Yogurt_The_Cow
Farmer
So yeaaa! As you guys know I've tried to make SDV fanfics… and they suck. What are you guys’ tips for fanfics
(IDK where to post this) SDV Fanfic Tips
- Thread starter Yogurt_The_Cow
- Start date
Terdin
Farmer
I'm approaching fanfic writing from a novel-writing perspective.
I guess my tip is to have a starting point or situation, a fair idea of the personality of the main character, some of the challenges they'll face, and some idea of where/how you want the story to end up.
Knowing what genre you're aiming for can help with one or more of the above. Like, a Romance ends up with the MC and Love Interest in a Happily Ever After (or at least a Happy For Now). Just because it's a fanfic doesn't mean it won't belong to a genre.
You could look to various plotting methods to help you structure your fanfic. Myself, I pants (writing by the seat of my pants, aka improvising) close to the plotting beats of Save The Cat, so I can use that to describe where in the story I am. The important thing is to find a way that works for you.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it's often said that the first million words of story/novel writing are practice. Fanfic writing is often a starting point into writing stories. The only way to become better is to read a lot, analyze what you read to steal their techniques, and write a lot.
I guess my tip is to have a starting point or situation, a fair idea of the personality of the main character, some of the challenges they'll face, and some idea of where/how you want the story to end up.
Knowing what genre you're aiming for can help with one or more of the above. Like, a Romance ends up with the MC and Love Interest in a Happily Ever After (or at least a Happy For Now). Just because it's a fanfic doesn't mean it won't belong to a genre.
You could look to various plotting methods to help you structure your fanfic. Myself, I pants (writing by the seat of my pants, aka improvising) close to the plotting beats of Save The Cat, so I can use that to describe where in the story I am. The important thing is to find a way that works for you.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it's often said that the first million words of story/novel writing are practice. Fanfic writing is often a starting point into writing stories. The only way to become better is to read a lot, analyze what you read to steal their techniques, and write a lot.
Cuddlebug
Farmer
Well, I don't think, there's a big difference between writing fiction and Fan fiction, so I would recommend:
1. What kind of story (retelling your own game or just a story of the Valley...)
2. Who is the MC, who's the Antagonist? Create interesting characters and plausible conflicts.
3. Romance included? Smut included?
4. Fan fiction should mainly follow the game canon, changes or developing should be possible to happen in the game, too.
5. As for writing in general: read, read, read... I know, there's many fanfic on Wattpad, for example, or here in the forums. And analyse the text by asking yourself, e.g. why you like it or not or what you would do different.
1. What kind of story (retelling your own game or just a story of the Valley...)
2. Who is the MC, who's the Antagonist? Create interesting characters and plausible conflicts.
3. Romance included? Smut included?
4. Fan fiction should mainly follow the game canon, changes or developing should be possible to happen in the game, too.
5. As for writing in general: read, read, read... I know, there's many fanfic on Wattpad, for example, or here in the forums. And analyse the text by asking yourself, e.g. why you like it or not or what you would do different.
Jayamos
Farmer
What a fun question! @Terdin and @Cuddlebug both give good tips.
I would say the most important thing is "what would be fun for you to write?" What kind of farmer would be fun for you to role play, if the farmer is the main character? What kind of shenanigans do you want them to get into? How will they get out? And riffing off what @Cuddlebug said, what kind of stories do you like to read and wish you could tell?
Harking back to @Terdin, the main character's motivation and their conflict are key. What does the main character (probably the farmer) really really want? Then, what gets in the way of the farmer getting what they want? What do they have to overcome to get there? I have a possible second fanfic in mind, and I know what the farmer really really wants, but I don't know what gets in the way. Until I know that, there isn't really a story. Also, the obstacle could be external (e.g. someone really hates the farmer) or it could be the farmer (the farmer doesn't believe in themself or gets in their own way somehow).
And there can be more than one motivation and obstacle, but you need to know what the main one is and which are the side quests. For instance, ET Betsy's main motivation is that she wants love, and her obstacle (internal) is that she's too busy wanting a spouse to really understand who the right person for her is. But she has secondary motivations of being rich and of being a successful miner, and it turns out that a secondary obstacle (again, internal) to her happiness is that she also doesn't really understand how to be part of a community instead of a cog in the Joja machine.
What/who does the farmer care about in the game? Which NPCs do they want to interact with? Are there NPCs they hate, or who hate them? And what does that have to do with the main motivation/obstacle? You might start with what NPCs you especially like and dislike and think about how your farmer interacts with them—and how they help the farmer get what they want, or stand in their way.
When do you want to start in the game? Most people start right at the beginning, when the farmer gets off the bus or sees the farm for the first time. Then the motivation is at least partly "farmer wants to be a successful farmer" and what gets in the way is "farmer doesn't know how to be a successful farmer, plus is broke" but if you want more of a rom com you can start when the farmer meets the NPC or even later, when the farmer gets interested in the NPC.
What's the point of view, that is, what character are you seeing the story from/whose head are you in? Again, for almost everyone this is the farmer seeing the action and responding to the NPCs. But @Gamer1234556 has done a lot with other characters' points of view and how they see the farmer and Stardew Valley. For my second fanfic, if I ever do it, it might work better to use the most important NPC's point of view, because I see what she wants and some of her conflict. For instance, a Haley x Farmer fanfic might work well from Haley's point of view: Haley's motivation is "wants love", obstacle is "initially doesn't think the farmer is interesting at all" so how would Haley start to see the farmer as interesting? Finally, I don't think I've seen a fan fic on here that is just NPCs with the farmer as a side character, but a lot of fan fic works that way.
What are you adding to the game? You don't have to overthink it but there has to be something going on besides what the game gives you. Ideally, the farmer's motivation is more than "wants to be a successful farmer" and the conflict isn't only "doesn't know how to be," because everyone who plays the game tells that story, at least to themselves. So what story do you want to tell that's at least a bit different from that? (@Lew Zealand tells stories about farmers who don't care about being successful, and adds hilarity.) Knowing that helps you decide what parts of the game to focus on in the fanfic. For instance, if the farmer's going down into the mines, why is that important to what they really want or the obstacles in their way? Maybe it isn't. ET Betsy's secondary motivation is being a successful miner, so it makes sense to say something about her mine trips in her diary, but she doesn't really care about fishing so it's rarely in her diary (unless she's at the beach being heartbroken and it gives her something to do, or an excuse to bump into Leah and have a long talk). So you might also think about what you like or hate in game. One reason I played ET Betsy as a farmer/miner was that I was bad at mining and playing as a farmer who wants to get good at it helped me become adequate.
Finally, I repeat, what story would be fun for you to tell?
I would say the most important thing is "what would be fun for you to write?" What kind of farmer would be fun for you to role play, if the farmer is the main character? What kind of shenanigans do you want them to get into? How will they get out? And riffing off what @Cuddlebug said, what kind of stories do you like to read and wish you could tell?
Harking back to @Terdin, the main character's motivation and their conflict are key. What does the main character (probably the farmer) really really want? Then, what gets in the way of the farmer getting what they want? What do they have to overcome to get there? I have a possible second fanfic in mind, and I know what the farmer really really wants, but I don't know what gets in the way. Until I know that, there isn't really a story. Also, the obstacle could be external (e.g. someone really hates the farmer) or it could be the farmer (the farmer doesn't believe in themself or gets in their own way somehow).
And there can be more than one motivation and obstacle, but you need to know what the main one is and which are the side quests. For instance, ET Betsy's main motivation is that she wants love, and her obstacle (internal) is that she's too busy wanting a spouse to really understand who the right person for her is. But she has secondary motivations of being rich and of being a successful miner, and it turns out that a secondary obstacle (again, internal) to her happiness is that she also doesn't really understand how to be part of a community instead of a cog in the Joja machine.
What/who does the farmer care about in the game? Which NPCs do they want to interact with? Are there NPCs they hate, or who hate them? And what does that have to do with the main motivation/obstacle? You might start with what NPCs you especially like and dislike and think about how your farmer interacts with them—and how they help the farmer get what they want, or stand in their way.
When do you want to start in the game? Most people start right at the beginning, when the farmer gets off the bus or sees the farm for the first time. Then the motivation is at least partly "farmer wants to be a successful farmer" and what gets in the way is "farmer doesn't know how to be a successful farmer, plus is broke" but if you want more of a rom com you can start when the farmer meets the NPC or even later, when the farmer gets interested in the NPC.
What's the point of view, that is, what character are you seeing the story from/whose head are you in? Again, for almost everyone this is the farmer seeing the action and responding to the NPCs. But @Gamer1234556 has done a lot with other characters' points of view and how they see the farmer and Stardew Valley. For my second fanfic, if I ever do it, it might work better to use the most important NPC's point of view, because I see what she wants and some of her conflict. For instance, a Haley x Farmer fanfic might work well from Haley's point of view: Haley's motivation is "wants love", obstacle is "initially doesn't think the farmer is interesting at all" so how would Haley start to see the farmer as interesting? Finally, I don't think I've seen a fan fic on here that is just NPCs with the farmer as a side character, but a lot of fan fic works that way.
What are you adding to the game? You don't have to overthink it but there has to be something going on besides what the game gives you. Ideally, the farmer's motivation is more than "wants to be a successful farmer" and the conflict isn't only "doesn't know how to be," because everyone who plays the game tells that story, at least to themselves. So what story do you want to tell that's at least a bit different from that? (@Lew Zealand tells stories about farmers who don't care about being successful, and adds hilarity.) Knowing that helps you decide what parts of the game to focus on in the fanfic. For instance, if the farmer's going down into the mines, why is that important to what they really want or the obstacles in their way? Maybe it isn't. ET Betsy's secondary motivation is being a successful miner, so it makes sense to say something about her mine trips in her diary, but she doesn't really care about fishing so it's rarely in her diary (unless she's at the beach being heartbroken and it gives her something to do, or an excuse to bump into Leah and have a long talk). So you might also think about what you like or hate in game. One reason I played ET Betsy as a farmer/miner was that I was bad at mining and playing as a farmer who wants to get good at it helped me become adequate.
Finally, I repeat, what story would be fun for you to tell?
WanderingWendaline
Farmer
To start off, I learned from the internet that these are important questions to ask about all your characters:
So in short: "What does my character want to have, and how can I stop them from getting it? How can I make them–them specifically–suffer?"
Short stories can use this as well, but to a smaller scale since we're following the character for a shorter amount of time.
Next, if you have trouble writing consistently, I've found it helpful to have a specific time that you write. Not necessarily a specific time on the clock, it can just be right before or after you do something that you do everyday (like you could write right before bed).
And lastly, it's fanfiction, so have fun with it! Be self indulgent! If you're not having fun then what's even the point?! In fact, if any of these questions/"rules"/guidelines begin to stifle your fun, throw them out the window! Catch them on fire and laugh maniacally as you watch them burn!!
1. What do they want (this should clash with what they actually need and will generally be an external/physical desire)
2. What do they need (the end goal of the story, generally more internal like finding inner happiness or something)
3. What are they afraid of (clashes with what they want and need. This will give you conflict to drive your story forward. They will need to overcome their fear to get what they want/need)
4. And what do they believe to be true about the world that really isn't true? (The root source of the fear. The younger they started believing this/the deeper it goes, the better 
)
)So in short: "What does my character want to have, and how can I stop them from getting it? How can I make them–them specifically–suffer?"
Short stories can use this as well, but to a smaller scale since we're following the character for a shorter amount of time.
Next, if you have trouble writing consistently, I've found it helpful to have a specific time that you write. Not necessarily a specific time on the clock, it can just be right before or after you do something that you do everyday (like you could write right before bed).
And lastly, it's fanfiction, so have fun with it! Be self indulgent! If you're not having fun then what's even the point?! In fact, if any of these questions/"rules"/guidelines begin to stifle your fun, throw them out the window! Catch them on fire and laugh maniacally as you watch them burn!!
Ao3 is good too once you figure out the tagging system!
Lew Zealand
Helper
I'll keep it simple, mostly because I'm simple and don't have the brain capacity to overthink things.
Write for yourself. Not for your audience or anyone else unless requested. Even if requested, use that as your framework or setting, etc. to write for yourself. You're doing this for you and if someone else gets something out of it then that's great! Sometimes nobody else gets anything out of it, but who cares as long as you got something out of it!
Write what you know. It can be drawn from your personality or someone you know well. It can be from life experiences, school encounters, random things. Crib a setting or situation from a show you know but wish it had been done differently. Or crib it from a game. Hm, maybe Stardew?
Write what comes naturally to you. That can be a setting or metaphor or action or dialog (what I like), etc. Write the personalities that resonate with you. I'm a romantic fool so that's what I write. Mostly the fool part (see: write what you know). I often read things like scenery descriptions or creative visions of the brain's inner workings and think that should be pretty easy to manage but when the time comes to write, that stuff is rarely anywhere to be found.
Barfing all the words you can when the time is right (oops I shoulda punned there) is gold, forget about even logic or flow, concentrate on getting those words and ideas out onto the page or document. Editing is your friend and you can go over to make the structure or flow mean something later. That inspiration and focus is something I struggle with so making the most of it when you can is the magic.
Edit edit edit. The more you edit, the better something becomes. I freekin' edit even my simplest posts here because there's always a better way to do something. Also you can certainly expand more as you edit, find that workflow you need. I happen to edit as I go and then go back and reread as much as I can tolerate and always find mistakes and even giant grammar errors where I'm having trouble following what I wrote. Those are fun! (fyi: 9 edits to this post and counting)
For dialog, I just go back and forth to see if these are things someone might actually say. You need to be in your characters' heads and have a decent idea of how they manage the world around them to get that consistency in dialog and action. For instance when I write Penny I have a lot of trouble because I haven't gotten her vibe yet. However Abigail or Sam? Yeah I got that.
Keep theme and personality notes. When I write some things I anticipate being longer, I have a backstory for everyone and usually the setting as well. This is an important reference for people like me who forget everything, but adding anything and everything to this helps as you go along so you don't make an anachronistic mistake. IMO that's less important for fanfic as a few minor errors like that are not a big deal. Heck, IRL memory is notoriously fickle so the same can very well happen in your story.
If you have a story with a definite ending then storyboard all the steps. My (unfinished like everything) Abigail's Story is like that, 4 installments plus an Epilogue, all sketched out. But if you are writing slice of life, then you need nothing. No storyboard at all other than maybe an outline of some ideas that might happen today/this week. My Emily stories are like that and even my original Bobbi I Suppose. But for those, I'm taking my actual Stardew gameplay and expanding on an interaction or 3 or even a screencap. I like the image or theme and want to write about it, use that as inspiration. The gameplay is the rough storyboard.
Put some music on in the background (I use Lofi Girl), tune people out or wait until they go to bed (I do both). OK that's enough and probably not all of it.
OK one more thing: The hardest part for me is starting. Once I start it's almost always eeeeeasssy. But damn that starting bit. And don't get down on yourself if you've been off writing for too long as remember: you're doing this for you. Even if you never post it anywhere you can still feel good about expressing yourself. I have a number of stories like those that lean into more intimate personal themes that I don't post here as they are probably inappropriate but I still wrote them and I really like them!
Because they're for me. Write your stories for you.
Write for yourself. Not for your audience or anyone else unless requested. Even if requested, use that as your framework or setting, etc. to write for yourself. You're doing this for you and if someone else gets something out of it then that's great! Sometimes nobody else gets anything out of it, but who cares as long as you got something out of it!
Write what you know. It can be drawn from your personality or someone you know well. It can be from life experiences, school encounters, random things. Crib a setting or situation from a show you know but wish it had been done differently. Or crib it from a game. Hm, maybe Stardew?
Write what comes naturally to you. That can be a setting or metaphor or action or dialog (what I like), etc. Write the personalities that resonate with you. I'm a romantic fool so that's what I write. Mostly the fool part (see: write what you know). I often read things like scenery descriptions or creative visions of the brain's inner workings and think that should be pretty easy to manage but when the time comes to write, that stuff is rarely anywhere to be found.
Barfing all the words you can when the time is right (oops I shoulda punned there) is gold, forget about even logic or flow, concentrate on getting those words and ideas out onto the page or document. Editing is your friend and you can go over to make the structure or flow mean something later. That inspiration and focus is something I struggle with so making the most of it when you can is the magic.
Edit edit edit. The more you edit, the better something becomes. I freekin' edit even my simplest posts here because there's always a better way to do something. Also you can certainly expand more as you edit, find that workflow you need. I happen to edit as I go and then go back and reread as much as I can tolerate and always find mistakes and even giant grammar errors where I'm having trouble following what I wrote. Those are fun! (fyi: 9 edits to this post and counting)
For dialog, I just go back and forth to see if these are things someone might actually say. You need to be in your characters' heads and have a decent idea of how they manage the world around them to get that consistency in dialog and action. For instance when I write Penny I have a lot of trouble because I haven't gotten her vibe yet. However Abigail or Sam? Yeah I got that.
Keep theme and personality notes. When I write some things I anticipate being longer, I have a backstory for everyone and usually the setting as well. This is an important reference for people like me who forget everything, but adding anything and everything to this helps as you go along so you don't make an anachronistic mistake. IMO that's less important for fanfic as a few minor errors like that are not a big deal. Heck, IRL memory is notoriously fickle so the same can very well happen in your story.
If you have a story with a definite ending then storyboard all the steps. My (unfinished like everything) Abigail's Story is like that, 4 installments plus an Epilogue, all sketched out. But if you are writing slice of life, then you need nothing. No storyboard at all other than maybe an outline of some ideas that might happen today/this week. My Emily stories are like that and even my original Bobbi I Suppose. But for those, I'm taking my actual Stardew gameplay and expanding on an interaction or 3 or even a screencap. I like the image or theme and want to write about it, use that as inspiration. The gameplay is the rough storyboard.
Put some music on in the background (I use Lofi Girl), tune people out or wait until they go to bed (I do both). OK that's enough and probably not all of it.
OK one more thing: The hardest part for me is starting. Once I start it's almost always eeeeeasssy. But damn that starting bit. And don't get down on yourself if you've been off writing for too long as remember: you're doing this for you. Even if you never post it anywhere you can still feel good about expressing yourself. I have a number of stories like those that lean into more intimate personal themes that I don't post here as they are probably inappropriate but I still wrote them and I really like them!
Because they're for me. Write your stories for you.
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Gamer1234556
Farmer
Since I got tagged here, I guess I’ve somehow become one of the fanfic people now lol.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that where you post depends on what you want out of it.
The Stardew forums are actually a pretty nice place to start. There aren’t nearly as many fanfics here, so it’s easier to recognize other writers/readers and get involved with the community. That’s basically where my own story started, and somehow it ended up getting way more attention here than I ever expected.
AO3 is much more specifically built around fanfiction. It has much better tagging, ratings, relationships, series organization, content warnings, etc., and there are far fewer restrictions on what kind of material people can write. The tradeoff is that there’s also a LOT more fanfiction there, including plenty of Mature/Explicit material, so it can be a little overwhelming if that’s not your thing. You can filter a lot of that out, though.
I’ve actually started using AO3 as the main home for my longer story because it became increasingly annoying to maintain different edited versions for different platforms as the story got bigger and started dealing with heavier subjects.
Wattpad is another option, although that’s kind of its own rabbit hole and community. I wouldn’t feel obligated to post everywhere. Honestly, I’d pick whichever site feels most comfortable and maybe cross-post later if you actually want to.
As for writing itself, my biggest advice is probably just start with an idea you actually want to explore. You don’t need the entire plot planned out. My project started as basically “guy inherits Grandpa’s farm and returns to Stardew Valley,” and then it somehow became a gigantic multi-book story with more characters and plotlines than I ever intended lol.
Also don’t worry too much about whether your idea has already been done. Farmer romances, slice-of-life stories, rewrites of the game, OCs, darker stories, comedy—there are tons of them. What makes it yours is what you decide to focus on and how you write the characters.
And probably the most important thing: write something you actually enjoy writing. If you’re only trying to predict what people will click on, it becomes work really quickly.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that where you post depends on what you want out of it.
The Stardew forums are actually a pretty nice place to start. There aren’t nearly as many fanfics here, so it’s easier to recognize other writers/readers and get involved with the community. That’s basically where my own story started, and somehow it ended up getting way more attention here than I ever expected.
AO3 is much more specifically built around fanfiction. It has much better tagging, ratings, relationships, series organization, content warnings, etc., and there are far fewer restrictions on what kind of material people can write. The tradeoff is that there’s also a LOT more fanfiction there, including plenty of Mature/Explicit material, so it can be a little overwhelming if that’s not your thing. You can filter a lot of that out, though.
I’ve actually started using AO3 as the main home for my longer story because it became increasingly annoying to maintain different edited versions for different platforms as the story got bigger and started dealing with heavier subjects.
Wattpad is another option, although that’s kind of its own rabbit hole and community. I wouldn’t feel obligated to post everywhere. Honestly, I’d pick whichever site feels most comfortable and maybe cross-post later if you actually want to.
As for writing itself, my biggest advice is probably just start with an idea you actually want to explore. You don’t need the entire plot planned out. My project started as basically “guy inherits Grandpa’s farm and returns to Stardew Valley,” and then it somehow became a gigantic multi-book story with more characters and plotlines than I ever intended lol.
Also don’t worry too much about whether your idea has already been done. Farmer romances, slice-of-life stories, rewrites of the game, OCs, darker stories, comedy—there are tons of them. What makes it yours is what you decide to focus on and how you write the characters.
And probably the most important thing: write something you actually enjoy writing. If you’re only trying to predict what people will click on, it becomes work really quickly.
Lenora Rose
Farmer
You don't have to start at the beginning of the game; you can start earlier, you can start a year in, or later. You don't have to have exactly the same backstory as the game, though getting away from a Grandpa (in some form) and the gift of the farm, starts making it a different story.
What do you want out of writing a story about Stardew that's different from the story you play through?
What do you want out of writing a story about Stardew that's different from the story you play through?