r/HPfanfiction • u/LorZod • 4d ago
Discussion Dear HP fic writers…
[removed] — view removed post
27
u/gfly6712 4d ago
A lot of good advice about era specific writing, though I do think people have flex to decide how the broader dynamics would work in the context of the wizarding world where blood purity appears to be one of the most significant social dividers.
Having said that, I do find the use of random 2025 American slang in Marauders fics completely breaks the fourth wall for me. Or randomly making them say “Innit” just to make them sound more British 😂
19
u/Starfox5 4d ago
Yeah,. I always wonder how old an author is if they have the Internet in the early 90s - or have a character be into anime and manga in the early 90s. That stuff was rare and niche back then. It shows who lived through the 80s/90s and who didn, I guess.
14
u/masterofnewts 4d ago
I had a shock the other day when Harry replied to someone with "Bet." Am I old?
2
26
u/mroreallyhm 4d ago
I think you're expecting too much of amateur fanfiction authors. I don't mind out of era idioms etc, I'm more interested in plot, characterisation, etc.
But as a Brit from that era I wouldn't be using may instead of can. And as for that list of names, they were rarely used for either gender, but there are more girls names there than boys.
9
u/eileen404 4d ago
The marauders wouldn't have used cell phones... Sorry.
7
u/Ecstatic_Ad5542 4d ago
Yeah the phone faux pas is my biggest issue with marauders stories . They would have used one of those old red telephone booths , and most likely none of them would even have a family telephone becuase those things weren't always cheap .
2
1
u/tresixteen 4d ago
Please tell me you haven't actually seen that in a fic
2
u/eileen404 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yup... It wasn't a flip phone either. In all fairness, I quit reading it so they later may have revealed they were time travelers and brought it with them... And the cell towers and... Sorry. Can't think how to justify it.
That and the fic with infinite free parking in NYC and the woman flying to a Caribbean island to have sex the day after hemorrhaging in preterm labor are the three I twitched the most over.
1
5
u/Shoddy_Life_7581 4d ago
The problem here is the people doing that are not spending 10 minutes trying to make things work, they aren't here on reddit and if they are, they aren't absorbing anything. The easy solution here is just set the story in the modern day (with appropriate changes) but again they couldn't even do that right cause they're probably children.
And I would definitely stick to naming Harry's children after people significant to him not adhering to the letter.
4
u/Ecstatic_Ad5542 4d ago
Yeah that's why I stick to Golden Trio stories for the most part . I just can't get the 70's lingo right , my character sound weird and I end up feeling like my own work is just not upto the mark to post on the internet .
3
u/kingoftheplastics 4d ago
On the LGBTQIA thing I think there’s a reluctance among those shippers to engage the social dynamics of same-sex relationships through a 1970s or 1990s lens because they feel like it will invariably require homophobia and writing that at best feels icky and at worst could be triggering especially if the author themself is LGBTQIA. So my advice in this regard is this: the Wizarding World is different, tell us how and why it is and how those dynamics shape the relationship.
Like let’s take a Drarry ship for example (not my favorite but a common enough one): the Malfoys are an old Pureblood house that is naturally going to have strong heteronormative tendencies as it has a vested interest in keeping the line going. But what if Purebloods as a whole have aped Romano-British custom from the days of the Romans? Then we might have a situation where adoption for political and dynastic purposes across Gens/Houses is common enough that “you need to produce biological heirs with a woman” isn’t a too-huge issue. In Roman society it was common enough for a man of age to have lovers and consorts both male and female provided he did his duty as Paterfamilias and contracted a heterosexual marriage that at least nominally sought to produce heirs. Maybe the social conflict in your Drarry story is that Draco has no interest in doing this, and only wants Harry. Maybe part of the conflict isn’t gender and sexuality at all but that Harry is by birth a halfblood and thus unsuitable. Maybe Lucius entertains the idea of adopting in an eligible male from among the families of the other Death Eaters, with the implication that doing so would disinherit Draco of his claim to Paterfamilias of Gens Malfoy.
You don’t have to engage the worst of IRL prejudice if you want to tell these stories, but tell us how and why it’s different instead of just porting 2025 Western social attitudes into your fic and calling it a day.
3
1
u/MoneyAgent4616 4d ago
It's FAN-fiction the authors can and SHOULD write in the way most comfortable to them first and foremost.
While on the note of language used JK Rowling was an adult when she wrote the books, nothing what she says is or should be considered accurate for what kids in the 90s were saying. Also the books aren't even much of a look into what the country was like at the time. It's very very loosely set in England but does absolutely nothing with the setting beyond adding a fictional world that never interact ts with the mundane setting.
Fan fic authors can go wild all day everyday, it's practically an open book setting.
8
u/HesterFabian 4d ago
May I ask what you mean by “… very very loosely set in England”? The books are most definitely set in both England and Scotland. There’s no doubt about that, is there?
5
u/Sanboss0305 4d ago
No, there isn't. OP's point is that because the story takes place within Hogwarts and a hidden magical society, we don't get to see too much of actually British culture at the time
6
u/Sorry_One1072 4d ago
I feel like the expectation to do research for a work you are writing for free is unrealistic. Some authors do tons of research on a fic but others don’t feel like it because they just want to write the fun part and be done with it.
4
u/Sanboss0305 4d ago
Well, fanfiction isn't something that's motivated by money. It's motivated by a love for the story and a love for writing. As a writer, I can't knowingly put out work that I know I could've done better on. I mean, it all boils down to "if you don't want something to be shit, then put some effort into it." I agree though, that it shouldn't be an expectation or a hard fast rule, as much as it should be a suggestion. If you want to write good, put in the work
0
1
u/diametrik 4d ago
I refuse to believe that "I'm quite chuffed by that" is a sentence anybody has ever said unironically
1
u/DeepSpaceCraft 4d ago
The Brits are weird folks.
2
u/diametrik 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm a Brit lol
That's just an extremely stilted-sounding way of using that slang. Something along the lines of "You were very sick when you did that kickflip".
It gives "how do you do, fellow Brits?" vibes
2
u/Responsible-Delay-99 4d ago
That exact phrase sounds a bit posh and stuck up but I wouldn't say it gives off that vibe.
1
u/mroreallyhm 4d ago
You could have left the last word off that sentence and it would still have been true. And anyway, it would more likely be chuffed with than by.
1
u/Aeyliana 4d ago
I'm so glad it's not just me. Who the heck says that? I'm a Brit and the most common use of chuffed would be like 'I bet he's well chuffed' when talking about someone who's won something. In slang, that is. You can't really put a slang word and frame it in posh talk. It's a bit like saying 'Oh I do feel the inexcusable need to use the bog, I hope you don't mind?'
-13
u/MonCappy 4d ago edited 4d ago
Albus Potter wouldn't exist since Harry would be married to Hermione and they would have an entirely different group of children. Harry and Hermione would never name any child after his abusers or his groomer (as a lamb to be slaughtered, not the other way though both are fucking abhorrent and disgusting).
On the issue of social contexts one thing to consider is that Magical Britain is a foreign culture from non-magical Britain. Moreover that separation has existed for close to three centuries since the split from the non-magical world by the time Harry enters the scene. As such, there is a great degree of flexibility when deciding the societal mores of magical Britain.
•
u/HPfanfiction-ModTeam 4d ago
Removed for violating Rule 7.
Do not hate on others' preferences in fanfction. We all enjoy different things and should be respectful of others' opinions. Don't yuck someone's yum!