Writing Notes: In-Character Fanfiction

do you have any tips for writing in-character fanfiction?

Writing Notes: In-Character Fanfiction

Fan Fiction - a type of writing that responds to something else like a book, a TV show or a film.

People write fan fiction typically because they are big fans of their chosen story, and want to create more of it.

They might imagine what happened before or after the story's main events or imagine other scenes in the lives of their favourite characters.

Fan fiction is a great way to get started with writing, because a lot of the work has been done for you. Characters, settings and plots are already there to be customised, changed and adapted. The possibilities are endless.

Fan fiction usually falls into 2 big categories: in-universe and alternate universe (AU).

In-universe fan fiction takes place in the same general setting and plot line as the original story. It could be, for example, a prequel or a story that follows characters that aren’t focused on as much in the main plot.

Alternate universe fan fiction explores different settings or plot lines for characters within a fandom. This can be anything from a fanfic where a character who dies in the original story lives or an alternate setting where all of the characters work at a coffee shop. AU fanfics are great for if you want more control over your storyline or want to explore an entirely different setting with characters you already love.

Writing Tips for In-Character Fanfiction

Know the Canon. In fan fiction, the original story, characters and world you are responding to is called the canon.

Know the story you're responding to.

Read it a few times and make sure you have the detail straight.

Make your story make sense for the existing story world.

If the protagonist can't swim in the original story, don't start yours with them doing the front crawl across the British Channel unless you can explain when and where they learnt the skill (and how it's relevant).

If characters act out-of-character, or the world has changed in your version, make sure there's a good reason for it.

Consider the Past. You aren’t inventing new characters, and you can’t change the lives they’ve already lived unless you’re writing a prequel. So, you must be familiar with the lives your characters have already led and can work their lived experiences into your story. It can be helpful to ask someone who is also a fan of the series you’re pulling characters from to read your work before you publish, as they’ll be able to let you know whether you’re on the right track when it comes to sticking to the story’s canon. 

Consider a New Approach. While it can be fun to dig into the lives of everyone’s favorite characters, fanfiction can take an exciting turn when the writer provides context for the behaviors of a not-so-beloved character. For example, describing a character’s difficult home life can help readers understand why they act in an undesired way in the original story. This doesn’t just help readers engage with the material you create – it can also help them to see their favorite stories and characters in a new way.

Ask "what if"? Fanfiction is, by its very nature, speculative, which means that every piece of fanfiction starts with this very simple question: What if?

What if this happened?

What if this didn’t happen?

What if this character and this character got together?

What if everything changed?

What if we knew what happened next? 

Ask yourself “what if” questions about your chosen media, and follow the most interesting answer.

Once you’ve picked your favorite simple version of the question, start asking questions again.

Think about how the answer to that “what if” affects the rest of the story - do the characters change? Their relationships? The setting?

This will help you build out your plot more effectively.

Identify the Gap. Many fanfiction writers choose to focus on aspects of the story that were left unexplored in the original work. Look for gaps in the plot or characters of the story that you can use as a jumping-off point for your own story. Typically the concept for a fanfiction will be some gap you see in the source material’s story—or just something you’d have rather happened.

Revise, Revise, Revise. When you write an excellent fanfiction story, it can be tempting to publish it immediately, especially if you have an eager audience to read your work. However, taking the time to revise is critical. After you finish your work, take a day away, and then come back and reread it. Don’t just keep an eye out for spelling and grammar mistakes. You’ll also want to ensure that you don’t have plot holes, facts that go against canon, or characters acting in a way that won’t make sense to your readers.

Get a Beta Reader. Fan fiction writers often work with other fans called beta readers, who read their work before they post it online and edit it or suggest changes or improvements.

Reading your own work aloud to yourself or others is a good idea; alternatively, ask a friend to read it through for inconsistencies or points that need clarification.

Doing either (or both!) of these will help make your writing the best it can be before you post it on a fan site.

Out of Character: Make sure you keep true to the personalities of the cast. Even if something about the starring character is being changed, it should be changed accordingly. Also, even if the canon characters never do anything to contradict their personalities, if they never do anything distinctive to their personalities, that's generally a bad sign since it makes them seem too generic.

Interact with Your Readers. You’re going to get plenty of comments when you publish a fanfiction story that becomes popular. Interacting with your readers is key to keeping them coming back for more. Engage in conversation, ask them questions about what they’d like to see next, and remember – your readers are there because they love the characters just as much as you do.

"Original Flavour" - a Fanfic that attempts to emulate the tone, atmosphere and style of its inspiration as closely as possible.

The goal of the Original Flavour fic is to seem as though the original production team could have thought it up.

Even if it heads off into previously unknown and unexplored territory for that property, the story will emphasize the use of existing gimmicks and devices rather than introducing totally foreign ones.

If you are writing an Original Flavour fic, you (usually) don't introduce or kill core characters, revise continuity, or do anything that is non-canon beyond the events of your story.

To an extent, it is possible to pull these off and still maintain this trope, but only if it's in a way that the canon itself could have evolved (as opposed to anything drastic). Original Flavor is exactly like writing a spec script you could submit to the showrunner, but not necessarily in script form.

Examples for inspiration:

Alice Through the Needle's Eye is a Fan Sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that perfectly mimics Carroll's style.

Peter Pan and the Only Children is a Fan Sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, that perfectly mimics Barrie's style.

Zootopia: A Tail of Two has been regarded as having the definite feel of the original Zootopia movie.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps with your writing! Do go through the sources for more information and examples I wasn't able to include here.