Warning: potentially hot takes ahead
I don't read much fanfiction, or really any other online writing, anymore. I usually only do it when it's a friend's fic or I'm in a new fandom desperate for content. Recently, I've been on my Criminal Minds bullshit and thirsty for content, so I've been combing AO3 and Wattpad for stories, and it's reminded me why I stopped reading online. It is just so irksome.
Basically, this is just me aggressively imparting onto you the lessons I've learned in the seven or eight years of reading and writing fic on the Internet. And also I'm a college writing/English tutor.
One of my immediate turnoffs in a fic is when the writer replaces a character's name or pronouns with a descriptor like "the blonde" or "the taller woman" or "the teen." I know that using a name too much can feel repetitive, but trust me when I say that it's better than using those descriptors. There's a reason you won't find authors of published books writing like that. It's in the same league as describing a character's eyes as "blue orbs." Please. I am begging you. Don't be afraid of using your characters' names.
The other thing you shouldn't be afraid of: basic dialogue tags like "said," "asked," and "yelled." I know your elementary school teacher told you, "said is dead," but in my opinion, that's misleading advice. Yes, you absolutely don't want to use the word "said" every time your characters talk. It will get boring and repetitive. Mix it up a bit. But people love to replace standard dialogue tags with fancy alternative words that sound clunky and just don't flow. I'm sorry, but the word "acquiesce" does not work as a dialogue tag. It just doesn't. You always have the option of not using a dialogue tag and following it up with an action or vice versa. Ex:
"No kidding." Sasha shut the file.
or
Sasha shut the file. "No kidding."
You can break up the repetitiveness without pulling out the academic language.
There's also grammar, but that could fill a whole book.
Anyway. In my opinion, the best thing you can do to improve as a fanfic writer is read traditionally published books. Ideally you have access to a library, but now some people have posted their traditionally published books on Wattpad (sometimes free, sometimes paid, but you can watch ads to get coins for paid stories without having to pay). That's a good option if you don't have access to a library/a library with books in English if you're from a non-English speaking place and want to write in English. Anyone can post anything on a site like this, and taking your cues from online fanfic is how the Wattpad cringe stays alive. Published books have been meticulously edited by professionals. It's not foolproof, but it's a much safer bet than learning to write by reading fanfic by some 13-year-old on fanfiction.net. Trust me. Your writing becomes much more polished when you learn from published books.
So yeah. That's my two cents. Have a good weekend.
