Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop ✒ Writing Tips

Lesson 1: Where to start from when writing a fanfic?

When writing anything, be it fanfiction, fiction, non fiction or any other genre of writing, this question is what gets most people stuck. Where do we start from?

In this lesson we are going to discuss all the things you should keep in mind before you start writing a fanfiction.

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First and foremost, you should be sure that the world in which you are writing your fanfiction is quite clear to you, in simple words you know the original books well enough. If you have only scarce information of the original books before you start writing a fanfiction, then it can only create further problems for you.

If you have read all the Harry Potter books then this can't be much of a problem for you but if you have only seen the movies, then it can create some difficulties. You all know movies leave a lot of the good stuff out and sometimes aren't as good as the books.

So start by reading the books carefully and outlining all the parts that may be helpful for your fanfiction. And if you think this is a lengthy process, don't worry I will give you the shortcut too but first you have to understand this method.

And then comes the question... How do you know which part is important for your fanfic and which isn't?

Well, here's the solution.

Brainstorming.

I recommend to always start with brainstorming. Once you have got an idea for a fanfic or a book or whatever, simply jot it down on a notepad just the way it is, without any additions or deductions. 

After the idea is in front of you, read and reread it carefully for two or three times, then present yourself with a few basic questions regarding the idea.

1. What type of readers it can attract?

2. What are the sub genres it can be classified into?

3. What is the setting of the fanfic? (The era, time, place, book such as Prisoner of Azkaban etc).

4. What is the theme of your fanfic?

5. What are the main characters involved in the fanfic?

After you are sure that you have an answer for these simple questions, you have done enough brainstorming required to test whether you are able to proceed with the idea or not. Then you can proceed onto the next step.

Remember the question mentioned before brainstorming that how you are going to find out which parts in the books are most relevant for your fanfic? Now I'm pretty sure you must have an idea what it's answer is going to be. 

After you have found the answers of the above stated five questions, especially the setting of your fanifc, you know what books your fanfic is going to be centered on and basically those are the books you will be taking for reference.

For instance, if your fanfic starts from the Goblet of Fire, there's no need to go and read the first three books all over again. Just keep in hand a  copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and you're all set.

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Now let us discuss in detail the five basic questions I had told you to check your idea with initially.

1. What type of readers it can attract?

It is always best to know the demands of your audience. Similarly it is essential to know what kind of readers your fanfic will possibly attract. If it is focused on a cute high school love story such as an OC and a canon character falling in love in their school days, then I'm pretty sure your audience will be full of teens especially girls and those sort of people who love to read light-hearted stories.