On Writing: What I Learned From Fanfiction

Fanfiction is exactly what it sounds like: fiction written by fans. It has a long, distinguished (like Slider's Johnson, haha) history, most of which we can thank sci-fi fans for. (Thanks, Trekkies!) I enjoyed my time in several different fandoms. Here are some of the highlights of what I learned.

1. "Crap" floats.
"Crap" is always going to be at the top of the most read list. The story may be good, or it may not; it might be vaguely offensive, badly edited, long-winded, or something else that just makes it difficult for you to read and enjoy, though "most" readers certainly seem to have no problem with it. Don't get mad. Obviously, it has some worth, otherwise it wouldn't be so popular. Read as much as you can and learn from it. What you may find is that the average reader is willing to overlook things like an ethnocentric author, awkward sentence structure and unfortunate signs of dating abuse, and wordy pretension in favor of a good story. Let that knowledge take some of the pressure of creating a perfectly edited manuscript off of you; focus instead on your story.

2. There are two types of readers.

There are readers who read for fun, enjoy what they read, and appreciate the efforts of the authors. They make the choice to read, because it's what they want to do. The other type of readers are the ones who do it because of others. They read because it's an assignment, or because "everyone else" is doing it, or because they want to feel "smart." They might even be doing it because they want to impress someone or because they want to hide their porn. (Housewives and teenage girls alike can tell you that the best way to hide your sexually explicit material is by reading it.) Hone your skills and craft for the first type of reader and hone your story for the second type.

3. There are three types of reviewers.

There are the people who love everything (or are possibly afraid of confrontation or hurting someone's feelings); they are always going to give everything four or five stars and when prompted to discuss the work, they use vague and positive wording. There are people who are angry and negative (or possibly just bitter and overly critical); they are going to flame you, leave negative reviews, and tell everyone how much you suck. Then there are the people who mean it (who read the work and have Opinions); they are going to give you an honest, thoughtful review, even if they didn't like it. The last type are my favorite. You learn the most from them.

4. Community is great.

No man is an island, right? Writing is a solitary endeavor, but having friends you can count on to get you through the emotional highs and lows of creating is a glorious, glorious thing. If you don't have people who understand--or people who at least try to understand--things can get lonely and madness can set in. There's a reason writers are frequently alcoholics. Reaching out to other writers you respect can ease that loneliness and prevent liver failure. The same can be said for reaching out to readers you respect. Having a community you can count on can lead to better writing.

5. We're all still in high school.
I never went to high school, so my knowledge of it is based on pop culture. It's possible that this "high school" mentality is specific to fandom, since a vast majority of fans are teenage girls, but I've seen the pettiness in adult communities, too. Just beware of the drama, cliques, flame wars, sporking, and snark. Don't get dragged in. Seriously. You do not want to end up like Cassandra Cla(i)re or Ms. Scribe.

6. Beta readers are necessary, even if you think they aren't.
It does not matter how good you are. You can always be better. Always. And the lame excuse that crap gets published is just that, a lame excuse. You are fully responsible for the quality of your own writing. Find beta readers. Use them. Yes, readers. Plural. I view beta readers as academic sources: you need three solid separate sources to come to any reasonable conclusions. Beta readers make you better. But don't fall into the trap of only using yes-men as betas. Find readers who aren't afraid to hurt your feelings.

7. Be a good beta reader.
Being a good beta reader is about more than reciprocity, being part of the community, or getting the first look at your favorite author's newest piece. It's about learning to spot the problems and errors in someone else's writing so you can better spot them in your own. When you beta read, you get to read without being the one doing the writing. It's easier to see things like abused commas, overused dashes, repeated words. You get into the habit of spotting those things, which makes you better at self-editing.

8. Know your audience.
In fandom, the best way to learn who is reading and what they're reading is to get involved. Join forums. Join mailing lists. Join communities. Watch. Read. See what they like, what they gravitate toward. If you want to be at the top of that most-read list, write what they read. By watching the community, you'll know how they're going to react to your work, which will make those negative reviews and constructively critical ones easier to handle.

9. Respect your audience.
They're reading you, so they have some taste, right? Right. Don't talk down to them. Don't write like you're smarter than they are. Without them, you would be just another aspiring writer. Respect them. They deserve your gratitude. Embrace them, because they are the reason you get to do what you love.

10. Read. Read more. Keep reading.
If the only work you read is your own, you will stagnate. So read. Read others' work, read work outside of fandom, read articles, read encyclopedia entries, read meta, read blogs. Don't forget to read real books and magazines, too. Read everything you can get your hands on.

11. Write. Write more. Keep writing.
Writing is a skilled craft, and to hone those skills, you have to practice. You may have the raw talent, but that doesn't mean much if you don't use that talent, refine that talent. So write. Write emails, letters, blog entries. Write meta--on your own characters, on others' characters. Write reviews. Write short stories if you're a novelist, write a novel if you're a short story writer. Write poetry. It doesn't have to be good and you don't have to share it, but you should write as often as you can. Experiment with different styles, with different words, with different points of view. Unless you want to bore your readers to death.

12. Think outside the fandom.
Alternate universe fics and crossover fics are popular. The author gets to mash her favorite things together. Readers get to discover something they may not have previously known about. It's fun. It's different. The writer has to think, the readers has to think. This can be done in fiction, too. Mash up genres. Write a space romance. Write a western horror. Write a splatterpunk comedy. Get creative. Okay, that sounds obvious (We're writers. Creativity is what we do.) But just give it a little bit of thought. You may surprise yourself.

13. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get.
One person reads, loves it, tells her friends. Her friends read, love it, and tell all of their friends. The next thing you know, you're in the mall on a Saturday standing behind a couple of people who are talking about you and your work and don't even realize it. (That is a true story. I ended up following a couple of guys who were discussing my slash threesome trilogy. One had read all three stories, and one had only read the first two. They were talking about which one was the best and why. I have no idea how I managed not to embarrass myself by making small, squeaky noises of glee.) All of the hard work you put in to marketing and promotion can be immediately surpassed (or undone) by word-of-mouth.

14. Quality over quantity, but being prolific never killed anyone.
Do your best work every time you write. Don't release anything unless you are 100% positive that it can't be any better. If you can only produce one quality piece every ten years, so be it. But quantity that is also quality is the ideal. Like Stephen King. Or Nora Roberts. The more you have out, the better chance you have of being read.

15. Sex sells.
There is a good reason that porn is the number one rule of the Internet and that romance and erotica titles sell so well. Something about sex fascinates humans. We like to have it, we like to watch it, we like to read it. Especially in the last fifteen years, women in particular have become more vocal about what they like, and they like the boysex. There's nothing wrong with this. It's possible to have a good story and good sex. If it wasn't, Harlequin Blaze and Ellora's Cave wouldn't do such great business.

16. Learn to accept criticism (gracefully).
By sharing your art, you are inviting criticism. You may not think you deserve it, but not everyone is going to love you or even like you. (See above. Eat, Pray, Love, the Twilight books, and the Harry Potter books are all crazy popular, and I don't like any of them.) Be graceful about this. Does it really matter to you that a few--sometimes very vocal--don't like you? Okay, maybe if you're one of those insecure types who needs everyone's acceptance it might matter, but you're a writer. You're stronger than that. Learn to say, "Thank you for sharing your opinion, I will take your points into consideration" when it's necessary. By "necessary" I mean "when the criticism is constructive." You can pout and brood in private all you want. Want a good example of how not to behave toward a reviewer? Read this post and the comments below. Negative reviews that are not constructive criticism are to be ignored at all times.

17. Fans are the personification of love.

They're passionate. They're articulate. They love. They hate. They invest their time, energy, effort, money, tears, and blood in what they love. It matters to them. If you're ever lucky enough to have fans, appreciate them. Try not to alienate them.