to each other when I actually see them together. And it’s in wide screen format, not sure why but it is.
I’m curious, when writing a chapter and there’s dialogue between characters, anyone actually see the scene as its played like a movie in their head? I tend to visualize more how I want my characters to respond to each other when I actually see them together. And it’s in wide screen format, not sure why but it is.
Well what I tend to do is a bit both, visually the movie in my head (And hopefully I have the Movie on DVD because I have to re-watch the scene a bunch of times just to get the lines correct) but also when I write dialogue myself I tend to add my own mannerism to the character’s speech patterns, like they’ll respond to a question or something the way I do. While also keeping to their original characters as well.
Wow thank you for all those helpful tips!
I have this giant fic in my head about Ruby and Whale during the missing year but I can’t even finish writing the first chapter. I have all the scenes in my head but I just can’t put them into words… Maybe it’s because this is the first time I’m trying to write something serious.
I think I’ll try what PriceofMagic said and write only what they say first and then add all the rest of the things.
You know what I can't continue with the dead people brought back to life list I'm out of space in the signature and now we have an underworld arc this is to much I quit why do you bring so many people back to life OUAT WHHHYYYY
Wow thank you for all those helpful tips! I have this giant fic in my head about Ruby and Whale during the missing year but I can’t even finish writing the first chapter. I have all the scenes in my head but I just can’t put them into words… Maybe it’s because this is the first time I’m trying to write something serious. I think I’ll try what PriceofMagic said and write only what they say first and then add all the rest of the things.
When I have that problem of having a Big Fan Fic, I normally just start writing stuff and see where the journey takes me.
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