Top Ten Qualities of a Good Warrior Cats Fanfiction

Has your plot been explored in the books before? Has someone else written about it?
It is ok if you have a similar plot (for example: your antagonist is trying to take over the forest, like Tigerstar), but try not to make it exactly the same and try to add more unique subplots

Cliches aren't the worst thing in the world, but try to avoid them. They can be enjoyable if done right.
Examples of cliches in Warrior Cats stories:
-main character becomes leader in the end
-ShadowClan is evil and ThunderClan are the heroes
-forbidden love
-cat trains in the Dark Forest
-main character is hated by their Clan

Why isn't this #1

Super important! Stories about Mary Sues or Gary Stus are not at all exciting or interesting! For example, if your main character is Brightwillow and she is super awesome, amazing, super kind, brave, powerful, etc. Those are all good traits for a character to have, but it would be more realistic like this: Brightwillow is kind, stubborn, brave, judgmental, intelligent, and overly critical. Flaws should at least balance the good traits if that's the case.

-Birdcreek's Opinion :)

I'm working on ways to improve my OC Flyheart, she's snarky, harsh, and her insults and nicknames are heavily inspired off of Azula and Toph, I feel like inspiring cats off of characters from other shows or movies that are heavily flawed makes them more likeable

Firestar has a flaw. He's mentally unstable

In my opinion, flaws make characters more likeable. Mary Sues/Gary Stus are boring

Imagine if every prophecy ever was like "The Light will beat the Night." Unless you're making a trollfic, I'd rather go with "The glow will defeat the darkness." Or something like that, I don't know, I'm not all that great at making prophecies.

try to make it more vague so the reader won't be able to tell who it's about right away and what will happen in the story. Try not to directly include one of the character's name prefixes in the prophecy
for example: after the sharped eyed Jay and the roaring Lion, peace will come on a Dove's gentle wing.
This is pretty obvious who it's about

Yeah this one is hard

Take LOK (Legend of Korra), Amon thought bending was the source of all evil and tried to cleanse the world of it, Unlaq wanted to end the avatar and Raava, Zaheer wanted the people to be free of all world leaders and the avatar, and Kuvira wanted power over the earth kingdom.

keep this in mind when writing the main villain. Try not to have a villain who goes around killing others for no reason.
Also keep this in mind when writing the main hero. What does the hero want more than anything? What will they do to achieve that goal? And who/what will get in their way?

SUPER SUPER SUPER IMPORTANT! (Might be the most important thing!) If you find, while writing that your character is underdeveloped, then you should stop writing for a moment and think. Are your character's flaws and good traits balanced or somewhat balanced? (Exception for villains) Do you write about them in a descriptive manner? Do they have doubts, feel fear, get angry, and fight with others? (They should at least once each, we all get edgy sometimes) Does your character go nicely with the plot? Do you write their thoughts? How do they interact with others? After asking those questions, maybe write a short little story about your character, and see if they are more realistic. If not, try reading the Warriors books for ideas. (Just don't copy anything) From there, if your character seems complete, continue writing your story and see how it unfolds.
-Birdcreek's Opinion :)

When characters are developed, it makes them feel more human to the reader (well not physically human because they're cats, but more human-like with thoughts and actions and emotions).
Things to think about when developing your characters:
-do they have strengths?
-do they have flaws?
-do they have a good balance between strengths and flaws?
-what is their goal? Does it change anywhere in the story?
-why do they do what they do?
-what kind of relationships do they have?
-are the characters the same as they were at the start of the story? What could have changed them?





Also make sure to give some of the background clanmates personality. If you want people to care more about the minor characters, try giving them more personality and meaningful interaction with the main characters.

Try to give the main character relationships with other characters that make sense. It doesn't have to be romantic or positive. It can be familial or platonic, or it can be negative, like a rivalry. Not everyone has to love the main character, but give them characters they can open up to, unless the character is supposed to have no one at some part of the story.

And, of course, give the romantic relationship between your main character and their love interest development.

This deserves a higher ranking. Description is a major factor in stories, and I understand if you feel that your writing isn't the best, but letting the reader figure things out on their own in some spots makes the story more enjoyable and gripping!
-Birdcreek's Opinion :)

By this, I mean:
Firestar rather than Fire Star, fire star, fire Star, Fire star, etc.

ThunderClan rather than thunderclan, Thunderclan, thunderClan, Thunder Clan...
you get the idea

I'm a grammar bot

I often see this, where the mom or dad doesn't exist and the only characters there are the main character, mains friends, and the bully.

Never forget to create family for main characters/important characters or characters where knowing their parents is important, though I think you could bypass this if that character isn't very important at all. -Ivypaw

Ahh makes sense.

Like death...? Or just sad parts...?

When there is conflict, try to think of a solution that isn't in the books. If the solution has been explored a lot in the books, people are more likely to make an easy prediction because they have most likely read those books too.
When the story is unpredictable, it keeps the attention of the reader because the reader is more intrigued with what is going to happen next. It can also make the story more memorable.
On the topic of unpredictable solutions, getting rid of the villain by them randomly getting killed by a random falling tree IS unpredictable, but it might not be the best way to get rid of the villain. What made Tigerstar's death scene good to me was that it was unpredictable, but the events that led to his death didn't feel like they were randomly thrown in there. Rather than dying from a random falling tree, he was killed by his own ambition (he wanted to control BloodClan but Scourge was like "NOPE"). This was unpredictable because he has always been strong, he has ...more

A lot of other Clans can be evil . . . Try making a fanfiction where a SkyClan or ThunderClan cat is evil.

It's very confusing if you had a cat, especially from an original Clan, named Fireheart or Leafpool, that was completely different from their namesake. Less well known names aren't as big a deal, but it's best to avoid doubling up.
~Stygianfrost of ShroudClan

I feel like I always forget this.

This is very important! Whenever they have a backstory, it helps understand the character more; and can even help you construct their personality

Yes! I always struggled with this one.. Like don't just include what the main character is doing, say stuff like.. ' ___ was sharing tongues with ___ as the deputy was in a deep conversation with ___ and ___ '