Fanfiction Help

So this is something that I see more often than not, and I actually looked up to see if I was going crazy and had it wrong. Truth be told, I had more grammatical errors than I'd be willing to admit. Spell check is beyond important, yes. But grammar is just as, if not more, important. Grammar can make the difference between "I helped my Uncle Jack, off a horse." and "I helped my uncle jack off a horse." GRAMMAR.

Dialogue punctuation is the most common error I've noticed. Note the placement of the punctuation in different sentences:

Harry said, "I love music."

"Music is amazing," said Louis.

Niall said, "Don't even think about it," then stepped forward, ready to fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Liam, "welcome to hell."

"Where are you going?" Zayn asked.

"I'm not leaving!" shouted Louis.

All of those are COMMON MISTAKES! I've made them hundreds of times. But knowing the difference not only makes your writing look and sound better, but it's important because it can change exactly what you're trying to convey.





Dialogue mechanics are also another thing that helps to move your story in an even flowing, enticing direction.

This is something that I've never gotten the hang of. I write the way I think, and also the way I read. I read a ton of fanfiction and some include the mistake that I make a lot too.

You characters come alive not only in what they're saying, but also how they say it. Don't explain dialogue to your reader.

For example:

"This has to be a joke," Niall said in astonishment.

"I can't believe she did that," Louis said in surprise.

^I just TOLD you how the characters are feeling, missing an oppertunity to show you a little bit more about the character. How our characters react to things tells the reader a lot about them. When you write strong and effective dialogue, the reader will know how the character feels without you saying flat out "Niall's shocked." When you chose to tell instead of show you cheat the reader out of the chance to feel along with a character.

Adding physical action is the easiest(and in my opinion, most effective) way to show how your character feels.

ie: "I can't believe she did that," Louis said as he held onto the wall for support from the news he had just heard.


Also, avoid using 'ly' when writing dialogue.

'ly' almost always catches the author in the act of explaining dialogue. Examples are: grimly, lovingly, harshly, etc. You don't need to dress up your verbs with adverbs, contrary to popular belief. It can draw the reader away from the story. Sometimes simplicity can help convey the raw emotion of what's going on. Using these isn't WRONG per say; but use it sparingly.

There are certain exceptions to that rule. If the adverb modifies the verb said (instead of telling the reader how the dialogue is being delivered), it is permissible.

ie: softly, clearly, quietly.

This next one is what I think the most commonly used error. Technically, it isn't an 'error'. But, it is quickly overused and makes your story seem repetitive and the emotions sound less sincere.

Speaker Attributions

-Don't use them as a means to explain your dialogue. How the dialogue is delivered should be inherent in the words your character says.

Most commonly used ones on this website:
He growled
She snapped
She beamed

While all of these are examples of explaining dialogue, the last one is the worst offender because it's physically impossible. You can't smile a line of dialogue. The primary reason to avoid these verbs is because they draw attention away from the dialogue, once again pointing the reader to the mechanics of delivery.

Not only that, but their often SO overused.
Harry 'growled' so much that I made the assumption that he was actually a dog.
If your character is constantly 'smirking' out dialogue, I'm assuming they have a nervous twitch.

-'Said' is a transparent verb. Think of it like a period of question mark. Which is another good reason not to use adverbs or explanations with your dialogue; they will just draw attention to 'said'.

-DO NOT open your paragraph with speaker attribution.

-Place the character's name first in a speaker attribution. Harry said, versus said Harry.

-Decide how you're going to refer to a character and stick with it for the entire scene. Don't call Louis BooBear the first time, Louis the second, and Lou the third. People don't change the way they think of a person during a conversation. There is ONE exception to this: If you're writing an argument/intense scene where a character realizes their attempts to be angry/sad/kind isn't working and they switch over to another emotion, then it's alright.

For example:
"Hey BooBear," Harry said.

Louis shook his head in an attempt to dismiss him. Harry recognized Louis' bad mood and knew exactly what it was about. Louis knew. Louis knew what Harry had done.

"Lou listen-" Harry said, before being cut off.

"I'm done listening! You promised me you would stop! You're pathetic!" Louis screamed.

Out of all of the things that Louis could call him, pathetic was one he knew would get under Harry's skin. He did it on purpose. He wanted to piss Harry off and it worked.

"Fuck you Louis," Harry said, dropping the flowers he had brought for Louis.
-End Scene-
Harry's emotion and demeanor changed, therefore it makes sense that he's looking at Louis differently.

Other than that, don't do it. That exception doesn't apply outside of dialogue. When you're saying 'he said' 'she said' 'Harry said' you have to use the same name the entire scene. I'm not saying throughout the duration of the story, just the current scene you're working on.

A common worry is that you're using the word 'said' too much, so you replace it with emotion. It's an easy out, one that I've used quite often. A better way to do it is replace 'said' with beats of action.

ie: "You're beautiful." Harry brushed his fingers over my cheek. "Let me make love to you."

Just vary action with actual speaker attributions and you'll be fine. Too much of one or the other is distracting, you just want to create a comfortable balance between the two.


Your words should explain the emotion. That way, it gives your readers an opportunity to play the scene out in their head. The best example I can think of is when you read a book and you imagine characters and scenes a certain way, then they make the movie and it's TOTALLY different than what you pictured. Yes it's annoying and sometimes ruins the book, but the book gave you your own chance to make it what you want. You should allow the readers to slowly adapt to/understand your characters by their dialogue, not their facial expressions while saying it. It's an extremely hard habit to break (I'm currently struggling to fix it myself) but once you do, it opens up a flood gate of opportunity to get creative with your dialogue.

Notes