What Do All The Abbreviations Mean In Fan Fiction?
No mater which ‘fandom’ or ‘verse’ you’re into you’ve no doubt come across a few different abbreviations that will give you a hint to what the story contains or other relevant information you may want to know before opening the story.
Some of these will be pretty self-explanatory - others not so much:
In no particular order here’s a few of the more common fanfic abbreviations.
Canon: Bascially follows along with the storyline or plot of the movie etc. Can contain elements that were seen in the show with no major character differences etc.
Spoilers: This will be generally followed by the episode title so you know that if you haven’t seen that particular episode there’s a good chance you will find out what happened if you read the story.
AU - Alternate Universe. Takes the characters out of their normal universe/timeline etc and places them somewhere else
Gen: Suitable for all ages
Adult: Adults only, often contains explicit/violent scenes between characters.
‘Ships: Follows the relationships of the couples within the show (readers of a preferred coupling are often known as shippers) you may also find certain abbreviations within each fanfic/ship: Bangel= Buffy
Slash/Alt: Same gender pairings (slash: m/m, alt: f/f )
Darkfic: Contains dark themes, often violent etc
Crossover: Add elements of two or more shows into one fic
PWP: Plot, What Plot? No real plot, just adult character interaction
WIP: Work In Progress - Always a good warning, often people start an online fiction only to discover that not only hasn’t it been finished it hasn’t been added to for quite some time.
Beta Reader: Someone who edits/proofreads etc the fiction before it makes it online
These are some of the main ones, if you have others feel free to leave a comment and let me know
[tags]slash, fanfic, fanfiction, fan fiction, uber, beta,WIP, PWP,canon,’ships, AU[/tags]
Filed under: fanfic
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