- [*]Common Fanfic Mistakes
AVOID THESE AT ALL COSTS
These are the common spelling and grammar mistakes that people will make when they write a fanfic. This section is meant to prevent these errors from occurring in the future.
Date: 10 August 2009
Last Update: 10 August 2009
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Section One: Chapter Length
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This is what kills a lot of stories. Many times, you will find stories written by people who have chapters that aren't much longer than this sentence, and it's aggravating.
One paragraph does not make a chapter.
There is no law on how long your chapters should be, though it is in your best interest to provide enough to keep the reader wanting to continue your story. If your chapter ends in three sentences, the reader will likely be turned off to the rest of your story. In the above example, chapters vary in length, ranging from barely over 2,000 to nearly 20,000. Anything within this limit is perfectly acceptable, but as a rule of thumb, if your entry is less than 1,000 words, it's not long enough.
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Section Two: Dialogue
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The #1 most common error in stories.
Let's say George buys a ball at the store and shows Jim the ball. Jim comments on the ball. This is what is usually present:
One day, George bought a ball at the store. He took it to his friend Jim and showed it to him. "Jim, check this ball out." George said. "That ball looks pretty awesome!" Jim said. "I know, right? It's my favorite color." George said. "Want to go bounce it around? It'll be fun." "Sure." Jim said.
This is bad. Let's fix it.
1. When you have a conversation with two people, every time a new person talks, it goes on a new line. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. If the last sentence in spoken dialogue would end in a period, replace the period with a comma if there is ANYTHING after the dialogue, even two words like "Jim said." It should retain the period only if there are no words after the dialogue.
2. Did you notice that every time someone speaks, it says "(name)
said?" That makes your story bland. It's okay to use it more than once, but not in such close proximity. There are other words you can use to convey "said."
3. While we know what happened, we only have bare bones information. Add a little meat to your paragraphs by describing stuff! What does the ball look like? Why does Jim think that ball is pretty awesome?
Let's fix up this example. Note the changes!
Today was the day. George had finally saved up enough money to buy the ball he'd had his eyes on for two months. It glowed in all the colors of the rainbow, and every time it bounced, it made the sounds of children's laughter.
He raced to the store, anxious to get his prize. George was like a man possessed, rushing past the video games and scented candle to the ball section, where just one more of the glowing balls remained. With a smile on his face, he carried it triumphantly to the cash register and happily paid the $42.95 for the toy.
"Would you like a bag for this?" the cashier asked.
"Nope! I'll bounce it home!" George exclaimed, wasting no time in tearing the protective box from the ball.
George was psyched. He laughed along with the ball all the way home, where his best friend Jim was waiting. George ran over to Jim and showed him his new ball. "Jim, check this ball out!" he shouted, presenting the glowing sphere for Jim's analysis.
"That ball looks pretty awesome!" Jim cried out. He was jealous of George and wanted a glowing ball for his very own.
"I know, right? It's my favorite color!" George said as the ball turned a lovely shade of blue. Noticing Jim's interest, he decided to be a good friend. "Want to go bounce it around? It'll be fun."
"Sure," Jim said, trying hard to contain his excitement.
In addition to what we know before, we now know more things:
- The ball glows in all colors of the rainbow
- It makes sounds of children's laughter when you bounce it
- Jim is George's best friend
- Jim wants a glowing ball too
- George's favorite color is blue
- George is a nice person, he shared his ball with his friend
However, when adding details, make sure not to overdo the description.
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Section Three: Common Spelling and Grammar Mistakes
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Most times you'll find that a fanfic is littered with various spelling and grammar mistakes. We researched some of the common grammatical errors as well as the
100 Most Often Mispelled Misspelled Words in English. There you will find a list of some commonly misspelled words....its always a good idea to run your chapters through a MS Word spell check to make sure your fanfic is free of errors.
Here are some of the most common grammatical errors found and examples on how to use these tricky words correctly.
1. Using “it’s” for “its” or vice-versa.
Bad: Arceus is very strong because
it’s base stats are each 120!
Good: Arceus is very strong because
its base stats are each 120!
Bad: The Palkia is roaring and
its destroying the city.
Good: The Palkia is roaring and
it’s destroying the city.
2. Using “they’re” for “their” or “there”.
Bad:
There training in the park with
they’re Pokémon.
Good:
They’re training in the park with
their Pokémon.
3. Using “affect” for “effect” or vice-versa.
Bad: Normal-Type moves do not
effect Gengar.
Good: Normal-Type moves do not
affect Gengar.
4. Using “your” for “you’re” or vice-versa.
Bad:
Your a bad Pokémon trainer!
Good:
You’re a bad Pokémon trainer!
5. Using “then” for “than” or vice-versa.
Bad: My Pokémon are stronger
then your Pokémon!
Good: My Pokémon are stronger
than your Pokémon!
6. Subject-verb disagreement.
Bad: The trainers
has many different kinds of Pokémon.
Good: The trainers
have many different kinds of Pokémon.
7. Using “good” instead of “well”.
Bad: You battle really
good!
Good: You battle really
well!
