Smut sells and misery is gold. Ship to your heart’s content!
My audience has grown since my first forays into creative writing; in 2013, I shared half a million words of fiction across fandoms including Merlin, Sherlock, and The Musketeers.
My best-known story is probably Torchlight, for the Elementary fandom.
Chelsey Pippin / Thinkstock / BuzzFeed
Fanfic thrives on peril: kidnap, pursuit, the enemy advancing slowly with a loaded weapon. Bring it on, then dot dot dot, more next week! The best fan fiction ends each chapter clinging to a narrow ledge of lust and/or despair, causing readers to type reviews that plead for the next instalment. I always included cliffhangers in my writing, but lately they have reached Matterhorn proportions.
If you're not leaving your hero dangling over a flaming pit, Flash Gordon-style, then at least end a chapter on a sharp cut. Think TV scene changes. Avoid explaining what just happened, or wrapping it up at the end of each chapter. Your readers are the most expert audiences in the world – they get it.
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9 Things I've Learned Writing Fan Fiction