the vampire diaries fanfic writing tips

✧ twin fanfics

another common type of story is a twin fanfic (where one of the main characters has a twin)

now personally, i don't enjoy these. i think it's because with the vampire diaries seeing an exact copy of a character is overused. stefan, silas, and tom (i think that's what his name was) plus elena, katherine, amara, and tatia. it's overused in my opinion.

but my opinion doesn't have to be yours and just because i or other people don't like them doesn't mean that the story can't be good.

so here are some tips.

1. twins aren't exactly the same.

this is something i see quite often. twins might be physically very similar but that doesn't mean they are exactly the same mentally.

they can have different opinions, views, personality traits etc. they'll have different experiences too which i feel is overlooked.

for example just because your oc is elena's twin doesn't mean they go through everything elena goes through. for example, maybe there's some slight difference in them and they aren't considered a doppelgänger and so klaus doesn't go after them.

they don't have to be in every scene that elena is in or at the center of every storyline just like she is.

it doesn't mean both stefan and damon fall in love with them or that they find out about vampires the same time elena does. let it be different.

personally, it's why i don't read these fanfics because often times they are exactly like this where if something happens to elena it happens to the twin or instead of happening to elena it happens to the twin. it just makes it lack originality and i feel like i'm just reading the script for the show because nothings different.

2. don't let your personal feelings for the character get in the way.

so i noticed that these fanfics generally take two routes. either the one above or this one and i can't tell which i dislike more.

siblings don't despise each other for no reason and i noticed a lot (especially in elena fanfics) the twin will just hate her because the author clearly hates her. it just ruins the fanfic in my opinion if two siblings hate each other and there's no justification for it other than the author clearly doesn't like them.

the gilbert family was not shown to be toxic. they were shown to be loving and elena and jeremy got along well so unless you're going to give a reason for why they don't, it is kind of odd.

for example, in my fanfic where the oc is a younger sister of elena, she was born a psychic which her parents hated because they were against supernatural things and so they resented her which seeped into her relationship with her siblings. plus elena didn't tell her about vampires so she was kept out of the loop.

if their twins (of just siblings) they were also raised in the same house and unless given a reason, they probably will get along to some extent. they don't have to be best friends, they don't have to be super close, but them being enemies for no reason (but then also always hanging out with their twin and their friends?) doesn't make sense.

3. they don't have to have the same love interests!

stefan doesn't have to fall in love with elena's twin. klaus doesn't have to fall in love with cami's. kol doesn't have to fall in love with davina's. damon doesn't have to fall in love with elena's twin.

could it happen?

yeah. guess so.

but that depends on the personality. why do they fall in love with them? is it just because they look like their twin? that might be accurate for an initial attraction but love? maybe not.

and why are they in love with your oc and not the actual character anymore? what changed? why do they prefer your oc now? why are they more or less compatible? did they choose your oc? was your oc just a second choice? what happened?

3. their relationship with their family can be different.

just because caroline had problems with her mom in the beginning doesn't mean that the twin does. also doesn't mean that the twin was able to move past them if they did.

twins don't share the same opinion on everything and their relationships can look different. klaus and elijah are close does that mean if one of them were to have a twin they'd have to be close with the other? no.

4. twins don't have to be identical.

fraternal twins is what they're called i believe. some people like myself get tired of seeing identical characters on the show. consider making yours fraternal so that they're physically different. might help keep some readers.

5. they can have different interests.

caroline's twin doesn't have to be a cheerleader just because she was.

stefan's twin doesn't have to write in a journal just because he does.

they're physically the same, but they're different people. they don't have to like the same things. giving them different interests will help them become more unique.