Hi, and welcome to my page on FanFiction!

I have been writing in my spare time for several years now, and have contributed to interactive stories elsewhere on the internet. But my current writing is centred on fanfiction (mainly Harry Potter).

Please read and review my work! Obviously, do not leave rude remarks - but if the story/chapter didn't work for you, then give me some constructive criticism from which I can learn and use to improve my writing. If you did like what you read, then say what worked - and why! Did I capture the characters correctly? Did the story grab/intrigue you? Did the piece frighten you?/ Make you laugh or cry? / Make your heart melt?/ Left you punching the air and shouting 'Yes!!' ? etc.

In turn, and if/when possible, I will see if I can review anything of your own work.

UPDATE: October 2021. I am happy to accept useful, constructive criticism - but recently I had one critic who just went on and on, criticising on different chapters of one of my stories. He/she did not say what they DID like about the story - and there was evidently something about the story to keep them reading on. When reviewing, kindly use your common sense! If you don't like my work, then don't read it! In recent times, when I review someone else's work, if I don't like something in a chapter, I'll try to balance this by also writing about something in that I did like. I'll also try to thank the author for their time and effort in creating and sharing their work. Be polite - and be professional.

In the meantime, here's a few things about me:

From: England, UK

Favourite TV shows: nowadays I don't watch much TV. There's Doctor Who - but I much prefer the show during its 20th century incarnation. 'Nu-Who' for me, has been a mixed bag of good/bad/too silly stories. All too often, the showrunners and writers seem to think 'Let's see what we can get away with - and if we succeed, let's keep pushing the envelope further'. Update July 2020 - I've now stopped watching 21st century Doctor Who. The envelope has been truly broken in recent years, and the show is consequently in a mess... I'm sticking to 20th century Doctor Who, and the Big Finish audios that involve the first eight Doctors.

Favourite Harry Potter book: The Prisoner Of Azkaban (right length, interesting mystery that I could make some sense of, had a werewolf in it :) )

Least favourite Harry Potter books: The Order Of The Phoenix (too wordy, too padded - but it DID introduce some strong, likeable characters; as well as a boo-hiss one in Umbridge); The Deathly Hallows (plot too convoluted and drawn-out, too many plot devices, not enough effective use of Ginny, Firenze, Slughorn, etc, no Slytherin pupils coming to Harry's aid - and some likeable characters getting killed, whilst people like Umbridge not being seen to get half the punishment they deserved).

NB: Several of my Harry Potter stories follow a shared timeline - i.e. they follow the first six books, then go a different route from that of The Deathly Hallows. In chronological order they run as: The Riddle & The Ravenclaw, Ron & Hermione - A Week In The Other Life, The Caves Of The Dead, The Lycanthrope Legacy Parts 1 to 3, Hermione & The Dementor Dilemma, and The Man With The Blue Wand.

So far, my other Harry Potter stories are separate tales, which stand alone from each other.

A brief note on writing tips:

The best writing advice I've come across on this website is that provided by JJ Rust. The only tips I would add is to explore your style, develop ideas (write them down before you forget them!), and - possibly the most important factor - find out what works for you! This includes knowing what part of the day to write, and how long for, as you determine how to stay productive and motivated.

Americanisms in Harry Potter stories on the Fanfiction website:

When I wrote my novel-length take on the board game 'A Touch Of Evil', I tried to write it in an American English style suitable for its early 19th century Colonial America setting. Hopefully I did well enough.

When I read Harry Potter fanfiction, I do unfortunately find it off-putting if the British characters speak and/or think in American terminology. Now it's up to each writer how they write their stories. But if you are an American writing a Harry Potter fanfiction, please - if possible - use British English if you want your work to sound and feel close to JK Rowling's creation.

Here's a little test. In the following text, I've inserted seven different Americanisms that I've come across from different Harry Potter stories on this website. See if you can find them:

'Ron Weasley, accompanied by Harry Potter, walked from the pedestrianised street right into the first story level of the muggle department store. Gazing in wonder at the milling crowds around him, Ron's attention was then diverted from the candy section as Harry yanked on his hand.

"The jewelry department is this way!" he yelled.

Finding a suitable broach, Ron pulled out his wallet from his pants and made his first purchase using Muggle money.

Afterwards, feeling pleased with himself, Ron returned to the Burrow with Harry. Wrapping up the broach ready for his mom's birthday, Ron then decided to write Hermione. He fetched out his quill and paper...'

Things that make me roll my eyes and say ‘Next!” when reading the summary or a random chapter of a Harry Potter fanfiction story.

Don’t get me wrong. There will be examples of the stories I’m listing here that will be someone’s cup of tea. But I’m just saying why they turn me off…

1) Badly written stories or summaries, with no care over spelling or grammar. As per the Community Etiquette rules on this website and the advice of different writers, kindly use proof readers! Whenever I prepare my work for submission, I use the proof reader on the WP and I read over my work repeatedly. Even then, after submission, I might find an error. I’ve read stories by good writers who can deliver impeccably error-free chapters, whilst other chapters will contain spelling or grammatical mistakes. It is human nature. But please make the effort to keep your mistakes to a minimum. Doing so shows that you care about the standard of your work, and it encourages the reader to respect you as a writer. I do, however, have sympathy for those writers for whom English is not their native language.

2) Harry is written as god-like or massively overpowered for much of the story. To me this just undermines the story. Why should I care about Harry as a character in a story if he is just going to repeatedly wipe the floor with anyone who threatens him? Where’s the tension and drama to make me worry about what happens to the hero? Having said that, I am interested in stories where Harry becomes a vampire or werewolf, because there is scope for drama and pathos to be drawn from scenes where he is coming to terms with his new nature (the potential benefits, as well as the drawbacks), and how he re-evaluates his relationships with the people in his life. But portraying him as ridiculously ‘awesome’ or ‘cool’, and too out of character for no just reason is a turn off for me.

3) Harry is sexually attracted to Draco or Voldemort. Please… No. This is too out of character for Harry. In canon, both characters hate Harry because of him being the boy-who-lived – and he hates them for what they represent. I’ve come across stories where Harry becomes friends with Draco (and where Voldemort is actually Harry’s real dad), and that’s fine. But like one of my favourite authors on this website, I really don’t get this ‘It would be great to have Harry in a gay relationship with Draco or Voldemort’ vibe that some writers have.

4) Hermione and Draco are the primary romantic couple in a story. From my angle, you would have to set out convincing arguments as to why these pair, who in canon hate each other, would end up in a positive relationship! (e.g. both are placed in Slytherin – or both end up in Gryffindor). Personally, I’m one of these readers who loves to hate Draco, because – as written by JK Rowling - he is an over-privileged bully who just won’t take the message that his attitudes and behaviour are unacceptable. JK Rowling’s ‘I’ll sort of redeem him, because of the pressure he’s in from Voldemort – but still have him fighting Harry’ situation in the Deathly Hallows was one of many unsatisfactory outcomes for me in that book.

5) Excessive swearing. Never mind about the fact that the Harry Potter books were written for children. JK Rowling was able to create an amazing world of characters without the need for excessive swearing. Kindly honour that in your use of her characters. ‘Mudblood’, of course, is usable since it’s her fictional term.

6) Having too many original characters (OCs), who go on to take over the story, is another factor that puts me off reading the story.

7) Harry is actually Harlan Potter (or some other variation on Harry) - or he has a brother who is the real Boy-Who-Lived (or mistaken as the Boy-Who-Lived). Whilst Harry feels neglected and angry... There seems to be several of these on the fanfiction website of late, and it's becoming a cliché. I'm not interested.

Stories that I would like to see more of on this website:

1) Harry struggling being in Gryffindor – and asks to be resorted into another house. ‘Sapphire Serpent Uncoiling’ by dragonwriter24cmf is an intriguing example of this. Unfortunately, the author seems to have abandoned the story. What intrigues me further is the possibility of a story where Draco is expelled from Hogwarts (say, as per one story that I’ve read, he was responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets) and then Harry is resorted into Slytherin, to take advantage of the power vacuum left. Would Harry be able to get some of the Slytherins on his side? Would they then be able to find redemption and re-integration with the other houses?

2) Luna being sorted, or resorted, into Slytherin, and deliberately winds up any snake going against her with her eccentricities and perceptions. The thought of Luna being a mischief maker (of the good kind) in Slytherin makes me smile. I'd much prefer it, though, if she’s there with Harry!

3) When it comes to Slytherin house, I’d rather see much less domination from Draco – and instead read more stories about the minor characters amongst the pupils, and how they cope being in their house (and want to reach out to the other houses). My preferences being Daphne, Tracey, Astoria, and Theodore. I’ll accept Blaise being neutral/good, as well. To me, Pansy is a spoilt brat. She and Draco deserve each other.

4) More stories that promote a more balanced attitude towards all four Hogwarts houses! In the books, there was too much of a ‘Gryffindor this-Slytherin that’ domination when it came to the house placement of both pupils and teachers. The 'attempted rescue' by Harry and pals at the Ministry of Magic during the climax of the 5th book involves five Gryfindors and one Ravenclaw. No Hufflepuffs or Slytherin pupils helping Harry... I found this to be an annoyingly biased approach by JK Rowling. In the books, most of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw characters were pushed to the background – and this was even more pronounced in the films (e.g. Ravenclaw Padma Patil is on screen as a Gryffindor pupil, for plot convenience, alongside Parvati). I've rarely come across stories with Harry placed in Hufflepuff (depends on the relationship filters keyed in, I guess) - and I do like it when Harry is friends with characters such as Ernie and Hannah. A Hufflepuff sorting might have helped Harry to adjust better to the magical world than what he got in canon - and a Hufflepuff sorting would probably have been better for Ron, to get him to work harder to become a decent wizard in his own right, rather than be in the shadow of his older brothers. As well as teach him to be a better friend, instead of letting his more negative side lash out with jealously at Hermione and Harry...

Anyway, if you've made it this far into my musings, please also check out the writers who I've listed as favourite authors! There is plenty of seriously good material on this website, if you look for it.

Regards,

Ravenclaw Midnight Blue