To clear things up: sorry if I targeted you in the last guide. I won't do that again. For the whole "I'm Canadian" thing, I wasn't trying to make excuses. What I meant is that with certain words, we add a letter or two. For example, we add u's to the following words: color, labor, and honor. This guide is basically how to try and reduce the flames that you get. I hope this helps.

Last but not least, if you want me to give my opinion on your story, just pm me, I don't bite. It WILL take a long time though, because today is *cry* the last day of March Break. I promise I won't be rude too. Rather than doing this as a one-shot kind of thing, I'm going to be doing short chapters, unless there isn't all that much to say on the subject.

How to Improve Your PJO Fic

The Bait (Summary)

Your summary is like bait: it attracts the readers. Sometimes, however, that isn't a good thing. One thing that I see a lot in summaries is "Plz don't flame". Contrary to popular belief, this isn't going to help you at all. When a flamer comes across that common little phrase, it translates into "OMGOMGOMG I LUV FLAMURZ PLZ PLZ PLZ FLAME MY FIC, ILL LUV U 4EVUR". They don't care if you ask this politely, they will flame your story. Something else that is totally useless to add into your summary is that it's your first fic. People won't care if it's your first fic, they will treat you as if it is your 10th fic. Yet another big no: do not say that you suck at summaries. It's wasting 5 seconds of our lives, reading about how much you suck at summaries.

Now that I have introduced you to the many problems in summaries, here's how to fix them. Instead of telling the readers not to flame, welcome constructive criticism and don't freak out at the flamers. You'll find that they have very useful advice to give you on how you can improve your story. In your summary, write "CC is welcome". There's a good chance that flamers won't be as attracted to your story, because they enjoy making you cry in corners. If they know that you welcome CC, it won't be as fun. They like it when you PM them, and freak out.

Next, there's the classic "it's my first fic". A lot of people will do this when they are unsure about their story and can't take harsh words. If there is one thing you should know, it's that flamers, and other readers for that matter, won't pay attention to that. Did J.K Rowling say "Oh, by the way, this is my first book, so please don't criticise me"? I think not. Readers are going to review your story honestly, whether it's your 1st, 5th, or 100th story. If we go soft on you when it's your 1st fic, you will never learn how to make a good story. You just have to suck it up, and keep improving at your own pace.

A pet peeve of mine is when I read a whole summary on how a writer sucks at writing summaries. It's a total turn-off for the reader! If you suck at writing summaries, the best thing that I can suggest is to keep practicing. Practice doesn't make perfect, but it makes you better. Tony Hawk didn't give up on skateboarding because he started off sucking at it, he kept practicing! If you practice, but you still are not satisfied, ask for help. I'm sure that one of your friends will love to help you! If nobody wants to help you, it doesn't hurt to try PMing somebody on fanfiction.

Remember this: your summary is very important. It lures your reader, so you want to make it interesting. If you don't have a good summary, readers aren't going to be interested.

That's the first chapter for you. If there's anything you think that I ought to improve on, just review and tell me. I'm already starting to think that I'm getting a bit too comfortable with italics. I have no clue what chapter 2 will be about. I'm thinking it will be something along the title of your fic, and the introduction. Tell me your thoughts, and for later chapters, give me some ideas.

I appreciate CC ;).

-Chrissy