Writing a Harry Potter Fanfic

Tutorial to writing a Harry Potter fanfic.

When writing a Harry Potter fanfic, it's best to realize things you'll need first. A pencil, a pen, a notebook or something to write in, an open mind, patience, dedication, and time. Why would you need both a pencil and a pen? One is for writing and one is for correcting.

Before you start to write, you need to make a plan, have materials for research, and knowledge of Harry Potter. Brainstorming is a great way to pan out a plot for your story.

Answer these questions:

What Era?

You'll need to realize where you want to have your story in the Potterverse. Founders Era, Marauder Era, Pre-Hogwarts, Trio's first year-seventh year, Post-Hogwarts, and more.

Genre?

You'll need to figure out what kind of story it is, such as comedy, romance, angst, horror, action, adventure, drama, songfic, and more!

Characters?

Founders, Trio, Marauders, Death Eaters, Neville, OC. (See Vocabulary.)

Pairings?

H/Hr, Dramione, RonHermione, RonLuna, HermioneViktor, HermioneSnape, HarryGinny, JamesLily, GodricHelga, TomHermione, and more. Yes, some of these are odd, but it's always interesting to do a different type of Ship.

Major Problem?

Harry's turned evil, Hermione's being abused, Draco and Hermione are in love and are alienated from their houses, the War, Harry dies, Voldemort wins, you name it.

How long do you want the story to be?

One-Shot, Novel, Two-Shot, Series, Short Story, and of course more.

And those are just a few questions you may think about.

You may also want your story to be AU. You could have Harry and Draco be brothers, Harry be a girl, and yes there's more.

After having your story down, you may want to submit it online. When submitting it online, you need to make sure your story has followed the rules of the website, and has disclaimers. Harry Potter is not your property, unless you are J.K. Rowling. If you are, I'd love to meet you. Anyways, always make sure you've spellchecked, grammar checked, reread three times what you are submitting.

Things readers hate:

- A lot of spelling mistakes.

- Word order doesn't make sense.

- Getting very interested in a story and finding out it's been abandoned.

- A lot of gruesome obscene pieces if they hadn't been warned.

- Boring stories.

Ways to avoid:

-Reread your submission, spellcheck it, grammar check it, reread it again, and then either reread it for a third time, or give it to someone else to check.

-Make time to update your story.

-Never write something you wouldn't want to show your parents, your pastor, your teacher, etc. unless you put up a warning. We wouldn't want an eight-year-old reading adult content!

-Read reviews to see what your readers advise.



Vocabulary:

AU- (Alternate Universe) Does not follow the books.

OC- (Own Character or Original Character) A made up character.

Dramione, D/Hr, DMHG- Draco and Hermione pairing.

Harmony, H/Hr, HPHG- Harry and Hermione pairing.

Ship, Shipper- Relationship or Pairing.

Shipper- Some one who supports a relationship.

Fanon- Fan Ship

Canon- By the books relationship.

OOC- (Out Of Character) Not the way the character would usually act. Like Snape giving Gryffindor 1,000 house points.

Now you are ready to plunge yourself into the world of Harry Potter and enjoy.