Warriors Fanfics: Specialized Writing Guide

BASE | Syntax & Word Choice

May 29, 2019

This section goes over the importance of good syntax. Syntax is focused on specifically, rather than a broad summary of basic English grammar. As a Base section, it has little to no examples drawn from canon Warriors.

You hear it so often in other guides, how important it is to have good grammar. Not only that, but professional authors, other fanfiction writers, and bloggers stress the importance of good grammar. Now you are hearing it from an ameteur who self-edits all their own content. It is important. That is why syntax comes first in this guide. Now here is the thing: syntax is not the kind of grammar you think it is. It is grammar, yes, but I am not going to tell you to ease off the exclamation points or remember to put quotations at the beginning and end of dialogue. I am going to tell you about laying out your sentences. Lets define syntax for those of you who do not know:

Sin·taxˈ

noun: syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

"the syntax of English"

Syntax is literally sentence structure. The words you chose. Where and why you added a comma or a run-on sentence. What words to use to target a specific audience. The effect it has on both the character and the reader. It is the part people are reading the most of: paragraphs of description, dialogue snippets, or even songs should you have them. Sometimes people reading books pause and go "wait, what the hell...?" What they just read does not quite resonate properly in their mind. Their understanding of English syntax is sitting dormant in the back of their mind. It is like hearing a non-native English speaker speak English. Only, in that situation, they have the benefit of the doubt. But that is what it can be in a worst-case scenario. In fanfiction, it usually is the result of not taking the time to edit or rushing to get something done. Like in this example from a fanfiction on DeviantArt (no need to shame the author; link is in the comments):

Ratpaw stood in the sick bay, her head tilted in confusion as her mentor's lithe body disappeared into the crevice. She'd seen him do this a few times, but a slight feeling of unease always stopped her from asking about it or even more so following him. As she sat there, her nerves began to cause her body to shiver, she lay down and subconsciously began to gnaw at her paws- a habit she was known for in times of stress. Ratpaw didn't deal well with pressure and always tried to avoid it; she had wanted to become a warrior like her siblings and den mates. But when it came to practice battles or assessments of hunting, she always panicked and reverted to her mind numbing habit of chewing at her claws and paws leaving permanent scars. Painful reminders of her failure.

Plot? Not our target, tonight. We are just looking at the author's syntax with this example. As I stated earlier syntax is still part of grammar, but not spelling or punctuation. "The tree stood its ground as the cat leaped throughout." is still just as grammatically valid as "The cat climbed up the tree." Yet one is more clear and concise; ignoring things like purple prose or personification, one gets the point across better because of our choice of words and their arrangement.

Ratpaw stood in the sick bay, her head tilted in confusion as her mentor's lithe body disappeared into the crevice.

The first sentence should set off some signals in your head. If not, read it aloud. We can immediately spot the words that throw off the flow of this sentence: "sick bay", "lithe". Sick bay makes us think of Star Trek (I hope) and lithe, while easy to guess in context, still disrupts the flow of the sentence by not being obvious and not rolling off the tongue based on the words that precede it. There is also a third problem: we do not know where Ratpaw is standing because of the author's word choice. Is Ratpaw inside or in front of the sick bay? While the sentence is grammatically correct, the author's word choice is poor. We can use different words to make it read closer to canon Warriors and flow better without making us pause.