Reading slash is fun. Writing slash is even more fun. When you write slash, the characters are all yours, and you can make them do whatever you want. What could be better than that?
There's a difference, though, between slash and fantasy. Fantasy is for your own private entertainment. Slash fics, if you post them somewhere, are meant to entertain other people as well. This is where craftsmanship comes in. A well-crafted story is more interesting, more convincing, and more sexy than a poorly crafted one.
"Craftsmanship" is a term I like, because it implies care, attention to detail, and practice. Writing is like playing basketball or driving or singing or any other skill: the more you work at it, the better you'll get. And slash is too much fun not to try to do it better.
What follows are my suggestions for writing good slash. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I am someone who tries to write well and who has made her share of mistakes (and who's darned opinionated, but we'll leave that topic for another time).
PLOT
How Much?
Plot is the backbone of the story: without plot, you've got a limp mess. This doesn't mean that every story has to involve battling demons or saving the world. Sometimes the plot is simpler and more character-focused. Maybe you just want to write about how Spike realizes it's actually Xander, not Buffy, that he loves. But unless you're writing a PWP, something should happen that affects your characters. They should be different at the end than they were at the beginning.
Effective Plotting
Clarity and structure are key. Don't stuff your story so full of plot that the reader gets confused. In general, you should be able to express your plot in a sentence: When Buffy is kidnapped by Drusilla, Spike and Xander must work together to rescue her, and along the way they fall in love. It's often a good idea to outline your plot in detail before you write, so you can remember what happens in what order.
Plot and Canon
How you deal with canon is pretty much up to you. You can ignore it completely by setting your story in an alternate universe; you can change it (with caution) to fit your needs; or you can follow it and work your story around it. If you are using canon in your story, though, be sure to get it right. Check the shooting scripts or episode summaries to get the details right. It's embarrassing to make a major canon error in a story. Trust me, I know.
CHARACTERS
Development vs. Distortion
To write slash is to change the characters. All the male characters are shown as straight in canon (with the possible exceptions of Andrew and Ethan).
On the other hand, we write fanfiction because we love the characters. So the goal is to deepen and develop the characters without changing them out of all recognition. In your writing you can fill in their backgrounds and explore their emotions in more depth than is possible on the show.
Staying in Character
It's important to keep your characters consistent in their behavior. Giles doesn't normally hang out at the Bronze; Xander doesn't study Latin; Spike doesn't frolic with cute little puppies. If you need them to do these things in your story, you'd better explain, convincingly, why they're doing it. Or rewrite to get Spike away from those puppies.
Dialogue and Voice
Most of the characters have very distinctive speech patterns. Study them. Watch the episodes and read the scripts until you can hear their voices in your head as you write. This will ensure that the dialogue in your story fits the way the characters really talk. Beware of stereotyping, though. It's easy to turn Xander into a babbling idiot or Giles into an upper-class twit if you're not careful.
Bodies
Details like height and build may seem minor, but it's good to get them right. Pay attention to things like who's taller than whom. If, for some reason, you want Oz to kiss Riley, remember that Oz would have to stand on a box. And be realistic about how characters are built. Spike is thin, but he's certainly not delicate.
This brings me to one of my pet peeves: turning the characters into pin-ups or porn stars. Not all of the guys (I'm thinking particularly of Giles here, and also post-high-school Xander) can reasonably be described as having six-pack abs and firm tight bottoms. And that's okay. Real bodies, with real flaws, can be sexier than porn clichés. And I think it adds emotional depth to acknowledge that the characters have imperfections.
EMOTIONS
Show, Don't Tell
It's a writer's cliche, but a good one: show, don't tell. If Spike is ambivalent about his new relationship with Xander, do your best to show that conflict through his behavior. Maybe he says mean things, or doesn't turn up when he's supposed to, or pursues another love interest. What he shouldn't do, in a good story, is think "Boy, am I ever ambivalent about my new relationship with Xander." Subtlety, indirection, and detail are your friends.
Heart-to-Heart Chats
This is another of my pet peeves, so take this comment for what it's worth. Long heart-to-hearts generally are not that interesting to read, and often they seem unrealistic. Do people ever really understand and express their feelings that clearly, outside of couples therapy? There's a gender issue, as well. Men, even relatively enlightened ones, will usually run a mile to avoid a heart-to-heart chat. If possible, it's best to find other ways to resolve conflicts.
I don't mean that characters should never talk about their feelings. But try to write such scenes realistically, with the genuine misunderstandings and problems that happen in those circumstances. And brevity is definitely the soul of wit in the heart-to-heart.
The Schmoop Factor
We all love romance. Overdosing on sugar, though, is no fun. Try to keep the schmoopiness to a reasonable level. No one cuddles all the time, no matter how in love, and couples seldom start making lifetime plans right after they first have sex. If someone did that to you, wouldn't you be scared rather than pleased?
Too much schmoop is the enemy of effective romance. If your characters are always giving each other flowers and promises of eternal devotion, the reader will stop noticing. And don't forget about your characters' basic personalities and histories in the pursuit of romance. Even the nicest bunch of roses probably wouldn't stop Xander and Spike from bickering about what to watch on TV.
SEX
What's Interesting About Sex?
It's usually not very compelling to read a sex scene that's just a long list of who did what. ("Xander kissed Spike's earlobes . . . and then sucked his nipples . . . and then . . . and then . . ."). Unless you've got them hanging from the chandeliers, the mechanics of sex are pretty much always the same. Porn movies are all about the mechanics, and that's why porn is often boring.
What's interesting is what the characters are feeling, physically or emotionally. What does it feel like for Xander to give a blow job for the first time? Is he excited? Nervous? Embarrassed? Does his jaw hurt? When Spike returns the favor, how does his mouth feel to Xander? What's the sensation of sex with a room-temperature body? These feelings are infinitely variable, depending on the characters and the situation, and they make a sex scene worth reading.
Sex Research
If, like many slash writers, you're a woman, you should do enough research that you can write gay sex—including sexual positions and male sexual response--realistically. You don't want to find out afterwards that your scene is anatomically impossible.
Similarly, if you want to write kink (such as bondage or S&M) know whereof you speak. Find some websites. Know the names of the different toys, the protocols for a dungeon, and all the other details that will make your story convincing.
Is That A Proud Manhood In Your Pocket?
Romance novels and other popular erotica are filled with euphemistic clichés like "throbbing member," "proud manhood," "take me," and on and on endlessly. These phrases make me laugh. I think a sex scene that calls a spade a spade, and a cock a cock, is far more exciting than one filled with euphemisms, and can be every bit as romantic and tender. Please don't write "throbbing member." Please.
GOOD WRITING BASICS
Grammar, Spelling, Clarity
Nothing detracts from a story more than mistakes in grammar and spelling. If you're not sure of the difference between "it's" and "its" or "affect and "effect" (or, for that matter, "prostate" and "prostrate"), go look it up. Invest in a good grammar handbook and a dictionary, and use them. And, whether or not you're good at spelling, get a beta reader.
Even sentences that are grammatically correct can be confusing. Make sure that your sentences are properly structured and that it's always clear what you're talking about. A grammar handbook will help with these issues too.
Clarity problems can crop up in other places as well. For example, in long sections of dialogue, make sure the reader knows who's speaking.
The Curse of the Epithet
For some reason, a lot of fanfic writers shy away from using the characters' names. Instead of "Wesley handed Angel the book," they write "The English ex-Watcher handed the dark-haired, souled vampire the book."
There is no reason to do that. We already know that Wesley is an Englishman and an ex-Watcher, and that Angel has dark hair and a soul. So why bring it up?
Epithets seem to crop up a lot during sex scenes, where they're distracting and sometimes comical: "'Harder, harder,' cried the platinum-blond vampire, craving the feel of the one-eyed former construction worker's throbbing member."
My guess is that this happens because writers are worried about pronoun confusion in a sex scene with more than one "he." But if you construct your sentences carefully and use names when necessary, pronoun confusion shouldn't be a problem.
It's best to avoid epithets unless you have absolutely no choice.
Originality of Expression
One of the nicest things to find in slash, or in any kind of fiction, is a phrase that just blows you away. A really good story has nuanced word choices, sharp-edged dialogue, and unexpected metaphors that make you think about a character or a situation in new ways. Saying that Xander's eyes are "chocolate brown" is boring. It's been said before. Saying that his eyes are "the deep warm brown of roasted chestnuts" is a little better.
Now the bad news. Seldom, if ever, does the muse just drop the perfect phrase in a writer's lap. These things have to be worked at. As you revise (yes, you should always revise) ask yourself: How could I say that better? Is that exactly the word I want? How could I make this sentence fresh and new? You'll find you nearly always can.
Revision
First drafts are crap. They meander, they don't get points across very well, they're stuffed full of clichés. First drafts are depressing.
That's why you have to revise. When you re-read your story with a critical eye, you find the clichés, the unclear moments, the continuity errors, the problems in characterization. And then you can fix them.
Don't be afraid to revise big. Sometimes whole chunks of story have to be thrown out. Sometimes you need to completely rearrange the plot. Sometimes the whole thing goes in the wrong direction and you have to start again. But your story will be better for it in the end.
It's best to let a draft sit for a couple of days before you start revising. That way you come to it fresh and are more able to see its problems.
There's no set number of revisions that you should go through. You're done revising when the story is as good as you can possibly make it. At a minimum, though, you should revise twice and then send the story to a beta reader.
FINAL WORDS
Writing slash is, literally, a labor of love. We don't get rich or famous doing it. Our reward is the feedback we get from readers, and the satisfaction of producing a good story. That's what makes all the effort worthwhile.
Now go and write.
Date: Fall 2003
Notes: This was originally written for the website of the yahoo group Slashaholics, although it never actually got posted there (I don't know why, since I sent it in). Since I was directing this essay to a general boyslash audience, I used very un-Kit-like pairings such as Spike/Xander as examples. I no longer agree with everything I said in this piece (the bit about what "men" say and do makes me cringe a little bit), but there's enough potentially useful writing advice that I've decided to let it stay on my site.
Essays Index