Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?

Why doesn't anybody read my fan fic?
Why do people criticize my fan fic?
How do I know if people enjoy my fan fic?
What makes a good fan fic, and how do I know if I'm on the right path?
How do I improve my writing skills?

If you ask yourself these, or similar questions, then perhaps this article can give you some answers. These questions will be answered in response to fan fictions, although some aspects may also be relevant to non-fan fictions.

(You can find a vocabulary list down the bottom of this article)

So...

Why don't people read my fan fic(s)?

There are many factors which affect the amount of people who tune into your fics and read them. You might have chosen an unpopular fandom to write about; or perhaps there is little access to your story. Even the way you write can deter readers. Let us examine each factor one at a time.

Your chosen fandom:

Fan fictions, as the name suggests, are fictions written by fans in or about a particular fandom's universe - an anime you watch, a game you play, a book you've read. The popularity of your story will be grossly affected by the fandom universe you have chosen to write about. For example, you will likely get more readers if you write a Harry Potter fan fiction than say, a fan fiction based on The Day My Butt Went Psycho. It is no drama what fandom you choose to write about, but if you pick something you know is less popular, then be prepared to have less readers.

The Accessibility of Your Fan Fic:

People cannot read your fan fic, if they do not know it exists or cannot access it. You should also choose an appropriate place to post your fan fic; for example, you may post your fan fic at two web sites. One web site might yield more viewers than another; fan fiction readers might flock to one site more than the other. If you have posted your fan fictions here on Deviant Art, you will most likely have noticed that your stories probably do not get as much attention as your other art (if you upload other art). Why? In a nutshell, Deviant Art attracts people who like to view graphic art, and original fictions and texts. People who want to read fan fictions are more likely to search for fan fictions at websites dedicated to them. Of course, this is only a general over view; I personally know many fan fiction writers and readers here on Deviant Art. Each website has it's own pros and cons to posting fan fiction.

Why Should I Post My Fan Fictions On Deviant Art?

Where you post your art is up to you; but let me just go over a few of the reason why you should psot your fan fiction here:

-Copyright: Everything you upload on Deviant Art, be it a fan fiction or a picture, is copywrited. For a detailed explanation of how this is beneficial, and how it works, please read the Copyright Policy for Deviant Art here: [link]

-A sensible audience: Compared to other sites, I found that the viewers of Deviant Art are less rude, and more helpful. I'm not saying you won't get flamed, but your work will be more respected here. This statement is purely from my own personal experience.

-The Search Engine: Yes! I know many web sites have a search engine, but the one on Deviant Art is a pretty good one. If you want to find fan fictions, they are a mere button-click away.

-Mature Content Filter: Deviant Art has recent revamped their Mature Content Filter; you can now know what to expect in any fan fictions you wish to read, or, as the author, you can let people know what they will encounter in your fan fiction. Having said that, not all fictions require the filter, and, as the upgrade to the filter is only new, it may be a while before all filtered content is flagged.

-The Comments System: No more anonymous, abusive, nasty comments. If people want to comment on your fan fiction, they must do so while having their name marked for all to see. People are less likely to flame you when they are identified. And people who are over abusive, or break the rules, will be dealt with; you can also hide any comment you want. This is great if someone decides to spam your fan fiction.

There are many more perks to posting on Deviant Art, and in my opinion they out-weight the cons. If it means you have less, but more devoted readers, then I think that is a good.

Why Do People Criticize My Fan Fics?

I have been writing fan fictions for a long time, and believe me, I asked myself this question many times. There are a few things which can cause you to get bad criticism, each a problem which has a solution.

Remember, a fan fiction is a often based in the universe of some kind of fandom; be it Dragonball Z, Harry Potter, Sonic, Naruto, Transformers, and many many many others. You should keep in mind that you are not the only fan in the world; there are thousands, if not millions, of people who enjoy the same cartoons, games and books as you do. And what is the point of me pointing this out, you ask? Well, here's my point:

People don't like their fandom to be disrupted: If you go writing a fan fiction where Sonic marries your fan character, don't expect the fans to love you for it. Sure, you might have a few people who like the story, but 99% of the other fans will despise your fan fic because of it. Here's a list of things people often dislike to see in a fan fic:

-Canon characters being "out of character".
-Canon characters dating, flirting with, marrying, falling in love with you original character.
-Canon characters dating, flirting with, marrying, falling in love with other canon characters which they usually wouldn't have that kind of emotion towards.
-Mary Sues and Gary Stu's(explanation later).
-Your original character, or you as the author, belittling or ruining some one else's original character in your story (if you are going to use someone else's OC, get PERMISSION first, and inform the person of what you have planned for their character).
-You kill a canon character (or someone's OC) without a reasonable explanation.

If you are going to write, and post, a fan fiction with any of the above, then don't expect a warm welcome; people often feel angry when their favorite characters are messed with. If you feel the need for your fan character to marry a canon character, then by all means write the story, but if you can't cope with being told off by the other fans, then it is advisable to keep the story to yourself.

Besides the issues with a fandom itself, there are other things which you may be criticized for, mostly to do with the presentation of your story. These may include:

-The grammar and spelling of you story: Always do a spell check, and re-read your story to see if the grammar and spelling are good. People don't like to see messy fictions.

-The layout: If you're going to write a story, and you want it to look professional, don't write it like a script. And don't add smilies... describe with words how a character reacts. I see many stories written like this:

Character 1 and 2 are sitting in their cave. Character 1 feels angry.
Character 1: Somebody ate my cake. How dare they eat my cake!
Character 2: I know who ate your cake.
Character 1: Oh yeah, who???
Character 2: ME!!! XD

People enjoy stories which are written... like stories. Scripts are great for planning your story, but if you really want to impress your viewers, write the final version like a normal story. You may think your writing sucks, but if you want to get better, you'll just have to bite the bullet and write; it's the only way you'll get practice.

How Do I Know If People Enjoy My Fan Fiction?

Just because you don't get many viewers, doesn't mean people don't enjoy your fan fic. The best way to find out if people like your fan fiction, is to ask them! And if you know people don't like your fan fic, then ask them why; don't be crude about it when people criticize you, (even if they are rude). Take what your viewers have to say into account, and use it to your advantage.

Mary Sue and Gary Stu.

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome when trying to write a good fan fic, is not creating a typical Mary Sue or Gary Stu. If you know what to look for when creating original characters, you can save them from becoming a cliché. First, you must understand what a Mary Sue/Gary Stu is:

-Who or What is Mary Sue and Gary Stu?

As quoted from reflectionsedge.com:

"This character will typically have skills, powers, and resources greater than any other character in the story. The character will often a physical appearance that is more beautiful or striking than other characters in the story, such as hair and eyes with an unusual color. The specifics can vary, but in general a Mary Sue character will have more, and be more, of whatever is normal for people in the story's world." Source: [link]

Mary Sue is the female version, and Gary Stu (or similar names) is the generally the male version.

Wikipedia.com explains the origins of the term, "Mary Sue":

"The term "Mary Sue" is taken from a character created by Paula Smith in 1973 for her parody story "A Trekkie's Tale," published in her fanzine Menagerie #2. The character in question was Lieutenant Mary Sue ("the youngest Lieutenant in the fleet — only fifteen and a half years old"). Smith's story poked fun at what she considered to be the unrealistic and adolescent wish-fantasy characters appearing in Star Trek fan fiction of the period." Source: [link]

Mary Sue characters are often hard to avoid creating; when people write fan fictions, many people want their fan characters to be in the spotlight. I am a fan fiction writer, and I also find it difficult to avoid creating a Mary Sue. The best way to avoid making Mary Sues is to know what one is. I didn't even know what a Mary Sue was not so long ago; I think I learnt the term early this year, or last year.

Here's a quick list of how to try and make your character(s) less Mary Sue:

-Give your character flaws.
-Don't make your character invincible.
-Don't make your character the centre of the fandom universe (by this I don't mean you shouldn't make your character the leading character, but instead, don't make them friends with all the good guys, and don't have them beat the hell out of all the bad guys; or the opposite, if your character is an anti-hero).
-Avoid making your character the most sexually appealing character in the story.
-Add more than one fan character for your character to interact with. Just be careful not to make them too Mary Sue as well.

If you want to know more about Mary Sue, I recommend visiting the link to Reflectionsedge provided above.

Why Do People Dislike Mary Sues?

In a nutshell, Mary Sues are predictable, uninteresting, and often do things fans don't like (such as the things I mentioned in "Why Do People Criticize My Fan Fics?"). There are many shades of Mary Sue, and some are not to bad. It is, generally, the very extreme Mary Sues fans don't like.

What Makes A Good Fan Fic?

The answer to this question depends on what you want out of your fan fiction. Do you want to make something other fans will enjoy? Do you want to expand on a canon character who might have holes in their story line? Do you want to make a fan fiction which merely is to please yourself?

Many of the factors which affect how people react to your fan fiction have been discussed. If you want to please people, then don't write things which upset other fans. If you want to write about a canon character, don't do making them "out of character". If you want to make a fan fiction which is only to please yourself, then write whatever pleases you and keep it to yourself.

If you're worried about the quality of your fan fiction, the grammar, the general layout, it comes with practice. Improving your story writing will be discussed next topic.

It can be hard to determine if you're on the right track sometimes; this is where having reviews of your stories is handy; but this is not always possible. The best thing to do, is to ask yourself if you are genuinely pleased with the story and it's progress. If the answer is no, then find out what areas you are having trouble with, assess them , and try to over come them.

How To Improve Your Writing Skills.

You have a great idea for a story, you have a character you want to write about. But you feel like you're going to ruin the story...

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step!

Everyone begins somewhere. Some people might pick up writing skills quicker than other, just like some people can learn to draw faster than others. Here are some tips I found useful, to help improve my writing:

-Read books. LOTS OF BOOKS! If you read books, you can start to pick up how the authors write; their grammar, how they deal with action scenes, how they make comedy come through. Even how they manage speech.
-Write. You'll need to practice writing if you want to get better; you don't always have to show your stories to the public, start some practice stories.
-Read your own stories. Read your old and new stories from time to time, so you can pick up mistakes and improve on them next time.
-Practice different genres. You may find writing action stories is easier than writing comedy stories, or that you write better love stories. Try out different genres to get a grip on all types of writing.
-Role-play. For some people, role play is a great opportunity to practice writing skills. Practice writing like you're writing a story when you role play.
-School work. Yes, the dreaded S word... School! Put effort into your essays; they are great way to improve writing, because your teacher can give you specific advice about structuring and writing. Good essays work is nothing to be ashamed of! Be proud of your work.

Thank you for reading this article!

Thanks you for reading; and thank you to my friends who helped me when I asked them oh so many questions!

I would like to add that I am not an expert writer, but I wanted to produce something which might help other writers. I too need to practice, and learn by my mistakes, and clean up those Mary Sues lurking in my work.

I hope you found something in this article useful, good luck with all your writing, and I hope I have managed to help you out in some way.

Vocabulary:
Canon character: Official story characters from an existing fictional universe (e.g. Ron Weasly from Harry Potter).
Fandom: A term used to describe the fans of a particular fictional universe.
Fan Fic: Fan fiction; A fictional story written by someone based on the universe of a TV show, game, book, etc.
OC: Original Character.
Original Character: Characters made up by fans.
Out Of Character: A character who does not act their usual self.