A Guide to Writing the Best Fan Fiction by Sandbreeze

Sandbreeze shares a guide on how to write good fan fiction.

Hi!
It’s Sandbreeze here and this is my second article. You probably remember my first article: “My Opinion on Leafpool Ships(ugh that was so short😅)”
Today I’m going to be providing you with a guide on how to write the best fanfiction. I hope you like it!😁
Have you ever sat at a keyboard, eager to type a Warrior Cats fanfiction, but don’t know where to start? That’s happened to me a few times. That’s why I wrote this article, to give you ideas, motivation, and tips for writing good fanfiction. I’ll go through three main things that you need in an article, give motivation, and give help on making good prophecies!
THE ESSENTIAL PARTS
#1: Grammar and Spelling 📝
Now, I don’t want to sound like an English teacher here, but every fan fiction needs good grammar. If there’s incorrect punctuation or spelling, then people will think you don’t care about your story. There are many websites that can help you, including grammarly, but it dosen’t always catch everything, especially with the free version. Besides, you’ve probably been interrupted by the ads too many times. 🙂 Try reading through your story. If some parts sound confusing, try editing it.

#2: An Interesting Plot
This is a big yes when writing. Readers want twists and complex characters, drama and battles. If the whole book is just like: Cat finds out they have powers, they save the Clans, yay happily ever after! No. The most overused plot in all of WC fan fiction is cats getting powers, then using it to save the Clans. Think about the Broken Code. That was probably the most creative plot story I’ve ever heard the Erins come up with. I mean, it has cats, ghosts, cats taking over other cats bodies, revenge, StarClan disappearing, and then…Bristlefrost.😥 They surprised the reader in the end with that one, especially me. If you’re writing an arc, try ending a book on a cliffhanger. This will keep readers wanting to read the next book. Oh, another thing: DON”T USE CLICHES! Clichés are overused storylines that many people are sick of. An example is medicine cat x warrior, then she has to give up the kits. Do not do this!! Readers love interesting plots, and I guarantee they’ll yawn if you use a cliché!! If you still want to do something that’s overused, try giving a twist or something else to spice it up. Also, try killing off a minor character, or, if you want to end a arc or just want to be cruel, kill off a major character(Cough Bristlefrost Cough). Another thing is making battle interesting. A bad example would be:
Silverstream swiped her attacker, yowling.
“Ha!” she meowed.
“Oh yeah?” Tigerstar growled, clawing her neck.
“Ow!” Silverstream yowled. “That hurts!” She scratched his neck. Tigerstar scratched her flanks, and then Silverstream scratched his neck again. Tigerstar yowled, then ran away(End of example. Please note this isn’t from any book, I just made it up)
PLEASE do not make the characters use the same move over and over again. Give them different moves, and don’t have it be an easy fight. Look in the Warriors books for good examples on battle scenes since I couldn’t copy and paste from Sora an example😛
#3: Interesting Characters🐈
As mentioned above, complex characters are fun to read about. Before you start writing about a character, make sure their future, past, or present is interesting first. Also, make sure they have good and bad traits. Characters without or just a little bit of bad traits are called Mary-Sues for females, and Gary-Stus for males. If you’re having trouble finding bad traits, you can use this list:
-Hot-headed
-Stubborn
-Too-proud
-Shy
-Awkward
-Rebellious
-Scatter-brained
-Impatient
-Indecisive
-Insecure
-Humorless
-Ignorant
Need good character traits? Think about Glory from Wings of Fire. I love her personality. If you give a cat a personality that’s similar to another book character or person well-known, readers will make that connection and will love reading about them. You can also use a personality from a best friend or family member, to make it easier.

#4: Setting🌳
If you’re having trouble making up a good setting, try going outside. Look at everything around you. Now imagine cats inhabiting that area, but the houses and other human stuff are gone. Add cool landforms, such as ponds, rivers, lakes, oceans, volcanoes, deserts, forests, etc. Imagine how the dens are, if they should be made out of brambles or hidden under a rock. Where should the leader call Clan meetings? Does he/she stand on a boulder or branch? Are the medicine cats called something else, like healers? You can also look at cool places online. You’ll be surprised at how mysterious some places can be, like this one:
https://i0.wp.com/www.pxleyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/waterfalls/10.jpg?resize=543%2C362
And this: http://stunningplaces.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/6.-Incredible-Stalactites-formed-over-millions-of-years.-Photo-via-Nature-Pictures.jpg

That should give you a rough idea of how to imagine the perfect setting. If an idea comes to you, be sure to write it down. I like to write down ideas on google docs, but you can do whatever works best for you.

#5: Twists💔
There isn’t much to say about this, except twists are a big yes when it comes to entertaining readers. Maybe a loyal warrior is the leader of a group of rogues, or a medicine cat turns out to be evil.

#6: Allegiances
Allegiances are essential to every WC book. Most readers will skim over the allegiances to get a vague idea, but it’s still good to include it. If you’re having trouble coming up with purrsonas and names, you can ask for help on the Fan Fiction Organization page, or create your own. When you create your own, make sure to include some interesting purrsonas. Don’t just have every cat be: Gingerheart: An orange she-cat with blue eyes. Instead, you could have: Gingerheart: A orange she-cat the color of autumn leaves with pretty blue eyes. There are some very good articles and guides out there that will dive deeper into naming and describing your cats.

#7: Made-Up Clans(optional)⚡🌊💨🖤⛅
Now time for made-up Clans! If you want to use the Clans of the official WC saga, that’s totally fine. But if you’re feeling more creative, you can make your own Clan! You can use anything in nature for their names, such as AmberClan, BambooClan, CloudClan, etc. You can use the setting ideas for their home. Clans are usually named after their personalities or the landscape around them, so be sure to have that in mind when picking the setting. If you’re feeling even more creative, you can even give them their own Warrior Code! You could also write a field guide about your Clans! Okay, maybe that’s a bit too much.🙃

That’s the essential parts of a story! Time for motivation!
First, here’s some guides and articles that can help with creating cats:
https://www.wattpad.com/167169414-how-to-make-a-fantastic-warrior-cat-and-other-tips

Tips and tricks for nameing your OC by Oliver

Not feeling motivated? Try talking to other fanfiction writers, or professional ones. You can always go to the Fan Fiction Organization page if you need inspiration or help with your plot or characters. You’ll be guaranteed to have immediate feedback! Reading other Fanfictions also gives me motivation, and reading the novellas or super editions tied to them gets me even more motivated! Also, if you want your arc to be big, try making novellas and super editions to go with it!
Remember, you’re not alone in this!

Sandbreeze, out.🐾