2. Spelling and Grammar
Sure, we all make spelling mistakes every once and awhile, missing commas and hyphens, or find 'urself' using IM chat-speak. Well, all fun and games then, but this site is serious, and you'd do well to appreciate us readers who can't tell 'radish' from 'granola' in half of your stories because the word 'spell-check' makes you roll your eyes and say, "Whatever. I'm too good for spell-check." Because I use spell check – I'm using it right now!
CHARACTER NAMES:
One of the biggest mistakes in Avatar fandom is misspelling of the canon's names!
It's Aang, not Ang, Aan, Aag, or Ann.
It's Katara, not Katra, Katrina, Kara, or Tara.
It's Sokka, not Soka, Sakka, or Saka.
It's Toph, not Toff, Toh, Top, or Tohf.
It's Zuko, not Zukko, Zoko, Zuk, or Zooko.
It's Iroh, not Iro, Ira, Ioh, or Iah.
It's Azula, not Acula, Azla, Aula, Zula, or Azul.
It's Mai, not May or Ma.
It's Ty Lee, not Tylee, Tilee, Ty Li, or Ti Ly.
CAPITALIZATION:
The Wrong Ways –
1. katara and toph sat around the campfire as sokka fixed the tent.
2. hay covered the field and Appa instantly began to eat.
The Right Ways –
1. Katara and Toph sat around the campfire as Sokka fixed the tent. – Capitalize characters' names.
2. Hay covered the field and Appa instantly began to eat. – The beginning of a sentence always gets capitalized.
PUNCTUATION:
The Wrong Ways –
1. Aang sat on Appa's head contemplating the situation at hand he wasn't sure what to do
2. Toph sat at the water's edge kicking her feet in the waves a fish popped to the surface and made ripples
The Right Ways –
1. Toph sat at the water's edge kicking her feet in the waves A fish popped to the surface and made ripples – Use periods at the end of every sentence.
2. Aang sat on Appa's head contemplating the situation at hand. He wasn't sure what to do. – Use commas for compound sentences.
QUOTATION:
The Wrong Ways –
1. Don't answer to Twinkle Toes that's not manly exclaimed Sokka.
2. What's wrong, Prince Zuko? asked Iroh. You seem upset.
The Right Ways –
1. "Don't answer to Twinkle Toes that's not manly!" exclaimed Sokka. –Quotes go around each end of the speech. Also note the punctuation goes inside the quote as well.
2. "What's wrong, Prince Zuko?" asked Iroh. "You seem upset." – Again, quotes around EVERYTHING being said.
SPELL-CHECK:
The Wrong Ways –
1. Aang surveyyed the area cloesely, looking for any sign of life.
2. This is the gratest place in the world, thought Katara happly.
The Right Ways –
1. Aang surveyed the area closely, looking for any sign of life.
2. This is the greatest place in the world, thought Katara happily.
PSST! I'll tell you a secret… USE SPELL-CHECK! Seriously, just hit the F7 button at the top of your keyboard and voila! Spelling and grammar help!
AVOID NETSPEAK:
The Wrong Way –
"so whassup???" Katara asked Toph. "im goin 2 the store and i was wondering if u wanted 2 come 2."
The Right Way –
"So, what are you doing?" Katara asked Toph. "I'm going to the store and I was wondering if you wanted to come too." – Note, capitalization, the old style speak instead of the new "whassup" term, a single punctuation mark, the use of punctuation on a contraction, and the exclusion of numbers and single letters in place of words.
SUMMARIES:
…or what hooks the reader. The summary style gives off a lot about your story. Wasting space with "Sorry, suck at summaries" or "R&R plzz" not only uses netspeak but does take away from the actual summary you "suck at".
Let's say for a moment you're writing a KataraxZuko romance story taking place in Ba Sing Se.
The Wrong Way –
Zuko and Katara meet each other. Sorry, suck at summaries! R&R pleeeez!
The Right Way –
Zuko and Katara run into each other unexpectedly in town. Katara feels guilt, but Zuko feels a swooping sensation. After all, they had "unfinished business" to attend to. Zutara.
IN SHORT, punctuation and representation of the fic make people's opinions. Would you like to be a respected author or a mediocre laughingstock? We both know you wouldn't choose the first one. Be smart. Take writing classes to improve your manuscript. There's no point writing if no one can understand you. I advise you to use this as well as other recommended stories. Also, spell-check, dictionaries, and thesauruses are really good tools that will not only benefit your writing but also help you in everyday life.