A guide to writing HP fan fiction

Important tips to consider while you're writing your story

First of all, think about what you like to see whenever you're reading a fan fiction. Here is a list of things I like to see.

1. Plot twists
2. Original ideas
3. Drama and angst
4. Good punctuation and grammar
5. Interesting characters
6. A driven plot line

I definitely like a lot of different things happening in the plot in order to keep me interested. Some stories that I've read predominantly use romance as the main plot and although that is perfectly fine (romance is one of my main plot points) using it as the only theme in your story can be quite repetitive. Instead, consider putting these into your story as sub plots to flesh it out.

1. Backstories that lead to an important mystery
2. Family secret
3. A secret mission
4. Plot twist that reveals something about the character's past.

Even if you add one of these to your story, it serves as a refreshing break from only focusing on romance. Personally, I can only write so much romance until I get bored of it!

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Another thing to remember is to be confident with your writing. What you're doing right now is amazing because you're experimenting with your writing style and different plot points. If someone offers you criticism and it's not the constructive kind, explain to them that they do not need to continue reading your story if they do not want to. I don't understand when people leave negative comments as we are all writers on here just trying to find our style!

Tell yourself that these things take time. I've been working on Endgame for a couple of months now and it's still not finished. That's okay, it takes a while to create something like this. Give yourself time whenever you're writing :)

Make sure you're adding representation in your story. I have made sure that I am giving Parvati Patil more spot light and time to talk about her culture. Please research these things and take the time to do so, it is important that you do if you include them. Adding LGBTQIA+ representation in your story could also be a good thing, I think it shows that there really are a lot of different types of love out there which is good!

Punctuation and grammar
Is it completely normal to make grammar mistakes (especially when auto correct is on, ugh it's a pain!) and punctuation errors. Heck, I do it all the time. However, I have found that after each chapter, I go through it twice to make sure that it makes sense. After your story is finished, you can go through it again.

Additionally, having a few spelling mistakes here and there is completely fine. If your piece of work is completely burdened with them, it can be very hard to miss and sometimes the reader will decide to click off your story.

Here are a few grammar tips I found helpful!

Using semi colons and colons
Semi colons are used to join two closely linked sentences together. For example:

Write a letter tomorrow; Sirius will want to hear from you then.

Semi colons indicate the same pause that commas do, they just have more power and create a pause for a longer period of time. Avoid using semi-colons whenever a subordinate clause (provides us with extra information) comes before an independant clause (something that comes on its own)

I like to use colons for listing, as you can see at the top of this point! Colons can also be used to introduce a dependant clause, which is good in reinforcing important information.

(Independent clause) Here are the things I need you to get:
Cauldron, wand, ingredients, sweets.

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There, their and they're

Now that we have moved on from the painful topic of colons and semi colons, I want to explain to you the importance of these three words. They are homophones, which means that they sound the same but all contain different meanings.

There: This is a general term. It is the opposite of here and indicates where something is. Depending on the sentence, there can be considered a noun, adjective or adverb.

"There is is!"
"There you are"
"There is the cat!"

Their: This is a possessive word, as it indicates that something belongs to someone.

"That is their wand"
"Their book is over there"
"Their dog needs feeding"

They're: A contraction of they are or they were. You tend to use this phrase whenever you describe something.

"They're friends"
"They're only 11, leave them alone"
"They're away studying at the library"

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Your and you're

You're= you are.

"You're called Natalie?"
"You're a wizard?"
"You're only beginning to revise now?"

Your= Possessive adjective

"Your favourite subject is charms?"
"Your hair is pink, Tonks?"
"Your favourite food is Shepard's pie?"

If you have any more punctuation queries, let me know :)