writing help
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Summary
There are some great quick-and-dirty guides to HTML on A03. This is not one of them - it is a comprehensive guide
It's now 2025, a decade later. A03 supports some new HTML and and we're all walking around reading fic on supercomputers that fit in a jean pocket. It was time update this and take a crack at finishing it. (Links and Images are in, the new Audio and Video tags are not.)
The previous three chapters have been divided into smaller concepts. Each tag continues to have - at a minimum - a link to the w3schools page about it (so you can learn more), a code example, and the result of the code example. Most tags have their attributes, things like [src] or [title], listed and examples of how using the attributes modify the tags.
There's a chapter on Bad Ideas, including how some of the archive's default CSS is available to you to format your work (users can't turn that off by hiding a workskin!)
Oh. And I added a bunny army. You could learn how to add one too.
/)/) /)/) /)/) (..) (..) (..) *( ) *( ) *( )
Series
- Part 19 of AO3 Work Skins/Tutorials
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Omegaverse Genetics by azriona
Fandoms: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock (TV), The Avengers (2012), Teen Wolf (TV), Supernatural
14 Mar 2013
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Summary
We all understand the whole male/female chromosome thing, right? (XX and XY) So how does it work in Omegaverse?
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Omegaverse Genetics - One Theory by Diana Williams (dkwilliams)
Fandoms: Sherlock (TV), Meta - Fandom, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Historical RPF
08 Oct 2015
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Summary
A pseudo-scientific look at the genetic possibilities for the Omegaverse.
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Alphas, Betas, Omegas: A Primer by norabombay
Fandoms: Sherlock (TV), Supernatural, Supernatural RPF, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom, The Avengers (2012), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Teen Wolf (TV), Thor (Movies), Hannibal (TV)
22 Sep 2015
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Summary
A brief primer on the concept of Alpha/Beta/Omega Universes: Also known as that trope suddenly showing up in your fandom that doesn't make any sense.
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Did you see that fanfic with 6 gazillion tags forcing you to scroll endlessly to skip through it? Ever wondered how to block a specific story without having to download a 3rd party app or make an annoying bookmark? Guess what? You can block specific stories and authors directly from AO3, and it works in mobile!
Yes this is about a troll fic making it's way around AO3.
Updated with instructions to block works by a user (See ch2).
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A/B/O: Adventures in Fake Science. by Hells Bartender (Firebog)
Fandoms: Unspecified Fandom
02 Aug 2016
Tags
Summary
This is an attempt to bash weird porny a/b/o dynamics fiction over the head with science. Not that anyone asked for it.
So how the hell does a/b/o sex determination work? And why did a trinary sex determination system evolve in higher vertebrates alongside a binary sex determination system? Why aren't omega males dying in droves from massive uterine infections? Alpha females, what's up with that? Come on in and I shall tell you the very best in fake science and evolutionary history.
Part theorizing, part helpful guide. This one goes out to all you people who just want fictional worlds to make sense. I'm right there with you.
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Summary
Embedding tutorial
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 212
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 3,161
- Kudos:
- 7,682
- Bookmarks:
- 4,900
- Hits:
- 370,046
Bookmarked by Elydy138
21 Jan 2022
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Notes
BOOKMARK TO SAVE A LIFE (mine in that case)
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How To Change Text on AO3 When the Cursor is Hovering Over It (Or Clicked on Mobile) by La_Temperanza
Fandoms: No Fandom
22 May 2017
Tags
Summary
This a tutorial/live example on how to have text change or appear once a cursor is hovering over it. Helpful for pop-up spoilers, language translations, quick author's notes, etc.
Series
- Part 15 of AO3 Work Skins/Tutorials
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Summary
So here is the thing: People are writing Stiles, who is a person with ADHD. People are not, and I want you to pay attention, because this is important, people are not spending the time to research basic things like how his medication works or how his life is affected by his disorder.
Bookmarked by Sona14
27 Mar 2022
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Notes
Really interesting facts about ADHD, writing it and mental health representation in media (but mostly fanfics).
Would benefit a lot of people to read it before writing characters with ADHD.
Definitely recommend reading! -
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Summary
Someone asked me how Bruce Wayne's company is structured and I went a little overboard, so now I'm archiving it Because Reasons. Feel free to use this for your own fics if you are also writing a universe where the Wayne family turned spite and pettiness into a billion-dollar empire.
Series
- Part 51 of Sorrowful and Immaculate Hearts
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The Ultimate Guide to Writing Smut Fic by QuinnAnderson for kali_asleep
Fandoms: Original Work
05 Sep 2013
Tags
Summary
A comprehensive guide to writing both queer and het erotic fiction, written by published novelist Quinn Anderson. Includes lists of sexy words, references, and some general writing tips. Please feel free to use without credit.
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Summary
I made a GoogleDoc of an accurate Hogwarts timetable for shifting and fanfiction writers.
These are just downloadable versions.
There is an example for each house and year as well as a master schedule. -
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Summary
A comprehensive list (by season and episode) of examples of John being a terrible father, hunter, and human being. These are all CANON examples as shown or stated in the show, unless identified as headcanons held by cast members, or implied/referenced through subtext.
These will be IN ORDER. If your "favorite" moment isn't on here yet, don't worry, it will be. If it appears like I missed something, leave a comment-but more than likely it wasn't canon, or was addressed in another part. (I try not to repeat if he shows the same kind of shittiness multiple times).
As a point of reference, the Supernatural books and comics are NOT canon, and will not be included. John's journal and Bobby's journal (since they are produced through and with permission of the CW) are considered canon-adjacent/canon-implied, and will be at the END of the list to keep them separate from the show canon list.
This list was comprised by me personally, from watching, analyzing, and copying down moments from every single episode. I literally sat here in front of the TV with a pen and notebook. If you need more details, Google it or watch the episode, I've put in enough work. 😂
This is also a video series on Tiktok: Jaistiel
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Why Do Non-Canon Ships Become So Popular? (And Why Should Writers Rethink When They Do?) by sarehptar
Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Voltron: Legendary Defender, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
27 Dec 2018
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Summary
A vaguely academic examination of the phenomena behind fandom shipping and why certain non-canon ships become exceedingly popular, far overshadowing the popularity of canon ships. This essay touches on common mistakes writers make with female characters and romantic subplots, and suggests a explanation for the enduring popularity of so many m/m ships which have no chance at all of becoming canon. Examples are drawn from Avatar the Last Air Bender, Voltron Legendary Defender (god help me), and My Hero Academia.
Series
- Part 3 of Echodrops' Meta and Fandom Analyses
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ice rendered obsolete by thennevermind
Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
26 Feb 2025
Tags
Summary
Todoroki Shouto was immensely grateful for his lack of facial expressions.
He’d always been a person of few emotional tells, mostly because of his upbringing. Emotions weren’t something encouraged in the Todoroki household, so Shouto had to quickly learn how to keep things to himself. He learned to lie, learned to suppress his pain, and learned how to internalize his problems. He was not allowed to be weak, so he hid his thoughts behind a stoic face and short responses.
The only times when he allowed himself to work out the bottled emotions was when he was alone, usually in the dead of night in a locked room. It was the only way in which he could keep everyone at a comfortable distance, ignorant to his weaknesses.
Which is why when he began to lose his grasp on his emotions, none of it showed on his face.
(or: Shouto got too comfortable living at the dorms and away from his father's intense training. The dorms close for the weekend after he fails the provisional hero licensing exam, and the shock of the punishment training sends him spiraling. Back in compliance, his thoughts get darker and darker until the ice half of his Quirk starts freezing out of control.)
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Tags
Summary
There are some great quick-and-dirty guides to HTML on A03. This is not one of them - it is a comprehensive guide
It's now 2025, a decade later. A03 supports some new HTML and and we're all walking around reading fic on supercomputers that fit in a jean pocket. It was time update this and take a crack at finishing it. (Links and Images are in, the new Audio and Video tags are not.)
The previous three chapters have been divided into smaller concepts. Each tag continues to have - at a minimum - a link to the w3schools page about it (so you can learn more), a code example, and the result of the code example. Most tags have their attributes, things like [src] or [title], listed and examples of how using the attributes modify the tags.
There's a chapter on Bad Ideas, including how some of the archive's default CSS is available to you to format your work (users can't turn that off by hiding a workskin!)
Oh. And I added a bunny army. You could learn how to add one too.
/)/) /)/) /)/) (..) (..) (..) *( ) *( ) *( )
Series
- Part 19 of AO3 Work Skins/Tutorials
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Warhammer : Short Stories by Zahariel_Scholar
Fandoms: Warhammer 40.000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Horus Heresy - Various Authors, RWBY, Mass Effect Trilogy
27 Aug 2022
Tags
Summary
A collection of short stories set in the various Warhammer settings (mostly 40K, with a few in Age of Sigmar), as well as other stuff that aren't quite stories. If you have a prompt, please leave it in a review or PM me.
Bookmarked by The_Amateur_Scholar
04 Apr 2023
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Notes
Chapter 17 - Chaos Flavor Quotes
Chapter 18 - Chaos Flavor Quotes - Part Two
Chapter 19 - Chaos Flavor - Part Three (Final)
*Chapter 20 - That Which Must Not Be (What if the Emperor became a Chaos God ?)
*Chapter 21 - The Meaning of Triumph (What if the Great Crusade succeeded ?)
Chapter 24 - Age of Sigmar : Servants of the Gods
*Chapter 26 - Rewards of Ruling (RPG Module)
Chapter 28 - Age of Sigmar : Released Into Servitude
***Chapter 32 - Age of Sigmar : The Coming of Woe
**Chapter 33 - Age of Sigmar : Umbraneth Battletome
Chapter 34 - The Infinite and the Matriarch (Mass Effect Crossover)
***Chapter 38 - Deathwatch Dossier : The Draxian Hegemony
Chapter 39 - Child of the XIXth (Crossver RWBY and Roboutian Heresy)
Chapter 40 - The Scourge and the Trader (Roboutian Heresy)
*Chapter 41 - Death of Horus (What if Horus died on Davin ?)
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Here Comes The New Boss (Nothing Like The Old Boss) by HowlingGuardian
Fandoms: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
12 Jul 2025
Tags
Summary
Taylor Hebert has some big, horrible boots to fill. But she's going to walk her own way.
Butcher Taylor AU. Cross-posted from Spacebattles.Series
- Part 1 of Butcher XV aka Taylor Hebert
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 597,926
- Chapters:
- 124/?
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 3,407
- Kudos:
- 4,411
- Bookmarks:
- 1,243
- Hits:
- 323,479
Bookmarked by The_Amateur_Scholar
17 Apr 2023
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Collections:
Bookmarker's Notes
*Chapter 16 - Elpis meets Spitfire
Chapter 23 - Elpis and Panacea secretly meet (outside of their costumes) in a breakfast diner
Chapter 27 - Taylor meets with Amy after the Madison locker room incident; Elpis meets Konnigit
Chapter 29 - The sleepover; Taylor talks to her dad about Madison; Taylor saves a family from an E88 "initiation"
Chapter 31 - Faultline's Crew recruits Trainwreck
Chapter 39 -
Chapter 40 -
Chapter 47 - Taylor meets the Undersiders; Tarquin, Taylor & Emily/Spitfire all reveal their identities to one another
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The Ultimate Guide to Writing Smut Fic by QuinnAnderson for kali_asleep
Fandoms: Original Work
05 Sep 2013
Tags
Summary
A comprehensive guide to writing both queer and het erotic fiction, written by published novelist Quinn Anderson. Includes lists of sexy words, references, and some general writing tips. Please feel free to use without credit.
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The Right Way to Stick a Dick (A Smut How to Guide for the Struggling Author) by katejay
Fandoms: No Fandom, any fandom
22 May 2015
Tags
Summary
For any creative writer out there that's having trouble managing their smut:
Here's a lesson provided for the general welfare of the explicit fanfic community.Fucking: do it right.
This is a comprehensive step by step guide to writing smut that includes M/M, F/M, and brief F/F, all written in 2nd person
Excerpt:
1) start with a kiss
a) rough, lusty, passionate, impulsive, (leads to fucking -preferably rough)
b) loving, slow, sensual, (leads to love making) extra points if you add cuddles
. . .
7) slowly mark a trail of kisses, kitten licks, and teeth grazes down
a) spread kisses, licks down/across their abdomen and down to their navel
b) lightly teeth/nip their hip bones lightly and leave a trail of kisses and love bites further
c) if there’s any other erogenous areas (sensitive spots) hit that shit up
. . .
20) gather them close
a) exchange pleasantries, god knows how long you've known each other
b) snuggle up and fall asleep in each other's arms, wake up and repeat process
c) be a douche and treat them like it was a quick fuck, even if you know it's so much more