The Fan Fiction Lexicon
Many definitions vary depending on who you ask…these definitions are based on what I’ve found through my own experience, so many of the examples and fandom-specific terms come from the fandoms I peruse the most. Links to other Lady A Pages are denoted with a star (*). Comments? Corrections? Need an unlisted word defined? Drop me a line.

!:

yes, even punctuation makes it into the Fan Fiction Lexicon. “!” is sometimes inserted between an adjective (or noun) and the name of a character it describes; the adjective describes the mood or type of the character…mostly a silly thing. When discussing adaptations, you could compare Book!Hornblower with Movie!Hornblower. In the land of Harry Potter, once a month kind, patient Professor Lupin transforms into Wolf!Lupin. You get the picture.

Angst:

a fic centering around the dark-and-tortured-ness of one or more characters. Pretty self-explanatory.

Archive:

an online (most of the time) collection of fan fiction.

AU (Alternate Universe):

precise definitions vary. Basically, an AU is a “what if?” fic, in which the author speculates on what would happen if certain events happened differently than described in the canon. A common example is an AU in which a character who dies in canon is portrayed as still alive (with no explanation)-—the opposite of a Deathfic. As well, some consider stories to be AU in which the author ingeniously invents a way to explain how a character who is assumed dead in canon was really alive and faking it all along—it depends on how you look at it: if you think that because it isn’t implicitly mentioned in the canon that the character is really, really, definitely dead, that it means there’s a chance they aren’t, then you might not consider those stories to be AU. However, if you think that because something wasn’t specifically mentioned in the canon, then it couldn’t have happened, you’ll probably think those stories are AU.

Beta:

a proofreader, critique partner, moral support…beta-readers are like fan fiction writing buddies—they read your stuff, you read theirs, you comment on it and encourage eachother…you get the idea.

Brigade:

an organized local group of Horatio Hornblower fans. Brigades are often groups of Hornblower fan friends who live somewhat close enough to meet on a regular basis. If the group wants to, they can proclaim themselves a Brigade, come up with a name, and offer to host events, from a fan convention or a fan gathering at a historic event to a movie-watching sleepover. example: In 2003, the Old Dominion Brigade hosted the annual North American Hornblower fan gathering in Norfolk.

Canon and Canon Character:

the original story, movie, song, poem, drawing, or other work upon which a fanfic is based; and, the characters from that original work. Generally the word “canon” is substituted for “original” when describing the “mother work,” since the widely accepted term OC, or original character, defines characters created by the fan fiction author, which did not exist in canon.

Challenge:

just that. An invitation for fan fiction writers to write a story following specifically laid out rules or centering around a certain event. For example, on Sarah B’s Hornblower fan fiction list, most holidays have a challenge—a Christmas challenge, a Halloween challenge, etc—in which all writers are invited to write stories about the characters and their feelings, actions, or reflections on the holiday, or fics describing supernatural or spiritual events that occur to the characters on that holiday… or, as is sometimes the case with some Halloween fics, simply to write a good fic to read on that holiday, such as one describing a creepy event. Some challenges are also referred to as drabbles. In Harry Potter, the Sugar Quill ladies sometimes refer to them as Tournaments.

Con:

a fan convention; a large gathering of fans, where fan fiction is exchanged, movies are watched, sites are seen, forums and discussions are held, and a good time is had by all.

Crossover:

a fic incorporating canon characters (and sometimes even OCs from AUs) from two or more fandoms.

Crumpeteer:

a fan of Archie Kennedy, a character in the Horatio Hornblower series.

Darkfic:

definitions vary. Can range from angsty to dark humor to just plain twisted.

Deathfic:

an AU fic in which a canon character dies when, in canon, they didn’t.

Delurk:

to come out of lurkdom; to start participating in discussions, writing fics, and reviewing after a period of silent reading. See Lurker.

Denial Fic:

an AU fic in which a well-loved character who dies in canon is inexplicably written as...not dead, even if all other details in the fic adhere to canon (which they may or may not do). Generally, it is said that the author of such a fic is in denial concerning the character's canon death; they refuse to belive that the character is dead.

Drabble:

I’ve seen this applied in many different ways. Generally, it’s a fan fiction challenge in which either: a)a story must be written that is exactly 100 words long, b)a story must be written with an exactly specified number of words, and sometimes c)a story must center around or use a certain number of times one specific word. I’ve also seen this term applied to any fan fiction challenge.

Fan Art:

fan-generated artwork incorporating characters, scenes, settings, or really anything else from a fandom. Artwork that is officially licensed by the owners of the copyrights to the canon world is not considered fan art by some (in other words, legit. book illustrations, and the artwork on legit. merchandizing are not fan art…they’re like an extension of canon to some fans, except that the visual portrayals they represent aren’t always adhered to as strictly as canon. Others just ignore the “official” art.). The official movie adaptations of books which already have a fandom (such as the Hornblower series and the Harry Potter movies) do not qualify as fan art, either, but whether or not they’re included in the perception of canon is up to the individual, depending on which version you like better—the books or the movies—or how long you’ve been writing/drawing fandom-inspired works before the movies came along. Some authors and artists incorporate both.

Fandom:

the fan following of a book, movie, series, author, artist, or anything that might inspire fannish behavior. The term fandom also applies to the fans themselves, their activies as fans, and the unique vocabulary, websites, and humor that the fans create.

Fan Fiction:

fiction written using the characters, situations, places, or universes created by a different author, usually written without the original author's permission. Fan fiction is, technically, illegal, as it is a violation of copyright, but most copyright-holding owners of the canon works upon which fan fiction is based ignore the writing of fan fiction, as it is generally harmless, usually not profitable monetarily, and, above all, virtually unstoppable.

Fanon:

“givens” about characters or universes that are created by fans but are accepted by some as extensions of the canon—some AUs become so large and wide-spread that the details they create for the characters (such as eye color or a first name) that weren’t specified in the canon become accepted as a substitute. Also, some authors refer to the details they’ve created in their own AUs (even if they aren’t widely read or written) as their personal fanon.

Fanzine:

in the fan fiction world, a magazine publishing fan fiction and fan art, usually limited to one fandom.

Femmeslash:

see Slash

FF.net:

FanFiction.net

Fic:

any piece of fan fiction.

Ficlet:

a very short fic.

Filk:

song parody relating to a fandom. Find out more about filks at: Filk FAQ

Flame and Flamer:

to rant about how bad a fic is, usually in a very mean-spirited or condescending manner. Flamers are people who write flame reviews of fics.

Fluff:

silly or sentimental romance/humor/anything. “If you’re allergic to fluff, don’t read [this]” –Pirate Perian

Gary Stu:

see Mary Sue

Group:

another word for List.

Gush:

generic fandom term—I guess it could be used in RL, but what would I know about RL? ha ha ha…anyway, to gush is to rave on about all the things you love about a particular thing. You can gush a character, the actor who plays them, a piece of fan art—really, just about anything. I’ve seen people get creative.

Het:

heterosexual. Probably used in RL too, but I figured I’d throw it in here, as it’s important in the explanation of slash.

HHAH:

Horatio Hornblower After Hours, an archive and fic list dedicated to het romances for a mature audience in the Hornblower fandom.

Horatian:

a fan of the Horatio Hornblower series.

List:

a listserv, or mailing list; often, fans create lists using Yahoo! Groups, with which they can create a group which members can use to send e-mails to all other members of the group and thus conduct discussions, post fics, and review fics. Some lists also have a separate archive of all the fics posted on the list.

Lurker:

a person who reads, but does not write, review, or participate in the discussion of fics on an active archive. Also applies to readers of similar nature on message boards and mailing lists. "A lurker lurks in lurkdom."

Mary Sue (and her male counterpart, Gary Stu):

Mary Sue and Gary Stu are names given to the female and male counterparts of a certain stereotypical fan fiction character. The exact identity of Mary Sue can be a rather sensitive subject among fan fiction writers. Generally, the following definitions apply, either individually or in combination:
a)blatant self-insertion (see SI)
b)the author’s idealized version of his- or herself: if the author doesn’t like her hair, her Mary Sue character will have wonderful, silky locks; if the author feels they aren’t a good singer, their Mary Sue character will be a virtuoso…etc.
c)a perfect, almost-flawless character that includes characteristics the author covets as well as other abilities, looks, and/or traits that make them just what everyone (fictional and RL) wants to be (or snog).

Readers and writers have many different opinions on Mary Sues. Some readers refuse to go near anything that vaguely resembles a Mary Sue; likewise, some authors will become extremely outraged if you accuse them of Mary Sue-age. On the other hand, some people just don’t care. I mean, after all, it’s just fan fiction…done in the spirit fun, and, to some extent for everyone, written to record fantasies about those characters, anyway. Some people believe that any OC is a Mary Sue to some extent—however, it is possible to apply Mary Sue-like qualities to canon characters, as well. For more on Mary Sue, see: Essay: Self-Insertion and Mary-Sue-ism

MST:

derived from the title of a popular TV show, Mystery Science Theater 3000, in which a very bad science fiction movie is shown and several regular characters are inserted in the foreground, watching it and making snarky comments. When an author writes an MST fic, they use a fic written by someone else, usually a fic the MST author doesn't like, and inserts snarky comments from the POV of the characters involved, most of the time along the lines of how OOC they're being written and what the characters would actually do in the given situation.

MWPP:

Harry Potter fic set around the Marauders: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs (Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter)

OC:

Original Character, a character which the fan fiction author has created, who doesn’t exist in canon.

One-shot:

a short story—in other words, a short fic which has no chapter divisions and is only one “post” long.

OOC:

Out-of-Character. When writing fan fiction, a lot of authors try to write the canon characters as close to their canon versions as possible, to explore exactly what that character might do in a given situation, had the author of the canon written a story along the lines of their fic. If a character is written OOC in a fic, that means that they do not adhere to the normal behavior or characteristics given to them in canon; however, some fans contend over the exact definition of "in-character behavior" if the situation represented by the fic may bring up certain aspects of a character's personality that, in canon, fans haven't seen yet.

OT:

Off-Topic. Often used on message boards and mailing lists in the heading of a post that strays from the subject the board or list was created to discuss.

POV:

Point Of View. A general writing term, as well…just figured I’d throw it in here.

PTP:

Pass-the-Pen, a fic written round-robin style by several authors.

Rating:

ratings are given to fics to indicate the nature of the content of the fic. Fic ratings follow the same guidelines as movie ratings, with the same abbreviations: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17. Many archives and lists require the inclusion of ratings with fic posts and submissions so that frequenters of the archive or list have a fair warning before plunging into a story that will involve a high amount of violence, sex, or anything else that might raise the rating. As well, some archives try to use the rating system to prevent younger readers from reading higher-rated fics; however, so far I haven't seen an effective system for screening out under-age audiences.

RL:

Real Life. Sometimes used in author’s notes, reviews, etc: “RL sucks” and “I wish he existed in RL” are somewhat common. Perhaps this explains the number of fan fiction writers…

RPG:

Role Playing Game. This is a type of fan fiction that’s written in a sort-of pass the pen style. Writers sign up as the character they’d like to “play,” or create OC’s to become in the game. Like a pass the pen, authors take turns writing their parts, but they don’t have to be the usual chapter-length, and the parts are written in first-person from the POV of that author’s character. The authors create a story together this way, writing mostly for their own characters but interacting with all the others in a larger plot (it’s sometimes considered good manners not to dictate too aggressively what other people’s characters are doing in the parts you write, unless you’ve talked it over with them, because you don’t want to take over their character).

R&R:

“[please] Read and Review” (I’d like to imagine fanfic writers as a very polite folk.)

Ships and Shipper:

this is a term that I’ve only seen (so far) in the Harry Potter fandom. A ’ship (relationship) is a romantic pairing of two canon characters—it can be het or slash. Shippers are writers and readers of a particular ship—like the Ron/Hermione ship or the Remus/Sirius ship.

SI:

Self-Insertion. A fic in which the author makes him- or herself a character in their own story. Some people consider every SI author to be guilty of a Mary Sue (or Gary Stu), but the authors of SI fics (I’m one of them…so, in our defense!) don’t always necessarily write themselves as Mary Sues according to the other stipulations of her definition. Sometimes, we are honest. ^_^

Slash:

a romantic pairing of two male canon characters. Likewise, Femmeslash is a romantic pairing of two female canon characters. Allegedly, the name of this subgenre comes from the way slash stories were originally denoted back in the Star Trek days—the two characters’ names with a “/” in between. While many slash pairings are still indicated that way, a lot of het pairings are also written that way; as well, many crossover writers indicate the fandoms they’re crossing over with a slash (I’ve written a Hornblower / Indiana Jones story…it just means I’ve crossed them over, not that I’ve got them shagging). So, really, it’s just confusing. But, it gets even better! Other slash stories are indicated with a “x” between the characters’ names; once again, the same applies to some het stories, as well. Other times, pairings of the slash and het varieties are indicated by writing the characters’ names right next to each-other without a space, or by doing so with their initials. Therefore, if I wanted to write a slash story about Horatio and Archie, I could indicate it using the following methods: Horatio/Archie (the “traditional” way), HoratioxArchie, HoratioArchie, HHAK, or HA. Likewise, if I wanted to write a het story about Ron and Hermione, I could show it the same exact ways: Ron/Hermione, RonxHermione, RonHermione, RWHG, or RH.

Smutfic:

if you can’t figure out what this means by the name, then perhaps you aren’t old enough to be reading it…the term smutfic generally delineates fics of a racy nature. Fics with ratings of R and NC-17 in which characters have sex—lots of it—graphically described. Be careful how you use this term…not everyone appreciates having their writing called smutfic. Then again, some take it all in good stride; in the words of the immortal Juliet (author of The Hunt), “Yes, but it’s TASTEFUL smut!”

Songfic:

a fic that resembles a written-down music video. The words of a pre-existing song are interspersed with lines of fan fiction prose…supposedly, you can imagine hearing the song in your head while visualizing the scene described.

WIP:

Work In Progress; usually, a chaptered fic, which the author has begun posting, but has not completed as of the time of posting the first chapter(s). Some readers prefer to avoid WIPs, as you never know whether or not the author will just abandon the fic and never finish it.

Yaoi:

Slash.

Yuri:

Femmeslash.

Zine:

e-zine, or online magazine. Many fanzines have now converted from print form to zine form, although even those are becoming more rare in the face of wide-spread internet archives.