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This is the handy-dandy guide to fanfiction on the web. If you had a few questions pertaining to what exactly everything is, look no further. Got a question that's not answered here? E-mail it.


What is fanfiction? Any story written about an existing TV show, book, movies, comic, etc. without permission from the original creators or intention of profit. Also known as fanfics, fics.

What are the different types of fanfiction? Fanfics are usually categorized into several types:

  • alternate universe: All fictional settings and the variants thereof are said to take place in alternate universes, as if they're actually real but can't be seen or reached except by the imagination -- or by crossovers. This type is abbreviated to AU or A/U.
  • angst: Refers to the emotional wounds suffered and/or borne by a character.
  • challenge: Someone puts forth an idea for others to write about; in other words, daring folks to rise to the "challenge". Anyone who likes the idea responds with a story about it. A challengefic is the responding fic.
  • continuation: A fanfic which follows on from the end of a particular event, ie. an episode or scene left hanging.
  • crossover: A story which converges two separate fandoms, ie. Dark Angel/Buffy.
  • darkfic: A story putting a large amount of death/pain/trauma on the characters. Often involve character death(s).
  • filk: A fandom-oriented rewriting or parody of an existing song, using the same tune but new words.
  • fluff: lighthearted, inconsequential; related to a sillyfic, but more cute than humorous.
  • PWP: "Plot? What Plot?" or "Porn Without Plot"; a story which was written purely for the sake of creating pointless sexual escapades.
  • round robin: A story written in installments by various writers.
  • sillyfic: A story written to be lighthearted and "silly"; often bizarre and hilarious or just plain ridiculous.
  • slash: A story involving romantic or sexual involvement between two characters of the same gender.
  • songfic: A story inspired by and based entirely around the lyrics of a song.
  • vignette: A very short story dealing with a single brief period of time, a single subject (an event, an emotion, a relationship, etc.), and often only a single character.


How are fanfics rated? Always by content. The ratings system usually goes as follows:
  • G: Good clean fun for all ages.
  • PG: Mild implied sexual innuendo, mild bad words, or violence or semi-serious topics.
  • PG-13: Some violence, bad language, obvious sexual innuendo, implied sexual relations.
  • R: Mature topics such as suicide, homosexuality, drug/alcohol advocacy, rape aftermath, details of childbirth, just-short-of-explicit sex, graphic torture or violence, rape. Not recommended for anyone underage.
  • NC-17: Pornographic sex, explicit erotica, excessively gory violence. Often illegal for underage readers.


What goes in a standard fanfic header? This is best shown by example.
TITLE: Obviously, the title of the fic.
AUTHOR: Author's name, often the name by which they want their fics to be known.
RATING: The general reading audience rating (see above).
SPOILERS: If any, it should say up to what point the reader should have viewed the show; often includes time frame of fic.
PAIRINGS: If romantic at all in nature, lists the couples to which to look forward.
FEEDBACK: If the writer wants responses to his/her fic, which is 99.9% of the time, he/she says so.
DISTRIBUTION: Where the fic is being archived or where to write to request permission to archive.
DISCLAIMER: General yapping about the characters and whatnot belonging to someone else and that no harm was intended nor any profits being made; always with a statement of ownership regarding the original stuff created by the author.
SUMMARY: Self-explanatory; a short sum-up of the story, hopefully not giving the entire store away.
AUTHOR'S NOTE(S) or A/N: Specific notes about the fic by the author; often has dedications or thank-yous.


If you've read all of this, you are now well-schooled in the world of fanficdom. If you decide to write your own fanfics, more power to you. There are tons of sites out there loaded with helpful tips and hints as well as flat-out instruction. The Craft of Writing is pretty excellent as far as writing skills alone goes. If ever you're in search of information, Bartleby.com is the place to go; it's a true reference site. Should you have any serious questions about certain concepts behind BtVS, please visit All Things Philosophical on BtVS; you could not ask for a better breeding ground for thought. If you're seeking a little bit of background support, the strange but occasionally useful Online Symbolism Distionary can be a helpful tool. And of course, for the be-all, end-all source of Buffy-help, there's always The Buffy Shooting Script Site, which should be bookmarked by all good BtVS and AtS fans.


If you have any questions or comments, or if you'd like to make a suggestion for this page, please don't hesitate to e-mail Kordy.

© 2001 deanwhytes