The Fanfic Writers' Craft

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about writing dark stuff. Topics that involve wars, deaths, assaults, and all those very nice things that often give rise to trigger-warnings. They discuss why writers are drawn to tackling these issues, the cathartic experience of writing and/or reading through trauma, and the boundaries they may set for themselves when they write the...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) interviews @btelling, also known as Nargles15 on Ao3, author of the brilliant Harry Potter AU fanfic, The Squib . They talk about being in the online fanfiction trenches of the late 2000s, and @btelling’s love for writing what she calls “dystopian hellscapes”. They discuss the appeal of writing about the post-war Harry Potter world, and the reasons they are both d...

In this episode, Lani (@copper-dust) interviews author and multimedia artist @rosalui. They talk about Rosa’s work in a huge number of fandoms featuring anything from fake newspaper articles to academic pastiches. Rosa talks about the appeal of non-conventional storytelling and the draw of writing pieces because you can’t find them anywhere else. This is a short episode, but a very sweet one, whic...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about outgrowing fandoms. More specifically, about a Tumblr post by the writer @annerbhp regarding her vision of what it means to “outgrow” (or not) a fic or a fandom, and the relationship we might have had with it. Lani and Jo discuss what makes them obsessed with a particular piece of media enough to write about it, but also what mak...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and her wonderful guest, @celestemagnoliathewriter talk about smut. A fic genre in and of itself, generally encompassing what is known to the rest of the world as erotica, smut is an integral part of fanfiction writing and culture online. They discuss the purpose of writing smut, the different kinds of smut and the appeal it can have for some of us who don’t neces...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) do a 2022 fanfiction wrap-up. They look back on the year they’ve just had, talk about their feelings about fanfiction and fandom in general, and answer some of your questions about their personal favourites. Lani tells us about the impact the pandemic had on her writing and Jo gets fairly emotional answering one of the questions we received...

In this episode, as suggested by a Tumblr anon , Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) talk about humour in fanfiction and, more specifically, how to write comedy without being cringey? Not just for crack fics, but also how to write something that’s supposed to be funny and that also has a plot.  They dive into the question of what a crack fic even is, as well as the cultural specificities that...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) sits down for a chat with a lovely guest and fantastic writer, @ala_baguette. They talk about writing very similar fics in the same Harry Potter niche, both covering a similar time period, similar themes, and which seem to have similar audiences. They discuss @ala_baguette’s love for OCs and "Gen" fanfiction, as well as her determination to break the fanfic “stigm...

In this episode, in honour of Remembrance Day, Lani (@copper-dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) have a chat about war. Specifically, they discuss how to research war, write war, and explore the aftermath of war in fanfiction. They talk about what they find interesting about it, what drives them to write about it, and how they use these armed conflict situations to paint a picture of the broader world we l...

In this episode, Lani (@copper-dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) talk about writing routines and habits. They chat about when they write, for how long, what tools they use and what they wish they could change about their writing “bad” habits. They discuss the feasibility of writing day, whether or not they find it easier to work on multiple projects at the same time, and the struggles that sometimes exis...

In this episode, @copper_dust (“Lani”) interviews two wonderful guests about the use and integration of multimedia in fanfiction, and storytelling in general. With @crazybutgood (“CBG”), she explores the presence of origami and paper art in fandom, and discusses CBG’s creations and inspirations, as well as her collaborations with other artists and writers. @newsom (“Ruby”) later joins to discuss h...

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand)discuss point of view, a topic which was requested by one of our listeners, @turanga4. They explore the different types of point of view that exist in narration, the choices writers make in deciding to tell stories from a particular perspective, and debate the dreaded concept of head-hopping. They also touch on the sensitive subject of secon...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) sits down for a chat with wonderful guest and long-time fandom friend, Tess (@tessiete). They talk about meeting online ten years ago on the The Good Wife fandom, about quasi-stalking their favourite writers and about their experiences moving from small fandoms to huge fandoms - in Jo's case, Harry Potter, and in Tess's case, Star Wars .  They explore Tess’s work...

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to discuss the ins and outs of writing dialogue and finding your character’s voice. We talk about monologues, about the hardship of not having professional actors reading the lines we write, working on dialect, and letting go of expectations of perfection. Lani also introduces us to some of her favourite television pieces and tells...

In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) sits down with a guest, Barbie (@venom0usbarbie), to discuss her experience going from writing original fiction to fanfiction, as well as a topic that is of great interest to both of them: writing in a second language. Barbie is French and writes both in her native language, and in English. In this episode, she and Jo explore the reasons why they, just like so man...

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to debate the use of the present tense as a main narrative tense in fanfiction, and its opposition to the more 'traditional' past tense. They discuss the prevalence of this 'trend' in young adult original fiction in recent years, and why they believe it permeated fanfiction in the mid to late 2000s. Jo defends her love for the pres...

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to chat about the portrayal of romantic relationships in fanfiction, also known as “shipping”. They discuss the importance of romance in fandom, the high popularity of gay pairings in fanfiction (especially male/male pairings), and debate what they believe even qualifies as “romantic” in writing. Lastly, they talk about writing non...

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) talk about original characters in fanfiction. They discuss how they come up with them, how they name them, the purpose they can serve in fanfiction, and touch upon the somewhat controversial subject of self-inserts and "Mary Sues." They also talk about the differences between fanfiction and original fiction when it comes to writing characte...

In this episode, Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down to chat about how they come up with new ideas for fanfic, their relationship to plotting and outlines, how they usually try and dig themselves out of plot holes, and the value of getting comments from their readers as they go along. They also go on a rather long tangent about a condition Jo has, called “ aphantasia ,” and how that...

Lani (@copper_dust) and Jo (@pebblysand) sit down for a general chat about fanfiction, original fiction and the origins of the podcast. They discuss discovering fanfiction as kids with unsupervised internet access in the 2000s, what it means to write fanfiction as adults, and how blurry the line between fanfiction and original fiction can be. Your recommendations for this month are:  The Elements...