A/N: So I know I haven't posted in a while, but this past semester could have frozen hell over, so I didn't really have a lot of time. This isn't really a story, per se, but more…pointers for those of you who write Naruto fanfiction, though there are several general grammatical points. Just some frequent errors I have seen with simple solutions. I have avoided using confusing terminology, but you can message me with specific questions. I would like to point out that several of the points I will make contain my opinion, meaning they are not necessarily the "right way," but my take on the selected topic. DO NOT flame me. If you have a question or criticism, feel free to message or review. And please don't report this as a non-story. There are elements of a story to it, and I will argue for all I'm worth.
Summary
You may not think the summary is important, but it is. It is the first thing readers see and is the first insight they will have into your writing. Here are some tips:
A) Ambiguity and imagination are your friends. Potential Readers (hearby referred to as PRs) can be turned off to a completely interesting story if the summary tells them exactly what happens in a boring way. For example, if you are writing a story where a lusty Sasuke is using French to seduce a befuddled Naruto and they eventually hook up for sloppy man smex, don't summarize the story by writing:
"In this story, a lusty Sasuke is using French to seduce a befuddled Naruto, and they will hook up for sloppy man smex."
That's obvious, direct, and uninteresting. You gave them the conflict, the characters, the plot, and, most importantly, the outcome. Why would they want to read your story? They will also judge your writing style based on this. From the above summary, they will expect:
"One day, Sasuke was horny. He walked over to Naruto and said 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi?' Naruto didn't understand so Sasuke said 'dobe, it means I want to have sloppy man smex with you.' Naruto said 'oh okay' and they went and had sloppy man smex. The end'
That would suck. You want your summary to hook the PR, make them interested. An example of a good summary, based on the same story, could be this:
"Naruto doesn't understand anything his best friend says anymore. The sounds that come out of his mouth are indicipherable, though with Sasuke's feral smirk and lust filled gaze, he thinks he might be in trouble. What the hell does 'voo lay voo koo shay ah vek mwa' mean, anyway?"
This never says "Sasuke is learning French to seduce a befuddled Naruto," but the PR can still garner that situation from the description. This summary gives vague descriptions of the premise, the characters, and the plot, without referencing the outcome (though it is obvious that there will be sloppy man smex). It is interestingly worded, intriguing, and will probably give the PR a mild laugh (unless that PR is Gaara). These are all things you want to shoot for. Make the PR interested.
B) Questions are a tricky thing when it comes to summaries (P.S. the plural of summary is 'summaries,' not 'summary's'). They are okay to add for theatrical effect, but they need to be carefully placed. You want to avoid questions that are like mad-libs for your story. Let me explain. Do not start a summary by saying:
"What if Naruto suddenly became a girl?"
A PR can write his or her own story with the same premise, and there are, guarenteedly, tons and tons of stories like that out there. What makes yours different? Unless you have a question like 'what if Naruto was a two-tone plum colored echidna' (in which case I wish you luck), don't flatter yourself into thinking nobody has ever written a similar story. Plots are rarely what differentiate you from another author, so don't count on plot only interesting the PR enough to read your story. Questions like this do just that. 'What if this' and 'what if that' are all questions you should already have answered and should not be asking PRs. An example of an acceptable question use concerning the same topic:
"Since when does Naruto have boobs?"
That is NOT, by any means, a stand alone statement, nor should you start a summary with it. It simply adds effect, like tinsel on a Christmas tree. You wouldn't celebrate Christmas by hanging ornaments on a pile of tinsel, would you? [---effective question] For an example of this topic, expanded, as your story's only plot isn't Naruta's misadventures, would be:
"Sasuke was pissed. He hadn't seen his blonde friend since Kakashi had rushed him back to the village after he was hit with a strange jutsu, and apparently he wouldn't be seeing him anytime soon. The blonde moron had left on a year long mission, according to a strangely amused Tsunade, without so much as a goodbye. They already had a replacement, though. Since when does Naruto have a twin sister?"
This is ambiguous and creative, while pointing out some interesting details unique to my specific take on that subject.
c) PROOFREAD. If a PR sees all kinds of grammatical mistakes in your summary, they will expect your story to be the same way. Check spelling, capitals, and punctuation and, if you have to, have someone else look at it. Don't let something as simple as small (not unimportant) be unchecked. There is no excuse.
Grammar and Spelling
This is a guide to point out and correct many simple mistakes made with grammar and spelling. This is general and not specific to Naruto, though I will be using Naruto references.
A) Commas- Holy crap. The sheer number of comma mistakes I see is astounding, whether it is too many or too few. A comma is neither a period nor a space, but many people interchange them. It also cannot replace and, or, or but. Some important comma places:
1) Comma splicing- this is when a writer combines two complete thoughts without using a conjunction.
Ex: Naruto is out late again, I wish he were here. (says SasUKE)
'Naruto is out late again' is a complete sentence, but so is 'I wish he were here.' A conjunction is necessary to -ahem- conjoin the complete thoughts.
Ex: Naruto is out late again, but I wish he were here.
BAM. There's your sentence. This mistake comes from misunderstanding the difference between a period and a comma. Honestly, weren't you obssessed with grammar in school like I was? No? Really?
2) Too few- Often times, people omit commas where they are needed.
Ex: Naruto is an amazing shinobi even if he wears orange.
The second part of that sentence is dependent upon the first; it cannot exist without it. The first part is a sentence by itself, however, and you cannot just tack on an extra half a thought to a complete sentence without using a comma. Duh.
Ex: Naruto is an amazing shinobi, even if he wears orange.
It also applies if you put the thought in the middle of the sentence.
Ex: Naruto is, even if he wears orange, an amazing shinobi.
3) Too many- Do not interrupt two incomplete thoughts of a sentence with a comma.
Ex: Naruto wonders why, Sasuke is mad. Sasuke gets mad, when Naruto uses unnecessary commas.
As do I Sasuke, as do I (insert pretentious chuckling here [insert chidori here]). ^
These commas are unnecessary. There are no complete thoughts being modified ^
or separated or connected. These are just sentences. It's like attacking a civilian. ^
Only with a butter knife. ---incomplete thought; comma necessary. I wonder ^
where...here it is! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^
B) Apostrophes- No intro. Jumping straight in.
1) Plurals- PLURAL WORDS DO NOT NEED APOSTROPHES. Read it. Memorize it. Don't forget it, or I'll kill you.
Ex: He has a lot of weapon's.
Oh my God, I legit can't believe I have to put this here, but I do, trust me. Apostrophes have two main uses: possessive and contraction. NOT PLURALISM.
Ex: He has a lot of weapons.
...Know it. There will be a quiz next week. If you pass, you get to keep breathing.
2) Contractions- two words in one.
Contractions and their root words:
[word]+is/has- he's, she's, it's, Naruto's (not possessive)
Used when combined with is/has. He is going to the store. He's going to the store. He has gone to the store. He's gone to the store.
[word]+are- we're, you're, they're, Naruto and Sasuke're --generally not used. Write the word are.
Used when combined with are. We are going out. We're going out.
[word]+will- we'll, he'll she'll, Sakura'll
Used when combined with will. She will heal you. She'll heal you.
[word]+have- should've, could've, would've
Dear God, this one's (one+is) annoying. It is should've, not SHOULD OF. That doesn't make sense, if you know what 'of' means, which is something you should've (should have) learned in first or second grade.
[word]+not- can't, don't, won't
Used when combined with not. Do not go down there. Don't go down there.
Tip: Split contractions for emphasis.
Ex: Don't touch that! Do not touch that!!
3) Possessive- Used to show what someone owns. Duh.
Words that don't end in 's':
Add 's. Naruto's book. Sasuke's sword. Sakura's fist. Get it?
Words that end in 's':
Add '. The Uchihas' pride. The ninjas' wills. So on, so forth. Be sure to pluralize possesions if the owner is plural.
Exception: The possessive of 'its' lacks an apostrophe. Always. Only the contraction has an apostrophe.
C) Dialogue- Dialogue is always helpful to a story, but if you don't do it correctly, it will confuse readers.
1) Getting off on the right foot- Whenever a new person starts talking, or somebody speaks for the first time, always start a new paragraph. ALWAYS. And always capitalize a new sentence.
"Why are you here, Naruto?" Sakura asked heavily. Her hand was resting over half of her face, fingers pushing her bangs into disarray.
"I just wanted to talk," he said quietly, reminding Sakura briefly of Hinata, "You said you were always-"
"I know what I said!" Sakura snapped. Naruto flinched, and the mint green eyes softened, "Sorry," she said, "it's just early." Naruto smiled slightly.
"I know," he said quietly. There was silence for a few more moments before-
"Would you like to come in?" Sakura offered, "To talk?" she added carefully. Naruto nodded excitedly and raced in, breezing past Sakura and settling into her lumpy couch. She rolled her eyes and headed back inside, closing the door softly behind her.
Note that when they are talking, even if interrupted, there is a new line for each of them. Also note that if a different character than the one whio has just spoken does something, it is included in the same paragraph, not a new one.
2) Punctuation- This is tricky, and took me much research to get right.
When someone says something that is neither a question nor an exclamation, nor ends with an ellipsis, but comes before a speech attribution, it ends with a comma inside the quotes. A speech attribution identifies how someone said something. If speech is continued after the speech attribution, a comma before the quotes is necessary.
"Okay," Sakura said as she settled in next to Naruto, "What's up?"
^------speech attribution
"Uh..." he started, "Sasuke and I...we-"
^------speech attribution
"Had a fight?" Sakura offered. The man next to her nodded somberly, drawing his hands down his face.
^------speech attribution
"Stubborn bastard." The muffled insult was almost inaudible, but made Sakura smile.
If there is no speech attribution, but it is not a question or an exclamation, it ends in a period inside the quotation marks. If you look at the sentence above, Naruto has said it, but it is its own thought. If half of a sentence comes before a speech attribution, the second half is not capitalized.
"Why," Sakura began, eyeing him amusedly, "may I ask, is Uchiha Sasuke a 'stubborn bastard'?" Naruto growled.
"He just is," Naruto replied and crossed his arms, an unmistakable pout adorning his handsome features.
If you have a quote within quotes, use apostrophes on either side. Do not use another set of quotes.
"He wouldn't let me top," Naruto grumbled, after several seconds of expectant silence. There was a pregnant pause, and Naruto looked up at Sakura to see if she had heard him. His eyes widened at the furious expression on Sakura's face, and her fist pounded his head before the sage could react. "Itai!" he cried, though Sakura cut across him.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" she thundered, and Naruto looked up to her with fear in his eyes, "You come to my house at two o'clock in the morning because your boyfriend wouldn't let you top? I thought you were seriously upset! I was sleeping and I have a shift in," she glanced at her clock, "three hours! Three hours! Do you have any idea how early that is? Ugh, I have half a mind to drag you back, strap you to the bed, and top you myself! That will happen if this happens again. Clear?" She did not await a response, "Good.
"Now get home and do whatever Sasuke wants, and so help me, if you come calling this early for a stupid reason again, I'll massacre you!" Sakura had barely finished when Naruto turned-tail and ran out the door. Sakura slammed her door shut behind him and stalked to bed, ready to return to sleep.
If you have an insert in the middle of speech, us a comma inside the quotes to end it, insert the text, place a comma, then begin the quote again. If one person's speech takes up more than one paragraph, uninterrupted, the first paragraph ends without quotation marks, while the second paragraph of the same speech begins with quotes.
C) Spelling- I'm not going over every word, so here's some advice: if you don't know a word, LOOK IT UP. Don't guess. If you're posting on , you can just as easily open a new tab and visit .com and look up a word.
1) Frequent errors
*Defiantly vs. Definitely- Defiantly is from the word defiant, meaning belligerent or rebellious. Definitely comes from the word definite, meaning irrefutable or set-in-stone. You're not 'defiantly' going to fail a test. You'll definitely fail.
*Could, should and would of- In case you didn't see it earlier, could of means nothing. It is could've, would've, and should've.
*Might as well- I only saw this once, but I thought I'd throw it in here. It is not 'Midas well'. 'Might as well' is an actual phrase that references something other than the neanderthalic health of a greedy king. I might as well post this, seeing as I spent several hours on it.
*The 'they' paradigm- Okay. This is simple.
They're- has an apostrophe, making it a contraction, meaning it combines two words: They are. Break it down to see if it makes sense.
Their- Possessive. An exception to the i before e rule. That van is theirs.
There- Denotes location. It's over there.
Ex: They're on their way, and we're almost there! I'm excited to see them!
They are Possessive Location
*The 'you' paradigm- This one is even easier.
Your- Shows possession. Is this your story?
You're- Contraction. You're leaving?
Ex: You're forgetting your manners, Naruto.
You are Possessive
*The homonym complex- A homonym is a word that sounds the same as another word, but is spelled differently. Make sure you are using the write word...jk. Seriously though, use the right word. Or die.
-Sew- With a needle and thread
So- So? So what?
Sow- Sow seeds in the fields.
-Bear- The animal
Bare- The ass
-Know- Information
No- Sex
-Where- Location
Wear- Clothes, as not to bare yourself
Ware- Things you sell
-Throw- Throw kunai at your dumb blonde boyfriend
Throe- Make your hot raven scream in the throes of passion
-Chaste- Pure and innocent, unlike Naruto
Chased- What Sasuke did when Naruto became unchaste
I think that's enough for now. If you're not sure which it is, look it up to check.
You are
Naruto Stuff
From here on out, this is specific to terms, names, and personalities in Naruto. If you're not interested, you may leave.
Names- I frequently see names mispelled. Here is a list. Note: In Japanese, the surname comes first, and this is how I will write them. It is not like roll call, where you would place a comma, so please don't do that. I'll also put as many name meanings as I can. If you have a question or discrepency concerning spellings, let me know. I will be including a later section on characters' personalities, but let me know if you want anything.
Shinobi Nations
Konohagakure- "Village Hidden in the Leaves"
Sunagakure- "Village Hidden in the Sand"
Kumogakure- "Village Hidden in the Clouds"
Iwagakure- "Village Hidden in the Rocks"
Kirigakure- "Village Hidden in the Mist"
Takigakure- "Village Hidden in the Waterfall"
Otogakure- "Village Hidden in the Sound"
Team 7
Uzumaki Naruto- uzumaki means "whirlpool," and naruto is a fishcake put in ramen
Haruno Sakura- sakura means "cherry blossom"
Uchiha Sasuke
*Hatake Kakashi- means "scarecrow in a field"
Team 8
Inuzuka Kiba- kiba means "fang" and inu means "dog"
Hyuuga Hinata- hinata means "a sunny place"
Aburame Shino
*Yuuhi Kurenai- means "crimson sunset"
Team 10
Akimichi Chouji- chou means "butterfly"
Nara Shikamaru- shika means "deer"
Yamanaka Ino- ino means "boar" or "pig"- hence Sakura's nickname of "Ino-pig"
*Sarutobi Asuma
Gai's team (Guy in English)
Hyuuga Neji- neji means "screw," referencing his Rotation ability
Tenten- means "here or there"
Rock Lee- a reference to Bruce Lee
*Maito Gai (Might Guy)
Sand Siblings
Temari- a Japanese hand ball
Kankurou
-Karasu- means "crow"
-Kuroari- means "black ant"
-Sanshouo- means "salamander"
Gaara- current Kazekage
*Baki
Hokages
Senju Hashirama- First Hokage (Shodaime Hokage)
Senju Tobirama- Second Hokage (Nidaime Hokage)
Sarutobi Hiruzen- Third Hokage (Sandaime Hokage)
Namikaze Minato- nami means "wave," kaze means "wind," and minato means "port" or "harbor." Fourth Hokage (Yondaime Hokage)
Tsunade- Name comes from an ancient Japanese Proverb; one of the sannin; Fifth Hokage (Godaime Hokage)
Danzo- An asshole. Sixth Hokage (Rokudaime Hokage)
Other
Sarutobi Konohamaru
Umino Iruka- means "dolphin of the sea"
Jiraiya
Orochimaru
Shizune
Sai
Yamato
Chiyo
Killer Bee- Jinchuuriki for eight-tails
Tailed Beasts
Ichibi- One-tailed Tanuki; former host: Sabaku no Gaara of Sunagakure
Nibi- Two-tailed Demon Cat; former host: Nii Yugito of Kumogakure
Sanbi- Three-tailed Giant Turtle; former host: Yagura, former Mizukage of Kirigakure
Shibi- Four-tailed Monkey; former host: Roshi of Iwagakure
Gobi- Five-tailed Dolphin Horse; former host: Han of Iwagakure
Rokubi- Six-tailed Slug; former host: Utakata of Kirigakure
Shichibi- Seven-tailed Horned Beetle; former host: Fuu of Takigakure
Hachibi- Eight-tailed Giant Ox; Host: Killer Bee of Kumogakure
Kyuubi- Nine-tailed Fox; Host: Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure
Akatsuki- Japanese for "dawn"
Pein- killed by Naruto in the attack on Konoha
Konan- still living, but no longer a member
Deidara- killed by Sasuke
Sasori- killed by Sakura and Chiyo; nicknamed Akasuna no Sasori, meaning "scorpion of the red sand"
Tobi- revealed to be Uchiha Madara, who is still living; tobi means "construction worker" and madara means "mottles," possibly referencing his age
Orochimaru- left and was later killed by Uchiha Sasuke
Zetsu- still an active member
Hidan- defeated by Shikamaru; hidan means "bandit gang"
Kakuzu- defeated by Kakashi, though Naruto did the most damage
Itachi- Awesomeness personified. Lost on purpose to Sasuke and now deceased; means "weasel"
Hoshigaki Kisame- killed by Raikage and Killer Bee; same means "shark" and ki means a number of things, but here, probably "crude" or "raw"
A/N: So this took me like six hours and is unbeta'd, so if you see mistakes, please let me know. This is not meant to be caustic or insulting (though it is sarcastic at times), but helpful. I hope that someone gets use from it. Again, review or message me with questions/comments/concerns/corrections. Thanks!
-Phantom