How To Create An Au

[edit 2021] Well, I made this journal back in 2018 and I have to say that even if it helped someone, I think my tips were still kind of more subjective than objective so now I'm here to fix that x'D

You thought to make your own AU but you don't know how to do it and you want to take the making of it seriosuly? In that case, I hope this guide will help you a little

HOW TO START

A very important step to take once you have very base idea, look over the internet if there isn't any AU "too similar" to yours. A thought like this is ridiculous and why should you limit your creativity or change your idea just because somebody made something similar? Unfortunately in Undertale fandom when you're the creator you can often encounter people who are critical about similar ideas and I think nobody wants that. Unless you are pretty tough and don't care about opinions of other people.
Plan carefully, step by step. specify the main characters, start thinking up story, find the main thread and expand it. Although remember, don't get excited too much. When you do, you can easily come up with random plots that doesn't fit into the present moment in your history or any point at all, but you keep getting the urge to add it in and this way, you disturb the entire story making process with many random ideas laying around.
Slowly, step by step, develop the story, but if you really have an amazing idea that cannot get out of your head, write it somewhere in the margin, maybe you can enter it at a later stage of creation. Yet don't write every single thought that comes to your mind, think intensly if it's worth saving for later, unless you're in for another big mess to disturb your work!

Keep your script clean and organized. Undertale has a lot of characters to deal and tinker with and making OCs for it is a thing too, so it adds even more to the making process.

HOW TO COME UP WITH GOOD CHARACTER DESIGN

Since you managed to write a rather long script (not necessarily the whole story), you certainly imagined the appearance of the characters. On this basis, you can create a design. So how do you do it, if you don't know how to draw clothes and your idea of the character is not clear enough? Look for clothes on the internet, you can even model on your own wardrobe! Remeber, outfits needs to fit into your story time (like, if you're makin AU that happens in medieval times, you need to fit in with their clothes. yet don't worry, Google exist, you can find ideas through that.)

HOW SHOULD I NAME MY AU

Well, the name should be related to the history of your AU. However, most often all English names are occupied by this point, so it requires a lot of creativity to find unique one, especially if you are hitting at the AU to be recognizable, it shouldn't be called as a dozen other AUs.

1. Find the best word that describes your AU.

2. Check if there's an AU already named like that

3. If the word you found is already used as a name of other AU:

- select the second "close enough" word that means the same but is writted differently example: funny , ridiculous , laughable , ludicrous , farcical , preposterous (all are similiar word of "funny")

- use your word in other language, example: Lighttale can be Hikaritale (hikari is light in japenese)

- name your AU after something that's not even similiar with your AU history or is related to small story detail (optional)
ATTENTION: Look out for a name that's unique but also a name that's easy to remember! So anyone who comes around your AU won't forget it right away

HOW TO MAKE MY AU POPULAR?

Great story and eye-catching character design. The greatest popularity of AU can get first of all through a comic, thanks to which you can show the world even better your AU. The second thing is animation: animations attract people as well as comics, they show even more how you see your own AU when you illustrate it in animation. Of course let's not forget writting, even if it MAY not get the attention you're looking for. People like to see in their plain sight instead of trying to imagine that themselves.

HOW TO DEVELOP CHARACTER PERSONALITY?

The best way is to use your characters "in practice", is roleplay

Roleplay is usually a conversation between two people or more (which is not recommended), each of which uses their characters to communicate with the characters of the other person, playing scenes of different situations, for example: in danger, quiet day, even nighttime funs or sin scenes

Although static roleplay is not always very helpful in character development, it is best to play scenes in which characters are in danger, this formula is usually much more interesting and helps in character development

Another way is to give yourself to your own character. example: if you like to make a pizza, make your character like it too. Even if you like: collect mugs, make your character do it too.
Yet remember that your work is still simplified here since characters in Undertale already have some personality you can either dig deeper into or throw it all away, giving them their own new personality.

THINGS YOU "MAY/SHOULD" AVOID

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE≠ SANS

Yes, we all know how Sans is the centre of entire fandom of Undertale and if you are aiming to get your AU popular, there's no better way than shove Sans in as a main character. Yet at the same time we're all being overfed how many Sanses are out there (try to open a notepad and write some Sanses out of your memory, you'll get what I mean)
So, what about it then? Can I make an AU with main character as Sans or not?
Answer is, whatever fits your story, yet it may be just "another Sans AU" if you won't come up with intriguing storyline that involes not only the said Sans but other characters. As we know fandom really hits on either: Sans, Frisk, Chara or Gaster
There's still characters that need more love.

Making AU of an AU

If you have your favorite AU, it's not exactly the wisest idea to make alternative thing out of it, it's someone's idea that's already an alternative reality so that's just another alternative of alternative, that's not original at all. Lots of aspects will need to be similar to the creator of the original one, limiting your creativity. Even if you choose to not follow creator's steps and ways of thinking, it may be in spotligt of critique from people who came from the alternative universe you altered.

Alternative Glitchtale's

Same as above, alt. Glitchtale's are just copies of Glitchtale by Camila. We already have a big bunch of Glitchtale alternatives and it needs a real brainstorm to get something creative out of that.

Undertale is not only about SKELETONS

Yup, there's a lot of other characters like Dreemurrs, Undyne, Alphys, even Mettaton, don't focus on skeletons only, just lake stated in the Sans example above.

Think outside the box

Even if Undertale AUs usually focuses on Underground/Surface, doesn't mean you can't create something original here too! Who knows, you AU can take place in some mystical word where big purple mushrooms talks.

YOU CAN'T GIVE FRISK/CHARA GENDER!!!

That is a really annoying thing among Undertale community. When you give Frisk/Chara gender people will either whine that Frisk/Chara should be different gender that's their subjective headcanon or yell that they cannot have a gender at all. You can never satisfy people... But why should you do as people want? Just because they are horribly sticked to "genderless" characters or "this character should be this gender because that's how I like it" for some reason? Frisk is genderless so you can choose a gender in a game to feel connected more with the character, Toby Fox's words, so, what's the hold up?

Welp, if it helped somehow, then I'm glad ^^ please comment if you think I could write about something else here!~