I'm really looking forward to seeing what people come up with for the Alternative Universe contest for FanFicFriday. I absolutely adore a well thought AU because it showcases a writer's ability to use their imagination. Fictional fanfction ends up showcasing a writer's ability to think of cause and effect, while popfic showcases world building skills and the depth of research a writer is willing to do. This is because of the differences when it comes to writing the non-popfic and popfic. As such there are going to be different tips for each.

 This said...

 Please respect your fellow writers if you want to participate in the contest as well as the people reading the stories submitted to the contest. DON'T submit stories you know don't follow the rules for the contest. The main point of the contest actually isn't to increase your fame and popularity, but instead push your writing ability. I've seen people add the fanfic tag to their already existing stories despite the fact NEW stories were requested.

 A few writers didn't expect to go over the word limit, while others continued there stories after the contests. This is all right – life happens. If they request a one-shot though, or a story written in first person narrative, or no crossovers and you post a story that isn't a one-shot (not including introduction mind you), not written in first person narrative, or a crossover in any of these cases – that isn't right. You're just making it harder for other writers stories to be found.

 For this contest the entry MUST be a one-shot and the story MUST be a new story.

 Anyways...

 My first tip for writers who aren't doing non-popfic is this. Come up with a bunch of ideas instead of just one. Make a list of the ideas you have in your head as well. Then go through your list and ask yourself these questions.

 1. Am I ready to write this kind of story?One of the points of a contest is to challenge yourself, but you should never as a writer bite off more then you're ready for. If need be you can save your ideas for a rainy day. Attempting a story before you're ready to attempt said story means it isn't going to be as good as you want it to be, or it will be a good story, but not stand out from the rest.
2. Can I finish this story within the allotted time period? This is ultra important because you want to be able to finish in time. You can always put it on the back burner and pick something else.
3. Is this idea creative? As with all the FanFicFriday contests you want to think outside of the box. There is a chance your idea has been done before if you are writing for a fandom like Harry Potter. When this is the case you need to be creative in the way you present the story. It is better though to pick an idea that has not been done before, or people see very little of. If you do this other people are less likely to be doing the exact same thing as you. That can effect how the judges look at your story.

 The rules actually don't say anything about not doing crossovers this time around. I am going to suggest not doing this though because they want you to focus on changing a canon aspect of a given world and exploring what that change would do within that world. They're not really looking for you to add to the canon, or supplement the canon. They want you to change the canon.

 I also suggest not writing a fangirl falls into fandom. Yes – it is possible for a fangirl to fall into fandom and change things. Most of the time when a fangirl falls into fandom nothing gets changed, or the fangirl changes things to be the way the writer wants them to be instead of the way cause and effect works. These stories can also be annoying if the writer isn't careful – a fangirl running around under the influence of a sugar high actually isn't as amusing as you think.

 Now for popfic...

 Popfic writers are going to have it easy when it comes to picking out the AU they want to do. The hard part comes with making the work stand out from the other AUs running out there. Here are the questions you should ask yourself.

 1. How many other people are likely to do the same AU? The more people who do the same type of AU, the harder it is going to be for your story to stand out from the other stories.
2. Am I interested in the subject matter of the AU? You're more likely to have a story that stands out if you have an interest in the subject matter. You are more likely to do well with a Popfic where the person is a horseback riding instructor then one where they are on a football team if you like horseback riding, but not football
3. Do I have time to do my research? One of the things that will set your work apart from everybody else is doing your research. If you want to do a story where the person is a horseback riding instructor then you're going to want details about said job worked into your story as well as details about setting and place. You're also going to want to get your details correct. Yes – your readers who don't know much about the subject won't notice. Those who do will notice and won't be thrilled that you didn't do your research.

 It should be noted that research is also important for the non-popfic writer if they want to write a situational AU. It may seem easy because you were able to come up with the idea fast, and it may seem like it would be easy to write as well. The fact anybody can come up with the idea means that others are going to do it as well. That means you need things that will make you stand out.

 That's pretty much it other then making sure your entries are readable. Nobody wants to read a story that is a wall of text and filled with grammar errors.