Crystal's Guide to Posting Good Fiction

Every writer gets stalled up, blanked out on ideas, and many other problems with their writing. You can post a thread about any problems right here in this very board, obviously. But if you're having a multitude of trouble that spans different problems or tough spots, you don't want to create a bunch of threads at once do you? Or get a single confusing thread that talks of said problems all at once? That's where this handy guide will come in.


Crystal's Guide to Posting Good Fiction


Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. So You Want to Show Us a Fiction Story
3. The Basics of Fiction
4. Moving Your Way Up the Writer's Escalator
5. The Advanced Techniques
6. Reaching the Top


Introduction

First thing's first. Welcome to my guide for making your fanfiction look good on these boards! This guide is meant to be both a visual and listening learner's experience for all of us fiction writers out there in ZU (not to mention help me write a college research paper on the very same topic, haha). If you're looking to post some fanfiction and attract the attention of your readers, this guide is for you. I will also use mostly Zelda-related examples for each section since they are the most common stories found here. Keep reading if you're interested. If not, your back button is right there up top.

Now, I will admit I'm not the very best writer here (although my Zelda fanfic did make second place for best Zelda fiction one summer, only to be beaten by Shrub's. Dang you! XD), but I have a number of fiction stories posted on these boards. There are also many other fiction threads here as well. I've looked at many and I notice that numerous actually good stories lack the real attention they deserve. Same with my own. The reason is that the majority of the stories here are noobish, poorly written, and just plain bad. They attract more attention than the good stories because of how they stand out as horrible writing, overshadowing the good stories that deserve the attention. Read on to learn to make your stories and postings in the fiction boards (fanfiction and poetry/originals) look spic and span and help solve this problem! :]


So You Want to Show Us a Fiction Story

Again, we'll start right at the beginning. You want to post some fiction right? You want to make it look good and attention deserving, right? Well, you need to consider a few things before posting first. Let's start with the very most basic thing about fiction. The types.

There are two types of fiction written here. Regular, original fiction and fanfiction. Anyone should know this. Original fiction completely comes out of our heads, no? It's our own original story. Fanfiction, however, is taking the characters, settings, and other elements of the like from an already existing media, such as Zelda, and creating your own storyline/plot with them. It's easier to write than an original fiction, naturally, because you probably already have the characters and setting chosen for you. So it is natural that we see more fanfiction here than original fiction, especially if it is Zelda based, haha.

Next, after you have chosen whether to write an original fiction or a fanfiction, you need to consider your story's subgenre. Genres include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, that stuff. Subgenres are things like mystery, action, adventure, romance, and the like. A lot of the time, pieces of any genre have more than one subgenre. For example, my Zelda fanfic can be considered as both action/adventure and mystery. You'll find a list of various subgenres and how to add your subgenre to your thread's title in the fanfiction rules thread sticked at the top of the fanfiction board.

Thirdly, once you've chosen your subgenre, it's time to think up some ideas and ask yourself some questions!

• What kind of storyline should I have?
• What kind of time period or theme?
• If my story is a fanfiction, which characters and settings from my chosen media should I include?
• How long should my chapters be?
• How many chapters do I think I might have when the story is finished?

There might be even more that I've missed here. Keep thinking about these questions, and when you are ready, move on to the next stage. :]


The Basics of Fiction

The first step in starting your story (actually writing, yes), is to learn and practice the basics of writing fiction. Remember that fiction is completely in your head and pretty much anything goes. Feel free to make Zelda battle Ganondorf or Link turn into a sissy coward. Just one thing. Be consistent with your ideas! I cannot emphasize this enough, because even I still make mistakes with this every now and then, despite having been writing for years. What I mean is, don't make a character go off somewhere for awhile from the story's current scene, and then suddenly reappear again. That makes no sense, even in fiction.

For example, your character is supposed to be going on a long trip soon. They aren't supposed to be back in the story for awhile. Don't forget this and make them suddenly reappear again before they should have. You'll find an example of this in my Fire Emblem fanfiction. I have the main character return from a trip that takes a few weeks to get to where she was and a few weeks back. A couple months pass by in the time she leaves and the time she is back at home. This all makes sense, no? You'd better say yes.

Storyline and theme. Storyline usually comes after your theme, but I'll explain it first. Your storyline is a short outline of what will happen throughout your story. One famous one is boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl gets kidnapped, boy saves girl and they live happily ever after. Very cliche, but you get the point. Your theme should be something like futuristic, medieval, nature, etc. Make sure your ideas fit with your theme too! VERY important! You don't want to put a knight in a space ship, alright? XD

After you've come up with some storyline and theme ideas, you'll probably want to choose and make your characters. Consider what you're writing about. Fire Emblem normally has a lot of characters. Make a lot of them if that's what you're writing. Zelda or Mario may not have so many. Your own original story can have as many characters as you want.

Setting. Setting is easy if you know your storyline and characters. Zelda has Hyrule, Termina, Labrynna, Holodrum, Koholint Island, the Great Sea, etc. Mario has Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, etc. Fire Emblem has various continents for you to choose from, such as Tellius, or make up your own (like I did). If you have a medieval theme going on, your setting is probably filled with small towns, castles, fortresses, farms, and the like. Sci-Fi (science fiction) involves outer space and other scientific locations. Think about your subgenre and theme when choosing settings as well.

Next, look at your spelling, punctuation, and grammar as you go along. You don't want your English to look like crap, because it is annoying and hard to read that way. Also, USE SPELL CHECK. It's not that hard. xP Consider these pointers for your own grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

• If you don't know how to spell a word, but you lack a word processor that has a spellcheck function, go online and find out how to spell it.
• Google, Yahoo, and other search engines are useful tools. They can help you to better learn how to properly use commas, periods, capitalization, etc.
• Remember to always always ALWAYS put your fiction in PARAGRAPH form. It's very hard on the eyes if it's just a wall of text or centered or whatever.
• If you are unsure of the meanings of some words that interest you, use a dictionary. 'Tis what it's for. You can find one online if you don't have an actual book handy.
• Be consistent with your names, be them of characters, places, or whatever. You don't want to keep mispelling them or else we'll get confused.
• USE THE ENTER BUTTON after every time a character's dialogue ends. That's how it works for any kind of story.
• USE CHAPTERS. That is, unless it's a short story you're writing. Then you might want to use parts or put it all in one post if it is not too long. Sometimes stories use both parts and chapters.

And these are your basics. Keep all of this in mind and once you feel you have it down, go on to the next stage. :]


Moving Your Way Up the Writer's Escalator

This section is comprised of practicing the basics until you're ready to learn more advanced writing techniques for fiction. This can also include some more brainstorming. What if you come up with a new idea that you think is better than what you originally planned? That's when you make your changes. This is also the time to learn about problems such as writer's block. Writer's block is blanking out on ideas and being unable to come up with anything at all for awhile (I get this more often than I want, believe me. xP). You should also use critical thinking skills in this stage.

Critical thinking is simply using your head very well. I know what I'm talking about here too, because I just recently did a PowerPoint presentation on that very topic for college. I learned many ways to exercise my mind to brainstorm and practice basic writing skills. Here are some of them.

• Do something relaxing that you enjoy. That will help you come across ideas. Believe me, it works. I've tested it myself.
• Write down your ideas so you don't forget them. You can do this in a chart, outline form, or any way that suits you.
• A lot of the time, conversation with others gives me ideas. Try this too.
• Work where it is quiet and no one can distract you.
• Make sure there is nothing you need to worry about first. It'll interrupt you in your brainstorming and practice.
• Don't let yourself get frustrated, angry, annoyed, etc. It'll just make you be unable to think at all.

Keep it up like this and you'll be ready to go advanced in no time. ;D


The Advanced Techniques

Don't go advanced until you really think you are ready. Don't fret if your viewers think you still need to work on your storyline or characters. Just relax and return to the basics for a bit, It's no biggy. Sometimes I need to myself. XD Anyway, the first advanced technique we will talk about is dialogue.

Dialogue is anything your characters say. One kind of dialogue is a soliloquy, which is a long speech said by a single character. However, it isn't just the different kinds you need to consider. You need to consider the current situation and how your characters should react. If Link is getting busted up by a moblin, but an ally that he has is there, wouldn't it make sense for that ally to be shocked or afraid for Link's safety and go help? It's the same with how characters should respond in said situations. You should also consider their personalities. Don't make a grumpy old man smile much or a cheerful young optimistic girl go crazy with worry.

Consider which words you use to say what character said what. In fact, the word "said" is the most common and basic one. You should use it when nothing else seems to fit what they're saying because it's generic. It is a good word to use, even if I think it's boring, haha. In other situations, you want to use more specific terms, listen up. If a character yells, use yelled or exclaimed or cried or similar words. Sometimes to define an emotion, you might said "exclaimed quickly" or "yelled loudly." This lets us know how your character is feeling at that current moment. See this list of different terms you might want to use. Words that are grouped together can essentially mean the same thing.

• Yelled/exclaimed/cried
• Mumbled/muttered
• Stammered
• Questioned/inquired/asked/wondered
• Boomed/exploded
• Stuttered
• Grumbled
• Retorted
• Snapped
• Argued

Don't forget emotions, like said earlier. Cried with surprise is a good one. So is cried with fear. Both of those mean completely different emotions. Grumbled angrily can indicate an annoyed character. And so on. Here's an example that I just made up on the spot.

"Your highness, I'm afraid Link has been knocked unconscious in the middle of the battlefield," the guard reported, a worried frown on his face.

"What?! Where is he?" Zelda gasped with a fearful look in her blue eyes.

See how Zelda reacted with fear and shock upon hearing Link had been knocked out cold in the middle of a battle? It's natural.

Character development. This is how your characters change and grow throughout your story. Badly developed characters are usually mary-sues. Avoid them AT ALL COSTS. For more on character development, see Behind the Mask's thread on the topic.

Next up is wordiness. You don't want your sentences to be too wordy. That means it's too complicated, too long, or has too many words. It'll look more to your readers like bla bla bla bla bla rather than part of the story. Make each sentence a good length (not too short, not too long), not too simple, and easy to understand and follow, and choose your words with care. Don't use annoying terms like lol and omg. This is a story, not a chatroom. When making your paragraphs, the first sentence is usually the main idea of that paragraph and the following sentences are related. When you're done with that main idea, the paragraph ends and you move on to the next one.

Proofreading and editing. This is when you take the constructive criticism your readers and viewers have given you to make positive changes to your story. Read carefully what hey have to say. If a lot of them say the same thing, that only means you probably really should change it. If others give you contrasting ideas though, such as one person saying you should pair Link and Zelda, but another says they want to see Link and Malon together, you simply have to choose. After all, you can't make everyone happy. I wish we could, though!

If you listen to your readers, you'll only make them like your story more. I guarantee it. ;D


Reaching the Top

You'll make it to the top of the writer's escalator when you keep practicing the techniques you learn and make your readers very happy with what they are reading. If you have more trouble with one specific writing element, such as dialogue, focus more on that first, then go to the other elements. Focus on bigger problems before the smaller ones. And just plain keep practicing.

Heck, you can even make your own changes that you think might better your story. I do this all the time. Don't be upset if readers like your original idea better than your new one, however. It'll just make you try harder. And trying harder means you'll get better. Consider the pointers I gave you in moving up about practicing here as well, and you're well on your way to writing a masterpiece that we will love and remember. :]

Now get out there, and write write write!

Comments and criticism on this guide are accepted.

If I could, I’d like to comment on three aspects of this thread.

First of all, your steps/advice for starting a story. Now I know everyone has a different process for how they do this, but I think you’re making it more complicated than it needs to be. Rather than make it seem endlessly complicated, I think the process could be better summarized with three simple steps:

1. Setting.
2. Characters.
3. Story.

You should try and focus on creating each one of these individually. Your setting should come before everything else simply because it is the most important part of your story. It is everything in your world that isn’t a person. And yet… even though it’s the most important, you shouldn’t stress about it. Never try and create your world all at once. Let it out gradually. Most of the time, your characters should know about the world they live in than you. You’ll often learn more about it by just letting your characters go about their business in the story.

Which brings me to my next point: story.

A story should never be completely planned. The writer him/herself shouldn’t know exactly where the story is headed. A good story is character-driven, changing and shifting depending on the personalities and reactions of the characters involved. If you try and make your characters take a certain path because it’s where you want the story to go, I can guarantee it will sound forced. By pushing the story in the direction youwant it, you’ll probably end up going against what your characters would actually do in a lot of situations.

And now to my final point: Identifiers (or whatever you call them).

I can’t help but twinge a little at the list you’ve come up with. It’s a very colorful and varied list. They’re bound to make colorful replacements for “said”.

Which is the problem. Using many of the identifiers you’ve listed will give the reader almost a 100% chance of becoming aware of that they’re reading a book and aren’t actually there. They stand out too much. “Said” is good in this regard because it blends in. People don’t notice said. People will, however, notice “exclaimed”, “boomed” and “snapped”. Most of the time, I try and avoid using identifiers whenever possible. I mostly identify who’s talking by describing what the character is doing while they’re talking. It adds to the story and maintains the illusion; perfection.

Well, that’s my two cents. Feel free to ignore what I said or comment on it.

Complicated? How do I make it look complicated? If you want a complicated writing guide, go look at Sakume's in the EH. THAT is a guide I can't understand too well because of how insanely long and complicated it is.

As for identifiers, it's my personal opinion that they are often better than the boring and generic said. You should only use said when nothing else seems to fit. If you just keep using said, it gets repetitive and annoying. Furthermore, we don't know how your characters are feeling if you just keep using said over and over.

When did I say the story should be completely planned?

Also, story, setting, and characters are key elements to fiction, but they are not the only important ones. They are the basics, which I described in that section. You can focus on those, but what about the other important elements like dialogue, character development, ect? You can't just ignore those. Look, I know what I'm doing here with this guide. I am a college student who wishes to be a published author someday.

EDIT: By the way, I just took a look at that story you have linked in your sig and I did not see the word said very much in there.

Ah, didn't expect such a fast response.

Okay, I actually see that I misread and decided to write the section about story.
And perhaps I could have made some better word choices during the paragraph where I said your steps were more complicated. What I mean is that stuff like character development and dialogue and be placed under characters. Likewise with subjects that go with the setting and story of the… story.

Regarding your response on identifiers… I’m going to have to disagree with you again. Using identifiers and adverbs is far from necessary to show a character’s emotions. Often, dialogue or descriptions of what said person is doing while they’re talking are enough to show how they are feeling. A person who’s constantly glancing around doesn’t have to have the adverb “nervously” added to their next bit of dialogue.

And I am a highschool junior hoping to get something written and published before graduation. We should get along just swimmingly.

EDIT: That's mostly because I use identifiers very sparingly. As I said before, I prefer description.

Before graduation? I've never heard of any writers having succeeded with such a thing, but oh well.

Anyway, I still disagree with you. Glancing around doesn't necessarily mean the character is nervous. They could be looking for something without trying to get anyone's attention. Or, they could be checking if the coast is still clear. There's many reasons why someone could be glancing around. That's why identifiers and adverbs are often necessary.

HOWEVER. I will not say that you should always use both at the same time. Sometimes an adverb is not needed, while an dentifier is. And if you read this part again, I said that "said" is okay to use in situations where you can't find a fitting identifier to replace it. I do use the word said every now and then, but I try to use it as little as I can so I don't get repetitive with it.

Originally Posted by Crystal

Anyway, I still disagree with you. Glancing around doesn't necessarily mean the character is nervous. They could be looking for something without trying to get anyone's attention. Or, they could be checking if the coast is still clear. There's many reasons why someone could be glancing around. That's why identifiers and adverbs are often necessary.

Just to say, it can work with out the identifier if the context, timing, and previous events are used right. There could be a 'shadow' chasing the person, and if the author has them looking around a certain way, it implies that they are nervous.

There could be. And maybe there isn't. That's one time where I would agree that you don't need an adverb or identifier. In other cases, you probably do need one.

Again, I never said you ALWAYS have to have them.

Oh my, Crystal, this is a very nice piece of work you've written here! ^^

If you don't mind, I would very much enjoy commenting on this thread-- heaven only knows I drive people insane with commentaries. Do bear with me.

First and foremost, I'm not really sure that I'd say there's an order to write. When I wrote Demon Eyes, I gave absolutely no thought as to what genere I was writing, or who would have the patience to read it. All I really knew was that Leonna lived in a rural village in a very big forest. I had, however, already developed much of Leonna's character, including her personality and abilites that I wanted her to have. In fact, you could say I almost started backwards, already knowing what kind of person Leonna turned out to be, and then looked back at her past to see what made her that way.

Within that framework, I then started to work chronologically. The legend of her birth was the beginning, with her final departure from Bren at the end. Between those end points, I needed to fill in the details of her childhood. I then moved on to the actual people of Bren, including her parents, and what kind of people they were. I never really went into detail on this point, mostly letting the reader choose what to think of them based on how Leonna spoke of her experience with them.

As I continued with this character development, I then moved on to the setting. Why were her parents acting the way they were? What kind of lives did they live? I decided that Bren ought to be based on agriculture and lumber, and that's where the world started to form. The forest needed to be temperate for all kinds of plants to live there, and since Bren was isolated, why not put it in the depths of a mountain range? In order to keep it connected to Hyrule, I then came up with annual traders that would pass through Bren.

From that point, I just went off of things I wanted to happen. I wanted to describe Leonna's hunting experience, which wasn't the chronological way to go, but I did so anyways. I wanted a whole chapter just to talk about her name, so I put it in.

It wasn't until the very end of my lovely little story that I actually decided on structure and length. Some people have this strange notion that a chapter can only be a chapter if it spans longer than a page. I have seen chapters that are one line long. Length should have no constraint on a story. Don't even plan on it. Once an idea is concluded, and it feels good to move onto the next scene or idea, end it. By doing so, people will be able to go from chapter to chapter smoothly, no matter how small they are. The majority of my chapters in Demon Eyes are about one page long, but I did this for a reason. If you look at it, you will find that it is easy to mark and find each separate idea within the story. This was meant to make the reader pause, reflect, and consider what they just read. Having a complex net of ideas in one go will make it harder for a reader to remember the major points of the story and what events truly are significant.

The point of all that lovely ditty is this: order isn't important as long as you remember that every element (as spoken of by Crystal) is connected. The characters should be affected by setting, which is interpreted by detail and dialouge, which affects every aspect of a story. If these elements are completely isolated, they cannot effectively tell a story. Think of it as parts of a car engine. Separate, they are built and function differently, but together, they create the force used to move a car forward.

I also agree that consistancy is important. You don't want to throw in things that are out of context (like Robin Hood using a gun). However, this shouldn't be used to limit the way you write. If you want an alien to land on a planet in midevil times, it is by no means out of context. A whole world just opened up in which a high tech being can observe and explore an unfamiliar culture and world. An excellent example of this is Stranger in a Strange(er) Land. What you want to avoid is having characters that are inconsistant within their own world. A princess wouldn't use common slang used today, and she most certainly wouldn't be wearing headphones because that is completely out of context. Doing so will take the reader out of the story.

Crystal spoke of grammar beautifully. Along with those points, I would suggest that one go beyond critisisim. Get an editor. Have someone that will give you suggestions and correct your simple grammical mistakes. Get a reader. Have someone that will tell you what confused them and the things that they liked, as well as the things they didn't. However, as far as dialouge is concerned, you don't nessesarily have to start a new paragraph at the end of a dialouge sentance. That is done with the idea is concluded, or if another person is speaking.

Personally, I don't believe in writer's block. One can always write, they just need to find out how to express it. Crystal's suggestion I completely agree with in that regard.

And said is said too much. There ought to be words that express that you know more about human language than the moving of a mouth. Now, I also agree that you don't always have to describe dialouge in this way. What you need to find is a balance you're comfortable with, that effectively finds a way to describe how a person is speaking when it is nessesary. In fast paced speaking, detail will slow it down waaaay too much, so use description tastefully and thoughtfully. It doesn't make sense to note a person's expression in the middle of a fast paced argument.

And as for reaching the top... read! There is no level of syntax, no diction that you are constrained to use (unless it is incomprehensible. Then you have a problem). If you want to learn to use this skillfully, study those who have managed to pull it off.

And that, my friends, is my commentary.

I can see why. Your post is so long. XD

But I read all of it. I only wrote this the way I go about my own writing. Like Sir Calibur said, everyone has their own ways in which they write their stories or whatever they're writing. This guide is just the way I do it.

Yet, I can never seem to write anything good enough to get in the showcase board. I don't know why. How does anyone get a story in there?

We have inside contacts.

Huh? The showcase rules say that they move whatever fiction they think is exceptional. Meaning anything they find really good. It says nothing about inside contacts. :/

Unless, that was a joke? If so, my question was serious.

Originally Posted by Crystal

Huh? The showcase rules say that they move whatever fiction they think is exceptional. Meaning anything they find really good. It says nothing about inside contacts. :/

Unless, that was a joke? If so, my question was serious.

Serious questions always attract the joke answers.

It was a joke.

Honestly, I don't know how they decide what does and doesn't go into Showcase. When my story got moved in there, I sat stunned for about thirty seconds before I decided to see if it actually had.

Originally Posted by BrokenWing

Serious questions always attract the joke answers.

Well, at least I know one way to detect someone joking. xP

Originally Posted by Soul Calibur

It was a joke.

Honestly, I don't know how they decide what does and doesn't go into Showcase. When my story got moved in there, I sat stunned for about thirty seconds before I decided to see if it actually had.

Oh, I see. If I got critique more often, I'd probably know why my stories aren't good enough, but I don't, so yeah...

How we decide something goes into the showcase is simple- if I find myself coming back to a story repeatedly and re-reading it over again, then that's something I'd consider showcasing. Good grammar and superb writing greatly contribute in determining whether or not something gets showcased. The story has to possess a certain "wow" factor- as in "wow, that was the best thing I've ever read!" How much critique a story has received is not part of our determinations.

If you guys have any further questions on how the showcases work, go ahead and PM me about it. Now, I hate to sound all modly, but can we please get back on topic? Thanks!

I never meant that the amount of critique determined it, I only meant that if I knew what I was doing wrong, I'd know. My grammar can't be the problem. Many of my English school teachers have said mine is very good.

I guess my writing isn't superb enough...

But yes, back on topic. Sorry for trailing off. xP

Crystal, no offense, but you have been critiqued. In my initial posts in this thread, critiqued. I gave you the same advice you've given since you posted the original Newfound. Yet even now you are still totally defensive about your style and refuse to even try someone else's method.

You only critiqued this guide. You didn't critique my story. All you said was to pair Link and Navi. I said I don't want to and was planning Link and Zelda already. Pairings are simply suggestions, not critique.

As for this guide, I wrote it based on how I write. Not on anyone else's method.

EDIT: Also, how could you have possibly critiqued my old crappy original version of the Zelda story? Your join date is 2008. I posted that piece of **** in 05 and it was locked well before 08.

I did critique the guide. That's what I said in my last post. What I posted in Hidden Powers wasn't a critique; it was a playful suggestion. And no, I wasn't here for the Newfound Powers thing, but I did read it. And I've noticed how similar the suggestions are from back then to the ones now.

Crystal/Ranny/Stony - you have always refused to take constructive criticism. Why not just if anything, pretend to take someone's advice and just nod, rather than get al defensive about perfectly viable comments and prevent arguing?
Likewise Calibur, don't continue arguing if you know that it will get you nowhere and simply add to the derailment of the thread.

This is a damn detailed thread. Don't force a lock due to petty arguing - anyone.