Read on Twitter
Hi everyone! If you are new to posting on AO3 or you& #39;re just not sure how to format the way other users do, here is a thread for you about formatting on AO3!
I& #39;ve been using ao3 for about 6 years now, and it took me a while to learn how to do it. Of course, there is no "one perfect way" to format a fic! But these are some general guidelines people tend to use, and a couple tricks/tips just to make publishing a fic easier
i will be using the markhyuck fic "one by one" from my ao3 as an example. If you& #39;re interested, please check me out! My ao3 username is slimequeen 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đź’ž" title="Drehende Herzen" aria-label="Emoji: Drehende Herzen">
1. Make sure not to write in block text! This means text without paragraphs, which makes your work extremely hard to read because it all runs together. Remember to make a new paragraph every time there is a new idea or another person speaks, as it will make your story flow better
Here is an example of block text vs text with paragraphs. The second one is much easier to process and read because it& #39;s broken up! This is a step you should take when you are writing in your google doc/word doc, or even your notes app.
2. Formatting on AO3:
when posting a fanfic, ao3 defaults to html coding in the box where you are supposed to insert/paste your work. This makes things difficult, because no one types in html when they& #39;re working on a piece. There is an easy fix to this, though!
when posting a fanfic, ao3 defaults to html coding in the box where you are supposed to insert/paste your work. This makes things difficult, because no one types in html when they& #39;re working on a piece. There is an easy fix to this, though!
After clicking post new work and finishing with the tags/title, scroll to the bottom of the page to the work text box. The setting will be on HTML. Instead, set it to "Rich Text" before you paste your story! This keeps your paragraphs, italics, bolds, that html would get rid of.
If you don& #39;t click Rich Text, it will automatically format as block text, which we already covered above.
3. How to link your twt, curiouscat, etc:
I always hyperlink to my twitter in my end note. This requires some knowledge on html! Don& #39;t worry tho, it& #39;s pretty easy! I keep my code in my notes app or copy it from other fics i& #39;ve already published, so i can copy paste on new works
I always hyperlink to my twitter in my end note. This requires some knowledge on html! Don& #39;t worry tho, it& #39;s pretty easy! I keep my code in my notes app or copy it from other fics i& #39;ve already published, so i can copy paste on new works
As you see in the pics, I have my twitter linked. Basically, you type in this exact code (it can also be searched on google "hyperlink html" if you& #39;re lazy like me :P)
In the quotation marks, insert whatever URL you want to link to! In the second part, where I have "twitter" written, write what you want people to see underlined/what they will click on to get to the website. Hyperlinks can be used for photos and in your AO3 summary as well.
Sometimes I need to look up certain html codes to use in my summary or notes. These are easily googled too! These are for when I want paragraph breaks or italics in my summary. Occasionally I use it to link translations of my work as well!
4. How to tag your works:
Personally, I don& #39;t use too many tags. Having a long ass tag section can be a little intimidating and can make your fic look too scattered! Stick to things like relevant kinks, AUs, main characters and ships, and warnings.
Personally, I don& #39;t use too many tags. Having a long ass tag section can be a little intimidating and can make your fic look too scattered! Stick to things like relevant kinks, AUs, main characters and ships, and warnings.
If the fandom you& #39;re writing for has 21 members (*cough*nct*cough*) you dont have to tag every single member unless they& #39;re all equally as important to your story! Characters/pairings who only show up a couple times don& #39;t necessarily need to be tagged!
5. Finally, this is a pet peeve of mine, but please don& #39;t put things like "this is my first fic so sorry if it sucks" or "this is terrible," etc... in your summary!!! If you put down your own fic, it doesn& #39;t make others want to read it!
Save anything you want to personally say as the author for your authors note(s)! And have some confidence! Everyone starts somewhere, no fic sucks! I thought so many of my old fics were awful but there& #39;s no way to progress unless you put yourself out there and keep writing!
If you have anything ready to post, be proud of yourself! It& #39;s not an easy thing to do, to sit down and write a piece. If you think your own work sucks and talk trash about it, what will stop other people from thinking it& #39;s not worth reading?
I hope this thread helped! If anyone has any other questions about ao3 or formatting or writing in general, I& #39;m obviously no expert but I& #39;ll try my best to answer! You can send them here https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đź’ž" title="Drehende Herzen" aria-label="Emoji: Drehende Herzen">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đź’ž" title="Drehende Herzen" aria-label="Emoji: Drehende Herzen"> https://curiouscat.me/slimequeen ">https://curiouscat.me/slimequee...
Hey y’all I’ve been getting a lot of qrts and stuff from people saying they do type in html! Personally I’m not used to it and I write the same way I do for my manuscript (without html) but I think it’s totally valid and impressive that you do! Again, there’s no one way to type +
+ and i just wanted to inform people that the rich text editor exists/is there because a lot of people don’t automatically type in html! I’m aware the RTE can mess up formatting too!
