52 Writing Prompts for Fan Fiction Authors

Fan fiction doesn't often get a lot of praise. For the most part, the life of a fan fiction writer is a hidden one, scorned and isolated. Their art isn't seen as art. It isn't seen as a tribute to whatever their original source may be.

Yet fan fiction can be a good exercise for both new and established writers. It gives them a ready prepared canon in which to exercise ideas. And while I can see the legal implications that come from writing fan fiction, I can also see its benefits. Community, a growth in confidence and technique and, for some writers, the opportunity to put their original ideas in to print.

The downside to fan fiction is that it is set in an already established world. Some writers find it difficult to break away from the canon of their fandom and often find themselves repeating the same ideas in order to be creative.

This series of prompts is designed to get the creative juices flowing and be easily interpreted by either new or established fan fiction writers. If you use any of these prompts, please feel free to drop a link to your writing on the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/thequeenofsteam/

You can download the prompts, for free, as either a PDF for your e-reader or as a printable list.

52 Writing Prompts for Fan Fiction Authors ebook

52 Writing Prompts for Fan Fiction Authors Printable Version

Happy writing!

Rae

Things I've Learned From Fan Fiction 2: Formatting

Writing is something millions take pleasure in doing. For some it's a hobby while, for others, it's their job. One question I keep seeing is "How do I get more positive reviews?". Or "How do I get more people to read my work?".

Whether writing for print, e-book, or website publication one of the answers is formatting. Pretty much every website will have a formatting style guide. This may be in FAQ's or help section. If it's not, email the help point to ask. There's no such thing as a bad question!

Another way is to take a look at work that's already been published. If it's on a writing website, take a look at popular stories to see how they're laid out. Many will follow a particular formatting style which will have been drawn up by the website. This is not them being picky. It stops the reader having to look at a wall of text. This is a point to remember if you're publishing on a website. Most of the readers will be reading on a shiny screen and massive blocks of text are harder on the eye than ones with breaks between paragraphs. If you want people to read your work online help them to help you by giving their eyes a break!

For example, this is easier to read:

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn't know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often 'came down' handsomely, and Scrooge never did.

Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?' No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and, when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!'

But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call 'nuts' to Scrooge.

Than this:

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn't know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often 'came down' handsomely, and Scrooge never did. Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?' No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and, when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!' But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call 'nuts' to Scrooge.

A good way to remember it is like this:

 

From Amanda on Writing 

It's fine to ask questions, even of people who look like they've been on the site for a million years. In fact, more often than not, they'll be more than happy to help! Clear and easy to read pieces are much more favoured over huge, seemingly unending blocks of text. And readers will love you for it! Once you've got your formatting right, you've won half of the battle!

Happy writing, and thank you for reading!

It Started As A Sketch In My Notebook

Another funky radical bombtrack
Started as a sketch in my notebook -

“Bombtrack” - Rage Against The Machine

“I can't write long stories!”

That's something I've heard a lot. People get the core image they want to use but can't expand on it. They want to write something long but find themselves stuck after a couple of chapters. Or write a single scene story rotating around that kernel of an idea.

Do you want to know what I started with?

The body was laid out on the hard wooden floor, naked, limbs and torso delicately curling as they tried to reach each other in some far off dreamland. Fingers, splayed and broken, spread over the varnished floor, bloody trails left in their wake as the body's occupant tried to pull itself into a different, less awkward position. Across one hand swirled the unmistakable image of a mouse crouched in a claw.

But that would not happen. Never would the lithe creature on the floor walk tall and proud again. Never would its face twist into the smile that had dazzled a million people. Never would its eyes gleam with the innocent charm of the forever young. And never would its childlike laughter fill a room. Instead, it would remain the discarded toy, only picked up when its owner needed something to shake and break.

The fingers slowly inched through the pooled blood, making grotesque curls and swirls as they spidered closer to the leather bound book. What was written upon its crisp, white pages had once been a secret between it and the person on the floor.

But no longer. Once the snarling menace that ruled the secluded house had found it, the special bond between writer and written had been snapped like a twig. Pages, as pale and as bloodstained as the whimpering human's skin, were scattered about the empty room. Some lay in piles while others, jagged tears separating words from their partners, had been thrown to the wind, escaping through the room's one broken window. The window that now hid its healing light behind heavy, bolted shutters.

A tiny, kitten-like whimper left the child-man's mouth as his fingers swept over the supple leather, imprinting and marking it with his fingerprints. It was the only thing which linked him to a life long forgotten.

That's the prologue from “Mars on the Rise” and that's what I started with. That was written on a train and was intended as an inspiration piece for a friend to illustrate. That's the tiny seed which has so far spawned three books.

What happened next is what I call the “Particle Collider Method”. One tiny idea breeds another. Which breeds another, and so on. After I'd written that short piece, I was sitting at Crewe train station. The station has a number of bricked up arches. I wanted to know what happened behind the arches so I began making notes as I sat on the next train.

And then?

My destination that day was Brighton (a city I love dearly). I was already writing short pieces of gay fiction and it had been an age since I'd attempted anything over a couple of thousand words. But as I was walking around this beautiful seaside city, I found myself wondering what would happen if the arches of that city were bricked up. And what was going on behind them. So that night I started sketching more ideas, which slowly built in to the first novel (very slowly! It took nearly two years before I had anything resembling a finished story. I also didn't know what I was working on was called “Steampunk”. I called it “Science fiction from another era”.).

Building a story doesn't happen overnight which, in this world of cheap entertainment and instant gratification, can be frustrating. I know it's frustrating for any kind of artist whose fans want the new thing RIGHT NOW!

There's one idea I've been working on since 2007. It started as a scene in my mind, set at Heathrow airport, and I couldn't do anything with it. So I made a bunch of notes and put it to one side.

Then, in 2010, I had another idea which was completely different. It was set in a snowy, sleepy little town in America. Again, it was a scene I couldn't do anything with so I made a bunch of notes and put it to one side.

In 2012, after listening to a radio show, those two ideas came together and have become the basis of another novel. But that's still not without it's problems. There's still a lot of other little ideas which need to be put into place to make it work. There's still a lot of “colliding” to be done yet.

If you want to write something longer, make notes. Obsess on an idea (although my kind of obsessing right now is playing with flight simulators and staring at the London Underground map). Do things which are related to your idea.

One thing I do is keep “style books”. These are blank notebooks filled with ideas, photos, quotes, postcards, snippets of scenes. Whatever comes to your mind. Flicking through them is fascinating and, slowly but surely, those tiny little seeds of ideas begin to grow into great trees.

Never give up!

Things I've Learned From Fan Fiction

Contrary to what a lot of people think, fan fiction's a great way to get started. A lot of authors got started that way, myself included. I started out writing original fiction, fell into fan fiction, and then went back to original works. I'm still a part of a couple of sites and I love going there and seeing what's happening. Fan fiction's a great way for people to hone their craft, have some fun, and meet like minded people. It's a chance for people who wouldn't normally write to write and be creative. However, after several years in the fan fiction world, there's a few things I've learned. Here's one of them.

Change it up

Often you'll see the same thing written a million times by a million different authors. Is there safety in writing the same thing over and over? Is it a way to blend in with the crowd and not draw attention from people who may not like your writing? If you look at any particular fandom, you'll often see the same two main characters doing the same thing again and again. How do you get out of that pattern?

Change it up. Think outside the box and do something different. For example, I can't write straight up romance for shit. It has to have a twist or some crazy subplot. If I'm given a romance prompt, I can't do it. I just implode. My brain isn't wired that way. Instead, I take that prompt, hug it close, and run in completely the opposite direction.

So how do you change it up?

I'm going to get murdered for this, but let's take a current popular fandom.

Sherlock (For the record, I'm using the current TV series rather than the books).

The prompt

Sherlock and John share their first kiss.

(Put your weapons down!! I write gay fiction. What else did you expect me to do?!?!)

Change it up

It happens just as nuclear war is breaking out and they only have minutes to share their innermost thoughts and feelings.

Change it up again

It takes place in a bunker and they're watching as missiles begin to launch towards their intended targets.

Change it up yet again

One of the missiles is heading straight for the bunker and no one knows if the structure will hold.

There's questions!

Of course there is! Ask yourself questions as you go along. What are they doing there in the first place? Were they trying to halt what was happening? Did they have answers? Could they have stopped it?

You can apply this to pretty much anything if you find you're in a funk and writing to a formula (like I am right now. Burn out ain't fun!). Most of all, make it fun. Writing's supposed to be fun and not a chore. And fan fiction's supposed to be super fun!!

Take care, have fun, and keep writing!