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Welcome to the Writing Tips Page!
There's nothing worse than trying to read a fan fic or article with poor spelling or incomprehensible grammar. There are many common errors in fan fics that have been noted and corrected here for your convenience. No one's telling you your grammar is pathetic, these are just a few tips to point out mistakes that you might not have been aware that you have been making. Learning from your mistakes only improves the quality of your stories.
New: Click here for Tips On Paragraphing.
Click here for misused words and click here for the correct spelling of BW character names, factions etc.
Common Grammatical Errors:
The apostrophe: ( ' )
The difference between your and you're. A common error even I make occasionally! 'Your' is possessive whereas "you're" is the shortened version of 'you are'. E.G. This is your puppy. You're going to get a puppy.
Also: The dog's bowl was empty. - Here there is one dog, the bowl belongs to the dog. The dogs' bowl was empty. - Here there is more than one dog, so the apostrophe is at the end of dog. The bowl belongs to the dogs.
Another thing is the word 'it.' If you want to shorten 'it is' it becomes it's. The apostrophe stands in for the missing letter. If you want 'it' to be possessive, there is no apostrophe. E.G. The dog bit its tail.
The full stop or period: ( . )
It is important that you leave one or two spaces after a period, as it looks tidier and makes your story easier to read. E.G. Tourmaline dashed down the corridor.She was extremely frustrated with the way things were going.It had been twelve days and there was still no sign of them. "Where are you?"she murmured to herself.
As opposed to...
Tourmaline dashed down the corridor. She was extremely frustrated with the way things were going. It had been twelve days and there was still no sign of them. "Where are you?" she murmured to herself.
Much better, huh?
The Comma: ( , )
Ah, the comma. It is often badly used, and I'm no saint there. It's for a pause, generally, but it is also used in direct speech. For example:
"Take the dog for a walk," he said. - You don't use a full stop, and the next word after you've closed the inverted commas starts with a small letter. "Take the dog for a walk!" he said - If there's an exclamation or question mark, the next word still starts with a small letter. "Take the dog for a walk," Joe said/ said Joe - Even when there's a name, like Joe, which starts with a capital, the comma can still be used. "Will you take the dog for a walk?" she asked. - If there's an exclamation or question mark, the next word still starts with a small letter.
It can also be used like so:
"John," Mary began, "I know you've been feeling sick, so I bought you this."
Here is where the comma is used for a pause, but incorrectly. E.G. The ship soared through the night, Major Thompson had sent it. - It should rather be a semi colon, as the second sentence should really be another sentence altogether, but at the same time must be joined to the first. Complicated I know, but look at the example below. E.G. The ship soared through the night; Major Thompson had sent it.
Also, commas must be used in place of ands when listing things. E.G. She bought rice, cake, sugar, flour and butter. - Use the and before the last object in the list.
Direct Speech ("....")
You've seen the comma use in direct speech under 'The comma' section. Here it is below.
Take the dog for a walk," he said. - You don't use a full stop, and the next word after you've closed the inverted commas starts with a small letter. "Take the dog for a walk!" he said. - If there's an exclamation or question mark, the next word still starts with a small letter. "Take the dog for a walk," Joe said/ said Joe. - Even when there's a name, like Joe, which starts with a capital, the comma can still be used. "Will you take the dog for a walk?" she asked. - If there's an exclamation or question mark, the next word still starts with a small letter.
Please take note of all that. It's quite important that you start to use it, as trying to remember to do it once you're really far into a series is quite a task. I myself have come to know that!
There are sometimes inverted commas within direct speech.
"My teacher recommended the book 'Walk Two Moons' to us yesterday," Anna told her grandmother.
Books and films usually take inverted commas when mentioned.
Ellipses (....)
The ellipses is often badly used. There are either too may dots or too few. When in the middle of a sentence, when you want to indicate a long pause, you use a three dot ellipses. E.G. "Dinobot, I...used your soap," she said timidly. If you want to trail off at the end of a sentence to leave the reader thinking about what you just wrote, you use four. Three dots for the ellipses, then the fourth one for the full stop. E.G. Something was terribly wrong....
They're and their
This is a frequently misused word. The difference between them, however, is quite simple and it's only the sound that is similar. They're stands for 'they are'. So you would use it in a sentence like: "They're going to town."
Their is a possessive word for a group of people. Example: "They went to get their bread."
Here's an example of a sentence that includes both: "They're going to town to get their bread."
Threw and through
This mistake is very common. Once again, these words sound the same but carry totally different meanings.
The word 'threw' would be used to indicate the action of throwing something. Example: "He threw the ball."
The word through is different and is used in this next example: "He crawled through the window."
Here's an example of a sentence that includes both: "He threw the ball through the window."
Wonder and Wander
The word 'wonder' indicates thought. Example: "I wonder how Rattrap's doing in his new job."
The word 'wander' indicates movement. Example: "He began to wander through the forest."
Stasis and status
This error occurs when writers try and describe a stasis pod in their story. The correct word is 'stasis pod' as the word 'stasis' means still or 'a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium' (Oxford dictionary definition). Status on the other hand is one's 'relative social or professional standing'.
When writing a fan fic, or story, or even a creative essay, it is always wise to use paragraphs. Not only do paragraphs make your work look neater, they're also a lot kinder on the eyes, they reduce confusion and fics with paragraphs are generally easier to read.
When to put in a paragraph: Separate paragraphs at the end of a description or activity. If you write everything in one heavy block, it becomes a headache for the reader to define the start and end of something. Also, separate direct speech with paragraphs.
Example:
"What did you say?" she asked.
"I said it's over there!" he exclaimed.
"Oh."
As opposed to no paragraphs:
"What did you say?" she asked. "I said it's over there!" he exclaimed. "Oh."
If you want to indicate the end of a scene and the start of a new one, put in one or two paragraph spaces to indicate this to the reader.
The Official Spelling of Beast Wars Character Names and Factions I've researched this at official transformer sites and this is the spelling used in the actual scripts of Beast Wars, which I was fortunate enough to have read at bwtf.com before they became inaccessible after the site moved.
Firstly, the correct spelling for each faction is as follows:
Additional Names
The Bases:
Maximal base - the Axalon Predacon base - this is a subject of much debate, as there are various names for the base. Most commonly it is known as 'the Predacon base' or The Darkside.
Miscellaneous:
The Vok (otherwise known as the Aliens)
Protoforms (the jellified transformers in stasis pods)
Stasis Pods (many people confuse the word 'stasis' with 'status'.
Email me if you have anything to add, or would like me to edit your stories for you.
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The Maximals
The Predacons (spelt with an 'a', not an 'i')