FAN FICTION

What to keep in mind when commenting: how a fan fic is written. Every author has their own style and you need to respect that. You may give tips on how to improve storytelling and create suspense but don’t go overboard. Don’t criticize someone just because they used twists that you don’t like in the story. You don’t like it? Don’t read it.

I must say I don’t read fan fiction too often. It isn’t my cup of tea but I still have a few favorites (less than 5, I can assure you of that). Most frequent are fan fictions dealing with pairings of characters from anime/manga/films. These vary from yaoi to yuri to hetero and express the point of view of the author. During my (short) visits to various fan fiction sites I’ve come across comments such as “OMG how could u do that??! They wud neva be 2gether, i no that b/c he’s with X!!” Bad grammar aside, comments like this should be forbidden. Does this comment provide useful feedback? No. Does it respect the author’s point of view? No. Does it say anything useful? No. Case closed.

A fan fiction, like a song, is made up of parts. I’ve noticed this when reading prose and listening to music. By no means are these names official, it is what I choose to call the respective parts.

1. The introduction: we’re given the characters, setting and a part of the plot. You can usually tell how a story is from the beginning – rare are the cases when this doesn’t happen. This is when you decide if you go on reading or give up. If it managed to draw you in, then say it! Let the writer know you like the way they tell the story!

2. The chorus: represents the main body of the story. The action unfolds and we witness the characters go through various situations. It is important because it needs to keep you hooked until the end by no matter which methods.

3. The climax: tension builds up at this point and slowly/rapidly draws to an end. At this point we are revealed secrets and answers we might have missed during the reading of the story.

4. The end: it brings us the conclusion of the story. This part causes the most controversy since some people don’t find it satisfactory because X didn’t end up with Y or Z kicked the bucket when he/she should have survived.

In conclusion, this is what you must keep in mind:

• Don’t criticize someone’s work because they chose an ending you didn’t like or pairings you don’t agree with. It’s their choice, respect it.
• Speak your mind if you like what you read. Nothing’s better for a fan fiction writer than to know you appreciate their work.
• If you think some part of the fan fiction is cliché, stop reading it rather than continue and annoy yourself and (later on) the writer with hate comments.
• If you don’t like it, that doesn’t mean other people hate it as well. Try to be level-headed and don’t think too highly of yourself by stating everyone agrees with you (when it’s obvious you’re wrong).