Fan Fiction - Beginner's Tips

Alison wrote:Disclaimer: I just posted this because I felt it was a nice thing to do. I don't mean to seem superior to anyone, and I'm sorry if I offend anyone! :/

Brush up on your subject knowledge. If you
haven't watched/read the original work recently, do so. Get a feel for
how the characters think and act; refresh your memory how the setting
looks and understand how the key ideas work. Remember – people read
fanfiction
because they are fans of the original work, so putting pre-existing
characters in a setting that is unrealistic for said character's
original background will not draw much attention to your work and in the
end, you will not be happy about yourself.

Choose the characters you'd like to write about.
You can have as many or as few as you'd like. Make the characters
similar to their true identities- or explore the possibilities of a
different persona. For example: "What if ___ wasn't kind, but cruel
instead?"- how would the story have turned out? This kind of character
is called an "out of character" character. You can do that, or you can
add your own characters! Be warned to not create a 'Mary Sue' – that is,
your character needs to have flaws. Perhaps it does not have to be a fatal
flaw in which it will destroy him/her, however the flaws still need to be within
that character no matter who it is.

Think of what you'd like to write about.
Fanfiction is the best way to explore the "what if"'s of the original
work. A good way to get an idea is to ask a question: "What if ___
hadn't died?", "Why did ___ feel that way about ___?", "What would have
happened if ___ and ___ got married?" It can be set in the past- a
prequel to the story; the present- what is currently happening in the
story; the future- what could happen to the story. From past experiences,
however, it would generally not be a good idea to fit someone into a setting
which is too advance or predated for that character's time period; some cultures
do not mix in that regard.