How to Write a Good Fanfic

10.1 - Slash Fic

I'm actually going to suggest reading NatashaDuncanDrake's article Non-Canon LGBTQ+ Shipping to which I will be linking as they have written more LGBT stories than I have, but it's articles like hers that I read before I ever wrote any LGBT content. I also talked to the more serious writers in comments to find out what not to do.

One of the first things I did before writing any LGBT content was to read articles on writing said content, but I also talked to writers. One of the things I will never forget regarding the comment sections of the forum thread on the subject matter was the comments from gay men. Slash fic – which was supposed to be about characters like them – made them majorly uncomfortable. Issues ranged from anatomy issues to emasculation, but the biggest thing I took home was that they felt misrepresented and alienated.

I think Kiri Van Santen who had similar discussions as I had puts it well in her article On the Fetishisation Of Gay Men By Women In The Slash Community which is posted on the Mary Sue. "Specifically, these men indicated that straight or bisexual women had repeatedly asked overly personal questions about their sex lives, treated them like adorable puppies instead of humans, and attempted to co-opt the gay male experience or even elevate allies over actual gay men."

I'll take this a step further and point out I've seen bisexual women try and use their status as LGBT as proof they know what they're talking about, but I've also seen slash writers claim not being able to write the particular slash fic they like to write is somehow equivalent or worse than the struggles gay men go through in their day to day lives. Why? The answer seems to come down to the fact we live in a patriarchal society and that this is a way for women to get power back, but at what cost? It shouldn't be at the cost of another prejudiced group, but the fact this group is men doesn't make it right.

The arguments I've seen are varied, but some disturb me. For example, I've heard people say...

There is no difference between platonic and romantic forms of love.

... and yet there is. I'm not saying here that a platonic form of love can't become a romantic form of love. I'm saying here there is a definite difference.

Worse, one of the counter arguments I've see people use against people who say they don't see the ship because they simply see the relationship between the two characters as a familial type of love is to respond with the fact they don't see it because they never acted that way with their siblings which in turn invalidates the experience between siblings who have.

This may not seem like a big deal, but those who argue this act like showing any form of emotional connection can't be anything but romantic, and if someone is claiming a person is just "friend" or "sibling" they are in unhealthy denial of how they really feel. This plays into toxic masculinity as well, where men aren't allowed to show emotion and affection unless there is some kind of romantic connection. It's not limited to slash though, but shows up in het.

A guy can't think a girl looks nice without having some kind of romantic attraction, yet if it were two girls we wouldn't – until possibly recently – jump to such conclusions. Don't get me started on this idea of a guy saving a female meaning that they're destined to be together either beyond the fact it's worse when the guy saves multiple people, but the focus is on ones preferred ship. This is where toxic shipping comes from.

The worst though is this claim that someone can't mourn someone deeply unless there is some kind or romantic connection. I still roll my eyes every time I remember the obnoxious preteens giggling when Aragorn kisses the forehead of Borimer in the first LotR movie because they've been brought up to perceive such things as a sign someone is gay when it is not. I loath when people take things out of historical, social and cultural context.

However, it goes a step farther. One of the most disappointing slash stories I ever read was written by a young writer who honestly couldn't tell the difference between platonic and romantic interactions between male characters. What I read wasn't slash, but instead further platonic interactions between the two characters the writer thought were "romantic".

Another issue in slash is internal misogamy.

I was reading an article the other day from a writer who wrote slash fic defending what she wrote and the only real thing I got from the writer was that she hates herself and other women, so she openly avoids writing female characters.

She went so far as to claim heterosexual men were afraid of writing slash as if heterosexual females were somehow superior in this regard, yet I was left wondering why the writer spoke about sexuality in such a binary manner and how female writers should be leery of writing slash at least to the point of fearing messing up, yet I don't see even that among many of the writers.

We have some female writers who will never, ever touch a het pairing because het is "ew" and "evil". This doesn't bother me if the writer is say a lesbian and only writes m/m and w/w, but when the person is heterosexual I can't help but think there is some type of internal misogamy going on if there is no het among their writing. There is a lot of talk which amounts to "the female characters aren't good enough" when in reality many of them are.

The word "heteronormative" is also used to describe any het relationship despite the fact the word doesn't mean what people think it does, which means that heterosexuality is treated as the only option. The fact only het relationships occur doesn't mean the writer and others involved are treating heterosexuality as the only option but adding an LGBT pairing in just for repetition does nothing.

No, seriously, the LGBT community is actually over represented in media now, but the representation isn't spread out equally. Most are gay men, particularly white. Lesbians rarely show up, but the same goes with bisexual characters. Worse, a characters LGBT status seems to be tied directly to their relationship status, yet in One Day at a Time (2017) Elena wasn't in a relationship until the second season. She was LGBT without it.

Already canon LGBT characters tend to get ignored in favor of non-canon ships.

There seems to be also a major push for any minority type to become a "main stream" character simply because everyone will see and recognize it, yet nobody is finding these works which are lesser known and attempting to make them "main stream". People also don't stop and think about the fact a "main stream" series will target general audiences rather than a minority group.

This isn't to say the majority which isn't LGBT isn't interested in seeing LGBT characters. It's more of there has to be more to the character then them being LGBT to sell it to us, but it's also got to be marketed in a way that gets the attention of the general audience. We also don't want to see it overdone, or for LGBT characters to get special treatment rather than being treated like real people.

However, a lot of people who write slash in fanfic are females yet for some reason that's the most common ship in the majority of fandoms, but they argue that it's not representation if it's not their OTP even if the series does get to have LGBT representation because to them, it's about a ship war. Characters like Elena – they get ignored, and she's one of my favorite characters. Would she be ignored though if more people in fandom latched onto her?

So, what are the basics for writing slash fic?

- Treat the characters as if they are actual people. The fact they're fictional doesn't excuse not doing so, for they are very much real in the worlds they exist in.

- Be on the look out for things such as internalized misogamy that may creep into your story, but other things like bi-eraser and treating the subject as if it were a binary. Oh, and forms of toxic masculinity – avoid them as well.

- Check out some of the less main stream works featuring LGBT content, but write content for it. Fandom actually has a way of making something that is less main stream more main stream.

Also, don't make excuses for why you write slash, but avoid throwing around the terms "homophobic" and "heteronormative". Keep in mind what you write, the way you ship – all of that tells the reader a lot more about yourself than you may realize. For example, that writer whose slash fic wasn't slash fic revealed to me they bought into a form of toxic masculinity which says a man can't show affection unless he is sexually attracted to someone.