ThunderCats Fan Fiction: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Fic Faq. Say that ten times fast.
This section will cover Fan Fiction Submission - including instructions and restrictions about how to submit your work to this site for archiving. You will also find guides to the archive's rating system, categories, warnings, common terms, and other important things for both authors and readers alike to get familiar.

How should I go about submitting my fan fiction to be archived?
What guidelines or restrictions do you impose on fic to be submitted?
In what file format should I send my stories?
What info should I include for my author biography and story summaries, genres, ratings, warnings, etc?
What's with the rating system?
What does it mean when some stories show a blue or red ribbon?
Can I submit other great fics I've enjoyed that aren't mine?
I submitted my fic to you and you posted it, but now it's gone...WTF??
Would you consider reading my fic and tell me what you think beforehand?
I emailed my story to you, but don't see it up on the site yet and haven't heard from you. What's wrong?
What if I want to add to, edit, or delete a story?
I don't understand the genres, categories and warnings. Help!
What do some other popular fan fic terms mean?
Reviews: Who can leave them and what do I do if I get harrassed or flamed?


* How should I go about submitting my fan fiction to be archived?

You found this place so that's a good start!
If you are a new author, you will need to email me your work with any pertinent info included for you as an author (see ideas about what you may want to include in your author bio) and a summary of the story you are submitting. You will also need to categorize and rate your story, including any warnings for your potential readers. All submissions are subject to my approval. Read on if you need to know what I'm looking for when approving fan fics for archiving at this site, as well as the file format I prefer.

* What guidelines or restrictions do you impose on fic to be submitted?

Not much, really.
First thing is, it obviously has to pertain to Thundercats. Crossovers and alternate universe fics are fine, so long as some characters from the show or comics figure into the plot. I won't even disallow rampant Mary Sue insertions...just be aware that many readers will not enjoy your story if you go overboard with this taboo of fan fiction. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the Mary Sue area of the site to read up on who "she" is and why she's bad for fan fiction (ans also to have some fun at her expense!).

I won't be censoring for actual content at all. I only ask that if your story is excessively violent, has adult situations, etc that you give it an appropriate warnings (learn more about what common warnings are suggested for fics on this site further below). That way, folks who don't wish to read such things are given ample warning. Also, include a short synopsis (summary) of your fic - some kind of description is required. If you send me a story without a summary I won't approve your fic. If you'd like to leave contact information, do so either in the summary or in your account bio. I've provided a blanket copyright disclaimer at the archive, but if you'd like to add your own it's up to you.

The only other way to be disapproved for the hosting of your fic is if it's entirely incomprehensible. I will not host stories that are so slopped together that they lack the proper grammar, punctuation, etc to be easily understood. It doesn't have to be flawless, but it should be readable. Otherwise, that's just a waste of people's time and my web space. I realize we're all amateur writers here, but I also feel I need to hold submissions to some kind of basic standard.

* In what format should I send my stories?

After some experimentation on what would work/look best in this reformatted archive, I like the look of PDF files the best. They come out clean, neat and easy to read. Most of the formatting stays with a simple copy and paste into Word and then saving as PDF. Now, if you send me something in another format this is what I'll likely do. But you'd save me a step if you just send me a PDF file of your story in the first place.

* What info should I include for my author biography and story summaries, genres, ratings, warnings, etc?

If you look around the archive, you'll see each author's initial collection starts with a basic bio page, and then their stories are listed individually along with certain information on those as well (which then will open up into a table of contents with the chapters of said story/stories). Looking at any of the current author pages, you can get an idea of what you may include with your work. And as stated above, I do require that on the story itself, you must supply a summary, a rating, and any warnings at the minimum to be published. Ratings guides and warning suggestions can be learned about in detail further below. But let's get back to some basics first, here.

First, author bios. This biography section can include really as much or as little as you'd like. Examples of things authors thus far have been inclined to share, include:
Pen name:
Real name:
Location:
Contact: (great if you want to become a beta reader)
Website link:
Biography: (short blurb about you as a writer, other interests, general details, and whatever else you might want to tell readers about yourself!)
Beta Reader: (this is a yes or no field...if yes, you are saying you are open to being a beta reader for other authors. If you do not know what that is, see the section that deals with popular terms to learn more).
Gender:
Favorite authors: (other authors in the archive you enjoy reading
Favorite stories: (other stories in the archive you'd recommend to others

You may also feel free to include a profile pic if you'd like, or any other supplemental information you want to include for yourself or your stories. For example, my epic fan fiction, Signal in the Sky, is so long I wrote up a batch of Cliff Notes for easy catching up. I can make subpages for you that enhance the experience and help the story make sense. You can also include a Story Note if you'd like, which is just a brief blurb you want to include that will appear on the story's table of contents page.

Speaking of the story, common fields authors include with each story submission include (* means it is a required field for publication):
Story Title: *
Rated: * (see ratings system below. I will not determine a rating for your fic, you must do that yourself).
Summary: * (a brief synopsis of what your story is about).
Characters: (Main characters, character sets, or romantic pairings that feature in the story).
Genre: (See guide further below, but can include drama, comedy, action-adventure, etc).
Category: (Also explained more further on in this faq, but this is the general over-all category the fic can be classified into - like based in marvel comic universe, classic show universe, or 2011 reboot universe, etc). Warnings: * (See the warnings and genres query further below for detailed suggestions if applicable. If your story is pretty "rated G" just put none here).
Series: (another yes or no type thing...simply say yes if the story is considered part of a series).
Chapters: current #
Completed: (another yes or no...say yes if the story is finished with no other parts or chapters pending. Mark as no if it's still a work in progress).
Word Count: (often can be determined by your word processor).
Published: (this is the date the story was first published).
Updated: (this is the date of your last update to the story).

* What's with the rating system?

This new system has come about because the MPAA, apparently, is frowning upon fan fic archives that borrow their movie rating system. And rather than get heat from TV or video game folks for borrowing their system, I've attempted to make my own that is similar to those, and based on more or less, what your minimum target audience for your fics would ideally be. When choosing a rating for your story, you should keep that in mind as well as ask yourself if you have offensive or adult themes at all in your story.

Also, I've done my best at trying to be original. If I've inadvertantly posted something similar to someone else's archive, I apologize. But with only 26 letters in the alphabet for us all to share, there's bound to be some similarities pop up - just know if there's any below to yours, it's purely coincidental.

Guidelines for the new ratings are below, and for a limited time, the old movie rating will also appear below to give you a point of reference.
Here's a general idea of what each rating means -

G is now AA (All Ages) - Means, basically, your fan fic is appropriate for any aged reader as there's no objectionable language, themes or depictions that would be unsuitable for the younger audience. Doesn't necessarily mean you wrote with a child audience in mind, but it does let readers know kids could read or have it read to them without harm or foul. You're basically saying of the fic, "Hey, I'm harmless - read me without fear of offense!" In other words, it's certainly no worse than the show, content-wise.

PG is now PT (Pre-Teen) - This is for a story that may not be for the very young, but the pre-teen crowd would be a more appropriate minimum age of your target audience. For this rating, your fic still shouldn't have too much objectionable about it. Perhaps it just has some complex themes younger readers would not understand (eg. a fic dealing with complex issues of life and death, afterlife, spirtuality or the like that is complicated or too deep for the very young not to be confused by). Afterall, there's no sense in rating a fic AA if young folks won't grasp the overall point of the story, even if it's not offensive.

PG-13 is now TU (Teenagers & Up) - This is for stories aimed at teenagers or older people, for it uses themes, language or contains scenes that anyone younger than a teenager may not either be able to understand or their guardians would find offensive. When in doubt about how offensive something is though, use the next rating up on the scale just to be safe. Always err on the side of covering your ass with the biggest umbrella ;)
A disclaimer containing warnings of what this fic might possibly contain will be included with the basic story info as an additional CYA measure. Your summary and warnings selection should reflect any additional information you feel a reader should know/be warned about before reading - a generic warning only covers so much, afterall.

R is now BT (Beyond Teen) - This if for fics that aren't necessarily good for the teenaged crowd - at least not without a guardian's ok. Perhaps you cover some heavy subject matter, have coarse language peppered throughout your fic, and/or have mild sexual or violent overtones in your story among other things. It's advised in these cases to go with this rating.
A disclaimer containing warnings of what this fic might possibly contain be included with the story info as an additional CYA measure. Your summary and warnings selection should reflect any additional information you feel a reader should know/be warned about before reading - a generic warning only covers so much, afterall.

NC-17 is now AO (Adult Only) - This final rating are for fics that have graphic violence, sex, language or other themes that are so intense or "adult" the story is for adult eyes only (i.e. 18 and up).
A disclaimer containing warnings of what this fic might possibly contain will be included with the story info an additional CYA measure. Your summary and warnings selection should reflect any additional information you feel a reader should know/be warned about before reading - a generic warning only covers so much, afterall.

* What does it mean when some stories show a blue or red ribbon?

A bit of a hold over from the old automated archive, a story with a blue ribbon means it has been a popular one for the archive (usually having at least 1,000 reads and/or 10 or more reviews). A red ribbon means the story was highlighted as a featured story in the old version of the archive.

* Can I submit other great fics I've enjoyed that aren't mine?

I make it a policy not to host the work of others without their permission. It's better to tell a writer you think is awesome and that may be interested in posting their fics here about this site and let them decide if this is a good home for their work or not.

On the same note, anything you submit that you claim was penned by you had *better* be your own work. I'll be a very pissed kitty if you submit plagiarized stuff. Grrrrrr. Needless to say, 'your' fics will be deleted if plagiarism of any kind is brought to my attention and you'll be banned from the fic archives here, even if you later offer your own work.

* I submitted my fic to you and you posted it, but now it's gone. What's the big idea??

Okay, this scenario hasn't happened yet, but I'm going to pretend it has just in case this ever does come up.

As the owner of the site, I reserve the right to take down your fic without warning and for whatever reason. My reasons could range anywhere from copyright complaints to running out of webspace to host them. And then there's always the possibility of my webhost farking up and losing data. I'll make backups, but there's no gurantee I can find the correct files if something happens.

At any rate, you should always keep a backup copy of your work - either saved on your computer or a disc. Surely don't bank on my page as being the ever-living archive of your fic! I do try to keep updated backups of my whole site, but even that's not fool proof -- things get lost, files get corrupted. You know. Life happens.

Bottom line is, if your fic gets taken down, deleted, lost -- whatever -- don't cry to me. It's a privelege to be hosted on web server space I'm paying for and maintaining, not a right. So if your fic disappears, it was either beyond my control or I exercised my own discretion. However, if it does get taken down due to a decision I make, I will attempt to give you the courtesy of an explaination so long as I still have means to contact you - hence you might want to keep your contact info current to make this possible.

* I took my first stab at fic writing and I'm really nervous about submitting it to be read by others. Would you consider reading it and tell me what you think first?

I totally sympathize with that question. I was in the same place years ago when I started mine, when a writer I respected was kind enough to give my first few chapters a once over and give her advice on them.

While I'm flattered you'd trust my judgment that much, and while I have done this very thing for a few of the writers either in my archives or soon to be featured there, I may not always have the time. It doesn't hurt to ask, but don't take it personal if I have to decline due to being too busy.

If you feel you must get some preliminary feedback before your work is publically posted, try searching the web for a beta reader -- there are clubs and mailing lists out there devoted to people who will gladly read your work. You can also look at author bios here to see if any of them have marked in their profiles that they are open to beta reading. If so, get in touch with them.

My final advice to you is the same advice the kind lady who gently encouraged me imparted -- if writing a fic is something you've always wanted to do, just do it. You'll be truly pleasantly surprised at fan reaction to your work, but to get those reactions you have to put yourself and your ideas out there for scrutiny. Scary at first, but not as bad as you might envision. I've found that even when people find something odd or confusing about something I've written, they're very kind in pointing it out -- having more of a helpful tone than a mocking one. Fic writing is a great way to grow as a writer and I recommend you just go for it! Publishing your work and having it read is the only way to get that ever-valuable feedback that helps you grow :)

* I emailed my story to you, but don't see it up on the site yet and haven't heard from you. What's wrong?

Maybe a few possibilities here. Your story could have ended up in my spam folder or simply overlooked. Be sure to title your email something that will get my attention so I'll open it and earmark it to go in my next round of site updates.

If you're a first time author, I may have rejected the story for reasons I covered here earlier. Although, if this is the case I will make an effort to let you know and refer you back to this FAQ to see what the issue may be.

Lastly, patience is a virtue. I do get busy with mundania at times. If the site hasn't updated since you sent in your material...then it can't possibly appear here until I upload it to the server. I will do my best to stay on top of fan submissions, however. If you're feeling particularly anxious, you can reach out to me for a follow up if you must, and I will let you know what's going on if possible...hopefully nothing crazy like I've moved on to the astral plane has happened but ya never know :-p

* What if I do a rewrite or want something taken down altogether?

That's easily enough done. Simply email me the rewritten work and I'll have it replace the old files on the server. And indeed, sometimes our older work is outgrown, and we wish it to no longer be the focus of readers, or accessible any longer. Again, send me a note letting me know what all you want to be deleted from this archive and I will oblige. I will say, to keep this archive's stories from malicious request, I will be comparing the ip address/email account such a request comes from vs. prior communications/site activity of the known author. In short, don't be that douche.

* I just don't get what all the warnings, categories and genres mean. Help!

Current genre examples are (which, btw, if your fiction encompasses more than one of these genres feel free to list them. This is also not a definitive list, but showcases some popular genres):

Action-Adventure: Use this genre if your story arc centers around a lot of action or a grand adventure.

Alternate Universe (AU): This usually means you've written a "what if" kind of fic that likely deviates quite a bit from established show canon. For example, if you're writing Thundercats fan fic and you don't have Jaga die on the way to Third Earth but survive or have Lion-O not age in stasis, that's AU as it significantly alters the "uninverse" established by show canon.

Angst: Angst fics center around one or more characters' inner torment and anguish. It's for when drama doesn't quite describe it. An example would be writing about something horribly traumatic happening to a character and then delving into how they subsequently deal with the damage to their body, psyche or both - and how it effects their other relationships.

Authorfic: As mentioned in the riff category, an authorfic usually entails the writer using his/her fandom persona and/or that of other fandom members and inserting them in a fan fic. This can also include a story where the cartoon characters get transported to our time and meet you and/or your friends.

Canon (show or comic based): If your story doesn't go alternate universe but actually sticks pretty close to what the show intended, this is a good genre to list it under. It lets readers know the story is not going to introduce radically different ideas on the established universe.

Comedy: For fics that have a lot of humor or that are just done to be funny/silly.

Crossover: Crossovers involve melding Thundercats with some other show's universe. For example, if you wrote a Thundercats fic that also included characters from Voltron in the story, this genre is for you.

Drabble: A short fic, usually no more than 100 words long. Authors usually write these as a challenge, the idea is to write out a concise story in few words.

Drama: Obviously, for more 'serious', dramatic fiction.

F/F: See slash - this can be used in conjuction with that genre if you want to be specific about the pairing.

Gen: Gen, I believe, is short for "general" and means your fic isn't focused on pairings and romance, but simply focuses on characters in a general sense.

HC: Hurt-Comfort. A sub-genre of fic that involves a character being hurt and nursed or comforted back to health - and this is used as a catalyst for characters to bear souls and perhaps even fall in love.

Het: Short for "heterosexual". The opposite of slash - denotes a story featuring only romance/sex between opposite sex couples.

Horror: For stories that focus on the horrific or macabre.

Lemon: Describes a fiction that exists merely to put characters in an explicit sex scene (s) and is short on plot. This type should always carry an BT or AO rating.

Lime: Like its cousin the lemon, but the difference is a lime usually fades to black before getting into any majorly descriptive sex and thus can sometimes carry a lighter rating.

MiST: A story done in the style and spirit of the show Mystery Science Theater 3000 and usually involves taking an existing story and mocking it MiST style. It's an inflammatory form of fiction, so post at your own risk.

M/M: See slash - this can be used in conjuction with that genre if you want to be specific about the pairing.

Mystery: If your story centers around a mystery to be solved, choose this genre.

Riff: A term taken from the TCATGR, this describes a story written as a retaliation to someone else's fiction (typically where the posting author's avatar got humiliated or teased) and usually involves heavy use of author avatars (i.e. when the author takes his/her persona and inserts himself/herself into the fic - different than mary sue as this is done rather obviously and intentionally).

Romance: For fiction featuring romantic dealings between characters.

Slash: Describes a sexual fiction involving either male on male pairings (M/M - also known as yaoi, especially in anime fandoms) or female on female pairings (F/F - also known as yuri).

Songfic: A fic based on the lyrics of a song or inspired by it. Usually the lyrics of the song show up in the fic somewhere and/or the fic itself is named for the song.


As for warnings, they exist so that people who have certain sensibilities can spare having them insulted and can make an informed choice about whether they want to invest themselvse in your story. These are of particular importance as we're dealing with fiction based on cartoons that were created for the innocent but are often less-than-innocent once brought back to life in the fan fiction community. Please extent this courtesy to potential readers by being as accurate with the warnings as possible and as usual, you can choose more than one warning. If you can think of one not listed here, feel free to use it.
Current warnings include:

Graphic Violence: If you really get detailed in describing the blood that spills or if there's just a lot of blood flowing, warn us please.

Strong Sexual Innuendo: Innuendo is implied sexual acts or comments and if you use this liberally we like to be warned.

Character Death: I know this can sometimes give away a plot twist, so you don't HAVE to list this, but if it doesn't matter if we know someone's going to die, you might want to warn fans that a beloved character's days are numbered as far as you're concerned.

Harsh Language: Harsh language would include either frequent use of lesser curse words (damn, shit, hell) to prominent use of more offensive language or sexual slang or even racially offensive speech.

Mild Violence: If it's not graphic but still violent, use this warning.

Explicit Sexual Content: If you write something that has any kind of sex described in detail, even if that's not the center of the story, warn us. I would ask that if your story has a graphic rape scene or sexual abuse in it you give us additional warning in your summary because that can be very traumatic for some readers to be "surprised" with. Please use good judgment.

Adult Situations: Adult situations can encompass a lot, but use this even if your fic simply deals with subjects that would be difficult for younger readers to grasp like murder, suicide, drug use and addiction, rape or any other weighty/controversial issues.

Off-color Humor: If you've written "gross out humor", used some potty humor, or the story contains sexual, racial or other jokes that could be seen as "in bad taste", use this warning.

Child Death: I know of at least one person in the Thundercats fandom who really is repulsed by this kind of event in fiction, and so I figure it might be good to offer this warning for the sake of others who might want to avoid a subject this depressing.

Mild Language: If you have some cursing, but it's just the occassional muttering of "damn it" or "aw, hell" and the like, this will fit better than harsh language warning. But you should still warn us because some people are not too pleased with even "mild" cursing.

Spoilers: If you're writing based on say, a run of comics out for a toon that perhaps not everyone has read yet, and your fan fic is going to reveal a plot twist from the comic to readers, use this warning to let them know. You can further explain the nature of the spoiler in your summary, such as saying "If you haven't read 'The Return' yet, this fic contains spoilers". The show is pretty old, though, and we usually don't need spoiler disclaimers on it.

Finally, there are some categories of a broader nature you may want to sort your story into.
Current categories include:

Classic Show-verse: This is for stories that are based on or set in the original show canon.

2011 Series-verse: As you may guess, this would be a good category for your story if it's based on or set in the universe of the 2011 CN series.

Marvel Comic-verse: This would be great for anything that plays off the 80s Marvel comic book series, using anything from the universe these comics created for the franchise.

Wildstorm Comic-verse: If your story is using the Wildstorm comics as the basis of its settings or ideas, then this is a great category to use to let us know that.

Cross-Over: Maybe you are mixing fandoms in your story, for example, bringing Voltron characters into your ThunderCats fan fic, etc. This makes your story a cross-over!

You may also use something of your own creation for a category if it helps us get a feel for the universe in which your story is based - for instance, I know there's that newer series - Thundercats Roar - that was out a bit ago. If your fic is based around that, then denote the category appropriately.

*What do some other popular fan fic terms mean?

Because they might come up in a review you could get, or you just want an easy reference to oft used terms, here are some popular short-hand terms and things used by writers and readers.

FANDOM: Simply, the collective of people who consider themselves fans of a show and often come together as a community online to discuss, debate and create things in the name of said show.

CANON: Basically, the history, personalities, places and characters as established by the show. Although some fans debate whether this encompasses all items such as comics, books, movies, etc based on the original show, most agree the original show or at least anything that had the creators' stamp of approval is canon and thus "fact". For instance, Thundera blew up at the start of the Thundercats cartoon. That is canon fact.

FANON: Something fan established or fan made. Sometimes an idea becomes so popular in a fandom, it's valued and used almost as much as canon. For example, Lion-O aged in stasis after fleeing Thundera, growing from a child to a man on the journey. But the Thunderkittens did not. The show did not explain why, but fans came up with many theories. If the fandom "adopts" one theory over others and it keeps coming up in fan fic, that could be an example of Fanon reaching near canon heights. Yet it's not quite canon so it's called fanon instead.

OTP: Means "one true pairing". It implies that someone believes that canon only indicated one "true" romantic pairing among a pair of characters. For example, in Thundercats, many believe canon hinted at Lion-O and Cheetara as the OTP. However, this hasn't stopped many a writer from pairing Lion-O with Pumyra or Cheetara with Tygra and so on. So if you write a Cheetara/Tygra pairing fic and someone responds with "I don't think they're the OTP", you know what that means.

SHIPPER: Derived from the word "relationship". A shipper is someone who roots for a particular couple to be paired in fan fics of a romantic nature, whether it's considered widely as OTP or not. For instance, you have your Lion-O/Cheetara shippers who prefer to read about that pairing. So, you might get a review that says "Though I'm normally a Lion-O/Cheetara shipper, I really enjoyed how you paired Cheetara with Panthro." You are a shipper if you have a pairing preference.

OOC: Out of Character. If someone says you've written a character OOC, it's usually not a good thing - not unless the OOC was intentionally done for a farce or comic effect. What it means is you've written an established character in a way that doesn't capture their personality and essense as established by the show with no reason as to why they would act that way (if they're under a spell and not acting like themselves, ok...but just to portray a character out of sorts for no real reason usually doesn't sit well with readers). If a character in the show is bold and lives for excitement, don't write him into a fic as a mousy or dowdy bump on a stump - not without a good reason anyway.

IC: In character. This is a good thing to see in a review, as it means you've hit it right on with your characterization of canon characters.

PWP: Stands for - Plot? What Plot? Unless you've written a lemon or some other obvious throw-away in the plot department, this isn't good. It basically means you've not bothered with a clear plot one can follow or you've not tried to develop one at all. Most of the time, people like there to be an overall point to a story.

OC: Original Character. This simply refers to a character generated by the author that is not a part of canon. It can range anywhere from just vague filler characters...the doctor in the village that's only used in one scene to care for the canon character, or it can be a more oft used character that affects the plot and the canons more than that. The latter kind of OC is the type that can sometimes evolve into the dreaded Mary Sue.

MARY SUE: Generic name given to some authors' OCs. Usually, if your OC is labled this it's not a good thing - although some OCs with Sue traits can be written well and even be enjoyed and beloved by readers. But more often, they are simply the result of the author inserting their fantasy self into the fic to the point that they end up being more beautiful and more powerful than any canon character, not to mention more desired and more integral to the story than the canons. This bends the canon universe so far out of whack that the canons often can't be written IC and still accommodate the desire for Sue to outshine them (one or more canons inevitably end up getting uncharacteristically jealous or too entranced by Sue's allure etc etc to be IC anymore). In the worst case scenario, Sue is so overbearing and unbelievable, nobody can really enjoy reading such an author's ego trip gone amok - people read fan fic to read about what's familiar to them and that's the show and its characters. Fans tend not to like it much when a writer has their OC outshine the canons. Hence if you must use a OC in a major role, proceed with caution and even take the litmus test I have on my various toon sites as a guide.

GARY STU: The male OC equivelent to Mary Sue. Unbelievable beauty isn't usually his thing, but Gary is often a brooding outsider that has to prove himself - and he outshines his peers and wins the love of everyone while doing it...and then usually becomes a part of the canon "team" at the end (e.g. he becomes a Thundercat, or member of the Voltron Force). We've read it. A million times. Spare us one million and one.

POV: Point of View. Refers to which character's point of view you are writing from. Some writers stick with one POV for a whole fic, others switch from chapter to chapter or scene to scene. However, it's usually recommended not to switch back and forth from different character's POV within the same scene because it's often too jarring and confusing for readers. Place us in one character's head at a time.

ATG: Any Two Guys (or, Gals). For slash writers, this is probably the most critical three initials you'll see. What it means is the slash pairing you wrote about is so cliched, predictable and has put the characters you chose to slash so OOC, that you might as well have wrote about "any two guys" going at it. Even with slash, readers like believability and canons to behave for the most part IC.

BETA READER: This is someone you can enlist, preferably someone who is familiar with the rules of the language and the show you're writing about, to read your fan fic before you publish to catch mistakes and make suggestions for improvements - they cover everything from plot, to grammar, to characterization. This can be a willing fandom friend or someone that you find on an online list for beta readers (they're out there, look for them). They are your fresh pair of eyes that you can count on to catch sometimes glaring or embarrassing gaps and flaws *before* anyone else reads it. I usually prefer a non-friend just because I know a stranger beta won't be as likely to sugar coat or gloss over anything for the sake of being nice.

WIP: Work in Progress. This means your fic is a continuing piece and is not finished yet. With the archive here, though, people can easily see whether the work is finished or not so I didn't include WIP in any of the options.

One Shot: The opposite of a WIP - it means you plan to add no more chapters, sequels or anything of that sort. The one part you post is all that storyline will ever be.

* Reviews: Who can leave them and what do I do if I get harrassed or flamed?

Anyone can email me a comment or review on your fan fiction - even anonymous reviews are permitted. Reviews are usually helpful to authors, especially if you have some humility and wish to grow and improve. And of course, even just plain "great story" praise is fun and flattering to get as an author.
However, it is important for you to understand the difference between a flame and constructive criticism, or concrit.

A flame: A flame would be a comment left that was solely posted to insult, belittle or harass you. It has no value other than that. You can't learn anything from it as an author and so nobody benefits but the flamer, who apparently gets off by randomly insulting and belittling people.

An example of a flame review might be "You suck and so does your writing. Do everyone a favor and delete this crap now." or "slash fic is gross. you're going to hell"...you get the idea.
If you get this sort of review, first of all I won't even pass it on to you or post it on the web site. If you left contact info in your bio, and get a flame, I advise you to ignore it. The troll flamer is trying to get a reaction so don't give him/her the satisfaction. It's best NOT to respond to the flamer, as tempting as it might be, because again, that's what they want - to see how angry or upset they've made you. Don't feed the flames. Just delete it and keep writing your stories. Most flamers will go away quickly enough if they are just quietly dealt with and you don't spark the flames they crave.


Concrit: While concrit may involve pointing out flaws or a reader's honest dislike of an aspect of your story - and indeed, reading that may sting a writer's pride - it is not a flame. In fact, you should look at it as an opportunity to see how your story is honestly being recieved and take a moment to consider their points (sometimes, authors are "too close" to their own work to see what is an obvious or glaring flaw in their plot or characterizations and it takes an unattached reader to point that out)...in most cases, it will improve your writing by at least giving you pause to think as you write in the future. And while the "great fic" praise reviews are nice to get, I find that the concrit reviews are the most valuable overall.
Basically, what sets concrit apart from flames is the thought and sincerity put into it. Instead of just saying "your story sucks", a concrit reviewer often will offer a bit of praise, but also take time to point out in some depth what had them confused, what didn't make sense to them, an inconsistancy in your plot, share with you that they don't think a character would have done what you had them do, or some other weakness they thought that if brought to your attention and "fixed", might improve the story. In other words, it's criticism presented in an informative and helpful spirit. Of course, you are free to disagree and not "fix" anything (sometimes, someone might point out that they don't like your romantic pairing, for example, and that's more of an opinion you could dismiss easier), but don't be so wounded that someone would point out a flaw or oversight you made that you immediately dismiss it as a flame, either.
Which brings me to this. If you're brave enough to write and post your story on the net, be prepared for some legitimate if not always flattering feedback. It's part of the learning curve as a writer. Appreciate it. Encourage it. Embrace it. And you will find your story getting better if you swallow your pride from time to time and think about what your readership is trying to say to you. However, because some writers can be immature and flip out on reviewers who are offering concrit, those willing to post concrit reviews are becoming rare and that's a shame as it really is an invaluable learning tool for an author.
So please, have the maturity and insight to know the difference between a flame and concrit and take the concrit gracefully. Because if you cry to me about concrit I won't delete it. I also will not stand for you as the author, badgering a concrit reviewer who meant no harm by being honest (as in replying to legitimate concrit with something like "screw you, what do you know!" or the like...if I won't let a flamer flame your story, I surely won't let you flame a well-meaning reader. If you want to disagree with concrit, do so in the same tone, manner and level of consideration they gave you). Everyone at some point gets some concrit. I have and so has every other author I know - none of us are perfect writers, or I'm sure we'd be writing novels and making money...not doing fan fic! So, if you can't handle anything but pure praise, don't post your work in this archive.

Also, I will not allow you to post disclaimers with your fiction that try to strong arm people into reviewing you. Anything in the summary or the fic itself that reads along the lines of "I must have reviews or I won't finish this/post the next chapter" will not pass muster and I won't host the fic. In my opinion, such demands are tacky and silly. Yes, I know some of you may not think it's worth finishing unless you know people out there are reading (and what better way to know you have readers enjoying your work but to get a review) but keep in mind that a forced review isn't all that useful anyway and such a demand is more likely to turn people away from your story - and from reviewing. I know we all love feedback, it's great to have, but don't badger or beg for it. It's unbecoming the mature author.

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