It’s been awhile since I’ve ranted here, but there’s something that I feel needs to be said. This will be short, I think.
Reading a few fan fictions, I’ve noticed a few things that might help people. Particularly people who write about an obscure show/book or want more readers. These tips come from someone else, named Chris, so I won’t take credit. He made a guide to fan fiction on a different website.
- Make your story stand alone!
This means that I don’t have to read The entire other books or watch the whole show to understand the story you wrote. I should be able to pick it up, having never heard of the original work, and enjoy it. That way your reader base isn’t limited, and you can actually draw new fans to the show/book you like.
To do this you might need to describe things in more detail the first time they happen. Rather than saying “Harry Potter used X spell,” you might have to say, “Harry Potter used X spell, which does Y effect.”
Also, you might have to make up your own unique descriptions without using stuff from the original work (or without assuming the reader knows what it looks like/where it is). Umm, example below:
A squirtle appeared and used water gun.
Vs
A blue turtle with an orange shell stood on its hind legs and sprayed water out of its mouth. “Squirtle!” it shouted.
Just make it assuming the reader never read the original book, watched the original show, or played that game.
- A spinoff with new characters set in the same world is easier than a new plot with the same characters/crew.
You can use some of the characters in the original work, but you have to write them consistent with the character in that show! They can’t all of a sudden change personalities. This makes it a lot harder to use a main character as your main character.
On the contrary, if you make up new characters, then you can really make it your own. This allows you to use the concept, system, logic, and world of the original while creating your own cast with their own personalities. Original characters are best with short cameos or paired with your new characters for a different feel.
- Don’t write in a way that messes with the cannon story.
This should be obvious, but I want to say it. If your story takes place at the same time as (or before) the original work, then you have to make it match all of the original shows logic. A character who is alive in the show can’t die before the show happens. Likewise, people can’t be in two spots at once. Fans get pretty upset if you try to overwrite the main story of the original. This is another reason a spinoff with completely separate characters is so much better. It avoids mistakes that are easy to make (like someone being in two places at once).
I hope these tips help! Make it so I can understand your novel about a book that only three people have ever read, please!