Playing In Someone Else's Sandbox: Introduction

[dragonbat2006]

What This Handbook Is

This handbook is a guide to writing derivative fiction, with a special focus on fan-fiction. Areas covered include:

• Tips for getting started


• Ideas for developing your story


• Suggestions for avoiding some of the most common pitfalls


• The review process


• Dos, don’ts and netiquette


• A glossary of terms

Please note that in this handbook, I have tried to use well-known fandoms as examples to illustrate my points. Omissions are not meant as slights.

What This Handbook Isn't

This is not meant to be a guide for creative writing in general. There are plenty of books like that on the market already. The tips and tricks listed here may well transfer over to writing original work, but the presumption is that you already know the basics of creative writing.

Remember:

Creative writing is an intensely personal endeavor. Everyone has their own style and their own comfort zone. This handbook offers guidelines—not rules set in stone. The most important thing about writing for pleasure is to have fun doing it. So, relax, take a deep breath, and let’s get started!

Quick tip:

I will be including a glossary, updating as I go. The first appearance of a glossary term will be hyperlinked to that page.





Playing In Someone Else's Sandbox: Best Practices for Fan-Fiction, from Planning to Posting—and Beyond by Ellen Fleischer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.