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ValentinesDayGreen — Tips for Creepypasta Reader Inserts
Published: 2019-01-26 00:37:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 17828; Favourites: 68; Downloads: 0
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Okay, at long last I am publishing my list of tips for writing creepypasta reader inserts—and honestly, a bit of writing in general. I've been working on this list for a while now (2019 Note: I originally uploaded this to Sta.sh on January 2015, what the hell!!), and have been adding and removing various tips and tricks. Be warned, this will be pretty long and rough at points since I've been editing it a LOT over the years, and some of these are more nitpicking than tips. However, some of this will actually apply to writing in general, so hopefully you'll find it helpful even beyond that!

1. NO RUSHING

This is a point so important, that I have to make it the very first one. Without a doubt, rushing is the single most common complaint inside reader inserts. Pacing is key to writing ANY good story, no matter what genre. RUSHING IS BAD. PERIOD. Some more specific tips:

  • No "Love at First Sight" on either end.  This is one of the single most common complaints amongst readers, if not THE most common one. Many stories have the creep seeing the reader and falling in love with her right away, either from afar or while targeting her and/or some friends. This would never happen; I have an entire section of the guide dedicated to how creepypasta characters' minds literally do not work like this. A few stories also have the reader being attracted to the creep even as he's actively terrorizing her, covered in blood or murdering someone right in front of her. If you actually think like that, please seek counseling for your own safety, as 99.999% of situations like that in real life will end with you dead.
  • LOVE WON'T HAPPEN IF THE CREEP KILLS SOMEONE CLOSE TO THE READER. Contrary to some people's beliefs, in real life you would not see the unknown killer standing over the corpses of your dead family and find him to be "strangely hot". Even if the family's abusive, realistically, the first reaction would still be panic since this stranger you've never seen before just killed your family and you have no idea if you're next.
  • DO NOT KISS AT THE END OF CHAPTER 1 OR 2. If it is their first meeting, and they show ANY signs of romantic feelings by the end of the first couple chapters? 9,999 times out of 10,000, that's rushing. Even if they have a history from before the creep became, well, a creep, DON'T DO THAT. Just. Trust me.
  • Don't have the reader willingly leave to follow/live with the creep if they've only just met. This extends beyond the first day. No matter what kind of family life the reader may have, this person is still a killer. This would apply even if the other interest was a totally normal person because that person is STILL a stranger, even if you felt a "spark" when you met. You don't know anything about them—definitely no where near enough to suddenly decide to give up their whole life for them.
  • Create more specific reasons for the romance than just "appearance". I am not ugly, but I am not beautiful, either. I'm average. I don't think a serial killer/organ eater/ghost/etc. would fall in love with me because I'm "pretty", and the same goes for a lot of people. It's just a shallow reason for love. And nine times out of ten, they'd kill you anyway. If you're beautiful when you're alive, then you'd be GORGEOUS covered in your own blood. Remember, their minds are different from a normal person's. (Seriously, look at Jeff's definition of "beautiful". I really hope you don't meet that naturally.)
  • Create a reason to actually NOT kill and hate each other, rather than just appearance. 99% of the time, the creeps will kill a person, and people will completely and utterly fear them. The tricky part is finding a reason for the creep to not kill the reader, but it's also a fun challenge. In Chains, I had the reader free Jack so he'd have motive to spare her out of gratitude. In return, Jack had PTSD from his experiences, giving the reader a reason to feel bad for him. Also, Stockholm Syndrome.
  • Have your character actually grieve death. Another pet peeve: people have the reader move on from death way too fast. Even the murder of a stranger would leave a bit of an impact, because holy s***, this monster/killer/creep just killed a guy!! Not all stories have a character die, but if they do, give the reader time to grieve or process death. (This applies to ALL genres, not just reader inserts.)
  • Think of the Creep as "random killer/monster", and the reader as yourself in that ACTUAL situation. A lot of people let their opinions/favoritism towards a character bias how they write the interactions and reader's reactions. It's better to think of the character as a random murderer first, and your beloved character second, to make all of the reactions more realistic.

2. THE STORY
Now that we have rushing/pacing out of the way, we can tackle the meatier subjects. The very first thing to do when writing a story is to give it a plot.
  • Every story should have a plot beyond just the romance. Many stories skip to the romance almost instantly, but this leaves little meat and thus many stories will quickly fall into the same patterns once it stretches on long enough, which inevitably leads to boring readers. Having an overall plot is not only good for the audience's sake, but also the writer's. Writer's block is a cruel mistress. By having an overall plot in mind, you can figure out where to go with the story. The plot doesn't even need to be detailed. The reader could be homeless, the creep could break into their house and hide there from the police for a while... Just, make sure there's an ending.
  • The plot should be more than just how they meet. "Walking through the woods and running into a killer" is a way for them to meet, yes, but that's it. You need more substance than that and the romance, or you'll get stuck as described above.
  • If the story is just an excuse to write lemons or snugglytimes, go back to the drawing board. One of the main reasons people rush in writing stories is to get to those scenes. If that's your sole purpose for writing the story, just write the lemon in a one-shot. Chances are you'd rush the story anyway, and after writing the desired lemon you'd get block in no time. Just save yourself the trouble and go to a one-shot. (Note: lemons are technically not allowed and can get you banned from deviantArt. There have been people in the past who'd search out lemons just to report them due to grievances with one or more members of the community. Be wary of posting them.)
  • Not all plots will fit every character. Every character is different, and as a result some plots may be suited for one character but not another. As such, you need to either find a plot that fits the character you want to write, or a character that fits the plot you want to write. Chains is actually a pretty good example of what I mean, as it works best with Eyeless Jack. Jeff would likely kill the reader upon release, BEN would just phase through the chains as a ghost, the proxies would likely be tracked down by the other proxies and/or Slenderman (and even if they weren't found, Slenderman would still most likely kill the reader afterwards), Slenderman wouldn't get in that situation at all, and Laughing Jack may not be restrainable at all—and even if he were, his appearance would probably intimidate the reader too much to release him.
  • The setting influences what story you can tell. The setting you choose for your story will both limit certain plot opportunities and present new ones others can't. It all depends on how you use it. For example, school settings give the reader a sense of normalcy, but most creeps can't/won't attend school. Forests and woods, meanwhile, are a perfect place to run into a killer, but not all creeps would be likely to appear there. Just like plots, some settings also fit a character more than others. Find fun and unique settings, or at least add a twist. Some settings I've used in unpublished drabbles/ideas: a house that's literally a castle, an old church, an abandoned asylum... One excellent BEN story I've read even featured the reader going through a Legend of Zelda-esque world after dying! Just find an interesting setting you think has a lot of potential.
  • Though don't throw them into "creepypasta land" without a good reason (and no, being kidnapped by a creep in love with the reader doesn't count). I personally don't really care for stories set in creepypasta-laden places/worlds/dimensions, and one of the reasons is because people place the reader there for no reason. It's not even that people make the reader a "creepypasta"—oftentimes, the reader is perfectly human and is whisked away there by a creep. In that situation, they should be a target and killed by all there, and sometimes they are, but even then it's usually done just to add cheap drama. If you MUST have the reader go to such a place, give them an actual reason to do so.
  • Time periods are also fun to mess with. Here's a cool thing: not all stories have to be in the modern period. I've seen a couple of stories set in historical time periods, with the creeps tweaked to match the era. This works better with some than others (BEN won't appear in historical ones for obvious reasons, while Slenderman could easily appear in medieval Germany).
  • All stories have an end. This is a VERY important point, and must be remembered. While you may want it to go forever (and readers might too), you need to remember that it will have to end someday. Good stories are entertaining to follow; great stories tell a full tale with a proper ending. It's good if you figure out how it will end early on, even if you intend to write it for a while. Sometimes the ending might diverge from what you originally envisioned, but at the very least, figuring out how to get there will give you ways to move forward with the story and minimize block.
  • Most important of all: the story is about the reader and the creep. This is something I'll emphasize a bit throughout this guide. Above all else, what matters most is the relation between the reader and the creep. That's the reason you're writing this story in the first place, and why people are reading it. Don't add too many unnecessary elements, especially in regards to other characters—but I'll go into more detail on that below.

3. THE READER

One of the most important aspects of writing an insert is the Reader. As such, here are some major tips I have.

  • Keep the Reader "blank", but not TOO "blank". One of the trickier parts of writing a good reader insert, and writing in general. A lot of books try to have an "everyman" for the protagonist so readers can insert themselves in the character's shoes, and reader inserts are just more direct interpretations of that. The purpose of reader inserts is for readers to insert themselves into the story. To that end, it might be better to avoid giving the reader too strong of a personality (such as the "ultimate badass" or "wimpy crybaby"), but you should still make sure they have enough to be interesting.
  • Don't make her perfect. There's a thing called a "Mary Sue". Mary Sues are characters who are perfect in every way, and the result is a very boring character. Not just for readers, but for the writer as well. No one wants their character to be a Mary Sue. People are defined by their flaws as much as anything else; in stories, finding ways to overcome or get around these flaws is part of what makes people love it.
  • Don't give her your tastes. This is a big no-no, as not every reader shares your tastes. Don't force your favorite shows or music onto the reader. Don't make them dress the way you do. Don't write "and I got dressed in this outfit" linking to the outfit in question (it's not just a matter of forcing tastes on a reader, it's kind of lazy). Everyone is different.
  • Leave blank spots in the backstory for readers to fill in. I'm not saying you should avoid giving them a backstory altogether, but leaving blank spots for the reader to fill in the blanks lets them immerse themselves in the story even more. For example, in Chains, one reader commented she imagined Buddy kidnapped her as an infant.
  • Bullying, depression, and abuse must be handled VERY CAREFULLY, if featured at all. This is a common theme I see, but it requires delicate handling. They're tricky issues to deal with, as they WILL leave psychological effects on the reader. Abused children are more likely to enter abusive relationships because they don't know how a loved one should REALLY treat them. Bullying, meanwhile, leads to depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. While it may be satisfying to have a creep beat up or kill a bully and/or abusive parent, most of the time they'll see no difference between the bully and the victim because in the end, both are just future corpses. They may even find a bullying or abuse victim to be weak, and thus more deserving of death. Same goes for depression: they're already suffering, might as well kill them.
  • Age can be... kinda nebulous. Honestly, age is just one of the weirder aspects of this. Some stories give the reader a defined age (like, adults), but others... not so much. The tricky thing is that the audience spans anywhere from 13 and under, to people in their 20's or maybe even 30's. Honestly, I don't think giving them a specific age will fully break immersion, but you could just leave it vague if you want. Just play it by ear. (For the record, I personally envision the reader in Chains to be in the ~16-19 year range, and Lady Luck on the spectrum of ~17-21.)
  • PUT YOURSELF IN THE READER'S SHOES. This is my most important tip of all. When writing a scene, think about what YOU would do there. And if your answer is "HUG BEN BECAUSE HES HAWT", replace the creep with a random home invader. Would YOU find the unfamiliar bloody killer standing over your parents' corpses hot? Would YOU mock a killer who's holding you prisoner at knife point? Just ask yourself, "What would *I* do in this situation?" (If your answer is "I'd kiss him anyway", please consider seeking help so you don't end up potentially brutally murdered or in an abusive relationship.)
4. THE CREEP

And here are some tips for writing the creepypasta character.

  • If they want the Reader, they'll make sure they get her. This includes stalking (and by stalking I mean the terrifying kind you hear about in real life), kidnapping, murdering everyone around her... They won't give her a chance to escape, whether they want her love or her blood.
  • They'll most likely terrorize the Reader at first. This is a fact. Most creeps don't know how to properly talk to humans other than their catchphrase and the language of "murder-stab-kill", because they don't NEED to. And even if they're able to hold civil conversations, most of them CRAVE and ADORE fear, so most of the time their instinct will be to scare or attack the Reader. Even those who can carry civil conversations will most likely opt for the option that scares them the most, at least at first. Be sure to keep that in mind!
  • They're still killers/monsters/whatever. This WILL affect their behavior, towards both the reader and other characters. They'll still kill people or do their thing while interacting with the reader. By the way, DO NOT MAKE THEM COMPLETELY GIVE UP KILLING/DOING THEIR THING FOR THE READER'S SAKE. That totally just takes away from their characters.
  • Puppy-dog crushes are VERY unlikely. They may get attracted to the reader, but generally they won't be all gentle and shy about it. That's just not how they are. Most of them will be pretty forward around the reader, though they MIGHT go into denial about it to themselves. (On that note: please don't make them super-gentle and shy and timid. Just... don't. It's not how they act, at all.)
  • They can still get some character development too! A lot of writers seem to forget that both the reader and the creep can evolve in the story. In the creep's case, it could be making them a little more human in personality (they should still be whatever they were at the start of the start), so that they can reciprocate the reader's feelings more. Their development can also be affected by the story's overall plot.
  • RESPECT THE CANON. Some of them have no real canon outside their story, such as Jeff the Killer or EJ. Others do, though. LJ and Ticci-Toby are prime examples, since they have known creators, and thus a lot of available information. Masky and Hoody can also have a lot inferred from their appearances in Marble Hornets; just search their names to find wiki articles on them with descriptions of their personalities. In any event, while headcanons are nice and all, be sure to respect what canon there actually IS, especially if they're more developed characters. And if the creator is known, respect their wishes too! (Personally, I recommend not writing about Toby because belligerent reader insert writers and fan girls chased his creator out of the fandom by ignoring his wishes and harassing him over it, but THAT is a rant for another time.)
  • THINK OF THE CREEP AS A RANDOM KILLER/MONSTER. This can REALLY help you write them better, as you won't be as influenced/biased by your love of that character. It makes the reactions from the reader more realistic as well.
5. FEATURING OTHER CREEPS

One of the most common questions in Chains was "When will other creeps appear?" In my case, I decided early on that other creeps wouldn't appear. I actually tried featuring LJ early on (he'd "babysit" while Jack went out to train the first time), but ultimately decided it just didn't work. However, here are some tips for stories that DO include multiple creeps.

  • Try to avoid the Slender Mansion unless you're writing about a proxy or Slenderman. This is admittedly largely an opinion-based one, but it also makes little sense logically. Due to the nature of their lives (killing), it makes little sense for a single creep to stay in one place too long—let alone a whole pack of them in the same place. Additionally, most of the creeps are assumed to be "independent"; they do not work for Slenderman, and it makes little sense for Slenderman to allow freeloaders (or even have a full mansion in the first place). And finally, a LOT of readers are turned off at the mere mention of the mansion because so many stories featuring them are badly written. I've seen a handful that managed to pull it off, but those are far outnumbered by the ones that make me cringe. Countless people have told me that they despise Slender Mansion as well for the same reasons. (Besides, it's fun to figure out where each creep would live independently.)
  • Not all creeps will have friendly relationships. Some of them might work together in certain circumstances (for example, Jeff killing and EJ taking the victim's organs afterwards, or BEN passing on messages between various creeps while they're out killing), but many of the creeps are, in fact, in direct competition. They're killers, and take a certain pride in their work—and there's nothing more exciting than fighting competition that's actually at your level. After all, killing Jeff the Killer has a bit more prestige than killing ten random normal people. And a lot of them kill for the thrill anyway.
  • If the other creep's appearance isn't necessary, don't use them. I often cite this one story that had a GREAT setup—realistic stalking by Jeff, reader getting anxious and paranoid, he murdered some people close to the reader... And then, at the climax as he confronted the reader face-to-face for the first time, suddenly BEN appeared so Jeff just KO'd the reader and they whisked her away to the Slender Mansion. That's just... not necessary. It TOTALLY spoiled the mood. And while this is only one example, I have spoken to COUNTLESS people who express similar views: most stories don't need other creeps, and they actually take away from the main story. So before inserting another creep, PLEASE, ask yourself, "Is this actually necessary?"
  • If you DO feature multiple characters, don't ship them in the story, even as a background relationship. The creepypasta fandom is engulfed by this ridiculous nonsensical thing known as a "shipping war". This means that if you ship LJ x Jeff in your story, you'll immediately turn away all Jeff/EJ and Jeff/BEN fans. Alternatively, it could start a giant argument in the comments and you'll have to either A) disable them, or B) fiercely defend your ship to the end and get pulled into an actual flame war. Either way, it's messy. Besides, if people wanted to read about a specific ship, they'd look up stories for it rather than reader inserts.
  • Finally, remember: not everyone agrees the Slenderverse and Creepypasta are the same! This is more something to keep in mind than actual advice. Some people vehemently argue that they're separate universes, and get mad if someone features a crossover of the two (such as everyone living at the Slender mansion). I myself am pretty ambivalent on the issue, and will just do whatever I think fits a story best.
6. OTHER CHARACTERS & OCS.


Along with featuring other creeps comes another issue: the rest of the cast. Some stories need a bigger cast, it's just a fact.

  • Every person's family is different. Just a little something to keep in mind when writing: families come in all shapes and sizes. Your audience can span from with people with two warring parents, one happy and loving parent, no parents and raised by a sibling or grandparent, or even in foster care. Seeing the mention of parents can affect a reader's immersion in a story if the situation is drastically different from their own. I personally try to avoid featuring family outside maybe a fictional sibling, depending on the plot bunny I have in mind. Just keep this in mind when writing!
  • If your character is abused by their family, give the abusers a reason! So many stories have the reader abused by family for literally no reason at all, both by parents AND siblings. While in real life it may seem like there's no reason, the fact is there usually is one—and I don't mean that to say it's the victim's fault. A lot of abusive parents were also abused as children, and don't know how else to act. Others were just unprepared for parenthood, and wrongly blame their child for hardships when THEY were the ones who didn't take steps to prepare for raising another life. Others are just narcissists, and care about themselves above all else. A lot of stories with abusive family feature abuse by both the parents AND the siblings, though, with the parents treating the siblings normal and specifically targeting the reader. I won't deny that this DOES happen in real life, but in these stories, the needless cruelty is often just... needless. Besides that, a lot of people turn to fiction to get away from these sorts of problems. So... just keep that in mind, if you DO decide to have an abusive family figure.
  • Be careful if you decide to actually name a character, ESPECIALLY if they're the same gender as your target audience. Many people will name other characters in the story such as a bunch of friends or a bully, but the thing is, sometimes that name matches the reader's. My own name is pretty rare so I haven't dealt with it myself, but I've seen people use names as common as Jessica and Amanda. (Actually, one story featured a boyfriend with the male spelling of my name, which was really disorienting...) It totally breaks immersion. As such, if you MUST name a character, please choose the name carefully!!
  • Don't feature a crush/ex/other love interest just to kill them off. Are you just making the creep jealous? Is the crush/boyfriend abusive? If the purpose is to have the creep kill them to show their possessiveness of the reader, you MAY want to avoid that. After all, would you ever fall in love with the person who killed your lover?
  • Don't feature too many characters. If you're not reading a story in one sitting this can make it hard to follow. Many people who read reader inserts will search for multiple stories to follow at the same time, because many reader inserts don't have a regular update schedule. So if you have a cast featuring 5 named friends, 1 bully, 2 siblings, and 3 creepypasta OCs, readers will easily get confused about who's who and all their relationship drama between updates.
  • Make sure the character actually has a purpose. That's pretty much the point of this whole section. Gonna give the reader a sister and ditch her without any more mention after the end? Don't. Gonna give the reader a BFF just so the killer can kill them for drama? That diminishes any chance of romance. Just want to give the reader a group of friends so they're not all alone? Make sure every one of them is 100% necessary to the plot in some way. If the story would proceed the same without that character, cut them out. Because once again...
  • The story is about you and the creep, not a whole bunch of people. This is a key factor to keep in mind.
  • That said, a good OC is worth their weight in gold. This is something that applies to ALL fan fiction. It's hard to define what makes a good OC in these stories. However, they can really drive the plot forward. For example, maybe someone dares the reader to enter a haunted house. Maybe the reader runs away and needs a place to stay. And maybe the reader is realizing they're in love with a serial killer, and need advice on coming to terms with this and how it screws over their sense of morals. All that matters is that they help drive the plot, without stealing the show.
7. THE RELATIONSHIP

Now that we have dealing with individual characters out of the way, here's the part that draws people to reader inserts in the first place: the actual relationship. I think I've established this can actually get pretty tricky to pull off, so here's some more specific points and advice!
  • Most creeps will not experience romance or love in "traditional" ways. This is a fact, as most are inhuman or, in Jeff's case, psychotic. Their perception of love will be distorted, and I personally believe some (including Slenderman) are not even capable of it. They can warm up to the idea, but it will be very alien to them. No puppy dog crushes will happen. See section 7.5 for my thoughts on how specific creeps may handle relationships.
  • ABUSE IS NOT ROMANTIC. This is a KEY point to consider when writing a story, and probably the most complicated challenge at all. Due to their very nature, creepypasta characters will likely be somewhat cruel to the reader at points. However, you must NEVER ASSOCIATE ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR WITH ROMANCE. Honestly, this was one of my major concerns when writing Chains. I ended up searching for an abusive relationship checklist (which I originally linked in here but is now offline), and I realized that Jack hit a good number of them. By the end he only hit one point, but still. These aren't good. Do NOT paint abuse as romantic.
  • RAPE IS NO WHERE CLOSE TO ROMANTIC, IT IS FUCKING TERRIFYING AND DO NOT DO IT. RAPE. IS. NOT. ROMANTIC. If you feature a rape for any reason, DO NOT CONTINUE WITH ROMANCE. Rape is one of the most violating things that can happen to a girl, and WILL alter your mental state. The only way you can POSSIBLY continue a romantic relationship after a rape is if the rape is nonviolent and the other person assumed he had consent when he did it, and subsequently expresses horror and remorse when he realizes he didn't.
  • It may take a while for them to settle into "romantic" mode. As I stated earlier, creeps typically limit most of their interactions with humans to when they kill, so their minds are generally on "intimidate" mode all the time. Most of them won't be able to instantly go from "I'M GONNA KILL ALL OF HUMANITY DEAD" to "Look at me so I can stare into those beautiful eyes forever". Meanwhile, the reader's going to have to be VERY careful around him at certain points to avoid getting prematurely killed. Chances are when the romance DOES start to spark, it will initially be one-sided, too, so there's that.
  • "Forbidden Love" probably isn't a problem. For some reason, several stories play off a romance between a creepypasta and a human as "forbidden". The only case where I'd find this understandable is with Slenderman's proxies, since they serve Slenderman first. Most creeps operate independently, after all. If they want you as a girlfriend/boyfriend, then they have all rights to do so. (On that note, others would probably still want to kill the reader just for kicks. Not as a grudge against the titular creep or anything. Just because you're a human so eh, why not?)
7.5. CREEPYPASTA LOVE CHARTSince all creeps experience love in different ways, here's a handy little guide to how some of them may handle it. NOTE: These are not universal or fact; a creep's portrayal can change from story to story, and writer to writer. These are just examples of how I think they would likely think, to help give you an idea of how they may act.
  • Jeff the Killer. Jeff started as human and is usually still classified as such. However, he shows signs of psychopathy. This makes him potentially a very abusive and controlling person, and he's the most likely to engage in stalking (the vicious kind, which includes leaving dead animals on the reader's door step, breaking in and leaving messages for them, and of course, possibly even killing those the reader cares about to isolate them). Conversely, though, the reader could also bring out his more "human" side so he won't abuse or harm them, and actually be a somewhat decent boyfriend, though reaching this point would definitely be a process. (One other detail worth noting: one of the traits of psychopathy includes having stronger sexual urges than romantic, so relationships with him could be more physical than emotional depending on his portrayal. Maybe a REALLY twisted "friends with benefits" situation, that might actually make a good base for the story.)
  • Eyeless Jack. Most canons accept that Jack was once human, but is not anymore. As a result, this does change his mindset a bit. Most notably, humans are normally prey in his eyes. This WILL affect his view of the reader, as 99% of the time the reader will fall into the prey category, no matter how he feels towards them. Meanwhile, as he is inhuman, whether he understands love or not can vary. He may not fully understand the concept anymore and thus not realize his feelings, or he may recognize it perfectly and just be surprised he experiences it with the reader since they're different species now. Or he could just totally not care about the species difference.
  • BEN. BEN's a ghost, and his name belongs to a child before the age of 13. Those two parts are fact. We... don't actually know if he IS that drowned child though, or another entity entirely who caused the "original" Ben's death. If we go the first route, this means that BEN died before fully undergoing puberty, so while he may age mentally, his perception of love will still be affected by it. This can lean towards a stronger interest in girls than normal, he could prefer fear over love for a time. If he's NOT the ghost of a prepubescent boy though and is some sort of demonic entity... well, honestly, the reader actually could just happen to be his type. The nice thing about demons: they don't subscribe to "human" standards of "beauty" and "attractive". The most gorgeous model in the world could be bland in their eyes, and the reader just right.
  • Masky and Hoody. Masky and Hoody can vary depending on the universe they're portrayed in—namely, a strictly Marble Hornets universe or just the Slenderverse in general. In the general Slenderverse, they're typically treated as proxies of Slenderman and thus their job under Slenderman will impact their level of humanity—for example, sometimes they go out and kill people, while others they just guard the borders. Their minds can be any level of twisted. However, in the MH universe their relationship to him is much more ambiguous, and both are humans suffering from the effects the Operator's influence places on their minds. As such, the MH universe will make them a bit unstable, but much more capable of romance than a lot of the characters you see in these stories. (See: my story Lady Luck.)
  • Laughing Jack. He's essentially an imaginary friend who became real, and targets children. Overall, his personality is very twisted and sadistic, especially if you read his origin story. As such, his concept of love is likely equally twisted and dark. Alternatively, though, he could take an almost childlike view of it since he spends all his time with children—just with a creepypasta twist. (Think, give the readers bloody fingers instead of flowers.) Overall, he has a bit more leniency than some of the other characters, so there's quite a bit of variety possible with his interpretations.
  • Slenderman. I stated before, Slenderman REALLY doesn't seem like the type to care about romance or emotions. I think he's closer to Eldritch monsters than any of the other creeps, which means interpersonal relationships and humans are a low priority for him. He also probably wouldn't understand a lot of base human needs/actions, since, again, not human. The most I could think of would be him "adopting" the reader in a strange, platonic manner. You can try a romantic one if you want, but just saying. Good luck.
  • ZALGO. I... don't know who would write Zalgo? Is that a thing? I mean, ZALGO's not REALLY a creep, more of a meme than anything. I've seen him as an antagonist, at least, or some kind of "king" of creepypastas. He's basically just the end times given tangible (and intangible) form. Soooo, in other words... there's not really a canon interpretation of him. So go wild, I guess!

8. Other Things to Keep in Mind and Possibly Avoid
With all the heavy stuff out of the way, here's some other things that don't really fit anywhere else, including some cliches you MIGHT want to avoid. These aren't necessary, but they ARE common complaints among readers.
  • Choose a good title. This one doesn't fit anywhere else, but it's still VERY important. Honestly, I see a lot of stories using the same or similar titles, or just use the character's catchphrase. This makes it harder for people to find YOUR story, and readers may also avoid them because those titles are just so overdone it's hard to know if you've read it or not. Even if you have the greatest story ever conceived by man, most people won't read it if the title's something boring and common like "Love is Blind" (or some other blind pun for EJ) or "My Masked Love" (or another mask-based one, for any masked character) or just the creep's catchphrase. Alternatively, they might read it and like it, but then totally lose track of it among all the other ones with that name. A good title, however, grabs the reader's attention. (Actually, this article on Neopets gives a pretty good rundown on choosing good titles. It was written with submissions to the Neopian Times in mind, but the advice in it is pretty universal.)
  • The reader shouldn't know who the creep is prior to meeting from their creepypasta. In the real world, creepypasta stories are fiction. Inside the story you write though, they're actual beings. The creepypasta should not exist in your story's universe, save for maybe BEN (because sharing his story is a part of how he gains power), and some aspects of the Slenderman mythos (for example, the actual MH videos may be online, as seen in Lady Luck). The biggest source of information, if any, should be news stories—and that's IF any of them even name the creep. Reporters probably won't know that Eyeless Jack isn't human, or that Laughing Jack's killing style frames his victims' parents. A lot of them will probably be written off as urban legends.
  • AVOID LOVE TRIANGLES. This is... well, annoying. No offense, but what are the chances that two monsters/killers will fall in love with a reader? Unless you're a killer, or monster yourself (and I'm going to be totally honest here, you probably shouldn't make the reader either of those), I'd honestly be kind of worried about what it is that attracts multiple (inhuman) killers. Numerous other fans have also expressed displeasure at this.
  • The reader being related to one or more creepypasta characters, or raised by one. This is a common one which, really, please don't do it. It's usually pretty cheap, and is just a lazy excuse for the creep NOT to kill the reader—which, as this guide has outlined, is a major component of a story depending on its execution. It's possible to pull it off, but generally it just doesn't work too well.
  • The reader going "insane" and killing her abusive family. This is one that turns off a lot of people right away, myself included. If it worked like that in real life, there'd be a LOT more murderers in this world. Abuse victims get used to the abuse because that's the only life they've known, and they don't realize how wrong it is until they grow older. Even then, they come to associate the abuse from their families with "love", so that makes them likely to end up in an abusive relationship as well. The point is, most people would NOT "snap" because while it sucks, that's just how life is for them.
  • Please try to avoid self-harm and cutting. For some readers, it is a VERY touchy and personal issue. They DON'T need reminders about it. So please avoid it.
  • Don't do author inserts. Just DON'T. This is something that tends to backfire. I'm no stranger to inserting myself as a character, so I know perfectly well how tempting it is, but inserting yourself only works in certain stories and situations. This isn't one of them. Reader inserts are mainly about two characters: the reader, and the character in the title. Any extra characters should only be added when absolutely necessary, and if that extra character is you, it gets REALLY tempting to give them a big role in the story, as well as put them in a romance with someone else. (Again, I'm guilty of this too. Trust me, years from now you'll cringe when you read some of these stories, I know I do.) I have yet to read one reader insert where inserting the author actually worked.
  • Several readers will automatically avoid stories with creepypasta OCs!! This one sucks, but this is a fact. A lot of the time, creepypasta OCs in reader inserts are author inserts, and usually stories with author inserts aren't well-written. After exposure to many stories like that, some readers will stop reading the second an OC is mentioned or named, ESPECIALLY if they're mentioned to be in a relationship with a creep or otherwise related to one.
  • Avoid "Converting" the Reader into a Creepypasta. This may SOUND cool, but... it's not, really. This is the point where many people leave the story. For starters, it's weird because many writers seem to see "creepypasta" as a "race". "Creepypasta" is an online term referring to a category of online horror stories. Most of the creeps would see themselves as what they actually are: Jeff an insane human (possibly "immortal", depending on the story), BEN as a ghost, EJ as a former human... They're not some singular species though.
  • Also, avoid making the Reader turn into a serial killer if she's not already one. There are exceptions, but I've seen several stories where people have the reader turn to murder with no qualms, or decide to do it simply because they want to meet a creep again. If for whatever reason your readers DO kill someone, at least have the reader express some remorse afterwards (unless they're being brainwashed or something). All I know is I wouldn't kill someone and NOT regret it—and I certainly hope I wouldn't enjoy it.
  • Avoid over-the-top powers unless it's stated in the title. It's easier to imagine yourself as a normal human girl than a person with the power to control fire or water. Use a [Tag]!Reader in the title if the powers are TOO out-there. Although, that doesn't mean you have to avoid powers altogether; I personally prefer all powers to be more "passive" (for example, reviving after death, or seeing ghosts; the reader in Lady Luck arguably falls into this category due to her insane luck streaks).
  • Avoid using "insanity" as a medical/psychological explanation for murderous tendencies. As a former psych major, I can state for a fact that "insanity" isn't actually a thing outside of court. Many moons ago, "insanity" was a blanket term to explain anything that wasn't "normal" by societal standards, ranging from postpartum depression to autism to feminism to because the husband wants to be a dick. Nowadays, psychology has a much better understanding of the human mind, and many conditions can be treated or at least have symptoms reduced through medication. I won't lie, some conditions WILL make a person more likely to turn to murder without a care in the world than others (such as psychopathy and a specific type of OCD ), but those have some VERY distinct symptoms. Overall, though, "insanity" is a legal term used only in trial (and I should mention that a lot of people who successfully plead insanity are believed to be faking it). On the note of insanity...
  • Modern "asylums" don't match their portrayal in stories. As a former psych major, I've done a bit of research on mental health, and I can say that most people's portrayal of "asylums" and "insanity" is WAY off the mark. In fact, in real life most of them would get shut down for abusing patients. For starters, modern mental institutions don't place people in straitjackets 24/7—actually, restraints are only used when a patient is at risk of harming themselves or others, and even then it's used sparingly. Most, if not all, outright ban straitjackets nowadays. Shock therapy and other torturous "treatments" are also defunct; a lot of them employ programs akin to group therapy, and patients are often given access to or allowed to bring books and computers. Another key point: they don't lock people up against their will. Most patients are interred willingly, and unwilling interments involve intense legal processes including formal petitions and trials to determine a person genuinely needs the help. Exceptions can be made if a person's at immediate risk of harming themselves or others, but even those have a time limit (usually a couple days). Extending the stay requires very detailed legal processes as well.
  • ...jails apparently allow straitjackets though. The American prison system is horrifying on all levels. However, you probably wouldn't be able to use jail as a setting in the first place since jails aren't exactly co-ed, so unless the reader's a guard or something and the creep's an inmate, probably irrelevant.
  • Cheesecake is overdone. So are waffles. I'm not sure where the cheesecake thing came from (from what I've heard it's actually a jab at Tim (the actor)'s weight), but it's overdone to the point that it's the whole point of Masky and Hoody's characters in some stories. They ignore literally everything else about them, or make it the main reason they bond with the reader. Same goes for waffles and Toby. While that one DOES have a traceable source (a comic his creator made), that was just a joke that people are obsessed with to the point they forget everything else about him. His creator Kastoway has stated Toby actually isn't that childish in an updated profile he made a while back, though he has apparently deleted almost everything from his DA profile, including Ticci Toby. No idea if he has anything about Toby on his Instagram.

9. TECHNICAL TIPS AND TRICKS
Finally, have some tips for the more technical side of writing. This applies to ALL fiction writing.
  • Write in a word processor like Microsoft Word, Pages, or Google Docs. It's a good way to save everything in one place, and most processors have an "auto-save" function in case something happens while writing it. I've written many stories purely online before in submission boxes, and have lost many, many, MANY chapters from the browser crashing. Sta.sh seems like it will work too, but overall I recommend having it on another place too.
  • Try to write five chapters of a story before posting ANYTHING, to test the strength of your idea. The fact is, you'll have a LOT of ideas, but not all of them will go anywhere. Sometimes you'll have a GREAT idea for a strong start, one that really gets people's attention, but once the exposition is done you'll have no idea where to go. Or you might find the idea REALLY restricting once you get past that scene. If you're going for a long-form story you're guaranteed to get writer's block at some point, so if you encounter it that early, you might want to just scrap it and move on.
  • Build up a buffer of chapters at LEAST three ahead, instead of writing and posting them same-day. This serves two purposes: One, you can post to a regular schedule without stressing so heavily if life gets in the way. I still hold that a major part of my success was having a regular update schedule. More importantly though: it lets you edit the story in advance and take steps before if you write yourself into a corner. I learned this the hard way: I've revealed twists far too early, or had events happen that I later realized cut off other possible paths, and then I couldn't change it because I'd already posted it. I can't tell you how much I rewrote Chains... or how messy my documents are. Which reminds me:
  • If you decide to cut a scene, don't just outright delete it. Copy and paste it to another document. Just because a scene doesn't work now doesn't mean it might not be useful later. Every major story I write has at least two files: the actual story, and then a "scrap" document. If I decide to cut a scene, I move it to the scraps file because I might be able to salvage that scene later. A lot of my stories are actually Frankenstein creations of rearranged scraps that are rewritten to fit into different places. A recent example outside fan fiction: I was editing a friend's script, and he opened it with a text-dump of the world's state, and the main character telling her entire life story to a stranger. We cut those out, and then moved the life story closer to the middle of the story at a more natural point (accompanied by HEAVY rewriting so it actually sounded like a person actually talking).
  • Even if you don't use a buffer, don't post a new chapter or story right after finishing it. Wait a few days, and then reread it and edit it as you go along. That way it's less fresh in your mind, so you won't skim over it as much and thus you'll be able to catch more errors or repetition. You can also make it flow smoother by changing little details or oddly worded sentences that catch your attention.
  • Beta readers are awesome and helpful! Even better than editing it yourself, get a beta reader to do it. I personally don't use beta readers (even though I totally should), but they can not only catch mistakes you might miss, but also serve as an awesome soundboard for ideas when you get block.
  • Do research and try to keep things accurate! There's a term called "willing suspension of disbelief", used to refer to how we ignore obviously impossible things (like magic) to let ourselves get immersed in media. But it only goes so far. If you want to tackle something new and/or technical, I find that it's highly worth it to do the research to keep things as accurate as possible. There's just something special when you see something in a story that's usually exaggerated or otherwise portrayed wrongly, and see it done right. (See: the depiction of PTSD in Chains, and also the symptoms of chronic appendicitis. While neither are perfect and I'm by no means an expert, I have been told both are relatively accurate, and actually got thanked by a few readers with PTSD for the effort I put into it. Also, who knows? Maybe years down the line this will save someone who will recognize symptoms of chronic appendicitis from reading Chains.)
  • DeviantArt specific: if using an external word processor, use brackets ("[" and "]") in place of the italic tags (<"i"> and <"/i">, no quotes). This way, you can use the "find and replace" function to replace the brackets with the tags before you copy and paste the stuff to dA, guaranteeing proper formatting with minimal effort.
  • Don't put an (A/N) in the middle of the story. This is pretty disconcerting, and breaks a reader's immersion.
  • Don't do the "~~TIMESKIP BROUGHT TO YOU BY [BLAH]~~" thing. It's just not professional at all, and breaks immersion.
  • Don't write walls of text. Walls of text are hard to read and quite intimidating. It's the quickest way to turn a reader off. At the very least, start a new paragraph each time a new person starts talking.
  • MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MIX UP "YOUR/YOU'RE" AND "THEY'RE/THEIR/THERE". This is a VERY common mistake. A good way to remember: words only use an apostrophe (') if they're combining two words. "You are" becomes "you're", "they are" becomes "they're". If it's not a verb, it doesn't need an apostrophe. "There" is just "here" with a T, because both refer to a general location.
  • CREDIT THE CHARACTER'S CREATOR!!! This is a MAJOR one! A lot of characters actually CAN be traced, too. Some basic credits: Masky and Hoody belong to the Marble Hornets crew; Laughing Jack belongs to SnuffBomb ; Ticci-Toby belongs to Kastoway (not tagging him because reader inserts played a large role in chasing him out of the fandom, though his gallery's been pretty much wiped); Sally belongs to La-Mishi-Mish ; Jane belongs to MadamBlackWolf ; Slenderman belongs to Victor Surge (he's distanced himself from it after the stabbings though—also, he asks that no one uses Slenderman for profit or in video games without permission!!), and BEN belongs to Jadusable. Jeff's creator is unknown, and EJ *maybe* belongs to Azelf5000, though undeniable proof doesn't exist.


10. FINAL THING TO REMEMBER: These rules are not set in stone.


One of my professors said this in a class about storyboarding, and I think it applies to writing just as well:

"Once you know the rules, then you can break them."


This guide was written with novice writers in mind, to point out common pitfalls and tricky concepts that they may not notice. For those with experience and skill, you will likely be looking at a lot of these points and thinking how you can take it, and twist it into something good. I myself, while editing this for a final time, came up with several little ideas on how to write a certain point in a way to create an exception. And there are plenty of stories out there that are total exceptions to the points I listed above—in fact, part of what makes them so exceptional is that they take these rules and break them, or twist them into something unique. However, not everyone is at that level.


Writing skill is not something quantifiable. I can't say "you'll know when you're good enough to do this" because I remember thinking I was good enough to write certain things, when I really wasn't. And even now, I'm still learning and growing, I'm good, but I'm by no means a master. I got to this point by writing for YEARS: the oldest story I can trace to posting online is 2008 (which can now only be found with the WayBackMachine), and that one was a sequel to an even earlier story (now forever lost). One day you WILL know for a fact you can write about a certain subject, or write a certain scene, but in the meantime you'll have a lot of moments where you'll think that you are.


But even if you're a novice, don't be afraid to write some of this stuff just because I said so. The best way to learn is through experience, and in the end, this is fan fiction. This is one of the best ways for you to learn to grow, writing something that gets followers and active feedback—even if it makes you cringe later when rereading it—is one of the most motivating ways to learn.


And besides...


The most final and most important point: Write to satisfy yourself, not others.

At the end of the day, this might be a reader insert, but this is just as much for yourself as it is for them.


I've said this so many times, but I specifically got into writing reader inserts to fill a personal craving for a good story that didn't fall into many of the pitfalls I mentioned in this guide. While I did get a lot of inspiration after I started posting and got feedback, ultimately I wrote the stories that I wanted. I want to assume that if you're writing a reader insert, you like creepypasta and reader inserts. You might be writing it, but you're just as much a consumer as you are the creator.


Write the kind of story YOU want to read.

Readers are important, but ultimately this is your story. Don't let the audience's opinion dictate how the story goes, write it how YOU want it to go. Because then you'll enjoy it more, and when you do, it will show in the quality of your work.


And if you reach a point where you decide you don't like a story anymore, you can stop and move onto something new.

One of the hardest lessons I learned as a teenager was to give myself permission to stop writing a story. Honestly, a lot of this guide was written with that specific story in mind. I'd revealed some plot twists too early, had written myself into a corner with some of the events, and some of the events I'd set up felt boring... And eventually, I realized one day that writing it felt like a chore. I asked my readers if they'd be okay if I stopped, and surprise—a lot of them admitted they'd stopped reading it already. Turns out reading it felt like a chore too.


So I brainstormed with a friend and posted an introduction for a new idea. I got the biggest stroke of inspiration I'd had in a long time, I was writing a new chapter every day, and the reaction was ENORMOUS. I loved what I was writing, and it showed, making the story even better than I could have hoped. My writing grew leaps and bounds over the course of writing that story, and it helped me bond with my readers more than ever. Even now, it's one of my proudest creations and has some of my fondest memories, and I only got to write it because I let myself stop writing the other one.


I've learned a lot about writing over the years. At this point, most of my skill comes from intuition so it's hard for me to put certain points into words. I just know how to make dialogue sound realistic, how to naturally steer the story towards a certain point, when to insert a paragraph break or use a semicolon over a comma. I just know what works, and what doesn't. There are some things you just can't be taught, some you can only learn through experience.


So to wrap this up, pick up a pen and get to writing!



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Comments: 6

TheNekOtaku [2023-06-10 04:31:33 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

hestivia [2023-04-11 03:34:03 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

cookiedebeast [2020-04-18 01:53:20 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Chelia24 [2019-04-22 05:52:44 +0000 UTC]

I'm not that involved in Creepypasta anymore, but I saw this in my feed and said, "Hey, I know that person!  They're awesome!" 
Plus this has a ton of great advice that I've always agreed with but never known how to put to words, not just for CP but for general writing too.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Donuts-and-Coffee [2019-01-28 06:43:50 +0000 UTC]

Oh god that's really long, but it was worth reading it.
This was very helpful! Thank you   

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ValentinesDayGreen In reply to Donuts-and-Coffee [2019-01-28 17:58:14 +0000 UTC]

I do not really know how to keep things short apparently. Glad it was helpful!

👍: 1 ⏩: 0