Re: [buffyloveswillow] Hello all

[Erin <erin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 06 May 2000 10:45:42 CDT, you wrote:

> Just thought I would introduce myself, instead of being a lurker. My name is 
> Samantha and I am a 16 year old red head taurus. my favorite ships besides 
> buffy/willow are willow/tara, willow/spike and a teeny bit of will/angel.

Hi Samantha! A real Willow fan, huh? :)

> I was wondering are there any guidelines I can follow when writing fan 
> fiction, because I want to write but I don't know where to begin.

The biggest guideline is to read lots of fanfiction. See what works
and what doesn't, and try to adapt your writing style to what works.
I tend to follow these steps:

1) Have an idea where the story is going and what you want it to do
while it's getting there. An outline might be a good idea at this
point, just to fill in the beginning, the ending, and the various plot
points you want to hit along the way.

2) Start writing. This is obviously the hardest part. This is where
experience in reading really comes in, because you can adapt the
writing styles you've liked the best to create your own voice. It
will also help you learn the different writing conventions.

3) Proofread. Once you've written the story (or part/chapter),
proofread it for spelling and grammar. Run it through a
spell-checker. Check to make sure you aren't using too many or too
few commas, that kind of thing.

4) Either a) give it to someone else to proofread (preferably an
English major), or b) set it aside for a couple of days so that you
can proofread it again with a fresh pair of eyes. Make sure all your
sentences make sense. Make sure you always know which character is
speaking. Make sure you don't assume anything. The reader doesn't
have the benefit of seeing the scene as you're thinking of it in your
mind, so make sure the reader gets the whole picture from your words.

5) Make sure you use lots of descriptives to make sure the reader
really gets a sense of the scene. A writer has to be all five senses
to the reader; play on this, otherwise a scene will come across as
being very flat. Don't overdo it on the descriptives, though,
otherwise it will seem too flowery. A middle-of-the-road approach is
the best.

6) Proofread again, and get a couple other people to proofread for
you, too. I proofread my stuff 3 times, minimum, and still I don't
think it's enough.

7) Finally, publish. Ask for feedback so that the next time you craft
a story (or chapter) you'll have things to keep in mind. Remember,
every comment, positive or negative, helps you to create your next
piece better, and so they should all be treasured. You don't get any
better when someone says, "Great story." (Although that has a
definite ego boost value, as well.)

Hope this helps.

Erin
--
Willow: "We have to face it, you can't handle Tara being my girlfriend!"
Xander: "No, it was bad before that, since you two went off to college and 
forgot about me, left me in the basement to--Tara is your girlfriend?!"
*email: erin@xxxxxxxxxxx
*web: http://www.heckman.net/erin