"You don't have to do this alone." ||
WRITING GUIDE. a book where i make my best attempt at helping you write a kickass fanfic for the 100.
[writing tips, the 100 facts, face claims, book recommendations, etc etc etc]
"Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two very different things." - Bellamy Blake
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❁ alright, so this chapter is less specific to the 100, and more just about writing in general. in my opinion it is VERY important to edit your writing before you publish it. obviously if i'm reading a fanfic or story on wattpad and there's like a minor spelling mistake, or a typo or something every once in a while, i really couldn't care less. but when a book is sloppy and filled with mistakes you can guarantee i probably won't continue reading it because it's just frustrating for me as a reader. i'm sure you all can relate.
❁ so you may be wondering, okay how do i make sure my writing isn't full of mistakes? well first of all you need to know the major mistakes to look for. in my opinion they are:
- typos. sometimes when you're really getting into writing a story your fingers just fly across the keyboard, autocorrect kicks in (or doesn't kick in) and you end up with some sort of messed up word or sentence.
- spelling mistakes. similar to a typo, but i more mean when you type 'of' instead of 'off' or 'there' instead of 'their' etc.
- name mix ups.sometimes when characters have similarish names, when you're busy writing you'll type one name instead of another. the amount of times i've written Monty instead of Murphy then went back and read it and been like WTF is going on is insane.
- scrambled sentences. this is when you wrote a sentence, then decided to change it, but you were in a rush so everything kinda got scrambled. for example you had: 'Octavia was running even faster than Murphy', but you wanted to change it to 'Octavia was running faster than her legs could carry her', and you change it in a rush and it turns out like 'Octavia was running faster than Murphy legs could carry her' or something like that.
- tense flipping. when your writing flips from past to present tense. i am so guilty of this lol. if you don't know what this means, an example could be: 'Clarke sits down beside Raven. The mechanic cried harder than she ever had before.' This is a super basic example but pretty much the first sentence is in present tense, and the second one is in past tense so they don't match up.
* obviously there are potentially more mistakes than just these, but in my opinion those are the errors that i see most when reading stories on wattpad.
❁ this is usually the formula i go through when i post a chapter of my book:
1. write a rough draft of the chapter
2. let it sit for a bit. i go do something else, like go for a walk, take a nap, get coffee with a friend, etc.
3. i come back and edit. usually i edit twice:
- the first time i go through and add better descriptions/try to spice up the writing i already have
- the second time i keep my eye out for any obvious grammatical errors
4. once it's edited i let it sit for a while again while i do something else.
5. i come back once again, and read through making sure the chapter is exactly how i want it. then i add the fun stuff like the chapter song, maybe a gif, author's note, etc.
❁ obviously i can't guarantee that all my writing is perfect. sometimes i'll go back and reread my work that i spent a lot of time editing and i'll still find a spelling mistake or something in it. don't stress, it happens to everyone.
❁ another suggestion is to get a friend to edit your writing for you. sometimes fresh eyes will notice mistakes you wouldn't have noticed.
❁ ALSO, i wanted to mention. if you notice a mistake in another author's writing, and really feel the need to point it out, BE NICE ABOUT IT. if someone asks for constructive criticism on their work, then you can feel free to give them your honest opinion nicely. but if your opinion isn't asked for, don't criticize it unless it's positive because you're just going to make the author feel shitty if you pretty much just bash their writing...
when i get uncalled for criticism comments↴
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❁ remember that what you put into your story, you will get out. if you spend time trying to make your story the best it can be, you're going to get more reads etc because your story will be good quality.
❁ i really recommend checking out the other chapters in this book about writing tips (i.e., 'writing well' ; 'being descriptive' ; & 'dialogue' ) because they will be helpful for you while you're writing and editing!
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thanks for reading beans, and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 3K READS WHAT THE HECK!? you're all the best. don't forget to keep requesting tips on the 'requests' chapter, and telling me about your story on the 'sell your story' bc i'm always down to read your guys work. xxxxx tay
