Fanfiction Glossary
From UnknowableWiki
The Fanfiction Dictionary is a master list of some of the main Harry Potter-fanfiction-oriented terms used in our fandom. Several items from this list come from The Fanfiction Dictionary, posted by hell_penguin at UR and quoted/adapted to this page with the author's permission.
Contents |
A-E
- Acronyms
- What happens to lazy fans who can't be bothered to write the full name of books or characters. Their excessive usage can make comprehension by fandom outsiders difficult. At UnknowableWiki, the standard book acronyms are PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP and HBP. They should be used sparingly.
- AU
- Stands for Alternate Universe. AU fics do not follow canon directives; a common example of AU fic in Potterverse is writing about any given wizard as if he or she were a Muggle.
- Canon
- Everything J. K. Rowling has written or said about the series.
- __-centric
- The term means that a certain fanfic is centred almost totally on one character (e.g. a Lilycentric fic).
- Cliché
- 1. An overused phrase, both in fanon and regular literature, that should be avoided, at the risk of sounding cheap or corny (e.g. "from the bottom of one's heart").
- 2. An overused situation or plot device in fanon, that should also be avoided (e.g. having Lily and James fall for each other after the death of a parent).
- Cliffhangers
- The bane of all fangirl/boy existence: a chapter ending that comes abruptly, right before or in the middle of a crucial situation. (see 'The Five Stages of Acceptance')
- Cosplay
- Dressing up like a fictional character for movie premieres, conventions and other fan meeting spots.
- Crackfic
- Crazy, often pointless fanfic, written solely to entertain; its plot usually makes little sense to anyone who (unlike the author) isn't hyper when faced with the story.
- Crossovers
- Combining elements of two or more universes (e.g. a House M.D./Harry Potter crossover would likely have Dr. Cameron and Remus bonding over a cup of hot tea, or Dr. House himself exchanging barbs with Severus Snape).
- Disclaimer
- A feeble guarantee, but a necessary one nonetheless; authors should always state plainly that, while they acknowledge that J. K. Rowling owns the copyright for Harry Potter and all other related names, the fic in question intends only to pay homage to the books by borrowing its characters, with no intention to make a profit. Disclaimers are unnecessary when posting at UnknowableRoom; an automatically generated one shows up in each fic page.
- Drabble
- Any piece of fanfiction between 100 and 500 words.
F-J
- Fanboys
- Like fangirls, only more macho (sometimes), and often somewhat more subtle.
- Fangirls
- Breed of females who utterly devote themselves to their fandom. Often seen squeeing at movie or book premieres, shamelessly wearing their fanon's merchandise, and having heart-to-heart intense discussions about obscure Movies x Books problem points. Fangirls can also be devoted to a certain author or fic.
- Fanon
- Everything that's been written by fans, based on canon. The word is most often used when referring to a
Fanfiction materials. Anything that is written by fans. Not published. Sometimes, after not reading books for a while, and reading a lot of fanon, people tend to get fanon and canon confused. To avoid this, reread the books.
- Five Stages of Acceptance
- 1)NOOOOOOOO. 2) I hate you. 3) I actually love you, so please update. 4) This was brilliant, by the way. 5) Can’t wait!
- Happy Pill
- The only form of medication not needing a prescription or rehab. Comes in many forms, most commonly a really good fanfic, a pairing, or a celebrity in a movie based on a book, i.e.: Rupert Grint is my Happy Pill.
- Hourglass Awards
- Fandom-wide fanfic awards, like the Academy Awards, where fangirls and fanboys alike nominate their favorite fanfics.
K-O
- Lemon
- Term used to mean a sex scene. Almost always means it will be rated R or NC-17, sometimes even XXX.
- Lexicon
- In the Harry Potter world, the HP Lexicon is where you go when you're writing a fanfic and you need to know some things about HP that you forgot. Contains a huge archive for all things Harry Potter, including a list of all the characters, a timeline, and many more. If ever in doubt, give the Lexicon a shout.
- Mary Sue
- General term referencing an Other Character (OC).
- MWPP
- in Harry Potter fanfic, stands for Moony-Wormtail-Padfoot-Prongs. Anything deemed MWPP-era means when Harry’s parents and their friends were still at school. So, B.H. (Before Harry)
- OC
- stands for Other Character or Original Character. Means a fanfic has added in a character that doesn’t exist in canon, and was invented by the author.
- Old Hat
- A type of cliche/proverb that's overused and old. ex: "tough cookie", "that's the way the cookie crumbles."
- One-Shot
- A short fanfic. Not meant to turn into anything extended, like a series or a novel.
- OOC
- is actually a role-playing term, but can apply to fanfic. Means Out of Character. Please, please, do NOT write anything OOC, it hurts us.
- OTP
- Stands for One True Pairing.
P-T
- Parody
- A Ha-Ha account of a fandom, wherein the characters are blatantly made fun of and the whole point of the fanfic to poke fun at the fandom. I.E.: like Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars and Star Trek.
Potterverse
- R&R
- Read and Review. Trust me; reviews are like candy to authors. While it may be a few words or random praise, or even harsh criticism, it doesn’t take much to get the author sugar-high.
- Scrivenshaft
- Well-known HP fanfic-writing contest. Held every now and then, in which participants write fanfic within a month, inspired by a specific prompt, and send it in to be judged by fans. There are five categories. For more information, see the Unknowable Room’s Scrivenshaft page.
- Ship
- Stands for RelationSHIP. Any pairing in any book/movie. Most often, people will ask “Who do you ship?” This means: What 2/3/? characters do you like to be paired together, like Ron/Hermione.
- Slash
- Technically, taking 2 characters or more and pairing/shipping them. However, usually means either a boy/boy ship or a girl/girl ship. If you are homophobic or just think slash is icky, don’t read and flame, or a giant wand will appear out of nowhere and Avadra Kadavra you.
- Songfic
- a fanfic either based on or turned into a song.
- Spoilers
- What to look for if you haven’t read that book/seen that movie, unless you like to know what happens beforehand.
- Spontaneous Squee
- The form of SQUEE most often found in classrooms, during the movies, in bookstores/libraries, and other serious and/or quiet situations. Occurs when someone either reads a particularly delicious passage in a book, sees something SQUEE-worthy in a movie, and cannot resist either laughing or SQUEEing aloud, often disturbing the surrounding bystanders. Results in many a curious or nervous glare, and often a blush from the SQUEEer.
- SS
- Stands for (in the HP world) Sorcerer's Stone, a.k.a. the first Harry Potter Book. Also known as PS, short for Philosopher's Stone, the title of the same book, only released in the UK.
- SQUEE
- sound fangirls and fanboys often make when 1) Encountering something super-cute; 2) Reading fanfic that makes them happy inside; 3) They are immensely excited; doesn't have to be sound like "squee," can be any range of squeaks or giggles.
U-Z
- Vignette
- Pronounced VIN-yet. A short written piece, often very descriptive. And, apparently, also a small picture at the beginning and end of a chapter.
