I'm pretty stoked to be writing this chapter because I have yet to come across any good fanfictions on this site in my lifetime. That being said, I don't read that many fanfictions. Anyway, even though I don't read that much of the genre, I do know what I like to see and what I don't. The biggest thing about writing a fanfiction is that it needs to have substance; it needs to have a plot and it needs to be creative. Just because another author has already set out a character (both celebrity fanfictions and not) or a world for you, doesn't mean you get to slack off. Try and make it different from other fanfictions because right now they all seem sort of similar.
The constant risk that fanfiction writers face is that it's easy to come off sounding cliché and stereotypical. Challenge yourself! Don't go with the flow. I told you to be creative. These next few tips are designed to help you in that, whether you be writing a celebrity, book, movie, or TV show fanfiction.
Tip #1:
First of all, you have to be informed about the topic you are writing about. If it's a celebrity, watch their movies, listen to their music, watch their interviews, read their tweets, etc. Do anything you can to get inside their head, even if you won't be writing the story from their perspective. You really have to capture their personality and their tone of voice. If you don't know a lot about them, expect your story to flop. It won't be hard.
As for fictional characters and worlds, re-read or re-watch the show, movie, or book. That way it will help refresh your memory of what you are writing and who you are writing. I always like to keep the book (if applicable) beside me for reference if I'm writing fanfiction. Admittedly, that isn't too often.
Tip #2:
Make sure your story still has a plot. Don't write fanfiction because you want to steal someone's characters or because you are eager to show your appreciation for a hot celebrity; make sure your story will still be interesting. The plot shouldn't be, "oh look, Harry Styles is soooo hot". Think it through before you start writing. There's a reason why some fanfictions are adored and others are cursed and thrown in the gutters.
Tip #3:
Something you should know is that you probably won't be able to use all of these tips because they some of them contradict themselves. In these tips I'm giving you a couple different suggestions of how you can make your story creative. Key word: different. Remember that.
For this suggestion it mostly applies to fanfictions based off of fictional worlds, etc. In these stories, there is a protagonist. I suggest that you do not write from the protagonist's point of view at all because that can be very tricky to match their persona plus it is always fun to write from a new perspective. You can create a new character, one that wasn't in the books/film. However, don't have them as a huge part of the plot surrounding the original protagonist or else they would have been seen. Instead give them their own story using that world that you already have. They can be watching the action taking place with the main storyline as they deal with their own issues.
Example #1: In a Hunger Games fanfiction, instead of writing from Katniss's perspective, create your own tribute from a different year. A character that has never been seen before.
Example #2: In a Divergent fanfiction you could write from the perspective of an Erudite initiate when Caleb was there. This initiate would never have been mentioned in the books.
Tip #4:
This is slightly similar to the last tip, but instead of writing from the perspective of a character that you invented yourself, you could write from the perspective of a character who really does exist, but is a bit of a mystery. Up until your fanfiction, they hadn't been delved into too much or everything they did and thought were not open for the readers to know about. This is a lot of fun because you can even write from the antagonist's perspective if you want to.
Example #1: You could write from President Snow or Cato's perspective in the Hunger Games.
Example #2: You could write from Uriah, Jeanine, or any one else's perspective in Divergent.
If you choose to write this way, you can have your character's perspective go on at the same time as the original story did (so events repeat themselves but from a different perspective) or you could have them write from a different time entirely, like when they are very young or after they have grown old.
Tip #5:
This next one it doesn't matter who you choose to write from the point of view from. It even opens up the option to write from the protagonist themself if you would like to. It's always interesting to read what it's like for a character in the future and what problems they face after the story is over. Or, you can write a prequel of sorts so you can delve even deeper into their backstory. This isn't as commonly seen but all the more reason to try it!
Tip #6:
This is one of my biggest fanfiction pet peeves. Never change events that happened in a show/movie/book. It's just plain annoying. The story happened. It's published in stores all over the world. If you think you can change what happened, think again. When writing a fanfiction you need to realize that you aren't there to change events that already happened. If you want to do that, go write your own story. Fanfiction is there for you to work something new out of what the writer has already created.
You can write from a different time frame, or a different character perspective but remember that what happened, happened. Don't attempt to create a better ending for characters who died or had a sad ending unless you are writing a fanfiction specified as "alternate ending". Then it's acceptable. Why? Because people reading that story are there to read a different interpretation of the stories ending. If you just start changing things in a normal fanfiction, people will get annoyed and stop reading. Humans are rather opposed to change, don't you think?
Tip #7:
This is another point that is made especially for celebrity fanfictions. Don't be creepy! Okay, I get that you may idolize Luke Hemmings or whatever, but keep your gross fantasies to yourself. It's plain disgusting to see what people write. Ew. I'm glad I'm not famous.
If you are writing a romantic fanfiction with your celebrity crush, fine. I can't tell you not to do that, but make sure you aren't writing anything that E.L. James would be jealous of. I'm not saying sex is a bad thing in stories, but it's downright weird when you are imagining it with real people that you have never met before. Interestingly, a lot of people don't see it that way.
So tone it down a little, yeah?
Tip #8:
This next tip applies to both celebrities and characters. Remember when I was saying to research the characters and celebrities beforehand so you have their voices in your head? This is where that becomes really important. If you cannot capture a celebrity's personality, you might as well start from scratch and write your own character, one that isn't based off of a real person.
Likewise, you have to know the characters from fictional stories you are writing! Practise writing things in their point of view, even if you never post it or use it in your story. Some people excel at this where others fail. It's definitely the hardest part of writing fanfiction, no competition.
If you can't adjust to a character's personality and actually know how to apply it in your own writing, your fanfiction just won't work. People like to recognize the character they love in fanfictions. If they can't, it won't hit them the way you want it to.
Not to mention that celebrities actually get offended when they read stories about them where their personality is totally off, especially if they are douchey.
Tip #9:
This tip is similar to the last but solely for celebrity fanfictions. I hate it more than life when people decide to completely change a celebrity -- not just their personality, but everything they are. For instance, they write about Harry Styles but in their story Harry Styles can't sing for his life and is rivals with Liam Payne. What? Where the hell did you crackpots get that idea from? You shouldn't even be writing a fanfiction! If you want to use that storyline, you should just write about a character who isn't Harry Styles but looks like them. Clearly, these two are not the same in any way.
This doesn't mean you can't be creative in celebrity fanfictions. You can write about Harry Styles before he became famous, or you can make him decide to quit music. These things didn't happen but they could potentially. I hope you can see the difference between my first example and that one. If you can't, you're in trouble.
Hopefully this assisted all of you fanfiction writers out there! Fanfiction definitely isn't the norm and so it follows lots of different rules. I've outlined the ones I think you need to know. Thanks, as always!