Glossary

For the newbies, both to writing and reading fic of any kind, here is a partial list of important terms that every fan fiction writer should know. I pulled these terms from different fandoms, but they can still apply to Beatles fiction. If there's anything missing please let me know.

A/A
Action/Adventure; a story that focuses on fight scenes.

Adult
Refers to tales which are inappropriate for children due to sexual content, violence, or mature subject matter.

Alternate Universe
All stories that take place in a fictional universe, and not the natural order of things.

Angst
Refers to the emotional wounds suffered and/or borne by a character.

Badfic
Fic that is intentionally bad.

BDSM
Bondage, domination, sado-masochism. A term from outside of fanfic, but a useful one to know when deciphering ratings.

BETA
To edit and comment on someone else's work before it's finalized, taken presumably from the old software term "betatesting." Betareading brings a fresh perspective to a rough draft -- by the definition of the word, one cannot beta one's own work.

BETA Reader
Someone who edits your work upon request.

Character Death
A warning placed in the header of a story in which one or more major characters dies.

Consensual
In fanfic, this refers to sexual relations or situations (as elements within a story) which are agreed to by all involved fictional parties. Shortened to "con" in subject headers.

Crossovers
A story which straddles two different fandoms. Can be as close mixing characters from different universes within a genre (ie. Batman/Wolverine) or as wildly disparate as you can imagine (ie. Buffy/Teletubbies).

Darkfic
A story involving a large amount of death/pain/trauma being inflicted on the characters, often to force out characterization.

Deathfic
A fic where one or more characters die or have just died, usually written to focus on how the remaining characters cope with the loss.

Disclaimers
Information usually placed at the top of a fanfic. Disclaimers can include legal disclaimers (ie. who owns what in the story to follow), dedications, rating, plot summary, and various explanatory author's notes.

Erotica
A highly subjective term often used to differentiate "tasteful" or "classy" x-rated stories from "trashy porn."

Feedback
Any comment -- whether it be by e-mail, chat, or live -- from a reader/viewer/listener etc. to a writer/artist/filker about their creative work."

First Time
A story that chronicles a couple's first romantic and/or sexual encounter.

Fluff
Sweet and usually short, lighthearted, inconsequential fic.

H/C
Hurt/Comfort fic. A type of story in which one character is hurt physcially/emotionally, and it is up to another character to save them.

M/M, m/m
Denotes a story involving a romantic or sexual relationship between two male characters. In mainstream porn "M" usually indicates an adult man while "m" indicates one who's underage -- ie. M/M would describe an encounter between two adult men while M/m would be a liaison between an adult man and a teenage boy, and so on. However, this distinction is not well-known in fanfic and cannot be used as an accurate guide to content. For full details on same-sex themes in fanfic, see slash.

Non con/Nonconsensual
A nonconsensual sex act. SOme say it's another word for rape, but there are different some textual differences.

Original Character
Any character created by the author.

Pre-slash
A story which explores the potential for a same-sex romantic relationship without actually initiating it or dragging it out into the open. Tends to be PG/PG-13, and not very commonly used.

PWP
Known as "Plot? What plot?" or "Porn without plot." A story written solely for sexual escapades.

Real People Fic
Also known as RPF. Fanfiction written about music groups, actors, and the creators behind a fandom.

RST
Resolved sexual tension.

Self-insertion
A fanfic where the author includes him/herself as a character; also a noun referring to the character in question. Self-infliction, is the parody of this genre.

Slash
A type of fic, often written by women, involving romantic or sexual involvement between two major canon characters of the same gender, originally mainly M/M (male/male) but lately shifting to include F/F (female/female) tales too.

UST
Unresolved sexual tension.

Vignette
A very short story dealing with a specific time, event, character/s etc.

WIP
A work in progress.

For the full glossary visit:
The Fanfiction Glossary