Formatting and Grammar

Unfortunately, English is a very complicated language. If you want to maintain some degree of professionalism, you should follow all of the rules of grammar.

You would think that this goes without saying, but capitalization is an absolute necessity. Capitalize the beginning of every sentence; capitalize the word 'I;' every damn time. You should format your story exactly how a real book would be formatted. If you don't use capitalization correctly, good luck getting readers.

Commas are also important. This is a trade that is best learned by observation. Use them responsibly, but use them. To go along with that, here's what the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin says about semicolons: "Semicolons help you connect closely related ideas when a style mark stronger than a comma is needed. By using semicolons effectively, you can make your writing sound more sophisticated." There are specific rules that I won't go into detail explaining. If you don't know how to use them, look it up, or just don't use them.

(NOTE: Make sure to insert line breaks between paragraphs. Since this is online reading, make it double-spaced. I don't want to see any of that Shift+Enter shit).

Probably the most important thing I can say in this chapter is this:

Keep your tenses and your perspectives consistent.

By tense, I mean past, present, and future. By perspective, I mean first, second, and third person. Do not switch from past to present tense (unless part of the story is told in flashback or something else that warrants exemption). Do not switch from first to third person. As far as tenses go, it's not all that important which one you choose as long as you stick with it. Most people use past (ex: I walked to the store), I and a few others use present (ex: I walk to the store); nobody uses future because there would be no point. Choosing your perspective can be trickier. Here's a guide to help you.

FIRST PERSON (ex: I walked to the store)

• First is beneficial if you want to give insight into your main character's unspoken thoughts/feelings/emotions.

• First is beneficial if you want to write using a more comic or expressive tone.

• First is acceptable for drabbles.

• In first, your grammar can be a lot like spoken dialogue and contain mistakes such as saying 'Me and Gabe' instead of 'Gabe and I.' However, your spelling and formatting should still be 100%.

• You can choose to use first for a oneshot if you are trying to convey a specific point or message. If you are dictating an event, I advise using third.

• DO NOT use first if you are unable to maintain a unique and/or emotional tone.

• DO NOT use first if you are concerned about your credibility. Many readers do not read first-person fanfictions.

• DO NOT use first if you plan to switch perspectives i.e. putting 'Vic's POV' and changing to 'Jaime's POV' halfway through the chapter.

SECOND PERSON (ex: I walked to the store with you)

• Second person is written from one person to another. It is effective for drabbles, letter fics, and not much else.

• DO NOT use second unless your fic will be pretty short.

THIRD PERSON (ex: He walked to the store)

• Third is a must if you want to be inclusive of the thoughts/feelings/emotions of multiple characters. It eliminates the need to write 'William's POV,' which just might be the most unprofessional thing you can possibly do. And no, just because thekellinunderthevic does it doesn't mean it's okay.

• Third is beneficial for oneshots in which the character depth isn't hugely important.

• Third is beneficial if you want to lure in as many readers as you possibly can. It's definitely possible to write a good fic using first or even second, but most shitty or mediocre fics are written in first, which is why I'm saying this.

• Third is beneficial if you're planning on using sophisticated language.

• DO NOT use third if you're planning on using an expressive, comical, or emotional tone.

It's best to play around and figure out what you like. Generally, I write long fics using first person/present tense and oneshots using third person/past tense. Whatever you choose is fine. Just be consistent.

And now for a lesson in dialogue. As far as the content goes, dialogue doesn't have to have perfect grammar. People in fanfics should speak like people in real life. Even if your main character's inner monologue is expressive with a beautiful vocabulary, they should speak like an average human being unless the setting calls for it, i.e. if he or she is a Transylvanian recluse who lives alone in a castle. My essays are eloquent as fuck, but when I speak, I use the most basic words in existence. I'm sure a lot of you are the same way. Just keep that in mind.

As far as formatting dialogue goes, there are a few things I want to address. The first thing is that each person's chunk of speech should have its own paragraph. I don't want to see, "Hello, Brendon." "Hello, Ryan." It should look like this:

"Hello, Brendon."

"Hello, Ryan."

There are exceptions to this, but typically only when short pieces of dialogue are involved, like in the following example:

"Hello, Brendon," said Ryan. Brendon replied with a small, "Hello."

Sometimes a string of dialogue is long enough that it warrants an internal line break. Here is how to format it:

"Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

"A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world."

Finally, there is one thing that a lot of people do (including thekellinunderthevic, whom most of you consider a god), that is incorrect in regards to dialogue. The speech part and its descriptor should be treated as one sentence.

This is incorrect:

"Hello, Brendon[.]" [S]aid Ryan.

This is correct:

"Hello, Ryan[,]" [s]aid Brendon.

The comma is only used at the end of the chunk, and it only replaces a period. However, even if you end with an exclamation point or a question mark, 'said' should remain uncapitalized.

On the subject of formatting, there is something I've noticed in far too many fics that needs to be stopped. Let's say the character is singing or listening to a song. What the author does is they copy and paste the lyrics of the entire song in the middle of the fic. This is so fucking unprofessional. Nobody sits there and reads the lyrics; I guarantee that 90% of people just scroll past them. Stop this 2k14.

And now we get to the dreaded topic of spelling. There are two words that are severely misused and abused, and if you'll sit down and strap on your seatbelts, I'll educate you.

1. Definitely (adverb) without a doubt (used for emphasis). I want you to spell this out loud. D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y. It is not 'definately.' It is not 'defiantly,' which is an entirely different word with an entirely different meaning. One more time: D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y.

2. Literally (adverb) in a literal/exact manner or sense. I wish I could say that this word is literally misused, but that would be fucking misusing it. You can't say that Michael literally fucked Tyler up unless you're being clever and referencing how Michael actually, physically put his dick in Tyler's asshole. This is a hard one to explain, so if you're still confused, look it up.

While we're on the topic, if you include Jaime Preciado as a character, learn to spell his name. It is not 'Jamie.' His name is Spanish and it's pronounced 'hi-me' or 'hi-may.' J-A-I-M-E.

(NOTE: Use 'best friend' instead of 'bestfriend.' 'Bestfriend' is a slang spelling adopted about two or three years ago among adolescent females).

And now for some more corrections. While the original spelling is 'O.K.,' it is far more professional to use 'okay.' To go along with that, instead of 'K,' use ''kay' with the apostrophe substituting for the 'O.' Use 'yeah' instead of 'yea,' 'ya,' or 'yah.' Never, ever, ever use text talk such as 'omg,' 'lol,' 'wtf,' 'haha,' etc. If you use a smiley face, :), no one will take you seriously.

"I like him too (adverb)."

"You're too (adverb) gay."

"Are we going to (preposition) go hiking?"

"There are two (number) of them."

"I like their (determiner) music."

"They're (contraction of they are) fucking annoying."

"Put it over there (adverb)."

"Is that your (determiner) favorite one?"

"I think you're (contraction of you are) overreacting."

"I might bawl (verb) my eyes out."

"Throw the ball (noun)."

"What are the effects (noun)?"

"That doesn't affect (verb) me."

If you are too lazy to proofread, use a spellchecker. It takes five minutes.

(NOTE: Wattpad has a tendency to lose chapters or entire works, so you should probably have your story saved on another site or a word processer or something).

Finally, a word of advice: don't make your author's notes too long. Unless they're really important, you shouldn't go over three-ish lines.

And there is your English lesson of the day. The next part deals with characters and setting.