I’ve talked before about my love of fanfic, including how valuable it is for learning how to write well. However, there is a quite a big difference between the two forms, including in style and mindset. Today, I’ll share what I’ve learned from making this leap so that you have an easier time when you’re ready to write your debut novel.
First, we’ll go through the easier stuff that’s mostly mechanical, then move on to the mindset issues you may come across.
Work on Your Description Skills
In fanfic, you don’t really need to describe the characters or settings because everyone is coming to your story with a similar knowledge base. Most fanfic is of TV and movies, meaning that your readers already have a visual representation of the characters.
Not so in original fiction. While some people choose to leave their characters nebulous (a practice I don’t really like), most of us want to get an idea of who we’re working with here. Check out my how to write descriptions post for more details on that, specifically where to put descriptions.
Stop Using So Many Epithets
This was a huge issue for me when I started writing original fiction. After spending so long in the fanfic space, using epithets was second nature to me, even though it actually annoys readers a lot. I had to have a beta reader point out just how many times I used “the cavalryman” instead of Uileac Korviridi’s real name in Funeral of Hopes because I’d become blind to it.
There are still a lot of epithets in Pride Before a Fall because for some reason, no one noticed – and I had three different beta readers take a look. Not the end of the world, but something I’ve become much more mindful of after my lovely beta reader’s comment.
Avoid Excessive Interiority
In fanfic, you’ll often come across a lot of interiority because the author wants to show how they have reinterpreted this character. Readers usually love this because they’re very invested in the character; they like to see whether someone agrees with their headcanons.
In original fiction, this doesn’t fly as well because readers aren’t as invested in your OC. Keep interiority brief, no more than a paragraph or two max, and intersperse it through the text.
Avoid Info Dumps
With fanfic, you don’t really need info dumps in most instances. I sometimes had to resort to them in my more complicated pieces, like “Burden of Truth,” because I had a lot of moving parts and needed to sum it up for the reader after everything was revealed.
But those situations are pretty few and far between because, as with descriptions, your readers already have a knowledge base to rely on when it comes to character backstory and such. When moving to original fiction, you might find yourself tempted to dump everything out for the reader as soon as possible, attempting to establish that same familiarity.
You can’t do that. Not only is it boring for the reader, but it means they don’t get to think for themselves. They’re being constantly reminded that they are reading a book rather than living an experience.
For me, I always ask myself why the reader needs to know a particular piece of information right now. If the detail is not going to come into play shortly, or I’m not developing foreshadowing with it, then I can put it somewhere that makes more sense.
You can also just cut down whatever information you’ve provided to a brief mention and then build on it later. This way, you’ve primed the reader to ask for more without boring them.
Get Comfortable Going It Alone
Many fanfic writers build motivation through talking about their projects with their friends. I certainly gleaned a lot of inspiration from my fandom friends while doing my Touken Ranbu 1.6-million-word-fanfic-speedrun. This is fine – healthy, even. You’re building community, getting motivation, and thinking more deeply about your work.
Unfortunately, many try to take this with them when they embark on original fiction, only to find out that …. absolutely no one cares.
Your vaguepostings about brand-new characters get no traction because not a single person has a clue who any of these people are or what the plot is. You think you’re being mysterious and building interest, but it doesn’t because, again, no one has a clue who you’re talking about or why.
I used to follow someone who had little emoji codes for all her different WIPs (and there were way too many, btw) and would share little “hints” about each one. However, the most engagement she’d get was a “ooh that sounds cool!” and nothing else.
There’s a good reason why all her WIPs are WIPs and she still hasn’t published anything a good two years after I lost interest in her. Because she was talking way too much about her projects and doing almost nothing on them. She’d gotten stuck in that “share everything I’m doing with my friends” mentality without understanding that it doesn’t translate well to original fiction.
Engagement requires investment, and there is no investment if someone doesn’t know what you’re talking about. As such, you’ve got to get comfortable being a fandom of one, at least for a while.
Nowadays, my brother is my number 1 fan and will bring up my books in random conversations all the time. He’s not a huge reader, either, so for him to actually read and absorb my work – much less engage with it long after the book has closed – is a huge deal. (Thanks, Sean!)
You, too, can get people excited about your projects when you have something to show them. Not before.
Paying Readers Are More Demanding
Fanfic writers are rightly annoyed when readers act like professional literary critics with their work when this is just for fun (and made for free). The whole “don’t like, don’t read” is engrained in old-school fandom, and writers bite back when readers get pushy.
You don’t have that excuse anymore when you’re writing for profit. People are paying for your work, and they have the right to complain if you don’t deliver.
If you’re writing fanfic to prepare for a professional career, please start saving up for the expenses that come with formal publishing so that you don’t get these negative comments. Even if you intend to go the tradpub route, you are still going to have some expenses before you start querying, including beta readers, query letter reviews, and professional editors.
And please, don’t start querying before you’re genuinely ready to publish. One million words of practice writing is the minimum threshold, but I did about 1.6 million before I started the Eirenic Verses.
Perform More Quality Assurance
With most fanfic, you can edit it as many times as you want and no one cares. I still plan to go back to some of my works on AO3 and fix the annoyingly long sentences, but that’s an issue for much later.
You don’t really have that opportunity with published original fiction, especially print versions. When it’s out there, that’s it. I could theoretically go and update the KPF files of my current books, but it would make me look like a shitty writer. I only update them when I have links to the next work.
Are there things that annoy me about my first novels? Yeah, but I can’t do anything about them now. I just have to cross my fingers and pray they’re not bad enough for people to give up on me.
Know You Have to Fight for Attention
When writing fanfic, people are actively searching for your work; you really don’t have to do anything to get yourself out there. You might network with readers to get more attention, but otherwise, you can just focus on writing.
Not so with original fiction. People are leery of newer authors because they know how many writers publish utter garbage and expect praise. There are millions upon millions of books out there for people to read, so they’re discerning with their time and money.
You will have to work your butt off to get attention for your works. Learn the basics of marketing now and lay the groundwork for your series. I am still working on this four books into the series, so know that it takes a long time to build traction. It’s okay if you’re not a best seller right away.
Also, don’t nuke your fandom connections. These may become your first paying customers AND your greatest advocates.
Expect to Get Less Reader Feedback
The greatest joy of fandom, at least for me, is the sense of community. You get to talk to people you will never meet about things you both love, spending hours hypothesizing and dreaming with a shared knowledge base.
During my time writing fanfic, I collected over 500 positive comments; many readers would leave messages on every single chapter of a fic, often several paragraphs long. This was, of course, very gratifying and encouraged me to write more. Even a simple kudos, while not not as exciting, told me that I was doing a good job.
Paying readers aren’t usually like that, though. In fact, many won’t leave a review at all, even if they liked it, because they don’t understand the importance of reviews for authors.
Several people I know in real life have told me how much they loved my books, but never leave a review. That’s fine – I can’t force them to. I’m just glad they read it at all and would never expect more than that.
People have come to believe that reviews are more like a complaint form rather than a way to show appreciation for a business or author. Much as we can try to educate people about why reviews are important, this is unlikely to change anytime soon. So, you will get far less engagement than you might on Wattpad or AO3, which will suck if you’re still a bit insecure about your work.
This is another reason why I encourage people to write a lot of fanfic before trying to publish. Receiving all that positive feedback gives you a little storage bank of good comments you can look back on when you’re feeling discouraged.
⤝❖⤞
Prepare for Annoying Questions
And lastly, people often get weird around authors. They might be awed by the writer mystique – which, to be clear, is not a thing. I’m just a dumb little gremlin who put all my XP into wordcraft instead of charisma or athleticism.
On the other hand, people may be oddly aggressive about how you aren’t really that good, just to shit on you (more common for women). Overall, a lot of the general public doesn’t understand what we do.
Reactions you can expect include:
- Asking when there’s going to be an audiobook/paperback of your self-pubbed novel (many don’t realize how expensive audiobooks are to produce)
- Alerting you to every single thing related to books ever, whether that’s a book convention happening halfway across the country or a new bookstore that opened up nearby
- Explaining why they don’t like the genre you write
- Demanding you use their story ideas and credit them because they don’t want to write it themselves
- Insisting they could be an author too if they had more time/money
- Asking you to write something for them
- Telling you that their sister/cousin/grandfather/coworker wants to write a book and asking you for tips to give them (“just write” is apparently the wrong answer, btw)
- Asking you to look over their first draft of the novel they wrote in high school and want to polish (for free, of course)
- Talking about the AI garbage they generated
- Mansplaining writing to you even though they aren’t writers
My least favorite species of questioner is the one who wants to ramble to you about the story idea they have but haven’t written a single word on, expecting you to give them feedback or praise their ingenuity.
For some reason, my advice of “just write it and see what happens” never seems to go over well.
Fanfic writers are blessedly free from these annoying real-life interactions because a) the general public does not take fanfic seriously and b) most fanfic writers don’t talk about it at length with their friends and family.
It takes mental fortitude to politely answer the same thing 1000 times, so I encourage you to prep some canned answers to these and other questions so that you don’t lose it on some hapless stranger.
After all, it’s not their fault; said person doesn’t know you get that reaction all the time. I’m sure I ask people dumb questions about their vocations, too, and they are gracious enough not to be annoyed by the repetitiveness.
To be honest, I trust writers who have written fanfic much more than someone who slapped together their very first book and self-published it. Fanfic is an amazing way to practice with no pressure, experiment and play until you develop the perfect style. I certainly wouldn’t have done the Eirenic Verses if I hadn’t spent so much time honing my craft with gay sword boys.
Having done all that practice, you are well-positioned to succeed in the original fiction sphere – far more so than someone who thinks their first project is up to par. However, there are still some adjustments, both to your style and your overall attitude, that will give you an even better boost.
Welcome to the OC fic club, and I’m proud of you.
