Made a new fanfic video for you guys! Please check it out! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qbV9aJBjydixmWQ.html

As a fanfic writer and reader, I wholeheartedly agree with all of your points. If someone doesn't space out their paragraphs, I instantly leave the story and continue looking for something else.

Okay but can we just appreciate how beautiful she looks-

Hello, I'm normalgirl™, and I'm just a NORMAL GIRL, WITH A NORMAL LIFE. No one in school lovs meh, and there are always boys chasing me everywhere, ugh!

There's also Mary Sues with the 'tragic backstory'

I am living for the flower crown

Also, if you're having trouble starting a story just do what I do and free write until you can't feel your fingers or your pencil runs out of lead. Just keep writing and once you think you're done write a little bit more and go back and edit what fits and what doesn't

The too descriptive normally happens in *s m u t*

This are really helpful tips. I so agree with you on the Mary Sue and sentence construction parts. I cannot read a fanfic when the sentences sound like a robot is saying them.

For people wondering if their character is on the Mary Sue side a simple test : 1) Read through and identify all their strengths/flaws. 2) Rate/rank their flaws on a scale of 1 to 10. Do the same with their strengths. 3) check their neutral traits ; Neutral traits are family/social/wealth/popularity/Emotional stability/physical health and ability (fit/out of shape/average Disability/mental health etc). All off these which your character is neither strong nor weak in get +1. 4) tally up all points (neutral and strengths are positive, weaknesses are negative) eg 18 from strengths, 6 from neutral and -14 from struggles/weaknesses, would be 18 + 6 - 14 = 10. 5) Your total should be between -7 and +7. If it is outside that range then you can tweak characteristics to bring the point tally up or down as required. If both the negative and positive traits are essential to your character, you can tweak their neutral skills instead. For example ; If your character is socially neutral you can tweak this slightly to add subtle flaws to balance your character. A simple example would be your character struggling to communicate well with children or adults (depending on your character). Perhaps they get bothered by a snotty nosed gremlin on their way to work (if chivalry is a character strength perhaps they use giving up their seat as a way to get away from the brat) or perhaps if they are a teenager they get awkward/panicked when an elderly shop keeper give them their change and asked how their day is going and tries to talk to them (internally based frustration at either self for sounding stupid or for adult trying to talk to them). Its just a basic test that actually quite helpful in balancing characters. As a rule don't tweek scores of pros cons to make it balance, it defeats the point.

Video starts at 2:33

Sometimes, if you can't find a beta reader, I suggest going back to your story/chapter at least a day later or read it on a different platform (like going from Word to where you upload your fic) or do something to the text like changing the font or size. I agree with the description part. But sometimes adding those extra details (like how tight clothes are, hairstyle, etc) are important if they're necessary for the story. Or sometimes you can add them in later on when describing actions like hair-twirling or whatever. Also, SPACE YOUR PARAGRAPHS!

50 Shades of Gray was a fanfic based off of Twilight????! WHERE THE HECK HAVE I BEEN????!

I dont write a rough draft i just plan out the entire story till the end in my head and make small changes throughout it

I just hate when it’s an x reader story and they completely change everything about the main character, like excuse me no I do not have short pink and blue hair thank you very much

The problem for me with a “beta reader” is that none of my friends know I read/write fanfics 🤭🤭

Hi newbies! I’m a fashion youtuber mostly, but if you guys want more fanfic videos like this, let me know in the comments. I’m noticing this video reached 700 views the last month, even though I uploaded this 4 months ago. So if it’s really needed, I’ll definitely make another video like this. Please let me know down below how you found my channel 😘

Oof, speaking of too much description, I don't know if this is exclusive to anime fandoms, but referring to people by their hair color. The blond. The brunet. The redhead. My creative writing professor pointed this out once and I've been hyper-aware of it ever since.

Great tips! This was actually very interesting. I, too, HATE big block paragraphs. It's like a big ramble and it's annoying. Lol

That’s so cool you’re a writer! I used to think about being one. I’m an avid reader though. How do you get beta readers?

My friend always gives tips to make my plot so much more JUICY she's amazing :,)

I kinda agree but disagree with the whole family thing. I've read too many tragic stories that have one parent or mistreatment from family plot. I'm not saying these shouldn't be given some representation but I do really enjoy the happy family having to deal with sudden changes because thats real too. Its really how the author has the character react to all this that makes or brakes a story for me.

I've been writing fan fiction for over 6 years and I've also worked as a beta reader in the past... so I agree on all your points. All except one: the rough draft. Yes, it is not a good idea to upload a story/chapter right after writing it and you have to plan where your story is going in a way. But everyone works differently. When I start a story, I never know where it ends. If I had always tried to plan the ending before starting to write a story, I would have never started any of my stories. Also, I get to know the characters I made up while writing them. The details about their backstory and personality emerge while I'm writing. If I had always planned them before putting them into action, they would have never become the multifaceted, interesting people I fell in love with. Some people benefit a lot from planning. Others, intuitive writers like me, won't. You have to find out yourself what works for you.

why do you look 16 young but sound so wise and like you'd lived 1000 lives?

So two weeks ago this had 700 views and now we’ve reached 1,100 views on a video I nearly forgot about. Wow guys. You make me feel great, but sad because I haven’t made a video about fanfic in five months. Thanks for the support 💕💕💕

As a writer myself this is so helpful 💝 thank you for this

The one that drives me crazy is the grammer. LIKE HOW DO YOU SPELL HOTEL WRONG? (Unless you don’t know English well then I understand just put it in the beginning or title)

Awesome tips! :D I'm SO glad to see something about fanfics here. Most of the writing tips I've seen are for serious, published writing. I mean no offense, that's great and all, but not everyone's first step is going to be publishing. My first steps just so happen to be writing cool things for Gravity Falls and Undertale. Haha Again, great video! Love the content and your points. :)

I've been a fanfic reader for 4 years now and I recently just started my own fanfic channel a couple of months ago. So this video really helps me how to avoid my mistakes. Also I have seen a lot of new fanfic writers with a lot of error grammar, the storyline is usually the same meaning the mary sue going to highschool and being rich and badass which is something most people can't really relate to. I see why as soon as I spotted the story plot doing that, I can't help but to cringe at it then exiting out the video. Nowadays, I tend to avoid those type of fanfic unless they approve their stories better. Anyways thanks for the advice!

Jenna Morecci is fantastic!! Thanks for the great video, you were spot on with all of these.

This is a really helpful video! I'm going to start writing musical fanfiction soon.

I've definitely noticed these when reading fanfic. But I found it so helpful as I write original rather than fanfic :)

Such an extremely helpful video, it was so relatable and you got out the points that needed to be made for new writers or for writers who are trying to start back up. I’m a little late but this was truly amazing and you’re so pretty!! Looking forward for more videos of tips/points❤️🤟🏻

I know exactly what you mean. I am slowly learning and as the point of having a beta I only have one and it took me 10 years to find one beta reader. And I have been writing fanfics for 20 years. I had to learn to be my own beta and even then it was tough as English was not my first language and writing it was harder. However I did come a long way and am still learning.

This background is so cute!! These tips were super helpful.

AHHHH! You are so awesome!!!

I love your background! it's so aesthetically pleasing haha

I would LOVE to see more videos like this and I LOVE JENNA MORECI

just came across your video because i was looking for writing inspiration - what a cool video, thanks for that!!

Pro-tip: when copying and pasting your work run it through notepad first and then copy and paste it from there onto whatever site you're using. I've noticed that word specifically will mess up my formatting when I put it onto AO3. This also works if you're moving text from Google docs to word and vice versa.

As a new fanfic reader/writer, this really helped me. BTW, youtube recommended your channel to me. This is one time youtube has actually been good!

anyone read My Immortal because they wanted to cringe? just me?

Omg so happy I found this channel! Thank you so much!!

On the note of description, I don’t really describe clothing unless it’s important. For instance if the character is a designer, or if she has a special clothing article that has relevance to the plot, or the character is wearing something with significant value that she either isn’t used to, or is very special to her personally. I have a story right now where the main character loses her coat, and the coat is being used to track her down by several mobster antagonists. So I describe that coat very thoroughly, but much of everything else is left mostly vague.

Your flower crown is adorible 🥺 (also this video helped me so much!)

This is was my first video from you. I live fanfics so hopefully I have the courage to finnish one and upload it♥️

i'm getting back into writing, and this is so helpful :') tysm!

I love your setup! And this video helped a lot!

yall this is exactly like all the vids ive watched but this time i actually subbed and u helped me so much

this is great. it help me so much. i love you Mecca

Old video, but I'm a newcomer. I like finding videos about fan fic writers, because, obviously, I am one. I've written fan fiction for about 10 years now. In fact, I'll have been a member of FanFiction.net for 10 years this year. Also a big fan of Jenna Moreci. I found her channel looking for anything to help combat my self doubt, but I digress. I agree entirely with your points, especially concerning beta readers. I've had several in my time, and I find I don't want to do anything without running it by my beta. I also agree with the planning. In my early days, I'd plan it all out, at least the basics, in my head. To some extent, I still do because I've repeated the idea so much, it's become muscle memory. I'd call myself a hybrid planner/pantser (I plan but also write by the seat of my pants). But anyway, this was a great set of tips; of course, I just like meeting fan fiction writers/readers in general.

The beginning of the story! Ah! I love writing the beginning confusing, but then slowly leading the person into the story.

for the last two years, I have been studying all of the skills of novel writing and I wholeheartedly agree with all your points. Two years ago I suffered every single point and now my short stories have improved tremendously!

great video! my little sister is into this Im going to make sure to share this information with her!

Ok so i stumbled across this video and im subscribing right now. The flower crown. The absolute TRUTH you're speaking. Perfection.

Loveeeee the background boo. And I used to read fanfic forEVERRRR but I stopped because I’mSo busy. Hearing these mistakes though made me want to read again and see if I find if they do it!

(I am a few years late but oh well!) Fellow fanfic reader and writer here. I relate too much to the "write until 3 AM, post it and go to bed". That's how you wake to all the mistakes you made (but somehow didn't notice until AFTER you posted, haha). And for websites like Fanfiction net, for whatever reason, when I copy and paste my stories from Word to Doc Manager, it will display the programming language (is that the right terminology?), showing the font, size, placement, etc. that I used in Word. I usually have to erase it and copy and paste it again (so far it always works the second time)...but I've seen more than one story still have that programming language in, making it hard to read. Writers, PLEASE check your documents before you post them! Great video! Jesus loves you! Have a blessed day!

First of all, YOU’RE GORGEOUS OMFG and two, I absolutely agree with all your points!

Great video! I'd recommend having your signposts hang around for a little longer - maybe 5-10 seconds, just so people can find them easier when going back through the video to look at one tip in particular. Also, if you find yourself looking toward your camera screen too much instead of your lens, I'd recommend hiding the screen with a card or something until you get into the practice of looking straight into your lens, at the viewer, every time. Perhaps you could do a video on character creation! I know some people get very anxious over whether their character is a Mary Sue, and I'm sure you could help a lot of people with that - you're really great at getting those ideas across in simple terms that are very easy to comprehend, and you certainly come away from the video having learned something. Keep up the great work!

You're beautiful~~~ thank you so much for your help! 💖

Loved this! I stopped reading fan fic precisely because not enough people follow this kind of advice.

Definitely subscribing. Your content is gold💖

I just don't understand why people dislike such a video which is so helpful-,-

The outfit looks so pretty on you 🎀💕

OMG!!! You're so pretty! (Also this helped me a lot)

Gurlll this video needs more views, you helped me so much! I love reading and writing but the thing is I stress out too much on how to make my story sound good or something, if you get what I mean :”)

Her voice is so beautiful I could listen it all day. It's like having a real conversation!!

Thank you! This was really helpful!

At least i can finally write and post my stories thanks for the tips

omg i love the flowers youre so pretty 💕💕

thank you this was such a helpful video!!

Nice video! You got a new subscriber girl!

I totally agree with the rough draft tip. Even in fanfiction, the rules of writing a story still apply, such as the story elements. I personally recommend the most basic plot outline: Beginning, Middle and End. If you're planning a convoluted plotline and can't figure out how to organize these events, do with the basics. Give the story a beginning, outline the middle, then finish it with the end. Give the most basic outline of your plot, so that you can insert your fleshing out bits and darlings in between. I truly learned this when I joined a dance theater group. Every scenario ought to have a beginning, a middle and an end. The outline extends to the most complex plotlines.

awesome video. Totally agree with all ^^

Great advice! I do have to disagree with a few points though...I've read some truly wonderful fics with no beta reader and with mary-sue type characters. they can provide a really nice escapist fantasy

Having a timeline and rough draft is super helpful!! I haven't written a fic (yet), but from my experience writing *many* essays, it really helps slowly build it up and make a lot easier than trying to write it perfect from the start. It can really help make sure everything is in its place. Another thing you can do is starting by writing down various things you want to have in your story so you can find its place in the fic (or whatever else you're writing).

Thank you, fixing my own rn!

Can I just say how pretty you are? I love writing fanfic and I also love beta-reading for other people. I hope you're having a wonderful day!! Keep up the great work.

Subbed! Thanks, Mecca! Nice background too :)

Woww thanks I was thinking of writing a fanfic and I watch this. It's gonna help me soo much 💜💜💜💜💜💜

Number one and number two are by far the most important tips to have when writing. A lot of rookies don’t realize that the first draft is not the final draft. Second of all, your rose garland reminds me or The veiled Lady statue by Giovanni Strazza

I've been trying to refrain from homogenous sentences and switching from past to present tense. It's hard...

This is such a late comment but I just wanted to say you are awesome and I subscribed instantly. I love you already and I will keep on watching your videos.

I love ur headband!

You’re so pretty OMFJSJSNWJWBWH😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️and thank you for the info🥺

Can’t believe this was posted 6 years ago, wow! Still valid today, though. Thanks for the feedback I feel as a beta reader myself it’s hard to evaluate how much of a good job we are doing as editors. But after watching this video I feel reassured that I’m doing an okay job :’) Thanks so much and hope to see more vids!!

thanks I'm planning do a fanfic Btw your so beautiful and I'm your new fan here☺️

I like writing my current fanfic and I have this one amazing fan and I love interacting and talking with my fans. I feel if you interact with fans they can get more invested in it and they like to ask questions and its amazing.

Unrelated but you are glowinggg. You really look like you enjoy what you do :)

I'm sorry, but you're literally a queen🥺👑

Ooay off topic but JESUS CHRIST THAT LIGHTING DOING YOUR SKIN NOTHING BUT JUSTICE MISS GIRL YOUR SKIN IS GLOWING 😭

New to your channel! I've never heard of either of these terms...fan fic or beta reader. How does that work with children's books? Also where can you find one? You gave a lot of good tips and made me want to learn more...also very nice background

Off topic but I love the flower crown. I’m a sucker for all flowers :D

Queen, that flower crown? GORGEOUS. I don't write fanfiction, but I feel like these are valuable tips for everyone who is starting to write.

aaaa the description part was really helpful!! I've been really confused on whether I should over-describe the character's appearances/actions or not for every chapter but this really cleared things up! OH and the tips on the repetitive use of pronouns was really helpful because when I look back at my writing i realise that *wow there are way too many pronouns in this story* so yeah, thanks for pointing that out :D Im still learning so with this, I hope I can improve along the way :)

Oof,This helped me a lot. Thanks Mecca~

Lol at my first published fanfic in 2011 when I described every outfit in detail, including ones that the characters (they did the usual cartoon thing of wearing the same thing except in special events) had already worn, because the people needed to know. But at least I didn't upload links to Pollyvore collages and put them in my ff.net profile like some other people did in that fandom...although I did link to my DA page where I had drawn the outfits in detail.

Hi guys! Since this has reached 4600 views (omg), I wanna ask the new viewers if you guys are interested in me making another video about fanfic? Lemme know in the comments, I legit didn’t expect all of this attention for this video.

Ok thanks💜💜💜

I have never made a rough draft but i have it all planned out in my head. But i do change the plot up as i write to make it more interesting so i guess that is a benefit lol.