So since I thought it'd probably be pretty helpful, I've decided to create a new story! The purpose, as you might guess or have guessed, is to help new authors, or anybody really, with writing Gravity Falls Fanfiction. Mostly this will be helpful little things and to keep characters in character.
I know that you might be wondering why I'd be doing it, because I'm sure there are more qualified authors that do Gravity Falls stuff. Keep in mind that these are mostly observations that I've made, not things I include in my stories personally (and I think I'd need the help, haha.) I'm not trying to be hypocritical if something that I miss in my stories gets put in this story. And I'm not trying to personally offend anybody if I put something in here that they think directly pertains to them. It's not like that, I swear!
To kick things off, I'm starting with an extremely basic one- Tips for Getting Started
Develop It. A Lot.
Launching right into a story can be exciting! But any author can tell you that you need to have an idea of where the story is going to go before you start, or at least before you get far enough in that you're going to need it. You can go chapter-by-chapter planning what will happen, or you can just write one long summary about the entire story. It doesn't matter how you do it- get the whole thing planned somehow.
Edit. Edit. Edit.
Alex Hirsch said it himself- don't just write something quickly and put it out there as 'finished'. I can't stress this strongly enough- REVISE YOUR WORK. If you rush through it, and post it as quickly as you can, it's not going to be ready to be published, unless you're some sort of superhuman writing machine. You might be, I don't know. But quality will always outweigh quantity, so work on making your writing as good as it can be before publishing it.
Format
This might not seem very important, but it is. Spaces between paragraphs. New lines for speaking. Punctuation. Capitalization. Clarification about who's talking. If it's a real story, and not something meant to be silly, u sh0udnt tipe lk dis, its no+ ezy 2 red r undrstnd. And grammar. Grammar.
Be Prepared.
It's hard to write a chapter in twenty minutes to get it posted 'on time'. If you're posting chapters on a set schedule, then be ready to carry out that schedule. Always have the next chapter ready, and about two after that started. If you don't have time for that, it's not pressure; adjusting your updating is alright, and everybody is okay with it. Reviews saying 'update soon!' and 'can't wait for the next chapter!' are encouragements, not reminders if you're not ready.
Keep Calm and Carry On.
People read things. People review things. People type things in reviews. Not every review is completely positive. Don't be intimidated by them, you're doing great. A review count doesn't determine the quality of a story, so you shouldn't be discouraged if a story doesn't seem to be doing as good as you hoped. People are reading. And on the off chance that you'll receive a negative response, pay it little attention. Don't let it get to you. Remember that this is YOUR story, and you call the shots. Don't feel pressured.
I hope you liked these tips; the chapters after these ones will be on writing certain characters, couples, situations, or universes. If there's something specific you want to see, you can PM me, or include it in a review. Have fun writing!
