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Merga
09-30-2012, 11:30 PM
A guide to better works of literature

I know that most of the members on this site love to show their creative side, and write pieces of literature or fanfics. However, some of the works on here are an utter mess and are hard to read. I’m no writer, but I can help make your writing not only look good, but be good as well.

1. The Script Clause
I notice that most of the stories that are posted on here are written in script or dialogue form and not paragraph form. Though stories in this format can be made and done right, they are only intended to be in plays, not full stories. As for dialogue form, just leave that out. Stories completely written in dialogue tend to lack detail and really does not look neat at all. Not only will stories would look better in paragraph form rather than in script or dialogue form, it is easier to read and understand as well.

Dialogue form:
“Are you ready to face the Cougars in the big game tonight William?”
“You bet Jimmy!”
"Yeah, let's do good tonight. It's our night!"

Paragraph form:
As the Rhinos get ready to face the Cougars in the big game, Jimmy asks William, the Rhino quarterback “Are you ready to face the Cougars tonight?”
“You bet Jimmy!” answered William
" Yeah, let's do good tonight." responded Jimmy "It's our night!"


As you can see the work in paragraph form not only looks better, but it explains the scene better than the work in paragraph form. You know that Jimmy and William play for the Rhino football team, they are getting ready for the game, and that William is the quarterback for the Rhinos. This is already more information then what you would get from a work from a dialogue story. Please keep in mind that works in paragraphs will work much better.

Also, please know when to make a new paragraph. You should only make new paragraphs if:
A. You are making a new topic.
B. When a quote is finished and/or after a person talks in a conversation.

2. Detail
Detail in a story is a huge thing for any written work. Any good story must have specific details when it comes to characters, events, places, etc. The more detail put in a story the better it will turn out. Here are examples of a story without detail, and one with detail.

Bad example:
“The wizard cast a spell, the dragon is dead.”

Good example:
“The wizard cast a spell, making clouds appear out of nowhere. All of a sudden, lightning strikes out of the clouds and hits the dragon, making it disappear out of thin air.”

The difference is that you would know what the scene is like while the event is taking place, so the reader knows what is going on in the story rather than guessing what is going on because of lack of detail.

3. Grammar and spelling
Grammar is another huge part of what goes on in a story. This is what makes a story look polished and professional, plus it would make the story ten times easier to read compared to one with awful grammar.

Bad example:
tim wuz a bear and had no hare becuz it wuz shaved of.

Good example:
Tim was a bear, and had no hair because it was shaved off.

A good tip to prevent this is to type the story on a Word document, where it will point out spelling and grammatical errors.

4. Word choice
Using proper word choice can prevent the use of repeating words. If words are repeated too often, then it could make the story bland. If you need to, you could consult a thesaurus, where it will give out synonyms of the desired word.

However, repetition can make for some pretty interesting dialogue, so you may use it during sections of dialogue.

5. Length
A problem with some of the stories on here is that they are way too short. A five sentence long paragraph is not considered a chapter or a part. If it is just a short story, at least make it look like a short story instead of a paragraph (at least 5 good paragraphs should be reasonable). Remember, a good story isn't made in a day.

6. Real life events
It is ok to base stories off of real life ideas; however, a story is not your personal journal (unless you’re Anne Frank of course, but that’s beside the point). This does not however mean that you shouldn’t base stories off of real life events. You can still make a parody of an event that has happened, meaning that you can replace things, like making new characters, and making specific changes to the plot.

Take the novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell for example. The book explains what was happening with Soviet Russia. The only difference was that Orwell used farm animals and other characters to symbolize different people in real life (Stalin, Trotsky, the entire working class of Soviet Russia). The plot was also changed as well, so that readers would understand the message a little better.

7. Original Ideas
This is for people who don’t want to make fanfics. If you want to make a fanfic, skip this step, if not, keep reading.

Basing a story off of Pokémon or forum members is NOT an original piece of work. I know, it’s sad, but suck it up. Try to find inspiration that would make a good story, or refer to the last step if you need any help.

8. Characters
Good characters make good stories. Try to give characters as much detail as possible once they are introduced (i.e. looks, dialogue, notable features, etc.).

Example:
And then, James arrived. James was a tall person, standing at about 6’ 4’’, had blonde hair, glasses, and skin as tan as sand. He was a trouble maker, whenever he finds the opportunity; James finds a way to make the situation more “interesting”.
Make sure that the character has unique traits and notable flaws as well. Mary Sues kills stories.

9. Tips for Constructive Criticism
This is for people who want to comment on a written work. If you know that a work is bad, please do the right thing and point out the flaws of the story, and not say “OMG, DIS STORY IS AMAZING!!!!!!!”. Constructive criticism is not a form of bullying, and it is the right thing to do because it would help the writer improve and work on the bad points. If not, the work will remain bad, and the author will not improve.

Follow these rules, and you will be a good writer in no time.

Happy writing!
~MegasomeONE

EpicCh33se
10-01-2012, 12:41 AM
Dialogue form:
“Are you ready to face the Cougars in the big game tonight William?”
“You bet Jimmy!”

This is not a good example of dialogue form, as the example given can be considered a part of paragraph form.



5. Length
A problem with some of the stories on here is that they are way too short.

This is true.

A five sentence long paragraph is not considered a chapter or a part. If you want to make chapters, the length must be reasonable (4 paragraphs at least).

Chapters are not meant to be a certain size. Chapters are meant to split the story into parts. It doesn't matter how long a chapter is. It doesn't matter how long a story is either. As long as it portrays the details and characters in a good way, then it's fine.



6. Real life events
It is ok to base stories off of real life ideas; however, a story is not your personal journal (unless you’re Anne Frank of course, but that’s beside the point). These stories lack creativity.

Take that part off.

Merga
10-01-2012, 12:48 AM
Dialogue form:
“Are you ready to face the Cougars in the big game tonight William?”
“You bet Jimmy!”

This is not a good example of dialogue form, as the example given can be considered a part of paragraph form.



5. Length
A problem with some of the stories on here is that they are way too short.

This is true.

A five sentence long paragraph is not considered a chapter or a part. If you want to make chapters, the length must be reasonable (4 paragraphs at least).

Chapters are not meant to be a certain size. Chapters are meant to split the story into parts. It doesn't matter how long a chapter is. It doesn't matter how long a story is either. As long as it portrays the details and characters in a good way, then it's fine.



6. Real life events
It is ok to base stories off of real life ideas; however, a story is not your personal journal (unless you’re Anne Frank of course, but that’s beside the point). These stories lack creativity.

Take that part off.

Tried making some changes, thank you so much.

sonriopoby123
10-01-2012, 01:51 AM
What is it with all these guides? xD

Anyways, good guide! I'm hoping to write a fanfic someday, so these will be helpful!

X!!
10-01-2012, 09:03 AM
Wow Mega, this guide is great! Just like all the other guides, this guide should be sticky.

Patriot
10-04-2012, 12:00 PM
>beginners

hnnng

Besides that, great guide! Although I doubt the horribad fanfiction creators will actually take it into account.

CaptainRed1000
10-08-2012, 04:53 AM
I approve of all the tips above, except for the Constructive Criticism part.

X!!
10-08-2012, 08:53 AM
I approve of all the tips above, except for the Constructive Criticism part.

Nothing's wrong with constructive criticism. It's just someone's opinion on something. Even your post is considered criticism, because you gave your own opinion on this guide.

CaptainRed1000
10-08-2012, 10:02 AM
Nothing's wrong with constructive criticism. It's just someone's opinion on something. Even your post is considered criticism, because you gave your own opinion on this guide.

Fair enough, I suppose...I just don't like hearing bad things being said about things I do when I put a lot of work into it. You understand the feeling, right?

X!!
10-08-2012, 10:45 AM
Fair enough, I suppose...I just don't like hearing bad things being said about things I do when I put a lot of work into it. You understand the feeling, right?

I guess...But personally, I prefer honest feedback, so that I will know which part I did wrong...

Ice
10-08-2012, 11:17 AM
Fair enough, I suppose...I just don't like hearing bad things being said about things I do when I put a lot of work into it. You understand the feeling, right?
If someone lies to make you feel good, you won't know where you went wrong and will never improve. I don't like it when people say "lol dis is BAD", but I see nothing wrong with pointing out flaws and giving tips of how to improve because that is constructive criticism that will actually help the creator of whatever you are criticizing improve and do better the next time.

X!!
10-08-2012, 12:12 PM
What Ice said. He has been explaining this for like, a million times. We don't need to go through this again, now do we, CaptainRed?

Shantae
10-08-2012, 01:50 PM
This is a great guide.
Seriously, this is a must read to the members that are trying to create a Fan-Fic for the first time, or members that have created their fan-fic's and they have to re-check this guide.

CaptainRed1000
10-08-2012, 11:33 PM
What Ice said. He has been explaining this for like, a million times. We don't need to go through this again, now do we, CaptainRed?

No, we don't. All I'm saying is that I often recieve less people pointing out flaws as opposed to more people just saying that my work is bad. That is all I'm saying.

Qwerty
10-09-2012, 05:48 AM
If someone says your stuff sucks, get over it and move on. It's not nice, but just ignore them if they're not even being constructive. Don't waste your time feeling bad over people who just diss your work without trying to be helpful.

On topic with the guide, you could add some writing tips.
ex: When trying to show instead of tell, replace your adjectives with verbs
Before: He is a cranky old man.
After: He is the kind of man who would hobble out of his chair and scream insults at children for disturbing his solitary lifestyle.

Some stuff like this tends to be really helpful. Then again, there's a ton of guides out there for this kind of stuff, so its just an idea.

CaptainRed1000
10-09-2012, 08:38 AM
If someone says your stuff sucks, get over it and move on. It's not nice, but just ignore them if they're not even being constructive. Don't waste your time feeling bad over people who just diss your work without trying to be helpful.

On topic with the guide, you could add some writing tips.
ex: When trying to show instead of tell, replace your adjectives with verbs
Before: He is a cranky old man.
After: He is the kind of man who would hobble out of his chair and scream insults at children for disturbing his solitary lifestyle.

Some stuff like this tends to be really helpful. Then again, there's a ton of guides out there for this kind of stuff, so its just an idea.

When I want a pep talk, I'll ask for one, but thanks regardless (MOOOOOOD SWING!)

pikachumaster
10-13-2012, 04:54 AM
This is so true!

(250th post for the second time. Yes!!!)

Elso579
10-30-2012, 01:25 AM
Thank you for making this guide your advise is noted in my mind and hopefully others minds as well.

As I was reading through though I did see this: Not only will stories would look better in paragraph form rather than in script or dialogue form, it is easier to read and understand as well

I'm no grammar expert but that doesn't seem right and if anything its awkward.