Fanfiction Terms Explained

Fanfiction (fanfic, or just fic) is a story fans write using the characters or world of a book, show, game, or other work they love. It's usually shared for free on sites like AO3 and Wattpad, and the original work it borrows from is called canon.

Start reading or writing fanfiction and the jargon arrives all at once: OOC, Y/N, canon divergence, NOTP. You need these terms to read a fic's summary and tags, and to tag your own.

This glossary groups the most common fanfiction terms into five sets. Where one of our posts covers a term in depth, it's linked.

The basics

Term	What it means	More
Fanfiction, fanfic, fic	A story fans write using the characters and world of an existing work	How to write fanfiction
Fandom	The fans of a particular work, and the community around it. Also used for the work itself, as in “which fandom do you write for?”	—
Canon	What the original work actually establishes: its events, lore, and characters	How to write fanfiction
Fanon	Details fans have repeated so often they feel like canon, even though canon never says them	How to write fanfiction
Headcanon	Your own interpretation of something canon leaves open, like a character's favorite food or how they spent the years canon skips	—
Characterization	How a writer portrays a character: their voice, values, and reactions	Keeping characters in character
OOC (out of character)	A character talking or acting in a way that doesn't fit who they are in canon	Keeping characters in character
Trope	A familiar story pattern readers search for, like slow burn, enemies to lovers, or hurt/comfort	—

OOC and characterization go together. If you write down how you read a character, with the canon scenes behind it, you have something to check a finished fic against.

How far a fic strays from canon

Term	What it means	More
Canon-compliant	A fic that keeps canon's events and lore, and fills in gaps canon never showed	How to write fanfiction
Canon divergence	A fic where one moment in canon goes differently, and the story follows from there	How to write fanfiction
AU (alternate universe)	The same characters in a different world, like a coffee shop, a college campus, or another fantasy setting	How to write fanfiction

Canon divergence and AU differ in how far they move from canon. A canon divergence fic follows canon until one point, then branches. An AU starts in a different world from the first line. Tag either one clearly, and readers won't mistake your changes for OOC writing.

Characters and relationships

Term	What it means	More
Ship, shipping	Wanting two (or more) characters to be in a relationship. A “ship” is the pairing itself	—
Pairing	Two characters written as a couple. On AO3, a slash (A/B) marks a romantic relationship and an ampersand (A & B) a platonic one	—
OTP / NOTP	One True Pairing, your favorite ship. NOTP is a pairing you'd rather never read	—
Slash / femslash	Fics centered on a romantic relationship between two men (slash) or two women (femslash)	—
Gen	A fic with no romantic relationship at the center: friendship, family, adventure	—
OC (original character)	A character the writer created, who doesn't appear in canon	x Reader and self-insert
Self-insert	The writer putting a version of themselves into the story	x Reader and self-insert
Reader-insert, x Reader	A fic where the reader steps into the story, usually as “you,” alongside a canon character	x Reader and self-insert
Y/N	“Your name.” Placed where the reader-insert's name would go. You'll also see L/N (last name) and H/C (hair color)	x Reader and self-insert
Mary Sue	An original or insert character who's good at everything and loved by everyone, usually at the story's expense	x Reader and self-insert

Fic formats

Term	What it means	More
One-shot	A complete fic in a single chapter	How to write fanfiction
Drabble	A very short fic. Strictly 100 words, though many people use it for any short piece	—
Multichapter	A fic posted in several chapters	—
WIP (work in progress)	A fic that's still being posted and isn't finished yet	—
Prompt	A short idea or scenario, often requested by readers, that a writer turns into a fic	—

Posting and community

Term	What it means	More
AO3 (Archive of Our Own)	A nonprofit fanfiction archive run by the Organization for Transformative Works	AI and fanfiction rules
Tags	Labels on a fic for fandom, characters, relationships, tropes, and content. Tags are how readers find fics, and how they avoid what they don't want	How to write fanfiction
Rating	How mature a fic is, from general audiences to explicit	How to write fanfiction
Archive Warnings	AO3's warnings for a few kinds of serious content, such as major character death. Writers can also choose not to use them, which tells readers to proceed at their own risk	How to write fanfiction
Content warnings, TW	Notes in a summary or author's note about content some readers may want to avoid	—
Summary	The short description readers see before opening a fic	—
Author's note (A/N)	A note from the writer at the start or end of a fic or chapter	—
Beta reader	Someone who reads a fic before it's posted and points out problems. “Not beta'd” means nobody did	How to write fanfiction
Kudos	AO3's equivalent of a like. Readers can leave one per fic	—

What to put in your summary and tags

Once you know the terms, writing a summary and tags gets easier. For a first fic, try this order:

The fandom
The relationship (A/B or A & B), or gen. For an x Reader fic, the canon character and Reader
If it's canon divergence or an AU, one line on the setup
Rating and warnings

FAQ

What does OOC mean?

OOC stands for out of character. It describes a character talking or acting in a way that doesn't fit who they are in canon. What Does OOC Mean in Fanfiction? covers where it shows up and how to check your own writing for it.

What's the difference between canon, fanon, and headcanon?

Canon is what the original work establishes. Fanon is what many fans believe, even though canon never says it. A headcanon is one fan's own interpretation. A headcanon that enough fans share can become fanon.

What does Y/N mean?

Y/N stands for “your name.” In reader-insert fics, it goes where the insert's name would be, so each reader can fill in their own. How to Write x Reader and Self-Insert Fanfiction explains how these fics work.

What does AU mean in fanfiction?

AU stands for alternate universe. It's a fic that takes the characters out of canon's world and puts them somewhere else, like a modern coffee shop or a different fantasy setting.

What does WIP mean?

WIP stands for work in progress: a fic that's still being posted and isn't complete. On AO3, a chapter count like 3/? means the writer hasn't decided how many chapters there will be.

Sources

AO3: Terms of Service FAQ