I've been writing for quite a long time, and I also started writing at a late age (my first fanfic is almost ten years old,) and I've read my share of fics around the net... Here's a small guide to help new/not-so-new or even old writers improve:
- Show not tell? This is a matter of opinion, actually. I've seen fics that used the "show not tell" way (having events happen rather than being told by a character/talked through,) that sucked, and "tell not show" fics that were pretty good.
- "Said" is not your enemy. Abuse of it is bad, though, but so is the abuse of synonyms. When you feel the need to write "he enunciated" then you know you must lay down the thesaurus and go back to good ol'said.
- With rare, awfully unexistant exceptions, third person omniscent and true first person are the best options for a point of view.
- Keep characters in character, unless you're writing a parody (but then again, best parodies are those who manage to keep the characters in character despite the madness.) No, Sasuke would prance around a praire singing "Heart must go on," without a very heavy overdose of drugs and/or alcohol. And he would quite possibly commit ritual suicide after the effects passed. Specially if Itachi or Orochimaru saw him do that.
- So, you're writing an AU, that still doesn't excuse you from keeping characters in character. Sakura isn't a lesbian cheerleader who treats Sasuke as garbage, no matter what universe (or drug) you're in.
- Be objective when writing crossovers. I'm sorry, but Orochimaru, no matter how awesome he is, wouldn't live for longer than five seconds facing a Saiya-jin (well, he would probably live for a few minutes. Saiya-jins love playing with their food.)
- If your original character is the cutest of the cute, the strongest of the strong, the wisest of the wise, and has all males and females drooling at him/her, then you should walk away from your own fic, it must be most likely radiating "badfic" ions all around, and may forever affect your genes and turn you into a badfic writer.
- Spelling is your friend. Wait. Spelling is your readers' friend. I wil nut rid ur fic if youre ritin it lik dis, kthxbai.
- Don't write for the reviews, that makes you want to please all reviewers and will in the end make you write whatever they want. If you do write for the reviews, don't show it.
- Character bashing is juvenile, unneeded, and often a show of the writer's incompetence. The moment you learn to write even the characters you hate in character, you're many steps closer to becoming a good fanfic writer.
- Genres can mix. You can have some comedy in an angsty fic, or drama in a light-hearted fic, but it takes time to make them blend correctly.
- "Exposition Man" isn't always needed. You can explain a plot point through several episodes/scenes and it'll often look better that way than having Mr. Exposition tell it all in a blurt of speech.
- Deus Ex characters are often good ways to solve any situation, if used correctly. What are "Deus Ex" you ask? Characters like Tuxedo Kamen in Sailor Moon, who will show at the last possible second to save the hero and/or give them a piece of advice that will be the key to defeating their enemy.
- Mind the timelines and limitations of any given universe. Harry won't be using an iPod in Hogwarts for (i hope) obvious reasons, nor will Kenshin be riding a motorcycle through the streets of Kyoto. Likewise, Usagi won't use a cellphone to call her friends, and Ami won't likely have a Pentium 4 computer at home with DVD reader (Unless it's Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon you're writing about.)
-Spellchecker is your friend, but it's a treacherous one. It won't pick up errors on context, or some words that sound similar but are used differently. Rereading what you wrote is the best way to kill all the bugs in your writing.
Have any question on the terms used by me? Ask away.
- Show not tell? This is a matter of opinion, actually. I've seen fics that used the "show not tell" way (having events happen rather than being told by a character/talked through,) that sucked, and "tell not show" fics that were pretty good.
- "Said" is not your enemy. Abuse of it is bad, though, but so is the abuse of synonyms. When you feel the need to write "he enunciated" then you know you must lay down the thesaurus and go back to good ol'said.
- With rare, awfully unexistant exceptions, third person omniscent and true first person are the best options for a point of view.
- Keep characters in character, unless you're writing a parody (but then again, best parodies are those who manage to keep the characters in character despite the madness.) No, Sasuke would prance around a praire singing "Heart must go on," without a very heavy overdose of drugs and/or alcohol. And he would quite possibly commit ritual suicide after the effects passed. Specially if Itachi or Orochimaru saw him do that.
- So, you're writing an AU, that still doesn't excuse you from keeping characters in character. Sakura isn't a lesbian cheerleader who treats Sasuke as garbage, no matter what universe (or drug) you're in.
- Be objective when writing crossovers. I'm sorry, but Orochimaru, no matter how awesome he is, wouldn't live for longer than five seconds facing a Saiya-jin (well, he would probably live for a few minutes. Saiya-jins love playing with their food.)
- If your original character is the cutest of the cute, the strongest of the strong, the wisest of the wise, and has all males and females drooling at him/her, then you should walk away from your own fic, it must be most likely radiating "badfic" ions all around, and may forever affect your genes and turn you into a badfic writer.
- Spelling is your friend. Wait. Spelling is your readers' friend. I wil nut rid ur fic if youre ritin it lik dis, kthxbai.
- Don't write for the reviews, that makes you want to please all reviewers and will in the end make you write whatever they want. If you do write for the reviews, don't show it.
- Character bashing is juvenile, unneeded, and often a show of the writer's incompetence. The moment you learn to write even the characters you hate in character, you're many steps closer to becoming a good fanfic writer.
- Genres can mix. You can have some comedy in an angsty fic, or drama in a light-hearted fic, but it takes time to make them blend correctly.
- "Exposition Man" isn't always needed. You can explain a plot point through several episodes/scenes and it'll often look better that way than having Mr. Exposition tell it all in a blurt of speech.
- Deus Ex characters are often good ways to solve any situation, if used correctly. What are "Deus Ex" you ask? Characters like Tuxedo Kamen in Sailor Moon, who will show at the last possible second to save the hero and/or give them a piece of advice that will be the key to defeating their enemy.
- Mind the timelines and limitations of any given universe. Harry won't be using an iPod in Hogwarts for (i hope) obvious reasons, nor will Kenshin be riding a motorcycle through the streets of Kyoto. Likewise, Usagi won't use a cellphone to call her friends, and Ami won't likely have a Pentium 4 computer at home with DVD reader (Unless it's Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon you're writing about.)
-Spellchecker is your friend, but it's a treacherous one. It won't pick up errors on context, or some words that sound similar but are used differently. Rereading what you wrote is the best way to kill all the bugs in your writing.
Have any question on the terms used by me? Ask away.
