the vampire diaries fanfic writing tips

✧ my dislikes

i'm not sure how helpful this is because it's just one option. but i feel like maybe others will share these? maybe comment if you do to people can get a feel for it.

i just thought it would be helpful to list the things that make me click off stories in case you're curious about what could be off putting.

so here we go.

1. stories written in bold. i don't know why, but it annoys me to read stories written in bold. i don't mind if pieces are (like flashbacks, authors notes etc) but if the whole story is bold i will click off.

2.  grammar/word choice.

i don't mind things like mistaking you're for your or not putting in a comma where there should be one (i still have no idea where commas really go to be honest)

i mean using shortened versions of words.

like ur instead of your.

luv instead of love.

i don't think it belongs in writing, i will click off.

and i don't mean when the characters are writing a text message, i mean in dialogue when it's written.

3. twin fanfics.

no clue why this is the only fanfic trope i really don't like. maybe it's because we have the doppelgängers in tvd which aren't twins but there's just so many that the whole identical thing seems overdone.

4. not having your own dialogue for your characters or space for their character.

i absolutely will not read a story if you just switch out one main character for your oc. not to sound rude but if you do that, you don't really have an oc. you just have a version of a character from tvd that you changed the name and face claim for.

especially when it's an exactly replica of the character as in the plots are exactly the same too.

5. fanfics where the love interest doesn't arrive until well into the book.

what i mean by this is if it's a kol fanfic, i don't want to read your story starting from the beginning of the show and he doesn't show up until season 3 which is like halfway into your book.

same goes for the other mikaelsons or characters who show up much later in the show.

if there are flashbacks it's fine, but if i'm looking to read a klaus fanfic i don't want to have to wait 30+ chapters for me to get a glimpse of the relationship.

6. fanfics where it's clear that the author writers the characters based on their personal opinions of them and not actually what's in the show and tries to pass it off as if it's true to the show.

i think i've said a lot about this before.

7. fanfics with too many characters/ocs.

it just feels so crowded to me, and i get confused. i don't think you should have your own set of ocs who are main characters and also the main characters from the show. it's just too overcrowded in my opinion. i think you should have one or the other.

8. if the oc is clearly just a self insert for the author to write in what they wanted to happen in the show.

this is similar to #6 but when the oc has basically no personality and the only thing they do is enact what the author wanted to happen in the show. for example, they somehow stop jenna from dying, somehow stop katherine from dying, tries to force together ships that they like. i just can't enjoy a story like this,

9. stories where the oc is just a copy of another character from either the show or another show/book/movie.

10. stories where the main couple (oc and another character) are basically the exact same as the ship in the show. so for example when oc is basically elena and they're in a relationship with damon and it's written exactly the same.

11. stories that steer a little too far from the show.

this is very much a me thing (like all of these) these can be really great stories, they just aren't for me.

i can't read a fanfic where it's just the oc and they don't really follow the plot of the show and are kinda doing their own thing with others ocs and they're not even in mystic falls or new orleans and there's just maybe one or two characters from the show.

12. when the oc is overpowered for no reason.