It's so true. Decide on the character you want to write. It can be because you like that character know him/her inside out or even better you can relate to that character. It's your choice whether or not you're going to ship them with another character. If you do, do it because you actually want that pair together or you know the other half of the pair really well. And the most important thing is you feel comfortable writing your character/pairing.

Confused? Here's my example: I think Lilah's a great character because she's so mysterious and deep. I want to write fic about her, her interactions with people around her and her past. I also think she's perfect for Lindsey. You only have to watch 'Redefinition' to know why.

Once you've decided on your character/ pairing watch episodes that have high content on that character/ pairing or are that character/ pairing centric. If you're writing pairing fic you effectively have to watch three lots of episodes. One for your first character, one for your second and one for shippy moments.

Example: I write Lilah/Lindsey fic. So in my first lot I'm gonna watch Lilah centric episodes: The Ring and Untouched. My second lot is City of… Dear boy, Darla, The Trial and Epiphany. My third lot is Five by Five, Sanctuary, Blind Date, To shanshu in LA, Judgement, Reunion, Redefinition, Blood Money, Reprise and Dead End.

Watch every episode at least twice. First just watch it through but take note of scenes with your character/ pairing. In your second run through make notes on your character (s.) Take notes on speech and patterns, movements and gestures, personality traits, camera angles, reactions to other characters and situations. You can just write a list of completely random things down that strike you about an episode.

Example: Here's my notes for 'Untouched' on Lilah: Apartment no. 102. Lives in a semi-classy part of town. Why? She has a lot of money. Is it to be close or far away from someone or something? Has an obsession with laundry. Why? Blood oath with Bethany. As in vampiric blood oath? Lilah's not necessarily human never seen her out in the sunlight etc. Sleeping powder. How does she plan to use it and on who? What does Bethany's reference 'You got out,' refer to? She has a classy flip phone. Shows money she has, typical businesswoman stereotype. Lots of people under her at Wolfram and Hart, which associates to her power. Angel says he knows her? How does he know her? What does he know about her? Where does he know her from? Why does he know her? He also says 'She's not what she pretends to be.'

Make sure you make your own notes and don't just sponge from someone else. Everyone perceives actions and words differently and you might want to relate quotes back to your ship.

Read a variety of fic all different ratings and genres right across the scale just to get a feel for what you like and dislike.

All authors love feedback- like chocolate. So make sure if you read a really great fic or come across a really great site you tell the author/ webmaster. They *do* appreciate it no matter how great their story/site is and no matter how many people tell them that. If you *really* love an author nominate them in one of the many awards sites that give out prizes for outstanding fanfiction.