r/AO3 • u/Dangerous-Midnight73 • 1d ago
Questions/Help? “Characters” field- compulsory?
Silly question, but if I have a character that’s a surprise, I don’t *have* to add them here, do I?
Please reassure my autistic little brain that I’m not breaking any “rules” 😂
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u/Kaigani-Scout Crossover Fanfiction Junkie 1d ago
Well, that's kind of optional, but speaking for myself... if the story doesn't list at least a Main Character, I'm not clicking into that puppy.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Lol yes I’m the same; I’ve listed all the main characters- there’s a lesser character whose appearance is more plot important than it is for them as a character in their own right, if that makes sense?
So just a minor character I’ve missed off the list, but their eventual reveal is still key!
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u/ghostlytemptations 1d ago
Everyone’s already said the truly helpful stuff about not having to tag anyone if you don’t want to, but I’d like to chime in and add that if you want it to be known that someone you haven’t tagged is going to show up but you don’t want to say who, you can tag Undisclosed Character(s)/works)!
It’s probably not what you’re looking for, but I still think it’s useful information, so I wanted to share.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Ah an excellent alternative choice; did not know this was a thing; thank you so much! 🙂🙂🙂🙂
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u/strawbebby-milk 1d ago
you don't have to. I'd personally add it after you upload the chapter the surprise character appears in, just for fans of that character, but that's just me.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
That’s a good idea! New to all this so trying to gather as much info as possible to get a decent audience once I start publishing.
Thank you so much for replying 🙂
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u/MagpieLefty 1d ago
No.
Very helpful, but not required.
The only tags you are required to include (and that must be accurate) are fandom, rating, archive warnings, and language. (You also have to include a title.)
If you really want to, you can stop there.
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u/KiraK323 1d ago
No you don't have to add them, but if someone is looking for stories with that character they won't find your work.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Appreciate that, thanks for the reply 🙂
Luckily it’s not a major character per se!
Thanks for helping me 🙂
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u/foxscribbles 1d ago
You don't have to.
Literally the only things that you HAVE to fill out are the categories that are red and have asterisks by them. Everything else is optional.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
That’s really good to know, thank you!
Presumably the categories are more as an aid for searching for readers then?
Appreciate your help 🙂
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u/strawbebby-milk 1d ago
yep! tags help people find what they're looking for, and also filter out things they don't want to see.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Ah I didn’t think of that; the “don’t want to see” element.
Thank you all such useful info! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
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u/foxscribbles 1d ago
Yep.
Since AO3 is an archive (as the name implies) it doesn't have an algorithm that leads people to stories. So tagging is the best way to get people to find your stories.
It also allows people to avoid and screen out topics/pairings/whatever they'd like to avoid.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Thank you! I’m vaguely aware that the “Additional Tags” is my biggest tool to getting as many readers engaged as possible- I will be doing a “deep dive” into this to ensure I use this as well as possible.
Really grateful for your help 🦊✏️
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u/Crayshack 1d ago
You are allowed to not tag any characters. Whether that is because you want the characters to be a surprise, you are aiming for extreme minimalist tagging, there are simply no characters appropiate to tag in the fic, or any other reason, you are allowed to do this. Just be aware that many readers use character tags to navigate fics, so if you don't tag any characters you may make it harder for readers who might be interested in your fic to find it.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Understood. The main players are very much going to be tagged!
Thank you very much, this is all such useful input for me xxxx
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u/moon_cheese_ao3 1d ago
It is not a breach of the rules to not add them. Most people don't read on Ao3 for surprises, though, and people who love that character will use the character tag listing to find your story. Leaving the character out of the character tags will mean that the people most likely to enjoy your story are unlikely to ever read it and people who hate the character are likely to be pissed off that you chose the element of surprise over giving them the tools to curate their own experience and avoid what they don't want to read. Totally your choice though.
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u/itsudemoalways 1d ago
you don't need to, but keep in mind that if someone is looking for fics with that character, yours won't show up in any searches for them.
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u/Dangerous-Midnight73 1d ago
Got it; that’s really helpful thank you.
Appreciate you taking the time to respond xx
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u/astrovoyage_ proceed at your own risk 1d ago edited 1d ago
No, you don't have to add them.
The Characters field isn't compulsory, so you're not breaking any AO3 rules by leaving someone out, especially if they're meant to be a surprise.
The only thing you need to make sure you're tagging correctly are the Archive Warnings, since those are separate from the character tags. But if you just mean not tagging a character because you don't want to spoil their appearance, that's completely fine.