If its not too much trouble do you mind giving some advice to a new fanfic writers that suck really bad?
My first piece of advice is, never say you, “suck really bad.” We all suck when we start because we are learning. No one is born great at this (okay maybe a few people, it’s not like I know Steven King personally or anything) but we all started somewhere.
There is nothing I find more disheartening when scrolling through my dash looking for new fiction to read than to come across a newbie and the first thing I see is “This probably sucks,” or “I know this is horrible,”. It legit makes me want to pull my hair out.
If you tell people your writing is bad, why would they read it? Why would they bother? If you don’t believe in it, why would they?
It’s not bad. It’s new. You are new. You are doing this for the first time. Instead of putting, “I know this probably sucks,” in your A/N, put “So this is my first time writing fic,” or “I’m really new to this still, please be kind if you have criticisms,”. A little bit of faith in yourself goes a long way.
The second piece of advice: Do your research!
You want to write a well rounded, well thought out, character-rich, plot-rich story? RESEARCH!
Research is a pain in the ass, but let me tell you if your story isn’t complete make-believe, isn’t set in a world of your own creation (which still takes research to properly build in the first place) you need to be googling some shit, man.
For example, I am a massage therapist by trade. It was my life for twelve years. I love massage fic. It’s a guilty pleasure because - let’s face it - that ain’t never gonna happen on my table (maybe if you’re Chris Evans, but I digress). Nothing makes me shut down a fic faster than “she poured the oil over his back and began to rub it in.”
No. No. Just stop. Stop right there.
Oil is fucking cold unless you’ve got the bottle (not a bowl people, that’s a health and safety violation) sitting in an electric warmer, and even then you DO NOT pour oil on people! In a warmer it gets hot. Pouring it into your hands allows some of the heat to dissipate before you scald your client. Pouring it into your hands when you don’t have a warmer and rubbing your hands together heats the oil so your not making your client shriek and come off the table when you stick your fucking cold, oily hands on them.
Research. Go have a massage. Pay attention.
Three: Get a Beta (or if you’re lucky an Alpha). Beta’s will read and proof for you. An Alpha will read, proof, rewrite, help you will plot points, and generally make writing the damn thing easier.
They are lifesavers when the writer’s block hits (and yes it will hit). Don’t worry about that. It happens to the best of us. Just keep writing.
But the best piece of advice I can give is read. Read everything. Read anything. Read shit you would never think to read in a million years. I’m in my mid(to late) thirties, and I’ve probably read a million published works. Classics, historicals, trashy romance, sci-fi, fantasy, fiction, non-fiction. Paranormal romance, biographies, self-help, young adult, health and wellness, space, time, and science journals. (Not to mention the ridiculous amounts of fan fiction)
The more you read, the greater your vocabulary and the better your stories will read. And if you come across a word you don’t know, look it up. Expand your knowledge a word at a time.
That, nonnie, is the best advice I could give to a new person. That and just write. Write often. Write trash. Write complete and utter garbage if you have to, but know every word, every sentence, every paragraph, is simply a learning process.
It takes time to get better. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. The more you write, the more you learn, the better you get.
That’s the only way to improve.
