The wind was soft, and the bushes rustled as a dark shape appeared out of the gloom.

"Hello," the figure whispers. "My name... is Hiddenstar."

She begins leaning closer. Closer and closer, until the glint of her silver eyes fill me with something I've never felt before...

Storm's Guide to Fanfiction

Let's face this.

We all have those moments in time. Those moments where we know we're on the brink of thinking up of something revolutionary, something that will change the world of writing forever.

Then you write a regular old story, and you're like, No! I just made a silly mistake! I'll make another revolutionary story!

Right. When you've really got something going on, call me maybe.

Or, you know, you're a new fanfictioner and you just got your account. You've read other fanfictions. You like books. You like writing. That alone is enough to set us off on this journey.

But this guide is not just about writing fanfiction. You also need to make friends. Make some forums, join some communities, become a beta- there's lots to do here.

Before we start, I'll like to say this: all of the things that are said and listed below are based on my experiences. No injuries, fatal or otherwise, will be the fault of mine. You have been warned.

(Okay, I'm pretty sure no one's actually gonna die from reading this, but just in case.)

Storm's Guide to Fanfiction Really Starts Here

Chapter 1: Getting Started

We've got our account. We're ready to go. We're ready to crank up some stories.

Or are we?

First of all, get a profile picture. I know, lame, but just get one. That makes people take you a bit more seriously for some reason. (Remember, this is from MY experiences.)

In case you don't know how to do that, just find a picture and save it to a local file. Then go to the Image Manager in this website that you're reading this guide from, and click "Manage (Upload)." The you should see this form for you to fill out. Just do as it tells you to do, and you'll have your picture ready in no time. To actually make it your profile picture, go to the "accounts" section and click on Settings. You should then see the "profile avatar" thing, and then just insert the image you just saved.

When that's all done and over, head to the "Publish" section, then "Document Manager." You should see this "Create new document" feature. First enter the title of the document, then type in your story (I prefer the copy-and-paste method as opposed to the file method) and hit "submit." The document is now saved, and you can make changes to it any time you like. (You can type in the author notes, then do the story using the editing tool after you hit submit, and that's pretty effective, considering that it will only let you have 50 documents at a time and it will delete your hard work if you tried to delete a document to make space after you did the story in there. Unless, of course, you are using copy and paste.)

But we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we?

That's right. You don't know what to make yet. What revolutionary story (or at least acceptable) piece of fanfiction you are going to conjure up.

In that case, get yourself comfy, cause we got a LONG way through.

Chapter 2: Story Ideas

First of all, you gotta brainstorm.

I know, that's what every single teacher you've ever had told you to do. Boring.

But seriously, just think for a second. First of all, what book or book series are you gonna do the fanfiction for? Don't make a story using something that you don't even like because everyone else is doing it. But don't do it for an abandoned fandom either. (I'll try to let this advice go to every single category, but for this guide, I'm going to be talking about mostly Warrior Cats.) Next, think of something that you'll love to see in the fandom. Have you ever daydreamed about a book or idea that you really wanted to see, but never happened?

Well, guess what? You're the magician here. Make your own dream come true.

What's that I hear? "I can't think of any! My mind is blank!"

In that case, you are not thinking hard enough. Just really think about it for a second. What would you want to read? Write it instead.

When you've got a good idea going, now it's time for the actual hard cold plot.

Chapter 3: Hard Cold Plot

Oh, boy. Here we go again.

I just love plot. Don't you? But as I have found out, plot is where most otherwise great writers, stumble and fall at.

It's not just about the actual story idea, you know. Someone could have a perfectly normal idea and then shock everyone at the end. (Man, I love when people give me that 0.0 stare.)

So how do you make a good plot? That is a very good question that I am about to answer very soon.

In order to get started, here are a list of the plots that should not be used. Like, ever. Unless you are looking for one of those cliche ones.

1. Narrator falls in love with your favorite canon character. They have love. They have babies. The end.

2. Narrator is destined to become a hero. They have this birthmark or whatever to show everyone. Random trouble comes along. Narrator saves the day through unlikely powers. The end.

3. Narrator is hated by everyone. He or she goes on a quest to prove his or her worth. Everyone loves him or her at the end. The end.

Those are just some of the most overused and cliche plots in the fanfiction world.

Instead, try something shocking for once. Make character flaws, and by that, I don't mean "Billy got a B on his last math quiz." No, I mean like real life flaws: for example, a short temper, selfishness... The list goes on and on. Maybe the hero realizes that he or she needs to put down their stubbornness and accept help. Maybe they realize that they aren't the hero at all! (Heh, I tried that on Stormshadow's Doom. Oh, uh, spoiler alert.)

There is a saying that there is a limited number of plots in the world. That may be true, but no one's gonna read a FanFiction with the same old "everyone hates me life is so unfair" plot, and I kinda hate those stories, to be honest.

Chapter 4: Male or Female? First Person or Third Person?

These are the questions that you need to ask yourself.

First of all, what gender is your character going to be? Sure, everyone finds it easier to have a main character with the same gender as theurselves (including me), but which one is better? The answer is: there's no real answer. I'm not going to tell you what to do: just follow what your heart tells you. Woah, that sounded weird. Maybe you can even have several characters and alternate between perspectives if you're really uncertain about that. (However, switching perspectives works better with first-person.)

Secondly, what perspective? This is an easy question for me, as I love doing the sarcastic and a little short-tempered narrator (first person), but I don't know about you. I can't see inside your brain.

Okay, that's really creepy.

Most authors use third person for Warrior Cats books. I've no idea why. I also have a much higher chance of reading one with a first-person point of view than otherwise, but then again, that's just me. Third person, I have found, works better if you're looking for the mysterious, sad type. First-person... Well, maybe a bit faster paced and also with some sarcastic jokes. Or I just read way too many Percy Jackson books. In that case, cross out the sarcastic narrator part.

Chapter 5: Character Development

Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus. We all hate them, but the truth is, they are all around.

So that you don't find one hidden in the pages of your Fanfictions, follow these steps and instructions.

What is a Mary-Sue, anyways? To answer that, here is a Google definition that I found (because I'm too lazy): a Mary-Sue is an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or low-rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Often this character is recognized as an author insert or wish-fulfillment.

To break it down simpler, that means: 1) a character who is perfect and who everybody loves and adores and realizes they're a hero right from the beginning 2) a character that is cliche and generally cringe to read about, such as a low-rank peasant girl losing all her parents and siblings, and all her relatives hate her, and everyone in her town hates her, but then she goes on this quest to prove herself and 3) characters with way too much angst. Okay, here's the thing. Make character flaws. No one wants to read about a perfect princess. Maybe they're living on the streets? But remember, that doesn't make them a Mary-Sue or a Gary-Stu. But a boy who's living on the streets who everyone wants to kill? Um... No. Plus, that's kinda creepy.

But besides the matter of the actual character planning, there is one, teeny tiny detail we forgot about.

Names. *cue the dramatic music*

Mini-Chapter 1: Warrior Cats Names

First of all, think about this.

When you read a FanFiction or a book... Do you really think about the names all that much? Not really, right? It just kind of rolls away. Whatever that means.

So heed me closely: Will your audience care about what names you chose?

The answer is no. It shouldn't really matter that much, anyways.

But they've gotta have a name of some sort.

I'd advise you to go to some Warrior Cats Generator (I have one too, go check it out if you have time), but if you're too lazy too, then do this: first, think of a random something. Maybe it's a type of tree, maybe it's an animal. Just something, perhaps a word that you feel connected to. That shall be your prefix. Now... The suffix. That's different, since there's only a limited number of prefixes out there. Unless you make a brand new one, like I did with my OC, Stormshadow. What do you admire in names? For me, I like a short prefix and then a longer suffix (sounds pretty every time), but maybe you don't want to get all that fancy and just want to stick with a simple "claw" or "fur." You can use canon names for inspiration, too.

Mini-Chapter 2: Other Names

Here, it's the same. Your audience won't really care about the names, but they've definitely gotta have to have a name.

I'm not saying that you should use a regular old Timmy or whatever. In fact, names seem to have a larger effect on whether people want to read your fanfiction or not in other categories than Warriors. But that's not saying that it should be something like "Cassandralexia" or something. When someone does that, it naturally makes me more wary of Mary-Sues.

Instead, think of something short, but pretty. For example, my human OC is Rachel Chase: Black hair, green eyes. Snappy, bossy, has Myrmecophobia (the fear of ants.) Oh, yes, and phobias might be a part of your character design, too.

Chapter 6: Let's Get Down There

The moment has arrived. You've planned. You've done everyone nessessary. Now, it's time for the hardest part in writing.

The first sentence.

You may laugh at me, but true writers know the pain. Of starting a new story.

Because this is the thing. The first paragraph is the hardest paragraph you're going to write. But slowly, it gets easier. You're on a roll now. You start adding more chapters. You add even more chapters.

Then BOOM, you're done.

But really, you just gotta stick with something and go along with it. Because writers often have a tendency to quit. Like me. But whatever you do, don't quit. Your story may be the lamest thing ever (in your opinion), but that may be just because you've spent so much time with that idea that it has gone boring.

Then after a few month of forgetting about it, you find that story again and you go like, "that's... amazing. Why did I ever throw this away?!"

But what really is your first paragraph going to be? There are limited choices, but I'm warning you, no one's gonna read your FanFiction if it starts like this: Casey stared into the mirror. Her light platinum blonde hair glimmered in the late-afternoon autumn sun, and she stuck a dark, midnight blue headband onto her head. Her hands fell to her hips; her silver knives flashed, and their dark golden handles looked pretty but dangerous, like a pounding tiger. Casey smiled, her perfectly white teeth shining like her platinum belt, which hung around her slim waist with a long iron sword strapped to it. Flashes of black filled the mirror, and she began staring at her dark leather jacket, now with several interlacing blue and forest-green stripes near the bottom.

I could have gone a lot longer, but I hope you get the point. Instead of a whole page of description, do something to catch your audience. I'm not saying you have to start with a murder in the first sentence, but maybe begin with some nice dialogue. I usually go for dialogue, anyways, and in other cases I go for some action. Most people have limited time to read FanFiction, and so you gotta make them think yours is worthwhile.

Chapter 7: More Chapters and More...

You publish your story.

Hopefully it got a decent reaction, and by that I mean like three, four reviews, two follows, and maybe a favorite. More if you're famous in the FanFiction world. If it's your first... Then expect a little less. Don't worry, I had to wait for weeks to get my first-ever review. You're not alone.

Now, maybe you already have an idea for a new story. You go like, "what should I do now?"

Well, that depends on what kind of person you are. I currently have like five stories going on all at the same time, since I feel like I can handle it (I add a chapter to each story every five days, it goes Ina rotation), but if you think you won't be able to keep up, then don't. Please don't leave a story unfinished. Your own fans are waiting for you.

Epilogue

But what about communities? Forums? Betas? Making friends? Leaving reviews?

I may do that if this first chapter gets a decent amount of support.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those types that go like "PLZ LEAVE A reView or I wil NUT CONTINU!1!," but it took me quite a while to write 2,500 words and I want to make sure my work was appreciated.

Phew. Now I can do my homework. Peace out... Eh, I mean Storm out!