Tips, Tricks, & Hacks: Writing Fanfiction

Writing chapters can be a super difficult task and somewhat time consuming. Not only do we have to worry about our audience, but other aspects in our daily life as well. Here are some tips, tricks, & hacks as well as do's and don't's of writing chapters.

Do's:
-Revise your chapters and be aware. Throughout writing, you want to be weary of spelling, capitalization, and other errors that could affect the quality of the fanfic. If you need help or information regarding spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc., there are a variety of ways to access it (read tips, tricks, & hacks below). After you think you've finished writing the chapter, revise and make sure everything is grammatically correct.

-Make your chapters with paragraphs. Paragraphs are very important and help the reader figure one thing out from another.

-Make your chapters somewhat lengthy. Nobody enjoys reading mini chapters and after awhile, those can be quite irritating. However, a super long chapter can be a problem too. Go for somewhere in the middle, so that your audience has something to read, but not way too much material to cover at the same time.

-If you're writing a fanfic with a different point of view (POV) every chapter, make that clear at the beginning of the chapter. You don't necessarily have to add (for example), "Gerard POV." Just write Gerard's name on the top in bold letters, so the reader knows who's narrating.

-Be descriptive and detailed, but not to the point where it takes over the whole chapter.

-Do use dialogue. Dialogue enhances the fanfic and shows how the characters interact with each other. Make sure to use quotations and make sure it's clear as to who is speaking.

Don't's:

-Don't have multiple points of view in one chapter. This can confuse your audience and make things more difficult for you in the long run. Stick to two points of view that rotate every chapter or settle for one.

-Don't just have chapters be pure dialogue. Dialogue is great and chapters often have many conversations within them, but keep them to a minimum and make sure to explain other aspects in detail (the characters' emotions and feelings, the setting around them, etc. Be descriptive).-Don't post a chapter without editing it. When you proof read, you find mistakes. If you post those mistakes, it brings down the quality of your writing.

Tips, Tricks, & Hacks:

-Spell check is a wonderful tool. If you're writing on your phone, you have autocorrect. Just make sure to re-read your chapters. Even autocorrect can screw things up. Spell check is on most documents and writing apps and it will definitely help you if you have any problems with spelling. It may also help with capitalization and punctuation.

-Always have a dictionary or thesaurus handy. A dictionary for spelling and a thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms, so you don't keep repeating the same words over and over again.

-If you're having a hard time with how to write dialogue, especially the descriptive "he/she said," I have a useful website for you. It has over 200 words you can use to replace "said" when writing your dialogue pieces. (If you didn't see it, click "useful website.")

Notes