How to Write a Good Fanfic

4. Writing Style

Amelia's course load included many advanced courses compared to her friends. She found herself busy each day with the amount of homework the teachers expected her to complete for class. Writing fanfiction during her free time and discussing it with Amerlia, Danni and Elizabeth made the stress go away. Report cards came out that Friday and she expected to make the highest marks, but found one grade wasn't on par with what she expected.

Confronting her teacher she became frustrated as the teacher said something about going over the time limit for presentations. She headed home that day and headed to her room, but her mother called her out. "Report card Amelia." Amelia set her backpack onto the table and pulled out the paper to hand to her mother. The woman frowned at the girl. "What is with this grade?"

"The teacher docked me because I go over the time limit for presentations. I shouldn't be docked points for that as I do everything else perfectly. You can't have a good presentation without giving all the information."

"My employer would disagree. You're given a time frame to present something to the company, and you're expected to do it within that amount of time."

"But..."

"No buts about this. You were docked for a reasonable reason, so it is no wonder you received an A minus in said class."

Amelia's mouth snapped shut. She turned on her heals and hurried to her bedroom and dumped her bag onto her bed. Instead of going into her usual study schedule she decided to delve into her fanfiction. One of the reviews she read caused her frustrations to boil even more.

"I am having a problem getting into your story. One of the main reasons comes from the fact your story honestly lacks a writing style, and is still rough around the edges in that regards. This is odd despite the big words you happen to use in your story, but then again some of the words aren't really the best choice. This doesn't change the fact your story is a very dry read, and lacks character and plot depth."

The review went into more detail, but Amelia found herself irked by the review. "I do have a writing style. The fact you do not recognize my writing style is because you lack the ability to recognize said writing style. I use grammar correctly. You also say I use big words. Nothing you say makes any sense. I can't trust everything else you said."

"What does using grammar correctly have to do with your writing style? Using big words is a mute point when you don't use them correctly. I also don't know why you're ignoring the rest of my critique either."

Amelia proceeded to continue the conversation.

…

One of the editors on wikipedia wrote on the writing style page, "punctuation is generally so standardized that it rarely is a factor in a writer's style. The same is true for gratuitous changes to spelling and grammar, unless the goal is to represent a regional or ethnic dialect in which such changes are customary."

Ones writing style is not defined by the grammar a person uses – in fact – grammar has nothing to do with a persons writing style. I've found this concept is hard for some young writers to grasp – it's hard for some older writers to grasp. Grammar wouldn't be the only element to define ones writing style, or the biggest element if grammar was indeed a defining element of ones writing style.

Why isn't grammar an element of ones writing style?

For most people grammar issues don't result from the writer choosing to make said changes. Also, if a person's writing style did include choosing to use grammar properly then another person who choose not to use proper grammar could also choose to claim that as part of their writing style, and use it as a defense against criticism. Fact – I've seen a person in the past claim their writing style included not using end punctuation.

The first thing I think people need to know about writing style is not to worry about whether you have a writing style or not. A person's writing style is something developed over time, and it also changes based on what you're attempting to do. Many people who are new to creative writing also don't have a writing style because they are trying to find their comfort zone. A writing style comes out more when a writer is comfortable with what they're doing.

People also shouldn't critique you on elements of your writing style which stem from personal choice. One reader once criticized me for "using eyes to indicate emotion to much" when I use the eyes a lot on purpose because of the phrase "the eyes are the windows to the soul". They also put forth the claim I didn't have a writing style because I didn't use grammar the way they felt I should, only to point out an actual element of my style in the next sentence – the use of the eyes.

A writer should not be critiqued on the choices they make in regards to the elements they use, but they can be critiqued on whether or not they use said elements correctly. Suggestions can be made for the writer to strengthen their writing ability in a different writing element before attempting the writing element they are working with. One of the things I suggest to writers struggling with first person narrative – or first person point of view – is to write in third. First seems easy to write in, but in reality the point of view that is easiest to write in is third.

I asked the reader if he meant I should say "his eyes dilated" instead of "his eyes widened". I asked a quick question. I expected the reader to say yes, but instead he said I was just rephrasing what I wrote. Both answers were wrong – I tested whether the writer's knowledge in regards to similes. While both "dilate" and "widen" have similar meanings, they don't have the same meaning.

If I were to say "his blood vessels dilated" instead of "his blood vessels widened" I would be rephrasing what I said. When a writer uses the words "his eyes widened" they are referring to the eyelids of the eye opening up, and when a writer uses the words "his eyes dilated" they are referring to the pupils of the eyes. A person also wouldn't use "the river dilated" unless their aim was symbolism. One of the things a writer can be called out for is using words incorrectly.

Doesn't grammar have a role in dialect writing style?

I'd critiqued this same writer prior to his attempt to critique me, and he tried claiming his poor use of grammar was an attempt at humor and found himself chewed out because My Immortal is old. He meant though dialect writing which in turn caused him to receive a lecture on how dialect writing isn't poor grammar. Yes – dialect writing breaks from the standard rules of grammar. This isn't because dialect writing amounts to poor grammar, but because dialect writing uses different rules.

So no – even then grammar is not part of ones writing style. Grammar is standard, and a persons writing style is something they come into. It's not something to be overly worried about beyond knowing whether you're using it correctly.