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[Pwnanator]



Tips and Tricks to Becoming a Better Author

So, you’ve written your fanfiction, and you want to submit them here, at TST. But you’re worried that your story isn’t spick and span, and you’re looking to improve it. Or maybe you’re a writer who hasn’t started his story yet, but is looking for some tips to follow. If so, than this is the right place for you.

This is a guide to what to do, and not do in fanfiction. Remember that these aren’t rules, just tips for improving your story.

One more thing, mistakes are human. People make mistakes all the time, and we improve on it all the time. You’ve probably heard this line a million times in your life, but it is true. We make mistakes all the time, me especially.

Now before we can start submitting we have to start with the base or the framing, if you will, of the story.

1. Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation

Spelling: Spelling is a rather easy subject. You can spell it right or you can spell it wrong. If your writing your story in Word Perfect or Firefox, than you’ll notice that they will point out the errors for you, and maybe even fix them for you, depending on the word.

However, spelling is rather different when used in dialogue. It may be changed when used with an accent. It can make the difference between “I think you should all look over there,” and “ ‘Think y’all should looka yonder.”

Punctuation: Well, punctuation can be simple or complicated depending on the type. Periods at the end of the sentence, duh. And commas... well commas are rather complex:

• When used with adjectives, it’s “He was a really big, tall, funny, great person” commas after each one except for the last.

• With ‘and’, there’s two cases. If you’re saying “I gave it to Bob and Joe” no comma. When you say “I went to the store and got some pie” then there’s no comma because "got some pie" isn't a sentence. "I saw bob leave, and he went to the store." Then there's a comma because "he went to the store" is a sentence. Basically, you use it when the ‘and’ separates two sentences.

• And lastly, in quotation marks. “I said hi,” I said. If you say “I said” or something along those lines, that’s when you use a comma.

Other than that, it’s mostly simple. It’s mostly quotation marks, and sentence enders such as: You did! You did? You did!? You did. And make sure not to exaggerate like YOU DID!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!?

Grammar: Grammar... now that is a subject far too complicated to get into. You learned about that stuff in Language Arts.

One thing that should be mentioned though is this: NO INTERNET SPEAK! Spell things they were meant to be spelt, and don’t use acronyms, like omg, lol, rofl, lmao, roflmao, roflmfao, and the rest of the gang.

Also, no emoticons, and no pokemon symbols, but I don’t think that they’re available here.

2. Descriptions, and Details

OK! We’ve gotten through those basics, and now that we know that stuff, we can finally start the story making. But to make things easier let’s follow some examples.

I sat on the edge of the cliff, and watched the sunset, with a typhlosion.

Sorry, but I couldn’t help but add the typhlosion :3 Anyway, if you haven’t noticed that seemed a little hollow, and didn’t leave much to the imagination... now that I think of it, isn’t that the point of literature. The more descriptions in a story, the better. In order to imagine the story, you need to be able to imagine it, with ease.

Surroundings: First off, was that all there was to the scene. There has to be a lot more to the scene than that. I mentioned a cliff, and a cliff only, but what’s around the cliff, a forest, a city. What was below the cliff, and what was under your feet.

I sat on the edge of the cliff, and watched the sun set into the water. There were green trees around, and the grass was under me.

Active Surroundings: Well, that’s a bit better. You can now imagine some of the surroundings. But it still seems a little bare-bone. And hey, wait a minute, we forgot that typhlosion. What is he/she doing... come to think of it, what is everything doing.

I sat on the edge of the cliff, and the typhlosion slept on my lap. The sun set into the water, which was splashing up against the cliff. The trees and the grass swayed in the wind.

Adjectives: Now there we go, now you can really imagine what’s going on. We’re aware of our surroundings, and what they’re doing. That’s pretty good, but I think we can do better. Let’s see if we can add a story’s best friend: Adjectives. Adjectives make it much easier to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste the story. It makes a big difference.

I sat on the edge of the tall cliff, and the typhlosion silently slept on my lap, as I stroked its soft fur. The red sun set into the ocean, as the water splashed up the cliff, making the air moist. The maple trees and tall grass swayed in the wind.

Just a warning, but don’t use to many adjectives. Giving every noun an adjective sounds a little weird, and long winded. I believe the term is “overblowing” the story.

Now that’s quality. You can really feel a story when you use adjectives. It makes for a good addition. Now your story has everything it needs, but, there are still ways to make it better.

3. Figures of Speech

Similes, metaphors, alliteration, and personification. All examples of figures of speech, and things that are good to use in your story. There are other examples of figures of speech, but these four are some of the most basic, and most used. So, who’s up for some descriptions.

Similes: Comparing one object to another different object, using ‘like’ or ‘as’. Good for making funny exaggerations on peoples feelings or actions. “He was steaming like a teapot.” “She ran like there was a cheetah running after her.”

Metaphors: Similar to similes, comparing one object to a different one, only not using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Also great for exaggerating. “He’s a beast at playing sports.” “She’s a raven when it comes to her schemes.”

A note that I would like to say about metaphors and similes, is that in the pokemon world, it is excellent to use pokemon as your subjects. “He’s about as brave as a pikachu.” “He’s sort of a gyarados when it comes to that sort of thing.” It makes for amazing subjects in your fanfiction.

Alliteration: The use of the same letter at the start of each word. Good for little quirks in the story. “Time to take out the trash” “Alex ate an apple”

Personification: Giving inanimate objects or animal- er, uh, pokemon human actions, somewhat like a metaphor. “The wind sang.” “The trees spoke to the wind.”

Now, let’s see how that paragraph is coming along.

I sat on the edge of the tall cliff, as the typhlosion silently slept on my lap, sleeping like a baby as I stroked its soft, warm fur. The red sun set on the ocean, as the colors danced along the horizon,dazzling me at first sight. The water slammed against the cliff, and washed up, sending mist up into the air, and sending drops to my face. The wind whistled in the trees, and flowed over the grass, as the ocean washed in and out, just like the typhlosion’s softly paced breathing.

Ok, so how does that sound now? To think that, that once came from “I sat on the edge of the cliff, and watched the sunset, with a typhlosion.” Pretty cool huh.

Now, I think that I’ve had enough of that sentence. Let’s get to another category, shall we?

Hmm, ah yes, in that paragraph, I spent so much time going on about the setting, when there was another important thing that needs to be mentioned: Characters.

4. Characters

Characters are quite an importance to the story, and give it a nice amount of flavor to the meal that is the story. They can be anyone you want to be, and do whatever you want to do. They come in all shapes and sizes, physically and mentally.

Mary Sue and Gary Stu: But, one thing that your going to have to be careful around is having a Mary Sue, or Gary Stu as a main character. Those two are the terms given to a main character that is perfectly flawless in every way, right down to the slightest details. It sounds easy to avoid but trust me, it’s not. Even I have to admit that the main character of my fanfic, PPH, is, in a lot of ways, a Gary Stu. I’m going to have to work on that...

Character Creation: But, if your having trouble coming up with a character, why not use one that you already know. I’ve used a few of my friends here on TST as characters in my story. Everyone has their downfalls, so use them in a story, just as long as they are ok with it.

Character Development: Ok, so you’ve come up with your characters, but for some reason, they don’t seem like the same person all throughout the story? Well, I have a solution to that too.

Pick a character, and describe them in one sentence, and one sentence only. Here, let me give you an example of this strategy, by using my character, Karen.

“Karen is an intelligent and organized women, who can give orders with confidence, but at times can be emotional and immature.”

Now all I have to do is distribute that initiative all throughout my story, and she’ll be just the way she should be. Apply that to your characters to see how that works.

Perspectives: First person, and third person.

From the third person, you are an outside viewer, referring to everyone in the third person, as in he, she, it, and so on. You can see things that the main character can’t, so be sure to use that. Whether you can see into the person’s mind is your choice.

In the first person, you see the story through the main character’s eyes. With this you can see into the main character’s mind, but that’s it. Unless your main character has some special power, you can only know what that character knows.

Now, characters are usually in a story, because it is their actions that effect one of the most important things in a story, the plot.

5. The Plot

A plot can send a person flying in a world of excitement, or warming a persons heart to the point that they melt from the inside out. It can take you for a wild ride or it can send you in a spiral of fear. It all depends on what you want.

Grabbing Attention: But if it’s readers you want, than keep the story interesting. It may seem hard, but with some practice you can get in no time. But there’s a quaint little strategy that I use, that can keep them interested. At the start of the story, start with a climax, or an extremely exciting point. That’ll grab their attention in no time.

But if your story isn’t action oriented, than there are other ways to grab interest. At least within the first chapter, add a twist that makes the story interesting. It can really help. I end almost all of my chapters with a cliff hanger, it makes them wait for that next chapter like there’s no tomorrow.

Whimsy: One problem that can be found in a story, is that it can be far too whimsical. In my romance stories, I have a problem of making things constantly happy, and pleasant. Bad things happen, and that’s what can make a plot.

Yes, you will feel bad about it, but it’s an essential part to the story, I’m afraid. In fact, there’s a piece in my story that I haven’t written yet, that’s getting me down so much, that I don’t want to continue writing the story, but it makes for an extreme plot development, and would benefit the story over all.

With these tips, and with your own mind, you can create a story beyond your imagination. This is why I love writing, the feeling of writing my own imagination into the world. When I first wrote, I found it more amazing than I thought it ever would and it is why I write to this day. I wrote this not only to help people write their stories, but to experience that feeling.

Life may be your world, but your mind can be the next.

The Pwnanator
Nick