Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos Part 2e: What Is a Fanifesto?" trope manifesto & format guide

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is a new meta entry for marchmetamatterschallenge 2025. See my tracking post here. Also, the first writing prompt is to write a fanifesto.

Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 1: The Importance of Fanifestos
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 2a: What Is a Fanifesto? intro & canon guide
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 2b: What Is a Fanifesto? cast list & character study
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 2c: What Is a Fanifesto? ship manifesto & milieu study
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 2d: What Is a Fanifesto? plot analysis & crossovers
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 2e: What Is a Fanifesto? trope manifesto & format guide
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 2f: What Is a Fanifesto? personal manifesto & others
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 3: Benefits of Fanifestos
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 4: Drawbacks of Fanifestos
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 5a: Contents of a Fanifesto statement to tropes
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 5b: fanon to other aspects
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 6: How to Write a Fanifesto
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 7a: Where to Find Fanifestos location types & communities
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 7b: fanifestos A-E
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 7c: fanifestos F-I
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 7d: fanifestos J-R
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 7e: fanifestos S-Z
Meta: "Why We Need Fanifestos" Part 8: My Fanifestos


Trope Manifesto -- A trope manifesto is a guide to a particular motif or concept that encourages other people to follow and create fanworks for it. You can find a general guide to tropes on TV Tropes and Tropedia as well as more specific guides to fandom tropes, alternate universe tropes, genre tropes, shipping tropes, soulmate / soulmark tropes, and so on. For examples, see "Genderbenders" and "Hurt/Comfort – Why Do We Love This Trope?"

A large branch of trope manifestos has to do with key concepts that originate in one canon but are so captivating that people carry them over to other canons. Popular examples include daemons from His Dark Materials, jewels and castes from Black Jewels, sedoretu from "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea," sentinels from The Sentinel, and quadrants (troll romance) from Homestuck. For examples, see "Sedoretus: It's just as complicated as it sounds, but aren't most marriages?" and "Understanding Pullman's Dæmons."

A trope manifesto may simply be the creator's musing on why they love that particular trope and why others should love it too. Often, however, it delves into how and why the trope works, what makes it distinctive, its common variations if any, and how it relates to human psychology so that we find it riveting. It may list canons and/or fanworks that display the trope to best advantage.


Fanwork Guide or Format Guide -- A fanwork guide deals specifically in content inspired by a canon that someone else created. It may have different subsets, such as art and fiction based on a particular canon or creator. A format guide focuses on a given medium, such as podcasts or fanvids, often spanning multiple canons. They might give only a brief nod to the canon(s), so as to focus primarily on the fanworks.

These types of meta celebrate the creativity that gives fandom a life beyond the source material. The creation and sharing of fanworks is the heart of the hobby. Such a guide will typically feature multiple fanworks and describe them in loving detail. It may talk about the media, such as soft sculpture or colored pencil. Format guides may discuss how a vanvid or podcast is made and call attention to points of technical expertise, or just enthuse about why that kind of content is so special. For examples, see "Fanvid Appreciation Post" and "The Psychology of Listening to Podcasts: Why We Love Them and How They Affect Us."