Glossary

Fanfiction – the broadest term covering all of the fan-produced textual works. Generally, it is when an author says “what if?” What if Harry Potter was a Slytherin? What if he joined Doctor Who on his adventures? What if they joined the Autobots and fought the Avengers? Fanfiction can deal with controversial such as abuse or under-examined issues such as asexuality. (It is ‘fanfiction’ whether singular or plural. This term refers to fanfiction in general, when talking of a single work, use ‘fanfic.’ Never ‘fanfictions’—it will make you sound out-of-touch.) E.g. The Harry Potter fandom produces the most fanfiction.

Fanfic – An individual fan-produced textual story, based on the characters or setting of an established work. Plural is ‘fanfics.’ Also shortens to ‘fic’ or ‘fics.’ E.g. I loved that Harry Potter/ Hermione Granger fanfic!

Crossover – When an author combines two different fandoms. An elaborate and popular example is SuperWhoLock, which combines Supernatural, Doctor Who, and BBC’s Sherlock. E.g. I liked when Optimus Prime saved Sailor Moon in your crossover ‘fic!

A/U or AU – Alternate Universe. Used to show a large divergence from canon. The plot will be very different from the original. This tag is not found very often anymore. E.g. This fic is AU because Harry Potter turned out to be a squib and was adopted by the Queen.

Beta Readers – A fellow fan who acts as an editor and proofreader. Can be a more experienced or adult writer, but there is no guarantee. Though it is difficult to gather statistics on the fanfiction community, experience has shown that they are often around the same age as the author.

Drabble – The fanfiction equivalent of a flash fiction. It is a very short snippet of a story that usually runs between 100 and 1000 words. These are often fluff.

Fluff – A lighthearted story about a happy or peaceful moment. Usually linked to romance, it often conveys a pairing’s happiness in domestic life. E.g. A fic where Harry makes Hermione a pot of tea while she’s hard at work and they smile tenderly at each other.

Crack – A fic where unpredictable and ridiculous situations are the modus operandi. E.g. Make A Wish by Rorschach’s Blot: Harry Potter receives a Make A Wish foundation pamphlet getting off of the train after fifth year. Deciding to live before he dies fighting Voldemort, he sets off on a backpacking trip of Europe. By the end of the third chapter, his alias is believed to be a secret agent better than Mad-Eye Moody. By the midpoint, his legend has ascended to become a 13,000 year-old dark lord who sank Atlantis and is trying to repent. By the end, he’s pretty much a god.

Canon – The official version of the story. E.g. Naruto’s father’s name is Minato. Hermione’s parents are never named.

Fanon – The generally accepted-to-be-true version made up by fans. E.g. Before the official release of Naruto’s dad’s name, fans generally agreed on Arashi. A popular fanon for Hermione’s parents’ names are Dan and Emma.

OTP – One True Pairing – A fan’s favorite pairing, preferred over any other pairing. E.g. I like Harry/Ginny and Harry/Hermione, but Harry/Luna is my OTP.

Slash – A term that has evolved to refer to a gay primary romance. Lesbian romance is more usually called ‘femslash’ or ‘femmeslash’ (usually the former due to character constraints in summary fields. This term originally referred to the slash that is used to tag the characters in any pairing, but now generally only refers to male/male relationships. E.g. I recently read a fic that explored John and Sherlock’s first kiss!

Pairing – A romantic and/or sexual relationship. Also called a ‘ship.’ Each fandom will likely have single-word designators created by mashing the characters’ names together to refer a certain pairing. E.g. Johnlock, Dramione, Destiel.

PWP – Porn Without Plot. Contains explicit sex. This is a tag to be highly aware of when directing teens towards fanfics. No examples.