(Any lover of Nick must read Where Now and Then Meet!)

1. This is the hardest part. Don't worry about what the other guy thinks of your story! Sure, you say. I know it's difficult not to, because I worry about it myself, but if I think it's good enough to please at least two other people on this board, I post it.
2. Put the story you have in your head on paper. Give it a beginning, a middle, and an end. Then read it. Evaluate from there what it needs. Does it have a lot of unnecessary to the story parts in it? If so, are those parts interesting enough to hold the reader's interest until they are brought back to the plot?
   
3. If you like romance, make it romantic. If you like comedy, make it comical. If you like history, make it historical. In other words, write a story that you would have enjoyed seeing on BV.
   
4. You will do this, but I'll say it anyway. Write your first story based on your favorite BV character. The dialogue will come easier to you, because you have already studied that character. Listen carefully when you watch the episodes. When you write, try to think of how Vic., Jarrod, Nick, Heath or Audra, or even, bless his heart, Eugene, would say something. Would they use slang? Do they have a favorite expression such as "Wait a Minute!" Is that a Fact?" "Pretty Lady" or something else. If so, use it in your writing, but don't over use it unless your story is satirical. Get into the character's head. How would they think if they were put in the situation you have them in in your story at any given point? The worst part about fan fiction is that those reading it expect Heath and the others to stay in character, to do and say things the way they did in the actual episodes. You are not creating characters, you are working with characters your reader already knows.
   
5. Don't rewrite your work so much you grow tired of it. If you are afraid of someone being critical of a time line or a historical point, make a time line or historical point unnecessary in getting the point of your story across.
   
6. When you are writing, always stop at a point where you know exactly what you want to say next. That way, when you go back to it, you won't have difficulty finding a way to proceed.
   
7. Read the other fan fiction on the Board and in the library to get an idea of how others do it.
   
8. One of the pitfalls I have, not just with BV fanfiction, but other fiction I write, is a tendency to introduce too many things which must be tied up, explained away, brought to an end which will seem reasonable to the reader. For instance, in that long installment story I did, I had a hard time bringing all the sub plots to a close. The best way to avoid this is not to have so many sub plots. LOL
   
9. Again, don't worry about what the other guy thinks. I'll bet you two to one that because of the many different ways the folks who read this Board view BV and its characters, there will be several people who will like your story and say so.
   
10. The only way to write a story is to do it. Just do it.