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First off I would like to state, for the record, that I am not being a know-it-all. What I am about to mention in this entry are things that I have learned on the road to becoming a writer. I'm not a professional writer (at least not yet), I'm not a perfect writer, but I do know how to write. What I am about to mention is actually general stuff, the kind of thing you might learn in a highschool creative writing class. There are no actual rules when it comes to writing (even grammar gets butchered for the sake of it) but there are methods and means that make your writing much more of a pleasure to read, not just in terms of plot but down to the written words themselves.
1. Pick a point of view and stick with it - not for the entire story, of course. But if you're going to swtich POVs then it's best to alert the reader in some way that the POV has shifted. Most usually do this through paragraph breaks
Ex. Paragraph
.......................... or------------------------------- or*****************or triple or quadruple space
paragraph
Switching POVs constantly and without warning tends to throw a reader off. Think of the characters as guides for the readers. You see what that character sees and understand the emotions involved through what they feel. Multiple POVs are even better for this same reason as you get different takes for the same incident. Each character is going to feel different about the same occurence, and jumping from POV to POV without warning can create confusion, making the reader uncertain as to whose emotions they are looking into, even who is speaking. So it's best to stick with one POV for as long as you can (don't have two paragrpahs of one POV, then jump to two paragraphs of another, then jump back. The longer you stick with a POV, the less frustrated a reader gets.)
2. Details - most readers love details, but there's an almost fine line between too much detail and too little. I read a book once, a fantasy, that described the creation of a spell that went on for about four pages. A little over the top if you ask me, and rather unecessary, though that was just my opinion. Too little detail can keep your reader from being sucked into the story. Truth be told, I'd rather have too much detail than too little. It really all comes down to a matter of necessity. If you have a scene in your story that's fast-paced with a lot of action, then you don't want too much detail slowing that pace down. If you're not sure if this is heppening, then it's best to get someone else to read the scene and let you know.
But detail isn't difficult to have. Don't leave a description as - And he was shot. Okay, shot where? The back, stomach, chest? I've come across many a story that does this and it drives me nuts. The whole time I thought so-and-so was shot in the chest, and it turns out he was shot in the stomach, or arm.
3. Dialogue - dialogue is more important than most realize as the simple act of speaking can reveal a lot about a character.
"We must go now, whilst we still can," said John.
Okay, on the show, does John Sheppard really talk like that? I don't think so.
"We gotta go now, so move it!" Now that sounds more like John. (Although if English isn't your first language, I understand how dialogue can be difficult.) English speakers usually butcher the English language, especially us Americans.
Also, when it comes to Fanfiction, you don't really need to write out accents (Carson's, for example). We all know he has a Scottish accent so it's not really necessary. I've stopped doing this myself, which creates a lot less frustration when it comes to correcting spelling errors. When it comes to original fics, that's up to you as a writer whether to write out the accents. Sometimes it helps, especially if it's an accent not often heard. Sometimes it's totally unecessary and makes it hard on the reader. (We all know what a British, Scottish, Irish accent sounds like. But some might not be familair with a Turkish accent).
4. Know your characters - If it's fanfaction, you have them right their in front of you. Most of how we see these characters is up to interpretation, but there's slight differences in how one writer portrays this person than the other, and all out butchering of a character just to get a desired plot result. Characters are more important than the plot. If you don't have a well-rounded, concrete character, then the plot will fail. If you alter an already existing character just to fit a plot's needs, you're going to tick off your readers. When it comes to original stories, a character's personality can affect the plot. always have your character worked out down to a name, a past, and whether or not he likes anchovies on his/her pizza or is a vegetarian. You'd be surprised how such little tiny details can make a story interesting. Heck, I've had characters inspire plots rather than plots inspire characters.
5. Flow - Make sure your story flows, or, in other words, make sure what you've written is easy on the reader. Don't be repetative, using the same word five times in the same paragraph (that's why we have thesauruses), or introspections that are basically stating the same thing ("he's my friend" even though that was already established in the last two chapters.) Also sticking with introspections, try to refrain from lengthy ones, especially in fanfiction as we already know a lot about the characters (like Ronon being a Runner and having come from a world called Sateda.) Introspections are fine, their lengths don't really matter, but you need to be aware when you're going overboard as they sometimes tend to bore a reader after a time (I've been guilty of that myself).
Going hand in hand with this is knowing when to "get on with the story already", or stop dragging a certain aspect out forever (a joke, a scene, etc.). I've read stories containing chapter after chapter of introspection, with little change in between (people are injured, waiting for help, so have lots of time to think). Readers can get frustrated by this, even skipping over the majority of the introspection or details in hopes of seeing the start of some kind of change toward the end.
6. Plausible - this kind of goes back to characterization in fanfic. Don't butcher a character's personality for the sake of the plot. It can make a story seem so unreal to be almost a joke. Sticking with this, think logically. If one character is lying on the floor, bleeding to death, the rest of the characters aren't going to stand around saying long-winded good-byes to other characters. Same thing if they're being chased, no one stands around yammering if people with weapons are closing the distance. If you're writing an interrogation scene for 24, then there might be torture involved. That would not be the case if it was an interrogation scene in CSI. Hitting maybe, if the one doing the interrogating hit the end of their rope, but not torture that involves electricuting the person. Either make it work in a way that's logical and possible, or don't do it at all.
7. Editing - Edit! And I'm not just talking about having a beta reader go over it for the sake of spelling errors alone. If you use a beta/editor, go over your story once or twice before passing it on to the beta. If you don't use a beta, then go over it twice, even three times. What works best is to read it through once, set it aside for a few days, then go back and read it again. And don't just look for spelling and grammer errors. Pay attention to how your story flows, if there's sentances or paragraphs you need to change, even get rid of. If your story isn't easy for you to read, then it's going to be a pain for your readers.
Really it's all up to the beholder, the beholder being both the writer and the reader. What I mentioned above are not concrete rules, they are methods, simple ways of making a work something your reader can enjoy. And some of the mentioned mistakes are mistakes I've made as well (still do, sometimes).
And if you haven't already guessed, I'm writing this in response to things I've read. I want to be a constructive critic, but I'm never sure how since it can sometimes lead to discouraging a writer, and what I want to explain can't be said in the review since there isn't enough room (or I don't know how to word it right.) Take this as advice, not me telling people how to write.
If you'd like to mention something that I didn't, something that you've seen too much of that annoys you, feel free to. But not something along the lines of there being too much whump, romance, pairings, slash, friendships etc. That's more genre stuff, not mechanics.
1. Pick a point of view and stick with it - not for the entire story, of course. But if you're going to swtich POVs then it's best to alert the reader in some way that the POV has shifted. Most usually do this through paragraph breaks
Ex. Paragraph
.......................... or------------------------------- or*****************or triple or quadruple space
paragraph
Switching POVs constantly and without warning tends to throw a reader off. Think of the characters as guides for the readers. You see what that character sees and understand the emotions involved through what they feel. Multiple POVs are even better for this same reason as you get different takes for the same incident. Each character is going to feel different about the same occurence, and jumping from POV to POV without warning can create confusion, making the reader uncertain as to whose emotions they are looking into, even who is speaking. So it's best to stick with one POV for as long as you can (don't have two paragrpahs of one POV, then jump to two paragraphs of another, then jump back. The longer you stick with a POV, the less frustrated a reader gets.)
2. Details - most readers love details, but there's an almost fine line between too much detail and too little. I read a book once, a fantasy, that described the creation of a spell that went on for about four pages. A little over the top if you ask me, and rather unecessary, though that was just my opinion. Too little detail can keep your reader from being sucked into the story. Truth be told, I'd rather have too much detail than too little. It really all comes down to a matter of necessity. If you have a scene in your story that's fast-paced with a lot of action, then you don't want too much detail slowing that pace down. If you're not sure if this is heppening, then it's best to get someone else to read the scene and let you know.
But detail isn't difficult to have. Don't leave a description as - And he was shot. Okay, shot where? The back, stomach, chest? I've come across many a story that does this and it drives me nuts. The whole time I thought so-and-so was shot in the chest, and it turns out he was shot in the stomach, or arm.
3. Dialogue - dialogue is more important than most realize as the simple act of speaking can reveal a lot about a character.
"We must go now, whilst we still can," said John.
Okay, on the show, does John Sheppard really talk like that? I don't think so.
"We gotta go now, so move it!" Now that sounds more like John. (Although if English isn't your first language, I understand how dialogue can be difficult.) English speakers usually butcher the English language, especially us Americans.
Also, when it comes to Fanfiction, you don't really need to write out accents (Carson's, for example). We all know he has a Scottish accent so it's not really necessary. I've stopped doing this myself, which creates a lot less frustration when it comes to correcting spelling errors. When it comes to original fics, that's up to you as a writer whether to write out the accents. Sometimes it helps, especially if it's an accent not often heard. Sometimes it's totally unecessary and makes it hard on the reader. (We all know what a British, Scottish, Irish accent sounds like. But some might not be familair with a Turkish accent).
4. Know your characters - If it's fanfaction, you have them right their in front of you. Most of how we see these characters is up to interpretation, but there's slight differences in how one writer portrays this person than the other, and all out butchering of a character just to get a desired plot result. Characters are more important than the plot. If you don't have a well-rounded, concrete character, then the plot will fail. If you alter an already existing character just to fit a plot's needs, you're going to tick off your readers. When it comes to original stories, a character's personality can affect the plot. always have your character worked out down to a name, a past, and whether or not he likes anchovies on his/her pizza or is a vegetarian. You'd be surprised how such little tiny details can make a story interesting. Heck, I've had characters inspire plots rather than plots inspire characters.
5. Flow - Make sure your story flows, or, in other words, make sure what you've written is easy on the reader. Don't be repetative, using the same word five times in the same paragraph (that's why we have thesauruses), or introspections that are basically stating the same thing ("he's my friend" even though that was already established in the last two chapters.) Also sticking with introspections, try to refrain from lengthy ones, especially in fanfiction as we already know a lot about the characters (like Ronon being a Runner and having come from a world called Sateda.) Introspections are fine, their lengths don't really matter, but you need to be aware when you're going overboard as they sometimes tend to bore a reader after a time (I've been guilty of that myself).
Going hand in hand with this is knowing when to "get on with the story already", or stop dragging a certain aspect out forever (a joke, a scene, etc.). I've read stories containing chapter after chapter of introspection, with little change in between (people are injured, waiting for help, so have lots of time to think). Readers can get frustrated by this, even skipping over the majority of the introspection or details in hopes of seeing the start of some kind of change toward the end.
6. Plausible - this kind of goes back to characterization in fanfic. Don't butcher a character's personality for the sake of the plot. It can make a story seem so unreal to be almost a joke. Sticking with this, think logically. If one character is lying on the floor, bleeding to death, the rest of the characters aren't going to stand around saying long-winded good-byes to other characters. Same thing if they're being chased, no one stands around yammering if people with weapons are closing the distance. If you're writing an interrogation scene for 24, then there might be torture involved. That would not be the case if it was an interrogation scene in CSI. Hitting maybe, if the one doing the interrogating hit the end of their rope, but not torture that involves electricuting the person. Either make it work in a way that's logical and possible, or don't do it at all.
7. Editing - Edit! And I'm not just talking about having a beta reader go over it for the sake of spelling errors alone. If you use a beta/editor, go over your story once or twice before passing it on to the beta. If you don't use a beta, then go over it twice, even three times. What works best is to read it through once, set it aside for a few days, then go back and read it again. And don't just look for spelling and grammer errors. Pay attention to how your story flows, if there's sentances or paragraphs you need to change, even get rid of. If your story isn't easy for you to read, then it's going to be a pain for your readers.
Really it's all up to the beholder, the beholder being both the writer and the reader. What I mentioned above are not concrete rules, they are methods, simple ways of making a work something your reader can enjoy. And some of the mentioned mistakes are mistakes I've made as well (still do, sometimes).
And if you haven't already guessed, I'm writing this in response to things I've read. I want to be a constructive critic, but I'm never sure how since it can sometimes lead to discouraging a writer, and what I want to explain can't be said in the review since there isn't enough room (or I don't know how to word it right.) Take this as advice, not me telling people how to write.
If you'd like to mention something that I didn't, something that you've seen too much of that annoys you, feel free to. But not something along the lines of there being too much whump, romance, pairings, slash, friendships etc. That's more genre stuff, not mechanics.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-02 11:23 pm (UTC)From:Did you see
no subject
Date: 2007-05-03 12:32 am (UTC)From:I will admit to that fic kind of motivating me to do this, but I'd been wanting to write something like this for some time, I just hadn't figured out how until now.
Plus I suck at critiquing. This way's easier. It lets people take it or leave it without feeling singled-out, insulted, embarrassed, panicky, or discouraged. At least I hope that's the case.