⸝⸝ ʚ ! ⌗ °• 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𖥻 𓂃
TUTORIAL ˚ . ⁺ ❪ 𝑤𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 ₁₀₁ ❫
━━━━━━ ◟©𝓡𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 . ⁺
❪ 🪄°𓏲⋆📜. ⋆⸜ 🧹✮˚ ❫

𝙸𝙽 𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙲𝙷 ✶ ˖ i share thoughts,
tips, and ideas to help your harry potter
fanfics feel fresher, more original, and
a little more detailed. this chapter
leans more into opinions—i'll be honest
(sometimes brutally so), but always
with the intent to help
⩇⩇ː⩇⩇ ❛ Better stories begin
with braver 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐒 ⸝⸝ ʚ !

❪ on to the guide .ᐟ ❫

✶ 𓆩⚡𓆪 〔 OVERUSED PLOTLINES — GOLDEN TRIO ERA 〕 ✶
little tropes we've all seen a thousand times, but
sometimes need a reminder to rethink or twist ✶ ˖

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗻
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤
the chosen one... or maybe two? a trope where
harry has a twin sister who causes instant
drama when arriving to hogwarts. often falls for
or is the love interest of draco malfoy.
i also feel like one of harry's main character
details is that he's remained alone before going
to hogwarts.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤
swapping a character an "oc" with a canon
character—saying the same lines, making the same
choices, and serving the same purpose as
the original character did, while also cutting the
original canon character completely from the story.
in the end, it isn't really an oc, just the movie
retold with a new name attached. without unique
traits, motives, or a story of their own, these
ocs can feel flat and lose reader's interest.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱" 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗳𝗼𝘆
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

where draco suddenly decides to change
sides overnight, usually with little buildup
or believable motive. yes, we may want characters
to act differently than they do, but i think it's
at least important if you're going to change them,
to make it somewhat natural and accurate.

yes, draco would glare at you from across the
room and call you a mudblood any chance he
got, no he wouldn't suddenly fall in love with you
the same day meeting you and drop everyone
and everything without hesitation.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

THIS !! if you're writing an enemies to lovers,
they are enemies. they should not be
kissing by the third chapter and dating in the
fifth. i'm sorry but if they're truly enemies,
they need a build up. a rushed romance kills
the very thing that makes this trope work.
it's okay to have a slow burn. yes, i want
the romance, but the slow buildup
is what makes it amazing.

also most of the enemies to lovers fics i've
seen for harry potter is always using
draco as the love interest and it's always
slytherin x gryffindor. there's nothing wrong
with that, but it's okay to use other characters
and other houses. gryffindor and slytherin
are not the only houses in the fandom and it's
okay to have romance or enemies to lovers
with other houses. for example, my enemies
to lovers fic is with cedric and is
hufflepuff x slytherin, instead.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

while i understand for specific plotlines,
but i feel like people feel like their characters
always need to be related to a canon character.
i have seen fics where they create 5 different
ocs and they're all related to different characters.

i'm not saying you shouldn't or can't, but it's
okay to create your own wizarding family,
which i actually find to be really fun, or to connect
them with lesss commonly used characters.
instead of sirius, draco, harry, or ron, you
could do blaise zabini, luna lovegood, neville
longbottom, oliver wood, or cho chang.

✶ 𓆩⚡𓆪 〔 OVERUSED PLOTLINES — HOUSE PERSONALITIES 〕 ✶
clichés we see all the time when it comes to houses and
wizarding families, sometimes it's okay to give them a twist ✶ ˖

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝘀𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

⸝⸝ slytherins are always cruel, ambitious,
and pureblood snobs.

not every slytherin is a cruel snob.
ambition doesn't have to mean ruthless,
it can mean determination. slytherins can
be clever problem-solvers, loyal, and brave.
traits help define the house, but it doesn't
dictate an entire personality.

ex. horace slughorn. he wasn't all cruel or
elitist, yes he valued connections, but also
showed kindness, support, and even risked
his life by returning to hogwarts for the battle.
his ambiton was about building
relationships, not cruelty.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗴𝗿𝘆𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

⸝⸝ gryffindors are all brave, heroic,
and perfect.

not every gryffindor is a fearless leader that
charges instantly into battle. many of them
doubt themselves, make mistakes,
and struggle with insecurities of their own.
bravery comes in many different forms.

ex. neville longbottom. he wasn't the
stereotypical hero at first, but throughout
the films and books, his quiet bravery and
courage defined him just as much as harry's
more obvious bravery.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗵𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗳𝗳
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

⸝⸝ hufflepuffs are always nice, soft,
and easily overlooked.

not every hufflepuff fits that mold.
they can be loyal, ambitious, clever.
kindness does not equal weakness, yet in
many fanfics, hufflepuffs are reduced to
a one dimensional character whose kindness
automatically makes them timid,
submissive, and a victim to bullying.

ex. cedric diggory. he was kind, yes, but also
brave, respected, and very skilled.
his strength wasn't in spite of his kindness,
it was partially because of it.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘄
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

⸝⸝ ravenclaws are always nerdy,
bookish, and socially awkward.

this stereotype barely scratches the surface.
not every ravenclaw is buried in books
or stumbling through conversations. they can
be witty, charismatic, daring. their
defining trait is intelligence, but intelligence
comes in many forms.

ex. cho chang. it is seen that she wasn't
portrayed as an introverted scholar, but was
athletic, popular, and kind—yet remained
thoughtful. her intelligence wasn't about
how many books she was reading, but is showed
in emotional awareness and loyalty.

✶ 𓆩⚡𓆪 〔 OVERUSED PLOTLINES — BLOOD STATUS 〕 ✶
clichés we see all the time when it comes to purebloods,
half-bloods, and muggle-borns — every character is different ✶ ˖

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘀
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

now, i'm not saying you can't have
slytherins that are purebloods, i literally
have a fic with mainly pureblood slytherins
for the plot, but i feel a lot of people think
that if their character is a slytherin, they
automatically need to be a pureblood
born into a "pureblood legacy" family.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 & 𝗺𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲-𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

often in fanfiction, they're either automatically
good and heroic, or they're villainized
just for not being a pureblood. blood status
does not define morality, personality,
or your power. your character can be different
and break the mold without feeling out of place.

ೃ⁀➷ ┃ 𝗴𝗿𝘆𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗰𝘀
    ╭ ──╯
 ╰┈➤

sure, a heroic family background can
be fun for backstory, but too often every
gryffindor oc  is shoehorned into a 
"family of heroes" trope. being a brave
gryffindor doesn't require a having
a famous last name. same for slytherin
ocs as well.

⸝⸝ ʚ ! ⌗ °• 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐓 .ᐟ 𖥻 𓂃
⩇⩇ː⩇⩇ ❛ i hope hearing or seeing this
from someone else can help open up
new ideas, as it did for me. i'll definitely
add more to this chapter, so if you have
any requests, like face claims, plots, etc,
feel free to let me know.  ⸝⸝ ʚ !

❪ A GUIDE TO THE WIZARDING WORLD .ᐟ ❫
↳ 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘂𝗽 : ???