"A novel is a mirror that strolls along a highway. Now it reflects the blue of the skies, now the mud puddles underfoot." -Stendhal

Now that the pretentious fic-opening quote is out of the way, let's get to business since nobody actually cares about me or whatever lame exposition I may have.

The PokéUniverse has expanded greatly in the past couple years. There are many different universes: alternate universes, game-universe, anime-universe, manga-universe... and then those universes branch off into sub-sections, and those sub-sections may have their own sub-sections. Or maybe you want to make two universes collide. Perhaps you just decided to go and create an entirely new universe. People have created lots of categories for the PokéUniverse: PokéMorphs, academy fics, tournament fics, new regions, reborn fics... and a lot more that I am way too lazy to name. However, I think you get my point now; Pokémon is an endlessly expanding universe as intricate as a really, really big ant-hill. Great simile, I know.

However, all stories, be it a real novel or FanFiction, Fantasy or Sci-Fi, a tournament fic or a new-region, they will pretty much all follow five basics, or as I call them, the Five Laws. If you nail all five of these, I think you may have an excellent story.

-x-X-x-

Characters.The characters will be the window to the story. Everything you write is centered around the characters' eyes, and are generally the center of the shallow reader's attention: protaagonists, antagonists, side characters, OCs, OOC-ness, etc. Characters are made of believability, and originality, and likability. If you do not get any of aspects right, I regret to inform you that there is a slight chance your character is a piece of poop.

Grammar. This includes grammar, spelling, and other interesting writing elements. For the deeper reader, if you don't nail this section you will be done with by the first sentence. Many people try to argue that grammar is not important, the plot or characters are. Let me argue otherwise. Incorrect grammar can detract from a story's tone, meaning, and degree of how people take you seriously. Please, let's remember our primary school lessons.

Plot. Plot/Concept is another one of those reasons of the shallow reader, and the most substantial part at a far-off glance. What happens in your story? This is one of the freer aspects of writing, yet people still find ways to screw it up. Here we'll nail concepts, original plots, organizing your fic, and much much more!

Flow. Flow is one of the lesser known Laws, but if you don't have it down, then your story just might suck. Flow has to do with the tempo of your writing, how fast or slow events are happening, filler chapters, where sentences belong and don't belong. Flow is basically there so that your story makes sense. You could have a terrific plot and all that other jazz, but readers won't know what you're talking about.

Audience Appeal. A 'your cup of tea' type of thing: those aspects that appeal to certain viewers more than others. Romance? Humor? Action? It's impossible to attract all types of audience but I'll try damn hard to get you close. Not that I'm one to talk.

-x-X-x-

I'll try to cover all aspects of the aspects, but these is a slight chance I will suck at it.

EDIT: Fixed introduction 'cause it sucked. Changed title. Note to new readers that the next seven chapters have not been edited and are presented from a very juvenile point of view, so be aware and don't do drugs.