This is the first of hopefully many installments of the Know Your Reader tips. This idea was originally supposed to be chapter 17, but I am so sporadic that it didn’t happen correctly. I hope that this is very clear and logic.

Write according to how well your reader knows the subject of your story. I am using subject broadly as both the plot of the story and the characters. Why People Hate Your Story will be my example. If you are reading this I can assume that you either A) are looking for tips on how to improve your writing and gain readers, B) like to read rants and enjoy the logic and sarcasm behind them, or C) hate rants and choose to briefly read them to criticize the author with your generalization that all rant fics are rude and just want to make writers cry because obviously we’re all es. I suppose there is a fourth category for something but I don’t care to think about it.

I know that I am going to have readers that find me helpful, funny, or repulsive. Why do you even read these things? Since the audience I hope to maintain is split between those that could write this for me (albeit with considerably less sarcasm and dark humor) and those that are learning basic writing tips, I have to write in accordance to that. Screw group C.

Relating that to actual fanfiction, writers have to be aware that all their readers will have different experiences with their respective fandoms. Some readers will understand every reference from a long time of liking the band; other readers won’t get any of the jokes because they just started liking this group.

When making references about an idol or group, make the reference understandable without killing the joke.

Things to pay attention to:

1. Names- Names like C.A.P, Zelo, Lay, Onew, Taeyang, Sunny, and CL are all clearly stage names; however, writers like to either use their stage name or their real name in fics. I only know the real names of half the people I listed. It is incredibly confusing to read a fic and not understand who it is about.

Easy way to solve this problem—just describe the character properly. Perhaps this goes back to characterization, but it should be obvious who each character is no matter what their name is and what album era they are based off of. Lee Chaerin, a blonde badass who doesn’t take from anyone, walked into the room with her eyes embellished with popping makeup and her hair tied up on a retro style. Choi Junhong, a sixteen year old giant with chubby cheeks shyly passionately danced to hip-hop. A physical description should be enough because the reader should at least know that much about the band.

2. Character quirks- Something as obvious to me as Junsu liking coconuts and Zelo wanting cherry tomatoes is most definitely lost on many readers. Knowing that something is being alluded to and not understanding the reference is one of the most frustrating things about a fanfic.

What to do—seamlessly incorporate the quirk into the story. No justice is made by very obviously explaining the joke or very obviously leaving the joke hanging. If you are going to mention something, make it fit. My reference to Zelo and cherry tomatoes in the last chapter, while not everyone gets the joke, it fit quite well with chapter. In the OTP chapter, the joke about shipping Junsu with coconuts might have been lost on people, but it too fit perfectly.

Junhong stared at the produce, eyeing the prices and checking the freshness of the vegetables. The cucumbers looked a little too green and the potatoes had roots growing out of them. The cherry tomatoes sat in friendly prepackaging waiting to be bought. “I want some cherry tomatoes.”

If the reader doesn’t understand the reference, that’s fine, he wouldn’t even realize it and wouldn’t be bothered. If he does recognize it, he will probably be pleased and think you are a witty and creative writer.

3. Songs- it is quite difficult to read an Exo story and understand who is who based off not only their name but also their super power when I don’t know either. Fanfics that are clearly based off a song are not the problem. It’s those little bits about how Donghae practices magic tricks and can make roses appear from nowhere that get people confused.

The key to fixing this is explanation and description. The writer cannot assume that the reader has seen the every MV by the idol group and has memorized every detail in it. The reader’s understanding depends on how you present the allusion. Make it very clear that the members of Exo are from a different planet and have mythical powers, and match powers with people!

Yoochun, quiet and gentle—his large rabbit ears attracted the lion in the distance. He welcomed the presence of the lion because he hated to be alone. The blonde haired lion, Jaejoong, crept closer and closer to the gentle rabbit, Yoochun. The lion was a silent hunter, never making a sound despite its clumsy movements. Suddenly, a tall deer shot out of the forest, his brown hair flowing in the wind. An equally tall tiger darted out in chase. Deer Changmin raced for his life, his youth an advantage over the leader-like Yunho Tiger. Randomly a Junsu sheep bleated and ruined the tense atmosphere, and all the animals shunned the creature for being so awkward.

4. Multiple bands- There are several reasons why you shouldn’t write about more than one band at a time. The first is the best reason in my opinion. The reader doesn’t care about the other band. I’m reading a Big Bang fic, why is Infinite in this? When I am reading a fic about a certain group, I only want to read about that group. I won’t enjoy having these crossovers. Some cases are okay like when I am reading DBSK fics I am perfectly okay with seeing Super Junior or SNSD as well because they are under the same company and it’s not a strange concept. This idea is similar to why reading OTP fics is hard because of the other couples I don’t care to read about.

The second one goes along with the other reasons. The reader might not actually know these people. Just as the reader might not get that joke or know their other name, they might not know who D-Unit is. Even with these popular groups, you can’t assume that everyone knows them. For instance, in my Korean class my teacher asked who had Park as last name and Maria and I both said Park Yoochun and the girl in front of us asked who he is (we both gave her a look of ‘how do you not who Park Yoochun is’).

In some cases, they might just confuse the person for an OC. This happens to me when the person doesn’t fit and I’m not sure if it is the idol because they’re using their real name instead of a stage name and they make no indication as to whom they really are.

Then there is the whole factor of actually needing more characters. Work with the characters you have, don’t make too many.

Exception: when the other band people are treated like OCs. If you recognize them, great, if you don't, the understanding of the story is not affected. 

Onto subject as the plot. A reader should be able to read the story and understand it without having any background information about the topic. Not everyone is knowledgeable about the military for instance, even less so about the Korean military. If someone were to write a fic about say Rain or Heechul or Leeteuk in the military, you’d want to include things that help the reader understand the situation better.

A good example of this being done is with Janie’s story that got featured. It was something about Kyuhyun and things being hard on him. The first part of the story was an in-depth look at the life on an SM trainee. It addressed social issues like hierarchy, school, and bullying. A stark contrast from the delusional idea many girls have about being a trainee (which is why trainee/band fics are so unrealistic). It was a brand new concept for many people and it was understandable because the topic was explained very well.

Then Kyuhyun became stupid and deserved everything…

No matter what you write about, try and describe it to the fullest. Even a high school fic needs to be explained better. Chances are that your school system is different from the school system in Korea. Try and write so people can picture it clearly and understand the cultural differences.

It is very important to once again not assume that your reader know everything about being a doctor, or being an idol, or working behind the scenes of hello baby.

Because you don’t know all your readers, and if you have enough of them, you never will.

Next time it’ll be age groups of your audience?