The 'OMG' List of Fanfic Guides

[RJ]

Dang I have a lot of spare time... thought I'd share this with you all- it's a list I made for another forum on writing fanfiction and it's quite helpful (hopefully).

Guides on Writing:

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/style.html - This is from a site called the Fiction Factor and this article details some of the basics of establishing a writing style.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/grammar.html - Here is another article from Fiction Factor and it talks about some of the more common grammar errors.

http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/Writing/tips.htm - This was a very useful article that outlines the areas that you should think about before starting a new story. I know that some of the elements that they talk about is already a given in the fanfiction universe, for example the characters and the settings but the rest of it is very important.

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/nov97/hughes3.htm - This is from a website called Writers Write and talks about the evils of writers block and some ideas that can help a author overcome this rather common (and frustrating) event.

http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/writers/t029673.txt - A very simple-looking, yet effective list that gives some good tips for self-editing your own story.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=2075 - I wasn't sure if this could go into basic writing or in writing fanfiction... but nevertheless, it's useful! This is from a site called 'TheOtaku.com', and I've found it to be a really reliable place to find guides and advice for both writing fanfiction and understanding fandoms and culture. This article gives advice on how to do research easily.

Guides on Writing Fanfiction:

http://members.aol.com/opheliamac/home.htm - Ophelia's Fanfic Writing Guide: A very good guide on understanding how to create a fanfiction and getting it to work with a good plot.

http://articles.theotaku.com/writer.php?id=228781 - Articles by WickedEnough. This writer has two wonderful articles on the Dos and Do Nots of fanfiction, and one on explaining the workings of the 'Alternate Universe' in fanfiction.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=1487 - A Beginner's Guide to Fanfiction by Bellpickle: A good article on starting out when it comes to writing fanfiction.

http://members.aol.com/honywumpus/fanfic.htm - The Official DAFT Fanfiction Writing Guide: This article has some short tips at the start from people, followed by some longer essays. There is some really good stuff in here, so I recommend a look.

Guides for Understanding Japanese/Anime/Manga Culture and History:

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=2108 - Otaku Otaku Revolution by Katana. Another article from 'TheOtaku', this gives a short history of the increase in popularity of anime and its effect on western culture so far.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=1464 - The History of Anime by SunfallE: A nice little article explaining where anime and manga came from.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=2344 - Pop Culture 101 by Bellpickle: This is one guide I definitely recommend to read. It covers pop culture in Japan and it will really broaden your mind.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=98 – What Means What in Anime by Phoenix Shiraha: There's a lot more than what you think when it comes to meanings in anime. It's not just names that have meaning, but even hair and eye colour, and even the fashion!

http://senseis.xmp.net/?JapaneseNameSuffix - Japanese Name Suffixes: If you've ever been confused about the meanings of '-chan' or '-kun', or any other suffixes on the end of someone's name in Japanese culture, then this is a good article to look at.

http://www.cs.utah.edu/~duongsaa/more_htm/jk_100animeRules.htm - 100 Rules of Anime: More a parody than anything, but you just have to laugh when you realise it's all mostly true. Ie. "#46- Law of Flimsy Incognition- Simply changing into a costume or wearing a teensy mask can make you utterly unrecognisable to even your closest friends and relatives."

Guides on Creating Characters:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_sue - I'm going to start off in this section by pointing you to possibly the MOST important thing to know when it comes to characters and creation; the Mary Sue. Basically it's a character that is "perfect"; however there are a few other interpretations too. I really do recommend you to read this before you create a character.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/characters.html - Here's a great amount of articles by many different authors on how to create a character for fiction. There's also some links to generators which could help give a few ideas.

http://rainejoybringer.livejournal.com/3971.html - Okay, I'm going to pimp my own guide here, but I've been told it's been quite handy. It looks at creating characters and how to place them in a fanfic. There's also some other tips within it, and a little guide on the meanings of colours for eyes and hair.

http://ks.essortment.com/creatingcharact_rtsl.htm - This is a guide on how to create a profile for a character. It's quite interesting and worth a look.

http://www.ponylandpress.com/ms-test.html and http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm - If you've already created your character, why not take a look at these? They're tests you can do for your character to check they aren't a Sue. You shouldn't be too worried about the final scores though, they're not totally reliable because of differences in fandoms, but it's still good for a few things.

Places to look for Help:

http://community.livejournal.com/oc_analysis/ - All of these links will be to LJ communities, but I've found that they're usually the most reliable. On this one you can post a profile for a character, and hopefully you can get some constructive criticism.

http://community.livejournal.com/fan_characters/ - Another place to post about your character and get advice.

http://community.livejournal.com/con_crit/ - A community that offers constructive criticism for anything fanfiction-related.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/ - If you're ever stuck on a detail in your story and need some help to overcome it, or get some help with a research point, then this is a good place to ask at.

http://havenfordarkness.homestead.com/Tutorial_page/Semisue1.html - Mary Sue Reform: This helpful guide will help to give advice on how to "reform" your character if you find they're too much of a Sue.

Other Places of Interest:

http://www.obakemono.com/introduction.php - The Obakemono Project is one place I just adore because it's one of the very few places on the web with such a good explanation of different monsters of legend in Japanese culture! It's a great place to look up if you ever want to write a fantasy story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Weapons_by_country - I think when it comes to manga and anime, particularly shonen and action series, there is a surprising amount of weapons. I have always had a passion for traditional Chinese weapons, and I've been able to find some really interesting stuff from Wikipedia- especially when it comes to finding names for weapons I've only ever seen in movies (they still lack an article on emei piercers though...).

http://www.mimisgrotto.com/gaffdolls/ - Mimi's Grotto's Mary Sue Doll Fest: If you've ever wanted to see the worst-of-the-worst for Sue characters, take a look here. The Harry Potter sections are a doozy. And if you're lucky, you might just find one particular little kitsune-parody created by yours truly...

Various LiveJournal Fanfiction Communities:

http://community.livejournal.com/marysues/ - The Original Mary Sue LiveJournal community. Even more horror from the world of Sues, but at least it's humorous when the bringer of the fic goes into a rant and sporks the thing into oblivion.

http://community.livejournal.com/deleterius/ - The Mary Sue community for any and all Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring fics. (Mostly SFW, though there are a few times when someone will post links and sporkings about more adult fics)

http://community.livejournal.com/fanficrants/ - This is where you go if you have a bone to pick with a particular piece of fandom and some of its writers. I rant on here quite a bit and I've also learnt quite a lot of fanfiction and writing from my time there. Beware though; it's not always safe for work.

http://community.livejournal.com/weepingcock/ - DEFINITELY NSFW and it's not for the squeamish. If anything, you should fear it... then get over the shock and laugh yourself silly. It's when erotic fiction goes bad... REALLY bad.

Yeah... I need a life.

[Sid]

Quite a list... mind if I throw in a few of my own links? Well, you're a mod, you can just vape my post if you do

Grammar and Word Use

http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html - Quite long list of common errors, especially when it comes to using wrong words (or words wrongly)

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/chadvce.htm - "Writerisms and other Sins", collection of word usage and grammar tips.

Collections of Guides

http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/writing.html - Elfwood Fantasy Art Resource Project on writing. Links to various tutorials and guides.

http://www.caroclarke.com/writing.html - Writing advice by Caro Clarke. Links to various guides.

http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/MainElements.htm - Similar to the above

http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/page5.html - General resources, I saved it mostly because it also covers the rules for writing proper dialogue. Very good tutorials with tons of examples to make the points clear.

Misc.

http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/notecard_plotting.html - "Notecarding - Plotting under Pressure". I use the basic approach shown there, even though I usually more or less do it in my head and not with real notecards.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/firstpov.html - "Me, Myself and I", guide for writing stuff using the first-person PoV

Books

Since English isn't my first language, I collected a few books to help me along. The list also includes a few books that should prove to be definitely helpful for others, though. The first three are books I bought last year, the other two (in various instances) pretty much accompanied me since 8th grade or so.

Strunk and White - The Elements of Style
I saw this being recommended by tons of people and bought it. It's fairly cheap ($8 or so, I think) and covers many grammar and word usage rules, as well as giving a few very good general writing tips. It's based on the 1918 book by Strunk, which is freely available here. The print edition takes the 1918 book and expands it considerably, but the online version should be a good starting point.

Gary Provost - 100 Ways to improve your writing
Similar size and price, covers style and general writing tips mostly. Easier reading than Elements of Style, but equally useful.

Thesaurus
I picked up Roget's Thesaurus (Penguin Pocket edition) since it's not just a dictionary-style thesaurus. It has two parts: One part is a quick-list of words, which links to places in the other part. The other part then has word groups, so you can check the group as a whole to see all available synonyms. Of course, I also use online versions, but often enough I'm feeling fancy and use the print edition.

Monolingual English Dictionaries
And lots of 'em. I nowadays use the Penguin Pocket Dictionary in combination with online ones to check the spelling of odd words (and to check if the word I had in mind actually is the word I want to use)

Michael Swan - Practical English Usage
When the shit is really hitting the fan in terms of grammar and basic word usage, this is pretty much my secret weapon. Especially helpful for "English as second language" speakers, but it may also be useful for others.

[RJ]

Wow, those are great Sid! I hope you don't mind if I add some of those to the list I put on another forum!

[Zedd]

Well you know what this means RJ

[RJ]

No, not really... 

[Zedd]

For those who cant come up up with a proper name...Try this site... http://www.behindthename.com/random/ It helped Amber alot people in her past time

[Wildy]

I know we've got a lot of stickied topics already. But I think this deserves one.. Ooor.. Perhaps, might there be room for a references type or side board? (Kind of like the one in the DMFA board for cons) Since we seem to accumulate quite a few reference topics.

[Gareeku]

I know we've got a lot of stickied topics already. But I think this deserves one.. Ooor.. Perhaps, might there be room for a references type or side board? (Kind of like the one in the DMFA board for cons) Since we seem to accumulate quite a few reference topics.

That's a good idea, like a tutorials board where people can either post up links to tutorial sites or write tutorials themselves if they want to.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

... part of the wikuwiki, perhaps?

[Zedd]

Etheir way it will work my friends

[Sid]

While the Wiki would be a good platform for such a list, it's not as prominently available (linked to) as the forum (for now), and the list itself isn't really DMFA-centric.

But since it's our Wiki and the list is for us, it might work out nicely... *shrugs* All sounds good to me ^^;

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

True. I went and had a look, and, to be honest, there are better wiki's to put it on.

fiction.wikia.com leaps into mind, seeing as how I found that one fairly rapidly. On the other hand, there's no easily locatable place where such a list would fit.

I -did- ask if they had a place they'd like us to put it, though. In which case, I suspect it'll end up cross-linked from the FAQ on the wikuwiki. :-)

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Wow, I am currently too tired to actually read through all those, but just wow. I'm amazed and commend you highly for doing this RJ.
This will be quite useful for my plots-er I mean... school, yes <.< >.> school.

[Zedd]

Those you cant follow the rules they seek the answer here It will take time to suck in the truth

[RJ]

Hm, a new child board for resource stuff could actually be a good idea... I'll see what I can do about it 

[RJ]

Okay, this is relevant:

http://community.livejournal.com/fanficbunnies/

I just created this LJ community, and it's for writers to go and discuss any number of things, from worries to ideas- anything. I've already gotten a bit of support from it, but if anyone else would like to join up, please do.

And the list from the first post has been added on there too.