Hmmmm... very good topic, but so many things to say...

There's one thing, apart from misspelling and overall bad grammar, that turns me off better than anything else: over-describing (yup, I'll explain...)

Somethings are relevant to a story, and some are not. Authors can use everyday stuff like eating, drinking, bathing ( )... and so on... to set the mood. When it's well done, that's quite OK...

On the other hand, some just tell us what's happening, and never describe anything. We don't know what the characters are experiencing/thinking, and, as an emotional creature, it frustrates me a lot.

To summarize: There can be a balance between action and description, it's not such a difficult thing to obtain, if one takes the time to think about it while writing.

I've always believed that, whatever the plot, even the simplest, can be enjoyable if the writing style is good.

[no, I won't rant about OOCness... that's one terrible thing too, though :blink: ]

Gabrielle wrote:
I absolutily agree with you. I detest when the characters all of a sudden fall in love in the first 5 chapters or go through a whirlwind of attractions. It didn't happen in the manga, and I see no reason why it would happen so suddenly in a story. I enjoy realism in my stories where the characters display emotions and actions that are true to themselves in the anime/manga. Sesshomaru is a demon who would NEVER suddenly fall of a human, and InuYasha isn't a character that wouldn't simply forget about his feelings for Kagome or be with Kikyo without feeling bad. I try to incorporate as much truth to the characters as possible. Making Sesshomaru and Kagome fall in love right away takes the entire pleasure of the story and idea out. What is so amazing about the pairing is the idea of him being a demon and slowly breaking his defense mechanisms when starting to fall in love with her. Its the entire notion of the possibility that makes things exciting. Not to mention him going against his entire character and being because of her, something that is totally unlike him and unexpected. Thus, my point is, it NEEDS to take time. There needs to be hardship and trial, confusion and resistance, otherwise the character itself and point of the story is lost.

OMG! I used to be guilty of this violation now that I look back on it. This is absolutely true. Characters don't change their ways overnight, or in this case, a couple of chapters into the story.

Another law (#12) Paragraphs, paragraphs, paragraphs. I see this from time to time where an author would have their chapters written as one big block of text. I can not stand that, especially when the story has a lot of potential. So, paragraphs should be a must when it comes to writing fanfiction.

Gabrielle wrote:I absolutily agree with you. I detest when the characters all of a sudden fall in love in the first 5 chapters or go through a whirlwind of attractions. It didn't happen in the manga, and I see no reason why it would happen so suddenly in a story. I enjoy realism in my stories where the characters display emotions and actions that are true to themselves in the anime/manga. Sesshomaru is a demon who would NEVER suddenly fall of a human, and InuYasha isn't a character that wouldn't simply forget about his feelings for Kagome or be with Kikyo without feeling bad. I try to incorporate as much truth to the characters as possible. Making Sesshomaru and Kagome fall in love right away takes the entire pleasure of the story and idea out. What is so amazing about the pairing is the idea of him being a demon and slowly breaking his defense mechanisms when starting to fall in love with her. Its the entire notion of the possibility that makes things exciting. Not to mention him going against his entire character and being because of her, something that is totally unlike him and unexpected. Thus, my point is, it NEEDS to take time. There needs to be hardship and trial, confusion and resistance, otherwise the character itself and point of the story is lost.



I only agree with you when the stories are Canon, and not AU.

In AU, we can make them fall in love overnight ^_^
Of course, in a believable way.

DemonQueen17 wrote:
Another law (#12) Paragraphs, paragraphs, paragraphs. I see this from time to time where an author would have their chapters written as one big block of text. I can not stand that, especially when the story has a lot of potential. So, paragraphs should be a must when it comes to writing fanfiction.[/quote]

I agree, completely. The wall of text, how it hurts the eyes.

Law #13: No dialogue jumble.

I have read a number of stories where characters' statements are thrown together into one, big paragraph and I get totally confused over who is stating what.

#14- thou shalt not capitalize words that are not proper nouns unless they are the first word in a sentence!

This is an odd one that crops up here and there and one I find rather annoying personally. Some have a habit of capitalizing random words here and there that don't need it. e.g. - The Cat ran after the Mouse. Unless the cat and mouse's names are Cat and Mouse these are not proper nouns and don't need capitalized.

Even though I am not an author, I am a rabid fan of fan fiction, and my issue is with point-of-view switching (POV). When an author writes about the events in a story from character #1's POV then in the next paragraph states THE EXACT SAME THING as the first paragraph but subsitutes character #2's name for character #1's name. Nothing new was added to the story, it just makes the story that much longer and wrecks the flow of the passage.

#15- Thou shall use POV switches carfully

Lady Orrin wrote:
Even though I am not an author, I am a rabid fan of fan fiction, and my issue is with point-of-view switching (POV). When an author writes about the events in a story from character #1's POV then in the next paragraph states THE EXACT SAME THING as the first paragraph but subsitutes character #2's name for character #1's name. Nothing new was added to the story, it just makes the story that much longer and wrecks the flow of the passage.

#15- Thou shall use POV switches carfully

Exactly! If you're going to use first person POV, it is much easier to choose one character and stick with it through the entire story, unless one or two events require a switch.

Also, adding notes to declare which character's POV we are viewing is unnecessary. The readers should be able to figure it out from the content of the story.

Law Number 16: Spell the character's names correctly.

It always irks me when character names are not spelled right throughout the whole story. I've seen things such as: Kanome, Ren, Seshouomaro...

I have a very hard time getting past errors such as that. It's not overly difficult to look up the proper spelling. Google is god.

Okay, here's something I've read a only few times but it had just really thrown off the whole story for me:

Law #17: Keep track of your settings.

I've read like half a chapter occuring in one room where the characters are conversing, and when they all split up, they're outside in some completely different place.

Law #18:
It's super annoying if characters just have voices popping into their heads out of nowhere, especially if there's no reasonable explanation at some point. Sesshoumaru's demon voice is acceptable, if it's explained why it decided just to speak up at that moment, but I'm a regular human just like Kagome and I don't frequently have random voices popping into my head telling me how hot I think this guy is (as she so frequently seems to have).... To me that indicates mental issues. I don't know maybe that's just me.

I agree with must of these laws and I know a few of them i've been guilty of in my early fanfiction days, oh the bad fics that must now die.

The thing that bugs me to most is overly detailing, a story can get good with three paragraphs of how Kagome dresses and what's on her shirt. yes I get people like to play "dress up Kagome" but dang it as a reader i don't need to know the size of her panties or how many times she applies lip gloss.

Law # whatever we're on Use descriptive powers reasonably.

So here's a recaps of our "Ought to be a FanFiction Law's":


Law#1: Make sure the currency works in favor of your story!

Law#2: Don't let your characters fall into the abyss! They hate it there!!

Law#3: Modern conveniences like shower, toilet etc are not in the feudal era

Law #4: Please try to make your Characters realistic

Law #5: Please try to have your characters take their time with building their relationships. Try to add hardships and comedy to make it believable.

Law #6: Characters shouldn't just forgive others for a horrible injustice right on the spot!

Law#7: Please try to move the body in lemons in a believable fashion.

Law#8: - *K.I.S.S.[*keep it simple silly!]- bringing in a lot of main characters randomly with out cause or background, or adding too many people at the same time, (unless you can keep it organized and the reader un-confused) can really hurt your story. a reader confused is a reader gone

Law#9: If you abandon your story, please let us know in an outlined format what would have happened. OR allow someone to adopt it!

Law#10: Use Spell Check!

Law#11: Slow it down. - ie. I'm not saying slow down the plot, prolong the development of relationships, or anything like that. Just try to keep everything flowing smoothly.

Law #12: Use proper capitalization/punctuation/grammar/spelling. Even when you have the plot all mapped out in your brain and ready to be written down, don't forget the basics of good writing, especially in the summary and the first paragraph of a story.

Law# 13: No IM spelling. ex: "U" for "you", 4 instead of "for", etc.

Law# 14: No over-describing. - there can be a balance between action and description, it's not such a difficult thing to obtain, if one takes the time to think about it while writing.

Law# 15: No WALLOFTEXT - if it can be helped. IE: Paragraphs, paragraphs, paragraphs. I see this from time to time where an author would have their chapters written as one big block of text. I can not stand that, especially when the story has a lot of potential. So, paragraphs should be a must when it comes to writing fanfiction.

Law# 16: No dialogue jumble. where more then one character speaks per paragraph - I have read a number of stories where characters' statements are thrown together into one, big paragraph and I get totally confused over who is stating what.

Law# 17: thou shalt not capitalize words that are not proper nouns unless they are the first word in a sentence!

Law# 18: Thou shall use POV switches carefully - adding notes to declare which character's POV we are viewing is unnecessary. The readers should be able to figure it out from the content of the story.

Law# 19: Spell the character's names correctly.

Law# 20: Keep track of your settings.

Law# 21: Thou shalt not make characters Schizophrenic - if characters just have voices popping into their heads out of nowhere, especially if there's no reasonable explanation at some point. Sesshoumaru's demon voice is acceptable, if it's explained why it decided just to speak up at that moment, but I'm a regular human just like Kagome and I don't frequently have random voices popping into my head telling me how hot I think this guy is (as she so frequently seems to have).... To me that indicates mental issues. I don't know maybe that's just me.

NEW:

Law# 22: Thou shalt not lead the reader on.

Explanation: I have been reading a story when it feels like to me as a reader/reviewer that we are almost done with this, maybe 5 chapters and we got this wrapped up nice and pretty. You as an author have 70k or so, 20+ chapters... and then BAM there's suddenly ANOTHER villain, or SUDDENLY the main couple isn't working out and more time has to happen.

Its understandable that your muse may want to lead you on for more, but seriously i have stopped reading stories for this issue. If i feel like you can't make the close on a fiction i will stop reading. I don't want to keep going after i've waited months to get to what i thought was the end only for you to have issues so you start another mini arch in the story line b/c your having issues closing it.

Suggestion to fix it: At this point as an author if you feel your getting there i think you need to stop, take a deep cleansing breath and look at what you have. step back from it for a hot second and ask one of your loyal reviewers who has been with you from chapter 1 to chapter whatever the heck your on and ask them what they think should happen or how they'd feel about more open plotline.

I know this seems odd and for the most part we only write for ourselves the reviews are just icing on the cake, but seriously i think authors should take this into consideration.


Now about this thread...: Again PLEASE keep comments civil, i don't want to see rules written in ALL CAPS.

This is a rant yes, but i would like newer authors to be able to use this and judge what readers think about without feeling like a noob that's going to get their under0os sent up a fanfiction flag pole for doing some of this.

We were all new at one point or another, and all of these are things that everyone has stumbled over. And yes i know these aren't really RULES but more of a GUIDELINE for possible help but seriously i think these will help people if they see what their readers want.

-r0o

One tip I've found helpful if one is so focused on one scene that they can't write anything or rush to reach it:

Write THAT scene first, but leave the start a little open so you can meld it into the story when it reaches the point where that scene is necessary. Then you can proofread and adjust things as needed and nobody else will know you wrote the end of chapter eight before you started chapter two.


Edit: Doh, I didn't realize this was a really old topic!

And, it's a very touchy subject. Everyone writes for different reasons and what makes one person happy to write may not be what most people would like to read. I think perhaps this thread tends to be too judgmental, so comment with caution or the thread will be deleted.

You're doing fine, shangri la

Been seeing these a lot lately so thought I would add them, and don't worry Lady B, I will be civil .

Rules # 24: Watch for length of paragraphs.

Now I know it was mentioned earlier about wall of text, but too small of paragraphs can hurt your story as well, especially when you have a lot of one liners in a row. Now as a more experienced author, I try to keep my paragraphs at around four sentences each, even when the next paragraph has an answer to the first, speaking in terms of dialog. However, I understand that newer authors would find it difficult to come up with so many connection sentences, ie things like the answerer thinking about the question for a moment or the asker watching the other person's face for expressions.

For newer authors, I would say trying to keep the paragraphs at around two to three lines, up to six if there is no dialog or just one continuous speaker. It can help with story flow and keep readers in the story.

Example bad: "There sure are a lot of stars out tonight, aren't there?"

"Hn."

Example good: "There sure are a lot of stars out tonight, aren't there?" Kagome whispered softly, almost as if she was speaking to herself rather than to her companion, as she leaned back on her hands and stared up at the star-filled sky. It was another of the many wonders found here in the Feudal era that she never really got to experience in modern day Japan. The lights and skyscrapers always blocked out the breathtaking view.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru replied as he glanced across the camp fire at the strange priestess. He could never understand why such a usual thing, such as the stars in the sky, always seemed to appeal to her so. They were there every night, just as they always had and always would, yet she seemed to view them as though seeing them for the first time.

Rule # 25: Bold and all caps are not your friend.

Some words really need to be emphasized, but there is a wrong way and a right way to do so. Using bold or all caps, are the wrong way. It tends to interrupt the story flow and is rather distracting for readers. Putting that word in italics or in between ' ', can get your point across without hurting your story.

Example bad: "I don't need you telling me to behave," Kagome grumbled as she turned to glare at Inuyasha.
Example bad: "I don't need YOU telling me to behave," Kagome grumbled as she turned to glare at Inuyasha.
Example good: "I don't need you telling me to behave," Kagome grumbled as she turned to glare at Inuyasha.
Example good: "I don't need 'you' telling me to behave," Kagome grumbled as she turned to glare at Inuyasha.

Rule # 26: Pick one nickname and stick with it.

Too many times I have seen authors used Sess, Sesshy, Sesshou, Sessy-kuns and Fluffy all in the same paragraph, most by the same character. If you really wish to use a nickname, simply pick your favorite and use it throughout your story. And remember to only use it within dialog, not in descriptions or story details.

Example bad: "How long to you intend to follow me, girl?" Sesshy inquired as he turned back toward her with his normal stoic expression.
Example good: "That depends, Sesshy, on how long you allow me to follow you," Kagome replied with a smug smirk.

I tend to use all-caps if somebody is really screaming. Like, they saw somebody shot and they're screaming the person's name, I tend to write it as "INUYASHA!"

But overusing exclamation points can ruin it. There's no "INUYASHA!!!!" like you might see in comics.

And how come the interrobang doesn't get enough love?

"What?!"

Trouble_In_Shangri_la wrote:
I tend to use all-caps if somebody is really screaming. Like, they saw somebody shot and they're screaming the person's name, I tend to write it as "INUYASHA!"

But overusing exclamation points can ruin it. There's no "INUYASHA!!!!" like you might see in comics.

And how come the interrobang doesn't get enough love?

"What?!"

If it's just one word, I tend to let it slip, but usually if they have one word in all caps, there's many more to come. Interrobang?

?! is an interrobang

Ah okies lol.

Thou shalt not use in-text author's notes.

ie-

Kagome stared deeply into Sesshoumaru's eyes (a/n: Kami, his eyes are so pretty *giggle*) as she waited for him to speak.

"Kagome." He said, his voice so serious it held the weight of the world.

(a/n: He's totally gonna propose!)

"Yes?" Kagome held her breath.

Sesshoumaru slowly sank to one knee in front of her, taking great pains to hang onto his pride. (a/n: Awww! *glomps him*) "Will you marry me, Kagome?"




I see those in what should be serious fics, and they totally ruin it.

Uh, oh. I usually think those in-text author's notes are really funny. But I have strange tastes. I get as much fun out of the personality of the authors as I do their work.

These are very good and having not posted any fanfiction yet I will certainly take these into account

Hey guys. I am glad the rules were posted. Some I knew but others were new to me. I have been using google to research but I have a question. Is there a list of particular links that would have information on proceedures / traditions? Sometimes I can find what I am looking for but there have been many times that I could'nt. Of course, since this is all new to me I could just be doing something wrong. One example would be an apology. Where I am some flowers, a gift and saying sorry is fine, however in Japan maybe there is a different proceedure you have to follow to show you are sincere in your apology. Any tips for a lost person?

In responce to R0o's law, 22:
While i agree, the an author should know when a good story has reached its natural end, I also appreciate the unexpected and angsty twist now and again.

Should be a law #25: (We're at 25 right?) When filling out the story summary section, PLEASE do your best to give a good summary. "Read and Find Out's" are lazy IMHO

Hairann wrote:

Rule # 26: Pick one nickname and stick with it.

Too many times I have seen authors used Sess, Sesshy, Sesshou, Sessy-kuns and Fluffy all in the same paragraph, most by the same character. If you really wish to use a nickname, simply pick your favorite and use it throughout your story. And remember to only use it within dialog, not in descriptions or story details.

Example bad: "How long to you intend to follow me, girl?" Sesshy inquired as he turned back toward her with his normal stoic expression.
Example good: "That depends, Sesshy, on how long you allow me to follow you," Kagome replied with a smug smirk.

Can I second this motion? esp. in regards to using nicknames only in dialogue? (This one drives me crazy!!!)

also - as there are two different 'accepted' transliterations for many characters (i.e. Shippo v. Shippou, Koga v. Kouga etc.) I think law #19 should be amended to read:

Law# 19: Spell the character's names correctly & consistently

Pick one of the accepted spellings and stick to it.