Writing Tips #1

Hey Internet!

I’m KrissieDeathy. And this. This is going to be a post about Formatting.

Yeah, I know. Strange topic right?

Well there’s a purpose for it. I’m mainly making this to help out my fellow writers on the internet who haven’t been taught how to format or grasp it.

I actually used to think that formatting stories was so simple. But it’s not. I learned this year in college that many of my peers didn’t know how to write and format dialogue. So I figured I would give some Tips for those who haven’t been taught in school and/or don’t know.

Well let’s start off with the basics of basic.

What are you writing?

Well that doesn’t matter. This tips are to help you with original writing as well as fanfics.

What are your works going to be published on?

So where are you putting your awesome work up for display? I’m mainly going to focus on DeviantArt and Fanfiction.net because those are the two places I feel need the most help with formatting. No offense guys, but you’re my number 1 source for fanfiction.

But sadly, there have been many a time when I go to read a fanfiction and I just can’t because of formatting errors alone. I try to power through some, but unless it’s short, it rarely happens. So this is mainly catered to fix that so we all have more wonderful works to read and enjoy, kay?

Awesome! *insert thumbs up here*

Now let’s begin with some DON’Ts.

Don’t leave your work as a giant block of text. It’s unsightly. This is the main problem many of my friends, myself included, have when we look for fanfictions to read. The writer has left their work as a giant brick of text that you, the reader, must read through. There are now paragraphs, which means no breaks. So you have to pull your eyes through it. And a lot of the time, dialogue is in that jumbled mass of text. It’s crazy right? “Hey Jill,” Bob hollered, “Where are my car keys?” “I don’t know,” Jill replies. “Where was the last place you had them?” “In your hands woman!” Bob stomped his foot. “You took the truck out for a ride to town today, remember?” And it all just continues in this huge brick of text. Forever and ever and ever.

And frankly, I can’t do it anymore. It actually kind of hurts to do that. And it’s sad too. Now I know that this can sometimes happen when uploading your work on Fanfiction or DeviantArt, especially if you’re using that “Insert Text Here” option on the sites.

Frankly, I advise against that. If your work is just a block of text, odds are, no one will read it. I suggest getting a hold of a writing program, such a Word, which is what I’m using. You can also get Open Office, which is basically a knock off free version of word if I understand it correctly. Notepad is the basic writing thing on your computer. It only saves as .txt files, but those files are accepted by Fanfiction so they’re good. There’s also Google Docs, which comes in handy for people. There are probably several others that I don’t know about, but feel free to tell me in the comments.

So how should you break up this giant brick of text?

When there is a change of location. Say your characters are in an office and they’re talking about Bob and how he skipped work to watch Game of Thrones or something. Then you cut to Bob, and he’s not watching Game of Thrones, but is actually having a Disney marathon with 6 year old niece. You would make a new paragraph when you would switch from office to Bob at home.

You also make a new paragraph when you change topics. As I did between this paragraph and the one above it. Or let’s say you’re describing the way someone looks.

For example:

Bob was a stocky guy. Not fat, but not thin either. He was average height. He carried an air about him that said he was a southern boy who had never ventured outside the country a day in his life. His brown hair was rustled by wind and work. His leather jacket was thick, blocking out the cold as he leaned against his truck. His tan skin glowed in the sunlight. A white sign held firmly in his large, rough hands.

The sign stating one thing – Carol Santana

Carol was sure he was going to the stereotypical country boy. She plucked up her heavy suitcase and walked down the stair case. She paused to take a breath at the end of the stair case before plucking up her bag again and walking towards him. She dropped the bag ungraciously at his feet, clad in brown hunting boots.

“So, you’re patrol officer?” Carol joked.

And there you have it. I apparently really like Bob for a name when I make up random stuff. But that’s how it should be separated. Change of topic? Make a new paragraph.

Another thing that seems to get everyone is that when you change speakers, make a new paragraph as well.

For Example:

“Tails!” Sonic called for his little bro. “Where are you?”

Tails’ workshop was huge and the blue hedgehog was sure he had heard something fall down with a loud thud earlier. He looked for anything out of the oridinary or messy. But sadly, he rarely entered the fox’s workspace and workshop was a mess.

“How does he walk around here?” Sonic mused. He cupped his hands around his mouth, “Tails!”

“I’m over here!” Tails called. “I’m fine. The drawer just fell out of the filing cabinet.”

“Thank goodness.” Sonic sighed as he found his little brother. “So what happened?”

“I pulled the drawer out too far.” Tails shrugged.

Doesn’t that make it easier to understand? You, the reader, can clearly figure out who’s talking. When you don’t separate who’s talking in separate paragraphs, it can confuse your audience and turn them away. After all, dialogue makes a story fun. You spent your time and effort writing it, so why not format it properly so your readers can enjoy it!

That’s all I’ve got time for tips today, so I’ll discuss some more tips for in the future.

Bye everybody!

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