Fanfiction ► Beginning of Destiny

[Merlin326]

Okay, first tip: when writing a fanfic, break it into paragraphs. It may seem like a no brainer, but it's a problem with a lot of beginning fanfic writers here at KHI. It also helps that you start a new paragraph anytime a different character starts a dialog, That way, there's no confusion on who's saying what.

Second: Don't be affraid of detail. Details help the reader get an image of whats going on in their mind. However, don't use so much detail that it takes up to much of your time, or to much space.

Third: Sometimes ideas for it may strike you out of the blue. If one ever does, It's important to make a note for yourself. I keep all of my ideas on a word document, so there is no confusion.

fourth: I myself usually type mine up in a word document, then copy and paste each chapter into the reply box. Typing it up in the reply box itself has given me some trouble in the past.

fith: Writing it in word document or a similar program also helps with spell checking. Sometimes, you have a character's that get's marked as an incorect spelling, so you can just click add to dictionary Here. But the grammer check can be a problem, so you're gonna have to use your own judgement here.

sixth: Always reread your work. Sometimes theres stuff that spell check won't catch. Be sure to reread your work once you've spent some time away from writing. A lot of times, I see stuff that I did wrong that I didn't notice before.

seventh: The Edit button is your friend! It let's you correct any problems you may have spotted in step six.

eigth: If you are having problems trying to think up a story, try to read the fics of others for inspiration. But no plagarisim though!

Lastly and most importantly, is have fun! Writing fan fics don't mean anything if you're not having fun with it!

Edit: Oh! I thought up one more! Save your fic on a flash drive or some other storage device once in a while as a back up.

took the words right out of my mouth, allstar. though in my case, if something happened to my laptop, i would have bigger problems to worry about than a fanfic (i do my school work on it).

and blendedhearts, i have a suggestion or two as well. for one thing, feel free to create a character/event/ etc based off of another video game, book, movie etc., if you think you can do it. i have found this to get good results. make sure you either state in advance that you will do this or change it in someway, just in case anyone tries to get you for plagarisim

also, i feel i should let you know a downside i found when copying from a word document to here. if you use tab to indent new paragraphs, it generally doesnt show up on the post in the forums (if there is a way to change this, i have yet to find it). this can be troublesome if you depend on tabs to show new paragraphs.

well that is all i can think of for now. if i think of any more, ill post them in your story.

with all due respect,
Merlin326

 

[Coldman9]

Man your story is great and the tips will help me with my later posts for my fan fic. I can't wait for your next post on the story.

 

[Ban Mido]

lol. no problem. Glad you like it.

Edit: Guess you didn't like it as much as I thought if you only rated it a four. There goes my five star rating...

 

[blendedhearts]

and blendedhearts, i have a suggestion or two as well. for one thing, feel free to create a character/event/ etc based off of another video game, book, movie etc., if you think you can do it. i have found this to get good results. make sure you either state in advance that you will do this or change it in someway, just in case anyone tries to get you for plagarisim.

could you give me an example?

also, i feel i should let you know a downside i found when copying from a word document to here. if you use tab to indent new paragraphs, it generally doesnt show up on the post in the forums (if there is a way to change this, i have yet to find it). this can be troublesome if you depend on tabs to show new paragraphs.

and what do you mean by tabs?

 

[Dant?s de Divinity]

Ha this is still one of my favorite fan-fics Allstargamer. Keep up the good work.
bowchickawowwow

 

[Merlin326]

Blended Hearts: on the plagirism, no, i cant. that is just me being paranoid.

as for creating something based off of a movie/book/etc., look at what Nomura did with all the Disney worlds they put into all the KH games. dont think you have to do something as good as that, but just follow the general idea.

as for tab. its the key on your keyboard that is next to the Q key (well on standard keyboards in anycase). sometimes people use it to indent new paragraphs

hope i answered your questions.

with all due respect,
Merlin326

 

[blendedhearts]

ok, thanks! i'll start working on a plot now.

 

[Coldman9]

In all fairness Allstargamer i don't know how to rate i'm a newbie. If I knew how i'd give your story a 5 star rating. Also I would appriciate it if you would reread over my story and tell me what i'm doing wrong cause i'm pretty sure my story could be good. For any who want to read it it's call Crystal vs. Key The battle of Sora's life. I wanna know if it sounds good.

 

[Ban Mido]

Oh, okay. I just assumed it was you since it went down right after you posted. sorry.

And I'll give yours another read tomorrow. The tips I gave to blended hearts can apply to you as well. And you should go back and re do your first chapter and break it into smaller paragraphs.

 

[Coldman9]

Almost forgot to say that i added another chapter.

 

[Coldman9]

By redo my first chapter do you mean post it again?

 

[Ban Mido]

No. There's an edit button on each of your posts. just click on the edit button and you'll be able to change the document. Go through your first chapter and break it into smaller paragraphs. It'll make it easier tor read, since it doesn't look so put offish. Large blocks of paragraphs like that can be intimidating, and breaking them apart a little more won't scare the reader. Also, make sure you have spaces between the paragraphs. It just makes things easier for the reader.

 

[Coldman9]

And start a new line when someone says something right.

 

[Ban Mido]

Correction: When somebody different says something. for example:


Character A walked up to character B. He obviously had something on his mind.

"I went to the store." CharacterA said sadly. "I found out my favorite ice cream is being discontinued."

"That's too bad." Character B replied. " Do you want some of mine?"


See? It's alright when ever the same character is speaking. It's only when you have a different character speak that you start a new line. As long as the Dialog in each line belongs to the character who started it, it's alright to include it in the paragraph.

 

[Coldman9]

What about actions with the dialog being said do you put that in with the paragraph?

 

[Coldman9]

What about actions like facial expressions and fighting? Do those go in the same paragraph too?

 

[Ban Mido]

Normally, I try to keep actions in between dialog, and keep a minumum of two qoute dialog for each paragraph. The first qoute can essentially be considered an introductory qoute, where you create an intention grabber, or something that transitions into the rest of the paragraph and next qoute. After the first qoute, you can describe any actions the characters are taking and depending on your phrasing, you can have it seem like they are talking while they are doing these actions or they have paused in speaking while they did. the second qoute is where you can put in the rest of the dialog. It's oftein here where a lot of the more important dialog can be found, though it's not limited to it.

And please stop double posting. I told you before, use the edit button.

As for fights, yes you can include them, but I find it works best to keep it to paragraphs with only the first qoute having the dialog, or having no dialog at all.

 

[Coldman9]

OK thanks. Sorry if this seems annoying i just wanna make a good story. Oh and i was thinking of changing something in the first chapter to make it a little funny. Would that be a good idea?

 

[Ban Mido]

You can give it a shot. But be sure to read it yourself when your all don to see what you think. It's the best way to make corrections.

Oh yeah, and before I forget, the only good reason for double posting is for updating your fic. If you've replied to comments prior, and no one has yet to comment again, then it's okay to double post if you're going to update.

 

[Coldman9]

OK thanks man you're my hero.