How NOT to write a Vampire Diaries Fanfiction (including TO & Legacies)

a not-so self insert fic

no, this chapter isn't going to be about how to write self-inserts

why?

well i dont like 'em, so, please respect that just how i respect those that do and those that write them

[most of the time]

this chapter is about when you want to write a story where you bring in someone normal, someone from our world and put them in the world of TVD

personally, i don't like these fics much when compared to regular fics, i think i read maybe five and one for GOT but that's about it

but, i've already noticed a pattern among those stories and today i'm going to be talking about the do's and don'ts of writing one of us in TVD world

let's start, is your character aware that this world is fictional? that it comes from a tv show and even a series of books?

is your character a fan? do they hate it? do they just not have that big an opinion on it?

do they know kinda well but not that much because their best friend or sibling loves the show?

if you answered yes to even just one of these, then let's go down that route where the OC is aware of the fact that this is a story and they're involved.

step one: don't make them related to anyone.

i know i already said it before but in this case it's worse because you're dropping this person into a life they should know, and it's kinda difficult to manage it when you have to pretend to know where the gilbert family keeps the blender because you're supposed to know that if you're a gilbert and you've lived there your whole life. especially if you don't like elena's character. look, jeremy has issues with his sister but siblings cant just break ties forever, that's the whole point of the show (and the Originals for that matter, they took it to a whole nother level)

step two. don't even make them know anybody.

if your character isn't related but still knows people (and granted the majority out there will most likely be teenagers) then that means you live with an adult (or more) that takes care of you. now, this just means the same bullshit from step one, you're supposed to have all this knowledge about a place you've never step foot in and have had a long familial relationship with whoever happens to be your parent or guardian. but you also have to know a bunch of people in town and have to figure out who you're friends with and who you aren't, whether you know the secrets or not.

step three. don't give out half assed explanations just to ignore my first two steps.

is this the part where you're telling me "no, no, miss caroline, because you see my OC Mckayla will just know, like it's somehow deep in her subconscious it's like already there sort of." or maybe something like, "well, my OC Mckenzie gets visions about how this world works and every night she learns more about it to keep up with it." or even the lazy, "well my OC Mckenna is already a character on the show and my other OC Mckimberly is like a super fan of the show and she's her favorite character, so like she already knows how to act."