Welcome to TheForce.Net's Fan Fiction archive. We're glad that you're considering sending us your work for consideration.

Although crossover fan fiction is a traditional form, TheForce.Net only archives stories that take place exclusively in the Star Wars universe--no other fictional universe characters or settings should appear, nor should real-world characters, including personalities associated with Star Wars. This applies to any artifact from the real world, including songs, poetry, novels, etc.

TheForce.net is a family-friendly site, and stories archived here should be simliar to movies rated from G to a conservative PG13.

• G-rated stories at TFN are suitable for readers of any age. Violence may be present, but it isn't graphic. Frightening images and events may crop up, but they aren't explicit, and are usually more symbolic than realistic. There is no crass language, and sexuality is extremely limited.
  Examples
  Movie: Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Book: The Secret Garden, by Francis Hodgdin Burnett or The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• PG-rated stories may have content that parents might want to view with younger children. Violence is often present, but rarely lingered on, and not used for its own sake. There may be some mild language, but not more extreme than Han's "I'll see you in hell!" in The Empire Strikes Back. Sexuality may be more present than in a G story, but it shouldn't proceed beyond a shared kiss.
  Examples
  Movies: the Star Wars series, Books: Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
• PG13-rated stories have a higher threshold for violence than PG stories, but approximately the same threshold for sexuality. They are stories that are not appropriate for very young children, but which do not cross the line into the level of graphic description typical of an R-rating.
  Examples
  Movie: The Mask of Zorro, Books: Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling

The Archive is not limited to stories about the established characters from the Star Wars movies. Stories featuring characters original to the author -- as long as they are set in the Star Wars universe -- are welcome.

The Extended Universe (the novels, comic books, role playing games, etc, officially produced by Lucasfilm and its affiliates) is scrupulously used by some fan fiction writers and totally disregarded by others, and many writers fall somewhere on the continuum between the two extremes. The Archive is open to both approaches, and will judge the story on its own merits. If EU characters are used, they should be in tune with their presentation in the books (as the fanfic author has seen them), or have good reason to behave differently.

Alternate Universe stories (AUs), in which part of canon has been deliberately changed, are also welcome.

Stories may be submitted as Word documents (.doc), simple web pages (.html), or text files (.txt) (see the Style Guide for hints on format notation in plain text).

Stories are expected to be beta read before submission. A beta reading should look for:

• Grammar and spelling errors. While a few errors are bound to make it through, too many such errors will result in a rejection.
• Plot continuity and technical errors. Your betas should let you know if there are any plot threads left unintentionally unresolved, and note places where there are internal continuity problems (eg, you had a character leave the room on page four, and she speaks again on page five without re-entering or using a comm-link).
• Character issues. Fan fiction allows much more freedom than professional fiction in terms of character interpretations, but your betas should point it out if your characters suddenly begin to behave very oddly for no appreciable reason.
• Intangible things. Ask your betas to tell you what they got out of your story before you tell him or her what you meant. "I like this!" is a nice thing to hear, but what you need from a beta reader is to hear, "I really liked the way you showed Qui-Gon's early dissent from the Jedi Council, because it resonates with the way he behaves in his early scenes with Shmi in TPM" (or whatever). If that's what you meant to convey, it tells you that you've succeeded. If it's not what you meant, it can mean two things. You may decide that you really like it, and want to leave it alone or even expand on it. You might also decide that you absolutely don't want to give that impression, and therefore you want to change the things that gave it.

While suggestions from your beta readers can be disregarded or followed at will, we recommend giving your story a once-over after you finish any revisions just to check from any errors you may have missed before.

Multi-part stories

All stories submitted to the Archive must be complete at the time of submission. Please consider submitting long pieces singularly, even if they have distinct movements. If you have planned a trilogy or other multi-part form, and it is artistically necessary for there to be separation between sections, submit all parts simultaneously, and they will be reviewed by the same reviewers, and treated as a single entity -- accepted or rejected as a whole -- then archived serially if you so wish. Multipart stories should be no more than six installments.

A sequel differs from a multipart story in that, while the sequel continues a story begun elsewhere, it is not necessary to it. If you've written a story which you later decide to write a sequel for, the sequel would be submitted separately and judged on its own merits, as any other individual story.

The process

TheForce.Net's Fan Fiction Archive is a selective archive, and all submitted stories go through a reviewing process before being approved.

1. Before you submit, make sure to have your story beta read (critiqued) by two readers, who will check it for spelling and grammar errors, as well as for plot continuity, "bloopers," and other artistic concerns. When you've done this, you're ready to move on.
   
2. Log in, and choose "Submission" under "Get Archived." Since you're logged in, your name will appear as the author. Spaces will appear for other authors (if your piece was written with others), who must also be registered as contributors. You'll be asked for the e-mail of your beta readers, then the title, summary, and rating of your story. The summary will appear in the listing for your story, as a "teaser" for readers, so choose something that gives enough information to let people know what sort of story it is, while still being intriguing. After the rating, there's a space for any keywords you think people are likely to search by (X-wing, politics, etc), then a list of checkboxes to identify your genre, your time setting, and your primary and secondary characters. Check all that apply, then click "Continue to next step"
3. You will also be asked for the time period of your story, so people reading it will have an idea what part of the SW saga they're dealing with. With the exception of the New Jedi Order era, stories set in any of these time periods may choose to follow the EU or not, depending on the author's preference. NJO, of course, is tied to that part of the universe, though NJO-based alternate universes are eligible. They also can all include established characters, original characters, or any combination thereof.
   1. Ancient (SW) History would include stories that take place long before the movies, before any of the known characters (except maybe Yoda) were born.
      
   2. Pre-TPM stories take place in the time period leading up to the prequels, during the lives of the established characters.
      
   3. The Prequels are stories that take place in the time frame of Episodes I-III (including the ten years between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
      
   4. Intertrilogy stories fill the gap between Episode III and A New Hope.
   5. Classic Trilogy stories take place during the original trilogy.
   6. Post-ANH refers to stories that take place shortly after Episode IV, and before Episode V.
   7. Post-RotJ stories take place after the Classic trilogy, but in the natural life span of the characters.
   8. New Jedi Order Era stories are set in the NJO era, and are dependent on that part of the EU.
   9. Far (SW) Future, like Ancient History, takes place outside the life spans of the established characters. How might things develop over the next several decades? Centuries?
4. Upload your story. When this is complete, you'll be given the opportunity to upload cover art as well, but that is not mandatory.
5. Once this is done, your story will enter the reviewing process. Two reviewers will read it, and if they agree, it will either be archived or not as they recommend. If they disagree, an editor will choose.