While the idea of
sticking to a set schedule of writing is incredibly important and admirable, it
is not always so easy to follow through with said plans (case in point: the date
of this post). I cannot tell you how
many times this week I have started writing a new post only to get a severe
case of writer’s block.
I’m also, sadly, a
person who can get pretty easily distracted by other things—the Internet in
general, cleaning out my closet, exercising, shiny things, Pez, the state of the
world as we know it, why Pluto isn’t a planet anymore, etc. Fortunately, one of the things which provides
a major distraction for me is reading fanfiction (i.e. crack for fandom
shippers and people who refuse to accept the fact that both Tonks and Lupin had to die at the end of the 7th
Harry Potter book, and don’t even get me started about Fred). Ahem.
I say fortunately
because, despite my infinite regret while reading it that I should probably be
reading more “legitimate” fiction in my spare time, I have found that there are
many things a writer can learn from reading fanfiction.
Thus, I have created a
list of four things which I have learned through reading fanfiction which have
served me well in my own writing habits.
Plus, this gives me a reason to justify my reading fanfiction in the
first place.
1. The Importance (and Rarity) of Proper
Grammar Usage
I
am not talking about stories which have one or two spelling or grammar
mistakes. Those few mistakes are understandable, and no one is immune to the
occasional slip-up, myself included.
No,
I am referring to the (quite astonishingly) large amount of stories I have read
in which the laws of grammar seem to have somehow hitchhiked cross-country
never to be seen again. Perhaps they are
floating around in space somewhere looking for a spaceship to pick them up
before they suffocate.
Much
of my amazement has to do with the fact that, in an age where we have some of
the most advanced technology at our fingertips, it seems too difficult for some
people to use a simple spell-checker.
Come on, people. See those little
red squiggly lines underneath some of your words? Ignoring them will not be beneficial to
anyone. Least of all, the reader.
What
I find most sad about improper grammar usage is that a story could have loads
of potential, but readers are not going to want to give a story a chance if
they see mistakes in every other line.
It distracts from the story and takes a person out of the scene.
The
good thing about fanfiction writing is that, even if you are not the best
proofreader, there are always beta readers available to help edit your stories
and offer feedback. Asking for help is
never a bad thing, and it will help you to become a better writer and editor in
the long run.
