Writing Advice For RWBY Fanfiction

The Basics

The fact I need to even mention grammar and punctuation shows how bad the quality has gotten. You'd think these kids would've learned all this in elementary school, but for some reason, they have taken a liking to this shitty style of writing I like to call "scripting".

For those who don't know, here is an example taken directly from Burning Rose, because that shit is awful as fuck:

Johann: thank you.

Me: no need to thank me.

I turned around to look up towards the fool.He looked down at me with an annoyed face.

Me: Sir, I kindly suggest you apologize, we wouldn't want to start a fight here now, would we?

Fool:*pissed*what do you think you're doing, helping this freak? And just who do you think you are, think you're all tough and shit?

As you can see, there are plenty of things wrong here. Format aside, there are multiple grammar mistakes like a missing space and capital letters. Not to mention, this style of writing is just lazy. Would it have hurt to add quotation marks and "he said" every once in a while?

Speaking of, some guy who blocked me said some shit along the lines of "Everybody starts somewhere, and this is it for the author! Besides, English isn't his first language!"

It doesn't matter what language you speak, nor if this is your first time writing, because if the final product isn't up to standard, nobody is going to take you seriously. If your story is shit, then it's shit. Besides, if the author isn't fluent in English, then why don't they just write in their original language?

Then you get folks saying, "But I won't get as many views if I write in my mother tongue because the fandom isn't as big over here!" In that case, go find a beta reader to correct your mistakes. And for the love of God, don't use Google Translate; whatever you type in there won't come out the way you want it to.

I'm getting a little side tracked here. I'm certain the reason why people use this script format is because they either pick it up from other shitty authors or they think that writing it the normal way is too hard. The only thing I can honestly say to that is just give it a go. Just read any best-selling book and take note of the style and descriptions inside. I'm not saying to copy word for word, as that is equally bad. Just take inspiration and implement it into your own writing.

You don't even need to make it complicated. Just add a few extra sentences here and there, like this:

"Thank you," Johann murmured. He grasped my outstretched hand, and with a sharp tug, he was back on his feet. His legs wobbled, but they held.

"No need to thank me," I replied. My gaze flickered around, and the fool came into my peripheral vision. He seethed, baring his teeth like a rabid animal, the grotesque sneer twisting his features.

"Sir, I kindly suggest you apologize," I said calmly. A smile broke across my face, which only irritated him further. "We wouldn't want to start a fight here now, would we?"

If he wasn't pissed before, he was now.

"What do you think you're doing, helping this freak?" Came the savage reply. "And just who do you think you are, acting all tough and shit?"

See? It really isn't that difficult. Give it a few months, and your writing will improve much faster than it otherwise would have. But don't get carried away. Remember, paragraphs exist for a reason. If you don't use them, you'll be stuck with this unfathomable abomination from the pits of hell, which many refer to as the "wall of text." This happens because writers forget when to separate sections of a story, which causes them to blend together and make the whole thing unreadable.

You should always start a new paragraph when introducing new dialogue. This makes it easier for readers to discern between who is talking. Also, when the story moves to a different setting, use a line break. Need I explain why?

For those who don't know how to use commas, semi-colons, colons, or have other queries... just look it up online. It's astonishing how few people use the internet to help them write, since there are plenty of grammar-checking websites for you to use. I personally recommend QuillBot since it is free for the most part. It isn't 100% accurate all the time, but it's good enough for folks who can't tell their left from their right.

That is it for the basics. I'll be damned if someone still fucks up their grammar even after reading this, but if you somehow do, then you don't deserve to be an author. Go back to school and pay attention this time, because you might actually learn a thing or two. I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it?

I'm going to upload the next part within the next year or three, and I'll be discussing the importance of plotting ahead. Until then, I'll be outside and touching grass.