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Question about Fan Fiction?

I was wondering. I read a lot of fan fiction but I'm not exactly sure what some of the terms used to describe the stories mean. Could you help me out? Most ones are AU, Angst, One Shot, Slash, and Mary Sue.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: AU means "Alternative universe." It's a term used when you write "What if" stories. AU can also cover slash. (more on that later)

Angst has many meanings in fanfiction. In my opinion, it is most commonly used to categorize authors who like to write fics that contain violence and character torture. There are writers (I included) who only specify in writing angst in the fanfiction world. But it is different from teen angst--which is usually a story that complains, "My life is so horrible. My parents hate, everyone hates me," etc.

A oneshot is a another term for a short story--there is only one chapter, and usually no sequel or prequel follows the story.

Slash is using for pairing characters that are usually not paired in a particular book/movie/story. Slash fiction is usually homoerotic and is frequently rated R or NC-17 (To put it simply, they're romance stories). All slash can be considered AU, in my opinion. A PWP is a plotless slash story which is just one big sex scene.

An OC is an original character that an author creates for his/her own use.

Mary Sues are perfect OCs. They usually have:
-A tragic past
-Are very beautiful
-Have magical powers
-Are flawless
Probably Mary-Sues are the most hated original characters in fanfiction because they often steal a character's lines in a book or movie and they usually end up falling in love with/marrying their favorite characters. Usually, Mary Sue stories have poor spelling and grammar, as the authors are frequently teens who don't bother to check their story

SI means self-insert. The author becomes part of the story.

RPS means "Real person slash" Usually involves slashing famous actors. All RPS is AU.

Songfics are stories that revolve around a particular song. They are usually oneshots.

A beta, or beta-reader is someone who proofreads someone else's fanfiction and corrects any mistakes.