The ultimate guide to common terms in the world of fanfiction

Fanfiction is a genre of writing that allows fans of a show, book, or otherwise fictional word to weave their own stories inspired by the tales of the original authors. The world of fanfiction is vast, with millions of stories to find and absorb. If you’re new to the world of fanfiction, diving in can feel a bit like walking through a foreign country. There are terms and abbreviations aplenty, and it’s easy to get confused if you’re trying to find something to suit your personal reading tastes. With that said, becoming familiar with these terms is a little like learning a foreign language; if you expose yourself enough to it, it starts to make sense. For now, a sentence like “an angsty canon-divergent AU idfic for my crossover OTP to AO3” probably sounds like some kind of bizarre code. But if you break it down, it’s really pretty simple. Common terms in Fanfiction Image via New Line Cinema To make things a little easier for any newcomers to fanfiction, let’s take a look at a list of common abbreviations and terms that you’re likely to come across and might leave you questioning. Alphabetically seems like a safe way to do this. Term or Abbreviation Meaning A/N Refers to any fanfiction that is uploaded to more than one location. Angst Describes a story that features upset, and often heartbreak or mental challenge, for the main characters. AO3 “Archive of Our Own” - One of the two primary upload sites for Fanfiction. AU “Alternate Universe” - A Story that takes characters from a canonical story and places them in a different setting. For instance, a Muggle AU for Harry Potter characters where they lack magic. Bashing Bashing refers to a writer who does not like a character or pairing and chooses to express their feelings within their work. For instance, “Dumbledore was not a good man, who leaves a baby on a doorstep in October without even ringing the doorbell?” Canon The source material for fanfiction, for example, Sherlock. Canonical stories follow the source material, rather than split from it. Canon-divergent Any story that takes the source material and changes what happens to explore an alternate timeline. For example, if Frodo Baggins chose not to make his journey and Samwise took the main role instead. Character Death Pretty self-explanatory. Used to warn of a canon character dying. Crack A term used to describe fanfiction that's intentionally written badly, or is based on nonsensical themes or concepts. Crossover Used to describe fanfiction that combines more than one canon. For example, if Dumbledore and Gandalf were secretly the same person. Crosspost Refers to a fic that is uploaded in more than one location, likely AO3 and FF.Net. Darkfic Fanfiction that deals heavily with upsetting themes. Denialfic Fanfiction that outright ignores or explains away a major plot point in canon, such as the death of a character, to form their own plot without the canon event. Drabble Originally used to describe any Fanfiction of exactly 100 words. Often used to describe any short Fanfiction. Enemies to Lovers Fanfiction in which former enemies fall in love with each other, usually in a Slow Burn story. One notable example is the Dramione pairing. Fandom The term used to describe the people who are fans of something. For example, the Star Trek fandom, or Marvel fandom. Fanfic Shortened term for “Fanfiction.” Can also be further shortened to simply Fic. Fanon Something that isn’t a fact within the original canon but has taken a life of its own within the fanfic community for a canon. For example, the Tempus spell that is commonly used to tell the time in Harry Potter Fanfic was never used in the canonical works of J.K. Rowling but has been accepted by the fandom. Femslash Fanfiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between female characters. “F/F” can sometimes be used to quickly describe a femslash fic. FF.Net “FanFiction.Net” - Alongside AO3, another favored site for uploading and reading Fanfiction. Fluff Cute, often romantic fanfiction and/or moments within a fanfiction. Headcanon Something a writer or reader chooses to believe is true, even though it’s not part of an established canon. Het Short for “Heterosexual,” describes a fanfiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between male and female characters. “M/F” can also be used. Hurt/Comfort Fanfiction in which a character suffers and then is comforted and helped to heal by other characters. Sometimes shortened to H/C. Idfic Based on Freud’s concept of the id, the part of the mind that focuses on personal desire with a lack of self-control. Idfics are written purely for the enjoyment of the writer, rather than to gain readers. Oneshot Fanfiction that is written as one solid piece rather than being divided into chapters. Can be of any length, but are usually shorter. OC “Original Character” - A character created by the author, rather than one originally

Mar 24, 2025 - 15:23

The ultimate guide to common terms in the world of fanfiction

Fanfiction is a genre of writing that allows fans of a show, book, or otherwise fictional word to weave their own stories inspired by the tales of the original authors. The world of fanfiction is vast, with millions of stories to find and absorb.

If you’re new to the world of fanfiction, diving in can feel a bit like walking through a foreign country. There are terms and abbreviations aplenty, and it’s easy to get confused if you’re trying to find something to suit your personal reading tastes. With that said, becoming familiar with these terms is a little like learning a foreign language; if you expose yourself enough to it, it starts to make sense.

For now, a sentence like “an angsty canon-divergent AU idfic for my crossover OTP to AO3” probably sounds like some kind of bizarre code. But if you break it down, it’s really pretty simple.

Common terms in Fanfiction

Samwise in The Lord of the Rings — Image via New Line Cinema

To make things a little easier for any newcomers to fanfiction, let’s take a look at a list of common abbreviations and terms that you’re likely to come across and might leave you questioning. Alphabetically seems like a safe way to do this.

Term or Abbreviation	Meaning
A/N	Refers to any fanfiction that is uploaded to more than one location.
Angst	Describes a story that features upset, and often heartbreak or mental challenge, for the main characters.
AO3	“Archive of Our Own” - One of the two primary upload sites for Fanfiction.
AU	“Alternate Universe” - A Story that takes characters from a canonical story and places them in a different setting. For instance, a Muggle AU for Harry Potter characters where they lack magic.
Bashing	Bashing refers to a writer who does not like a character or pairing and chooses to express their feelings within their work. For instance, “Dumbledore was not a good man, who leaves a baby on a doorstep in October without even ringing the doorbell?”
Canon	The source material for fanfiction, for example, Sherlock. Canonical stories follow the source material, rather than split from it.
Canon-divergent	Any story that takes the source material and changes what happens to explore an alternate timeline. For example, if Frodo Baggins chose not to make his journey and Samwise took the main role instead.
Character Death	Pretty self-explanatory. Used to warn of a canon character dying.
Crack	A term used to describe fanfiction that's intentionally written badly, or is based on nonsensical themes or concepts.
Crossover	Used to describe fanfiction that combines more than one canon. For example, if Dumbledore and Gandalf were secretly the same person.
Crosspost	Refers to a fic that is uploaded in more than one location, likely AO3 and FF.Net.
Darkfic	Fanfiction that deals heavily with upsetting themes.
Denialfic	Fanfiction that outright ignores or explains away a major plot point in canon, such as the death of a character, to form their own plot without the canon event.
Drabble	Originally used to describe any Fanfiction of exactly 100 words. Often used to describe any short Fanfiction.
Enemies to Lovers	Fanfiction in which former enemies fall in love with each other, usually in a Slow Burn story. One notable example is the Dramione pairing.
Fandom	The term used to describe the people who are fans of something. For example, the Star Trek fandom, or Marvel fandom.
Fanfic	Shortened term for “Fanfiction.” Can also be further shortened to simply Fic.
Fanon	Something that isn’t a fact within the original canon but has taken a life of its own within the fanfic community for a canon. For example, the Tempus spell that is commonly used to tell the time in Harry Potter Fanfic was never used in the canonical works of J.K. Rowling but has been accepted by the fandom.
Femslash	Fanfiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between female characters. “F/F” can sometimes be used to quickly describe a femslash fic.
FF.Net	“FanFiction.Net” - Alongside AO3, another favored site for uploading and reading Fanfiction.
Fluff	Cute, often romantic fanfiction and/or moments within a fanfiction.
Headcanon	Something a writer or reader chooses to believe is true, even though it’s not part of an established canon.
Het	Short for “Heterosexual,” describes a fanfiction that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between male and female characters. “M/F” can also be used.
Hurt/Comfort	Fanfiction in which a character suffers and then is comforted and helped to heal by other characters. Sometimes shortened to H/C.
Idfic	Based on Freud’s concept of the id, the part of the mind that focuses on personal desire with a lack of self-control. Idfics are written purely for the enjoyment of the writer, rather than to gain readers.
Oneshot	Fanfiction that is written as one solid piece rather than being divided into chapters. Can be of any length, but are usually shorter.
OC	“Original Character” - A character created by the author, rather than one originally from canon.
OTP	“One True Pairing” - Refers to a romantic couple that's preferred by the writer.
OT3	“One True Threesome” - Similar to OTP, with more characters involved. Also OT4, OT5, etc.
Pairing	A pair of characters who have been written into a romantic or sexual relationship.
Podfic	Refers to a fanfiction that has been recorded as an audiobook by the writer themselves, or with permission from the writer.
Post-canon	Stories are written after canonical events of the timeline.
Schmoop	An escalation of fluff. Fanfiction written to include an almost overly sweet romantic relationship between two characters.
Ship	Short for “Relationship,” refers to a pairing of characters. Many of these ships have dedicated combined names, such as Dramione (Draco/Hermione from Harry Potter), Ereri (Erin Jaeger/Livi Ackerman from Attack on Titan), and so on.
Shipper	A fan of a particular ship.
Slash	Like Femslash, except used to describe romantic or sexual relationships between male characters. Originally coined from the “/” between character names in a ship. “M/M” can also be used to quickly describe a slash fic.
Slow Burn	Fanfiction in which two characters gradually and naturally fall in love with each other over a prolonged period.
Smut	Sexually explicit stories or moments within larger stories. “Lemon” can also be used to describe explicit scenes, while “Lime” can be used to describe suggestive scenes.
Songfic	Fanfiction that includes multiple mentions of songs, or song lyrics included within the story as part of the plot.
WIP	“Work in Progress” - Used to describe any fanfiction that is not yet complete.

Now that we’ve been through some of the most common terms, let’s revisit that bizarrely coded sentence from before: “An angsty canon-divergent AU idfic for my crossover OTP on AO3.”

Put simply, this sentence describes a fanfiction on Archive of Our Own that was written for the enjoyment of the writer, featuring a turbulent romantic relationship between two characters from different canons in an alternate universe, breaking away from the timeline of the original story.

The above list is not entirely exhaustive, and there are other less common terms that you may come across while browning AO3 or FF.Net to find something to read. The ones listed here are those you’ll face most often and will help you discover stories with the themes you’re interested in.

The post The ultimate guide to common terms in the world of fanfiction appeared first on Destructoid.