Info Helpful Links for Writers! [update. 4 Jan]

[Tamerlane]

This list has been compiled by Tamerlane and Raine_Joybringer (with a few more links supplied by her friend Sid from another forum) in the hopes to help further interest in fanfiction and help out aspiring authors

Guides on Writing:

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/style.html - This is from a site called the Fiction Factor and this article details some of the basics of establishing a writing style. Link supplied by Tamerlane

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/grammar.html - Here is another article from Fiction Factor and it talks about some of the more common grammar errors. Link supplied by Tamerlane

http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/Writing/tips.htm - This was a very useful article that outlines the areas that you should think about before starting a new story. I know that some of the elements that they talk about is already a given in the fanfiction universe, for example the characters and the settings but the rest of it is very important. Link supplied by Tamerlane

http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/nov97/hughes3.htm - This is from a website called Writers Write and talks about the evils of writers block and some ideas that can help a author overcome this rather common (and frustrating) event. Link supplied by Tamerlane

http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/writers/t029673.txt - A very simple-looking, yet effective list that gives some good tips for self-editing your own story. Link supplied by Raine

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=2075 - I wasn’t sure if this could go into basic writing or in writing fanfiction... but nevertheless, it’s useful! This is from a site called ‘TheOtaku.com’, and I’ve found it to be a really reliable place to find guides and advice for both writing fanfiction and understanding fandoms and culture. This article gives advice on how to do research easily. Link supplied by Raine

http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html - Quite long list of common errors, especially when it comes to using wrong words (or words wrongly). Link supplied by Sid

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/chadvce.htm - “Writerisms and other Sins”: a collection of word usage and grammar tips. Link supplied by Sid

http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/writing.html - Elfwood Fantasy Art Resource Project on writing. Links to various tutorials and guides. Link supplied by Sid

http://www.caroclarke.com/writing.html - Writing advice by Caro Clarke. Links to various guides. Link supplied by Sid

http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/MainElements.htm - Similar to the above. Link supplied by Sid

http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/page5.html - General resources, I saved it mostly because it also covers the rules for writing proper dialogue. Very good tutorials with tons of examples to make the points clear. Link supplied by Sid

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/firstpov.html - "Me, Myself and I", guide for writing stuff using the first-person PoV. Link supplied by Sid

http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/notecard_plotting.html - "Notecarding - Plotting under Pressure". I use the basic approach shown there, even though I usually more or less do it in my head and not with real notecards. Link supplied by Sid

Guides on Writing Fanfiction: Links supplied by Raine

http://members.aol.com/opheliamac/home.htm - Ophelia’s Fanfic Writing Guide: A very good guide on understanding how to create a fanfiction and getting it to work with a good plot.

http://articles.theotaku.com/writer.php?id=228781 - Articles by WickedEnough. This writer has two wonderful articles on the Dos and Do Nots of fanfiction, and one on explaining the workings of the ‘Alternate Universe’ in fanfiction.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=1487 - A Beginner’s Guide to Fanfiction by Bellpickle: A good article on starting out when it comes to writing fanfiction.

http://members.aol.com/honywumpus/fanfic.htm - The Official DAFT Fanfiction Writing Guide: This article has some short tips at the start from people, followed by some longer essays. There is some really good stuff in here, so I recommend a look.

Guides for Understanding Japanese/Anime/Manga Culture and History: Links supplied by Raine

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=2108 - Otaku Otaku Revolution by Katana. Another article from ‘TheOtaku’, this gives a short history of the increase in popularity of anime and its effect on western culture so far.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=1464 - The History of Anime by SunfallE: A nice little article explaining where anime and manga came from.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=2344 - Pop Culture 101 by Bellpickle: This is one guide I definitely recommend to read. It covers pop culture in Japan and it will really broaden your mind.

http://articles.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=98 – What Means What in Anime by Phoenix Shiraha: There’s a lot more than what you think when it comes to meanings in anime. It’s not just names that have meaning, but even hair and eye colour, and even the fashion!

http://senseis.xmp.net/?JapaneseNameSuffix - Japanese Name Suffixes: If you’ve ever been confused about the meanings of ‘-chan’ or ‘-kun’, or any other suffixes on the end of someone’s name in Japanese culture, then this is a good article to look at.

http://www.cs.utah.edu/~duongsaa/more_htm/jk_100animeRules.htm - 100 Rules of Anime: More a parody than anything, but you just have to laugh when you realise it’s all mostly true. Ie. “#46- Law of Flimsy Incognition- Simply changing into a costume or wearing a teensy mask can make you utterly unrecognisable to even your closest friends and relatives.”

Guides on Creating Characters: Links supplied by Raine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_sue - I’m going to start off in this section by pointing you to possibly the MOST important thing to know when it comes to characters and creation; the Mary Sue. Basically it’s a character that is “perfect”; however there are a few other interpretations too. I really do recommend you to read this before you create a character.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/characters.html - Here’s a great amount of articles by many different authors on how to create a character for fiction. There’s also some links to generators which could help give a few ideas.

http://rainejoybringer.livejournal.com/3971.html - Okay, I’m going to pimp my own guide here, but I’ve been told it’s been quite handy. It looks at creating characters and how to place them in a fanfic. There’s also some other tips within it, and a little guide on the meanings of colours for eyes and hair.

http://ks.essortment.com/creatingcharact_rtsl.htm - This is a guide on how to create a profile for a character. It’s quite interesting and worth a look.

http://www.ponylandpress.com/ms-test.html and http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm - If you’ve already created your character, why not take a look at these? They’re tests you can do for your character to check they aren’t a Sue. You shouldn’t be too worried about the final scores though, they’re not totally reliable because of differences in fandoms, but it’s still good for a few things.

Places to look for Help: Links supplied by Raine

http://community.livejournal.com/oc_analysis/ - All of these links will be to LJ communities, but I’ve found that they’re usually the most reliable. On this one you can post a profile for a character, and hopefully you can get some constructive criticism.

http://community.livejournal.com/fan_characters/ - Another place to post about your character and get advice.

http://community.livejournal.com/con_crit/ - A community that offers constructive criticism for anything fanfiction-related.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/ - If you’re ever stuck on a detail in your story and need some help to overcome it, or get some help with a research point, then this is a good place to ask at.

http://havenfordarkness.homestead.com/Tutorial_page/Semisue1.html - Mary Sue Reform: This helpful guide will help to give advice on how to “reform” your character if you find they’re too much of a Sue.

Other Places of Interest: Links supplied by Raine

http://www.obakemono.com/introduction.php - The Obakemono Project is one place I just adore because it’s one of the very few places on the web with such a good explanation of different monsters of legend in Japanese culture! It’s a great place to look up if you ever want to write a fantasy story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Weapons_by_country - I think when it comes to manga and anime, particularly shonen and action series, there is a surprising amount of weapons. I have always had a passion for traditional Chinese weapons, and I’ve been able to find some really interesting stuff from Wikipedia- especially when it comes to finding names for weapons I’ve only ever seen in movies (they still lack an article on emei piercers though...).

http://www.mimisgrotto.com/gaffdolls/ - Mimi’s Grotto’s Mary Sue Doll Fest: If you’ve ever wanted to see the worst-of-the-worst for Sue characters, take a look here. The Harry Potter sections are a doozy. And if you’re lucky, you might just find one particular little kitsune-parody created by yours truly...

Various LiveJournal Fanfiction Communities: Links supplied by Raine

http://community.livejournal.com/marysues/ - The Original Mary Sue LiveJournal community. Even more horror from the world of Sues, but at least it’s humorous when the bringer of the fic goes into a rant and sporks the thing into oblivion.

http://community.livejournal.com/deleterius/ - The Mary Sue community for any and all Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring fics. (Mostly SFW, though there are a few times when someone will post links and sporkings about more adult fics)

http://community.livejournal.com/fanficrants/ - This is where you go if you have a bone to pick with a particular piece of fandom and some of its writers. I rant on here quite a bit and I’ve also learnt quite a lot of fanfiction and writing from my time there. Beware though; it’s not always safe for work.

And there you have it! Though it may also help to go to the main parts of some of those sites where articles have been posted from, such as Fiction Factor, and TheOtaku, which even has categories on various series and articles for them.

If anyone has an article they think is really useful, or even one that you wrote please post them. And feel free to post on the main Scrapbooks board as well to ask for advice!

Hope these help!



Last updated on the 4th Jan 2007 ~Raine

 

[okyatoks]

Re: Helpful Writing Guides

Great Info, Tamerlane! BTW, like your sig!!!

 

[Anax]

Re: Helpful Writing Guides

Nice work Tamerlane!! Thank you for digging those up for us!

As a copyeditor/proofreader, I wish I had a nickel for every time I either corrected this mistake and/or re-read a sentence to verify that the right word had been used.

She said that about Affect vs Effect but for me it applies to all the other common mistakes she pointed out and then some... However I find myself doing some of those unintentionally. For example no/know/now! The first two sound alike and the latter two are spelled the same +/- a "k". My problem? When I type fast I mixed 'em all up This has kind of helped me be more mellow to people who often make such mistakes because they might as well know what the correct choice of words is, but have made the mistake accidentally. Thalia (my mother) always says: "It happens, even to the best of families".

One of the primary complaints I hear about writers' workshops is that they alter a writer's style too much. This is where you have to temper your rewrites to what your critics say is wrong and the affect you meant for your prose to have.

Wasn't that "affect" supposed to be "effect"?

Any way you look at it, writer's block is difficult to cope with. It saps energy and inspiration. It makes us question ourselves and our ideas. It makes us afraid to try, because we become afraid to fail after the struggle to create.

He really put it in words for me, even though the cause of "being afraid to try, because I became afraid to fail, after the struggle to create" wasn't writer's block in my case.

 

[broken0dream]

Re: Helpful Writing Guides

Wow, thank you. This will halp many writters-to-be. ^^

 

[ilovemebetter]

i adore ur signature, and ur posts are great too