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General Art Chargewitsword's Grammar/Writing Tips

ChargewithSword

Zelda Dungeon's Critic
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Jan 13, 2009
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This is Chargewithsword, here to give aspiring writers any advice on grammar they may need for their fiction. I'll be updating this consistently, so check back often.

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Dashes and Parenthesis as interrupts: Both of these are meant to show interruption in the flow of your narrative, and they are both meant for different forms of interruption.
Parenthesis can be used to interrupt in a manner that fits with the narrative while still proving as an interruption.
For example.
He was stout and strong hearted ,(and a little short), yet a strange friend.
Dashes do just about the same thing, but their interruptions are more abrupt and separate while still pertaining to the sentence.
He was stout and strong hearted —don't talk about his shortness though— yet a strange friend.
I'll get more into dashes at a later time.

Using "And" and "But" to start sentences: Throw out those lessons your English teachers told you for these things whenever writing a narrative, because you can start sentences with "but" and "and".
However, don't get over your head, there are still rules for this word usage. Even though you can use these words to start sentences, it is informal to do so. Too much informal writing can turn off a reader and make them think you amateurish.
Exercise restraint with this knowledge, and only use "And" & "But" when you feel like nothing else could sound better.
- (Also, when writing essays, it is also informal to do so, and will most likely annoy your teacher if you try to do this.)

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Working with Spell-check: It's obvious that spell-check is a very useful tool for finding misspelled words easily, but it is also very hindering, since you're not the one spelling the word correctly. You're not taking anything out of it. So I have devised a simple procedure to make sure that you take something out of the procedure.
Step 1. Spell the word incorrectly.
Step 2. Use the right click to use spell check.
Step 3. When you find the correct spelling of your word, look at it and then your spelling.
Step 4. See where you made your misstep and make a mental note, but don't use spell check to correct the word, do that yourself.
Step 4.5 You can also pronounce the part which you made your mistake so as to have an easier time remembering.
Step 5. If you use that word often enough, your subconscious should click in whenever you misspell it, and thanks to spell-check you'll know when you did it wrong.

When Spell-Check or Grammar-Check doesn't work: It's no secret; Grammar & Spell-check doesn't grab everything. For some reason it barely understands comma usage, and sometimes you may spell a word correctly but it's the wrong word.
So this is why you must always print your story before you release it, to find the many snags your computer won't spot. There's almost no point at looking on the computer. On the computer we're so used to reading fast messages that we often skim many grammatically incorrect sentences. So print it out and check doubly sure for any mistakes.
If you're pressed for paper, then you'll have to sit at your computer and make many checks with your eyes, though it is more difficult than paper reading.

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The em and en dashes: First, what are these dashes? They are simply put: lines longer than a hyphen (-)
I shall show you the difference now.
En Dash = (–)
Em Dash = (—)

Now, what are their usages?
An En Dash is used to indicate space between numbers, more specifically, dates, time periods, etc.
For Example: Pages 243–Page345
(There should be no spaces.)

The Em Dash is meant to interrupt flow as a thought that strings two independent clauses together.
I'd better have passed my test—it's ninety percent of my class grade—or I'll have to go to summer school.

It can also be used as a way to help put emphasis in a sentence (most likely dialogue) by adding a space.
Of course, I'll sign a prenuptial agreement—as long as it's in my favor.

Now this here's important. The en and em dashes are not present on your keyboard; you have to get them through specific means.
Step 1. Turn on the Num Lock (Yes, it has a use.)
Step 2. For the En Dash, hold down the Alt button and type in this code on the number key to the right: 0150 <--- Do that and you should get this: –
Step 3. For Em Dash do the same thing, but the code must now be; 0151 <--- That gets this: —


In Microsoft Word, most of the time when you just put down a hyphen, word should edit the hyphen to become an En Dash, so you can breath easy about those. It will also edit in Em dashes if you put two hyphens.

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The Tenses:In Writing, there are three tenses, past, present, and future.
We writers use past tense to describe many of the situations going on in the stories because we are describing events that happened already, much like a storyteller does.
Present is normally used for when the story calls for you to talk in it. In a past tense narrative, it's best to write present only when a character is speaking, or when the narrator wants to describe something on a personal level.
Future is the least used, being only for character dialogue and very specific narratives that would require you to basically be interpreting a story, much like a fortune teller your future.

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Characters Speaking -

When a character speaks, attention is normally drawn to them and their actions in the paragraph. However, writers must make sure that this is not disjointed from the rest of the passage, and does not come off as awkward to the reader.
The most common way of solving this problem is to write a simple, "He said", "she said." This way of writing though is repetitive and often makes the reader feel like as if they were being talked down to. We know that the character is saying something. The better question the reader will ask is, "How are they saying it?"
The power of language is that we writers are able to use it to compare actions to others.
A character doesn't need to simply say something! What if their speaking resembled the savage roar of an animal, or what if it they were shrieking?
There are many fanciful ways to spruce up speaking so that it doesn't seem like some monotonous task. Here are a few examples.

"I want my mirror," she commanded with great gusto!
She looked to him and bellowed, " I want my mirror!"
"I want my mirror," she said with a sudden growl in the back of her throat.

There are many ways to convey speaking.

There's also a method to have a character speak so that you don't need to have something explaining that they are. All you need to really introduce that a character is speaking is an action that comes before or after the phrase.

"I want my mirror!" She stomped around the room like a boisterous bull. The mirror was still lingering in her mind like a leech to the skin.
She stomped around the room like a boisterous bull. The mirror was still lingering in her mind like a leech to the skin. "I want my mirror!"

There are many ways to play with this little trick. Look for them.
 
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ケンジ

僕は準備完了しています!
Joined
May 24, 2009
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Nice thread charge.

This will help aspiring writers to correct and revise their entries when they continue their fan-fictions, though most of these are basic, some are new to me.
Thanks for the informative assistance.
 

Ganondork

goo
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Now this here's important. The en and em dashes are not present on your keyboard; you have to get them through specific means.
Step 1. Turn on the Num Lock (Yes, it has a use.)
Step 2. For the En Dash, hold down the Alt button and type in this code on the number key to the right: 0150 <--- Do that and you should get this: –
Step 3. For Em Dash do the same thing, but the code must now be; 0151 <--- That gets this: —

Microsoft Office Word 2007 auto corrects the em and en dashes. You also forgot the importance of keeping the proper tense. Other than that, great thread
 

Ganondork

goo
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Microsoft word never did that for me....
It won't do it unless you do it like this: He knew he was going to fail the test - even the teacher knew - but his mother was going to ground him if he didn't get an A. Basically you have to place a space in between the words in the en dashes.
 

ChargewithSword

Zelda Dungeon's Critic
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It won't do it unless you do it like this: He knew he was going to fail the test - even the teacher knew - but his mother was going to ground him if he didn't get an A. Basically you have to place a space in between the words in the en dashes.

Those aren't en dashes though. Those are regular Hyphens, aren't they?

I guess I'll have to try again with Word, thanks for telling me this. You're already becoming better and better.
 

ChargewithSword

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They are on here, but on Office Word, once I spaced the dash, it got longer.

Thanks for telling me that, though I haven't found any em dashes in the editting, but I'll have to experiment more.

I added tenses into the advice panel, however, see a longer subject on tenses in my upcoming narrative advice.
 

Ghosi

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Wow. These are some amazing tips and advices that I can use! I have made some spelling errors back in the past, and I know that I haven't gotten a very good grasp of the correct way to write. Thank you so much for writing this down so we could benefit from it!
 

ChargewithSword

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A Chargewithsword Tutorial: Writing Narratives

Working on Narratives


Concept: What will this story revolve around? Will it be an adventure, a mystery, a thriller?

Tense: You have three tenses to pick. The most common for narratives is Past tense, as you are recollecting events that happened beforehand, like most storytellers do.

Then there is present tense; there are few select situations where it can be used, such as character dialogue and narrator quips. It can also be used if you intend to write the story in first person (because first person is the least awkward perspective for the situation.) Let me provide a few examples.
1. “I’m eating this octorok!”
2. Narrator: He’s a very nice guy when you get to know him, but he cheats at cards.
3. 1st person: I am walking down a dark hallway. The putrid stench of fungus and mildew fills the air, and floods my nose with filth.

Finally, there is future tense. This one is the rarest used, mostly fit for character dialogue or narrator dialogue pertaining to a prediction.
1. “That wall is going to smash us into bits.”
2. Narrator: The poor guy is going to die later.

You need to set up tenses along with the concept and remember what words you shall be using, and when you will be changing tenses when necessary.

Character Bibles: A character bible is what we writers use to get a good look at our characters or the characters we’re using. Both are different depending on whether we’re doing a fan fic or our own fiction. Skip to one depending on which you shall be doing.

OCs: When crafting character bibles for original characters, you start off with basic personalities. Fearful, friendly, bad tempered, etc., there are many to pick from. Make this list for every character you intend to have in your story; then, once you think you’ve gotten everything it’s time for us to get into relations.
- Relations: Which characters are friendly, hated/haters, or indifferent to the other characters. What relations do they have with them, and how would they react. A good way to test how they would react to one another is to write a short story where they cross paths. Create a conversation or no conversation depending on how they would react to each other.
- Who are these characters to you?: Ask yourself that question and write down who they are to you, and how you feel about them. /optional.
- Establish Protagonists and Antagonists: Who’s the villain, who’s a hero, or who’s an anti-hero.
- Backstories: Develop your character’s backstory; where they come from, and how did they get to the story.
- Goals: There are two sorts of goals, long and short term. Short term would be a character’s goal in the midst of the story if they want to get to the end. However, short can also be long depending on the situation of the narrative itself. It depends on if the character’s long term goal is properly set up to be accomplished in the story’s length. The main difference between a normal long term and short term goal is that a short term is something the character set to be resolved during the time of the narrative. A long term goal is one that was set up before the events of the story.
- Powers, abilities, etc.

Fanfiction: For this one, you are very limited with what you can do. You must do enough research for the characters that you’ll be able to understand their personalities and how they shall react in certain situations instilled in the narrative. Be wise as to how they speak as well. You didn’t develop their voices, the games/movies/books did.

Outline the story:
Now it’s time to outline the story. You are to give a skim of how the story will progress and continue to add to it. There is no speaking, and no flourish, just bare bones writing that explains from top to bottom.
- You must set your story up by the three act structure. Act 1: The beginning of the story that sets up the conflict to come. It mostly begins with your character’s normal lifestyle and we progress through it. By the time Act 1 is over, the character is thrust out of their normal habitat and sent out into the wide world to explore and evolve. Act 2: Is the longest of all the acts; it’s where the main adventure is happening, your character meets new people along the way, and slowly climbs up the ranks to progress to the big finale. There can be multiple little actions of rising and falling tension, but there is always one really big rising tension leading to act 3. By the time this act is over, your character shall be ready to resolve the majority of their problems, or has already come to grips with many of their problems and must solve the big one. Act 3: This is the climax and what happens afterwards. The characters have resolved the majority of their issues, and now it’s up to the author to end it on a note they like.
- An outline could also be comprised with beta dialogue so that you could get more of a gist of whats going to happen.

Set up your environments: You talk about a swamp or a mountain in your outline, now it is time to picture those environments. You must write about these places in massive details that shall fit for your story. Are they menacing precipices as sharp as spears? Are the swamps wet enough that is feels like sinking into the earth itself? Describe as much as you can; look at pictures, or draw the places for yourself to get a gist as what you’re going to describe in the future.

Writing the bloody thing: Welp, you’ve gotten here. This part is basically the outline, only in much greater detail usually has updated dialogue. Now you’re just adding the finishing touches to your story.
- Make sure to always do multiple drafts so that your grammar and pacing could come out nice for the story. You may also have a change of heart during these changes so keep those in mind too.

---
There you have it; you probably could find better narrative tutorials elsewhere, but this is a short skim, meant to help those who don’t feel like reading page upon page of long tutorials. I suggest you do some more research if you are interested.
 

ChargewithSword

Zelda Dungeon's Critic
Joined
Jan 13, 2009
Location
I don't want to say.
Wow. These are some amazing tips and advices that I can use! I have made some spelling errors back in the past, and I know that I haven't gotten a very good grasp of the correct way to write. Thank you so much for writing this down so we could benefit from it!

I'm glad to help. Check back some time and there may be updates.
 

Jedizora

:right:
Joined
Feb 25, 2010
Nice thread. Honestley, this should be in the communtity fourm, as I see to many people with bad grammer. Also its a bit I ronic with the misspelling in the title.
 

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