general Fanfic writing advice?

[Pepper Snap 31]

I have a pretty huge idea for a fanfic, I’m talking like…. A lot of stuff I want to include. It will have themes of power and control, friendship vs. isolation, and the cost of progress. It will take place in modern Equestria similar to g5 with many flashbacks to ancient equestria and the mane 6 and others. With how much I want to add and the level of detail I’d like to create, I’m sure it’d have many chapters. Probably at least 10, at least. The problem is, I’ve never written a fanfic before. I don’t think I’m that great of a writer. But I still want to do it. Does anyone have any advice for me? I appreciate anything =3 

[Bairro M Vagrant 323]

By reading fictions that have the same topics?

[Pepper Snap 31]

5 minutes ago, Bairro M Vagrant said:

By reading fictions that have the same topics?

I’m not sure of any that have similar enough themes. There’s gonna be a Mount Everest sized dragon king, a futuristic pony society that’s totally reliant on a central AI system that governs everything powered by the dragon with a fake democracy and a robot president, cover ups and smear campaigns carried out by Celestia and Twilight, psychedelic scenes between the main character, Princess Luna, the mountain sized dragon and Spike. I guess the only story I’ve ever seen similar to what I want to write is Utopia on Amazon prime but only with the conspiracy and cover up themes, and secret agent pursuits, that’s about it though. I suppose I want the psychedelic scenes to feel somewhat like the hallucinations from another prime show called Undone. Maybe. Idk. I feel like I’m being too ambitious 

[Bairro M Vagrant 323]

1 hour ago, Pepper Snap said:

I’m not sure of any that have similar enough themes. There’s gonna be a Mount Everest sized dragon king, a futuristic pony society that’s totally reliant on a central AI system that governs everything powered by the dragon with a fake democracy and a robot president, cover ups and smear campaigns carried out by Celestia and Twilight, psychedelic scenes between the main character, Princess Luna, the mountain sized dragon and Spike. I guess the only story I’ve ever seen similar to what I want to write is Utopia on Amazon prime but only with the conspiracy and cover up themes, and secret agent pursuits, that’s about it though. I suppose I want the psychedelic scenes to feel somewhat like the hallucinations from another prime show called Undone. Maybe. Idk. I feel like I’m being too ambitious 

read a lot, mark a lot then, to broaden the horizon, traveling through thousand dimensions and worlds on fictional lands.

[abronymouse 5,920]

6 hours ago, Pepper Snap said:

I have a pretty huge idea for a fanfic, I’m talking like…. A lot of stuff I want to include. It will have themes of power and control, friendship vs. isolation, and the cost of progress. It will take place in modern Equestria similar to g5 with many flashbacks to ancient equestria and the mane 6 and others. With how much I want to add and the level of detail I’d like to create, I’m sure it’d have many chapters. Probably at least 10, at least. The problem is, I’ve never written a fanfic before. I don’t think I’m that great of a writer. But I still want to do it. Does anyone have any advice for me? I appreciate anything =3 

 

go for it filly!

I hadn't written for ages and came up with this massive fic, and I'm close to half way through now, and it's been really fun

anyhoof, advice:

1) Write out a chapter plan first

Include, key themes, characters, an outline of what you want to happen, interesting notes 

2) Introduce the characters slowly (if you have lots of them)

In my first fic I tried to set out all the characters in the first chapter, which seemed like it made sense, but actually didn't work to read at all

3) Read the pony writing guide

Writing Guide - Fimfiction 

It's long, but so good!

 

(This is my fic)

The Fire: Campfire Tales - Fimfiction

Edited February 19 by abronymouse

[Snow 7,553]

This is a good read 
https://mlpforums.com/topic/187192-so-you-want-to-write-fan-fiction-an-introduction-to-writing-ponies-general-writing-tips-with-cd/

[OverTheStars 216]

I don't have a lot of advice on structuring fanfics, but I do find that when it comes to writing characters I usually like to watch an episode or compilation centered on them to get their voice or way of speaking down. Something that takes me out of a lot of fanfics is if characters are unintentionally written really OOC or the dialogue is awkward. It helps to imagine them saying it as if they were in an actual episode, and if it sounds weird or stilted then you can tweak it to fit better.

[abronymouse 5,920]

10 hours ago, Snow said:

This is a good read 
https://mlpforums.com/topic/187192-so-you-want-to-write-fan-fiction-an-introduction-to-writing-ponies-general-writing-tips-with-cd/

ooh! for some reason I didn't know about this

 so true

[Pepper Snap 31]

Thank 

1 hour ago, abronymouse said:

go for it filly!

I hadn't written for ages and came up with this massive fic, and I'm close to half way through now, and it's been really fun

anyhoof, advice:

1) Write out a chapter plan first

Include, key themes, characters, an outline of what you want to happen, interesting notes 

2) Introduce the characters slowly (if you have lots of them)

In my first fic I tried to set out all the characters in the first chapter, which seemed like it made sense, but actually didn't work to read at all

3) Read the pony writing guide

Writing Guide - Fimfiction 

It's long, but so good!

 

(This is my fic)

The Fire: Campfire Tales - Fimfiction

thank you!! This is great advice! I’ll also definitely be reading your fic! =3 a lot of the characters will be from g4 but there will also be original characters in it as well

[Dreambiscuit 10,176]

Whenever I write, I don’t start with a shopping list of the various elements I want to include because it gets in the way of spontaneous flowing story. In my experience it’s good to start with a very basic storyline and embellish as I go, and if I have a conscious idea what elements I want to include, I can add them as I proceed. Usually you get a ‘Eureka’ moment when the genesis of a story announces itself to your brain, and you take it from there. But since you already have what sounds like a detailed framework, you have a lot to work with, and that may be sufficient. The fact is that no two writers have the same approach, and you have to find out what works for you, at least to some degree, as you write. But my advice is to start simple and build on the inspiration that usually comes when it flows naturally, rather than get bogged down by story elements that may or may not fit smoothly on their own. Most movies, books, etc. these days suffer from trying to fit too many plotlines into a single film, book, etc, and they often cancel each other out and make for an over-written mess. Make each chapter focus on one or two of your themes and keep each one simple on their own terms. I guess the bottom line I’m trying to suggest is simplicity first, embellishment later, and keep it clear.

[Dawnshine Wonder 479]

There are guides on how to write a story but you need to be careful who you get the advice from. Some people put too much stock in originality while criticizing tropes.

 

I don't care so much about how a trope is used as long as it fits with the overall story. Every piece of art or fiction people ever created was based on something else that existed before it, art is not created in a vacuum, so it's a moot point, if you have issues with grammar, I can recommend the use of Grammarly to assist with this, unless you're doing it on paper, then use rubber and pencil, and you might want to keep a dictionary beside you just in case, you may even find words that were never used in the original IP of the fan fiction you are writing about. With my MLP fan fiction I just go with the flow, like with the Bardo concept, clearly that part is based on Tibetan Buddhism, I am throwing my own additional elements into it as well, and while it is a realm of self reflection and exists in the story for the purposes of not only growth and redemption for wrongs in past lives, but also pursuit of wisdom, each life form in the multiverse, will eventually achieve their state of enlightenment and find their place in a paradise realm, Nirvana, but until that time, they must undergo Samsara. That part is based on mythology I did not create, but my own elements are within the Bardo, it is a place where there are spirits that guide essences to their next life, and decide which mortal life they're born into next, it's not random and they do not have past life memories in one life to another, therefore they would not be chasing some empty reward in Nirvana, they learn the meaning of life and how to form friendships the right way.

[ZiggWheelsManning 11,190]

I really don't have any.  I don't know the rules of fanfic writing.