The Rules of Fanfiction Ch. 2

Thanks for all of the reviews, whether positive of negative. I'm happy to see that others feel the same about the quality of the fandom, and feel as passionately about restoring it to its former glory. I understand it is a free fandom, but I think it is important to try and do our best as writers and take criticism as a positive thing to improve our writing.

A Correction: I made a mistake on the definition of omniscient point of view. It was always explained to me as getting in the head of all of the characters. It is actually that the narrator knows all, and tells you all of what's happening, and what is going to happen. (Thanks anonymous reviewer).

Artemis Stories: I hate to break it to y'all, but Artemis and her hunters are sworn virgins, and that is something that is not going to change. And Thalia leaving the hunt... Highly unlikely. Throughout Greek mythology, Artemis has had hunters that have broken the vow. Whether these girls were raped or were willing, she killed them, or turned them into woodland animals. So, I don't see Artemis having sex with some crazy hot mortal and popping out a few babies very realistic. Thalia leaving the hunters when Luke magically pops out of Hades is also unlikely. So please, when Artemis is in a story, and her hunt is with her, cherries are intact.

Ratings: On Fanfiction, there is a rating system that I believe we are all suppose to read before posting a story. There is K, K+, T, and M. In K and K+, all of the content should be child appropriate. Language shouldn't go beyond "crap," and you shouldn't have much gore or sex at all. T, is made for people 13+. You can use profanity, and have mild sexual content, and substance use such as drugs and alcohol. M is for mature people, 16 and older. This means you can basically do anything you want. The system is basically the same as movie ratings, so I go by that, and it is an easy way for people to understand it (and this is the modern rating system, not in the 80's when everything was PG). Before writing a fic, you should consider what you want the rating to be around, but you should reconsider when it is finished. Rating is pretty much common sense stuff. I think it is a good idea to the tell readers in an author's note why you rated the story the way you did (language, sexual content, drug use, and so on), that way they know what they are getting themselves into when they click on the story. If you are really set on a certain rating though, there are ways to get around them. Put in a few innuendoes, and that will make all audiences happy, older audiences laughing, and younger ignorant to what it was that you just said. Just think of Disney and all of their understood phrases like "I'd love to make sweet music to him" (Hercules).

Length: My general rule for length is 1,000 words, and I think that is a good amount for everyone to aim for. Depending on the story though, it can be less, and it can be more. Some stories are short, and should be that length, were others need to be about 5,000 words to make the chapter seem complete. When you are writing a story that has multiple chapters, it is important to plan it out a little, so then you can add fun things like cliff hangers! It's important to write your work like an actual novel, were chapters are sections in a book were something specific happens, then there is a next chapter were something else happens. You can't just end a chapter whenever you want to, finish it and do it well.

Titles Continued: When it comes to titles, you want to name your story something eye catching. You want something that is interesting, and makes someone want to read your story, not just something that you popped out of your head and is as boring as Algebra. I like to take lines from my story, and then make the title, or take a central idea and name it that. Sometimes, depending on the type of story, you need to name it what it is, like a karaoke story, or truth or dare story (these types of stories can be a little OOC and out there, but more on that later). If you have a story about Percy getting high on lotus flowers, then don't name it "Percy Gets High." Name it instead something like "Stoned Days With Percy Jackson." ( for a similar fic about different people, these are some fun titles: Reeds and Weed, Annabeth on Meth, Blackjack on Crack, Piper's Pipe, Shrooms and Booms (this is for Tyson). If you write a fic like this, please pm me a link, I would love to read it (this is also another story idea that can be a bit OOC). The trick to picking a good title though is doing something really dramatic, random, or some sort of play on words or rhymes.

More on OOC: There are always appropriate and inappropriate times for OOC. OOC can be extremely comical in the right setting (and also in the wrong one, but that's in an "I'm laughing at you and can't wait to review this" sort of way). There are some fanfics that there is no way to do it and make it funny then to make it really outrageous. Stories were this is ok is if the story is a complete and total joke, satire, and were it is meant to be funny, or making fun of people who actually write like this (a good Truth or Dare Fic is an example. No one wants to read a truth or dare fic that goesa little like this:

"So Annabeth, Truth or Dare" asked Travis Stoll, who smirked at her. He was going to bring her down either way.

"Er... Well... truth.". Annabeth replied nervously. She knew she was at risk either way. Travis will play dirty with whatever she chooses.

"Are you a virgin?" He asked her. He already knew the answer was yes, but he knew that even if it was no it was just as embarrassing. He recalled the quote from The Breakfast Club: "Either you are a whore, or a prude."

Annabeth's face turned the color of a ripe tomato. "I am not answering that question Travis! That is inappropriate and too personal!". She stomped out of the room, wearing her embarrassment like a coat. She was so done with this game.

That's too bland for something that you would put under the humor category! I would write an OOC version, but I think I went a little far with the first one... (Note: I do not consider that my best work). So my point is though, that if done right, there is an appropriate place for OOC in Fanfiction. Sometimes as a writer, you need to just have fun with it, and make it extremely unlikely, because we know that Rick isn't going to do it, so it's always fun to read when someone else does it.

If you have any other ideas for rules, I'd love to hear them, and voice my own opinion about them. Thank you for reading, and I encourage you all to review and tell me your opinions (plus the lack of reviewing is a major problem in this fandom). Flames are welcomed! I'm a pyro.