The Rules of Fanfiction

Firstly, report me all you want. No, this isn't a story, and I am breaking the rules of fan fiction by posting this. I am not doing this to be a bitch, or to make you feel bad, but I'm doing this to help you. I know there are many first timers who have just posted their first story, and I was that person too at one time. I am not a professional author, nor will I probably ever be, and my name will never go down on history next to Shakespeare and Dickens. So, take my advice if you choose, report me if you'd like, and flame me.

1. Capitalization: I know this is such a hard concept to grasp, but there is this amazing thing that is called a shift button! What you do is press it down while you click on the letter that you want capitalized, and there you have it! It's a capital letter! You capitalize the first letter of titles, the first letter in the sentence, and proper nouns! Taking this extra step in writing will make it look like you actually have brain cells and the inside of your head is not a vacuum.

2. Titles and Summaries: As I said in the first rule, you need to capitalize the first letter in the title. Ex. "Trash". If the title is more then one word, then you capitalize the next word too! Ex. "Fanfiction Trash". What gets tricky is when you have a word like "the" in it. "The" is never capitalized unless it is the first word in the title. It's sad that I need to say this, but "I haven't come up with a title yet" is not a title. If you can't think of a title, then don't post it until you do. Now, onto summaries. This is what people read to decide whether or not they want to read your story. Saying that you "suck at summaries" is not going to get someone to read it, it's going to get me pissed, and the rest of the community that has passed second grade. Say you are at a book store, and pick up a book and read the back and it says "sorry, I suck at summaries." Who the fuck is ever going to read that? If someone can't right a fucking summary about what they just put their heart and soul into, then what does that say about their writing ability? It says it's lacking. Summaries should be short and concise and tell the reader what they need to know about the story you are trying to tell. It should talk about the main character and should talk about the conflict in it.

3. Main Characters and Mary Sues: For those newcomers, a Mary Sue is a main character who is flawless, and is usually based on the writer, or more likely what the writer wants to be. This character is maid up and an OC (own character). This types of people rarely ever can work in a fanficiton. Hate to break your poor litter hearts, but people do not come on Fanfiction to read about some pretty little princess of your imagination who has perfect blond hair, and perfect blue eyes, and always gets the guy, and has all the money in the world. I, and most people on here, come on here to read about the characters that Rickipoo comes up with and that we can't get enough of. In a rare occasion, an OC can work. A main character, but a Mary Sue never can. Characters need flaws, and they need to take the readers on an emotional roller coaster with their hits and misses.

4. Point of View: I personally think that the point of view is the hardest thing to conquer. There are three main types of point of view: first person, third person, and omniscient. In first person, a character in the story is a narrator. They use words like "I" and "me." In third person, the story is told by an outside source, or just a narrator. They use words like "he" and "she.". The last type of point of view is omniscient, which is when multiple characters tell the story. If you want the reader to relate to the character, then you should write in first. If you do want to go for the omniscient point of view, then change the speaker every chapter, not every two lines!

5. Out of Character (OOC): One of the worst problems that ever hit Fanfiction is out of character. Some people go out there so far I wonder if it is a joke, only to find out that it isn't. Think before you write "would this character do this?" So, just to say, Percy would not cheat on Annabeth, his fatal flaw is loyalty, Annabeth will never use text talk, and nor should you in a Fanfiction, Annabeth is not a damsel in distress. If you want damsels and distress, then move over to Twilight. If it doesn't seem realistic to your character, then don't do it!

6. Spelling: either get spell check, or a beta, and I'm not talking about the fish, although I bet my fish Katie could spell better then half of you.

7. Reviews: If you have a twelve chapter story, and two reviews, just end it. Honestly, that's just embarrassing. Clearly, you need to change something to get those reviews. And for the people who do take time to write a review, send them a little thanks for reading or something. They took time for you, so take time for them, even if it is a flame. For a flame, say thanks for sharing your opinion. They will never expect that.

That is all for now. I may add to this as I think of them, and I hope I didn't hurt all of your feelings. Just don't get too discouraged, and remember, try and try again!

If you have any other rules that you think are important I would be happy to hear!