Fanfiction 101

Imagine This:
You're writing the first chapter of your new story...

Whatever you do, DO NOT start with "Hi, my name is..." or in the middle somewhere write "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm..." Not only is doing that super annoying and repetitive, but direct characterization (aka telling the reader straightforward what the character is like) is boring. Try using indirect characterization (aka telling the reader what the character is like throughout the entire story through words, actions, emotions, and other character's feelings and actions towards the character). Now, I'm not saying direct characterization is wrong, I'm just saying it's overdone, especially in the prologue or first chapter of many stories.

Also, if the character is telling the story, then it needs to remain in the first person point of view. The character is addressing the reader when they say, "Hi, my name is…" The character isn't generally supposed to know that they are telling the story (that's why it's called a story), so they shouldn't be introducing themselves as if it's some reality show. The character whose point of view it is should be telling the story as if it is happening then and now, not having a one sided conversation with the reader.

Instead of doing this sort of intro, try starting your story a different way. Here are some ways you can start a story:

~jump right into the plot line
~start with a conversation between characters
~start with vivid description of what the setting is or what's happening (details are key)

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Example of Good Openings:

Real Life Books:

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course she did. This is the day of the reaping."

-Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games.

"The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle. Like, I will probably never be struck by lightning, or win a Nobel Prize, or become the dictator of a small nation in the Pacific Islands, or contract terminal ear cancer, or spontaneously combust. But if you consider all the unlikely things together, at least one of them will probably happen to each of us. I could have seen it rain frogs. I could have stepped foot on Mars. I could have been eaten by a whale. I could have married the queen of England or survived months at sea. But my miracle was different. My miracle was this: out of all the houses in all the subdivisions in all of Florida, I ended up living next door to Margot Roth Spiegelman.

-John Green, Paper Towns

Fanfic On Here (not trying to be biased):

"With her head in a thick Calculus book, one hand writing numbers down into a notebook, and the other pressing buttons on a graphing calculator, Nina Dela Vera let her mind delve deep into her homework. Her long, wavy, dark hair was piled atop her head in a messy bun; navy blue sweat pants and a plain white v-neck covering her petite figure. The long numbers, graphs, and formulas that she penned neatly on paper could intimidate anyone, but to Nina however, she found it peaceful."

-ericajane, To Fall So Deep

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As a reviewer, I will automatically drop how I rate your story if your first chapter/prologue starts with "Hi my name is..." or other ways similar to that. Occasionally, I will just take the story of the list and not review it, and if you do realize that I've done that and you've done this as your first chapter or prologue, I will send you to this chapter if you question why.

Notes