How to Write a Good Fanfic

1.1 Say What You Mean to Say

As one can see the words stand and base don't mean the same thing, or at least under this particular context. Why though would these words be listed as a synonym for each other? The site Thesaurus has four pages for the word stage. The first is "position, opinion", second is "base, stage, the third is "be or get upright" and the last is "be in force, exist". In other words there are four different meanings for the word stage and base is only a synonym for the second definition set, but Amelia was looking for a synonym from the third page.

There are other words under this list which Amelia could have used like erect, rank, settle, dispose, mount, and poise. Could she possible have instead replaced stood with any of these words?

- Harry erected still.
- Harry ranked still.
- Harry settled still.
- Harry disposed still.
- Harry mounted still.
- Harry poised still.

Do any of these sound right? None of these words are used correctly. We could though say "Harry stood erect", or "Harry's poise was erect", or "Harry's erect poise remained still." The first sentence is actually another way of saying "Harry stood still". The second one is to, but said sentence uses a to be verb. The use of "to be verbs" serves a certain function within writing so this one wouldn't work if you didn't need to use to be verbs in your writing. The last one adds something new to the sentence.

Then we have the words ranked, settled, disposed, and mounted. What are their meanings?

Rank: high in amount or degree
Settle: to become quiet or orderly
Disposed: to put in place: set in readiness
Mounted: rise, ascend, to seat or place oneself on

Keep in mind a synonym doesn't have to have the same meaning, but instead a near meaning. Ranking and standings mean the same thing. When students become settle down they may stand or sit quietly. The word disposed is as an abbreviated word for when soldiers "stand at ready". Mounting is the act which comes before a person ends up standing. Thus it is very important to know the definition of the words you use. Percepting is actually not a synonym for watching, and actually was mix up of the words precept and perceive. Percepting isn't even a real word, and the correct word would have been perceiving.

The word "terpsichore" actually isn't a word either, but the name of one of the nine muses from Greek mythology. Her name meant "delight in dancing", but said word still shouldn't be used in exchange for the word dance or dancing. Saltation though is another word for dance, and one of the definitions Merriam Webster does give is "dance". The word though however means more specifically "the action or process of leaping or jumping". In other words it is a specific type of dancing which wouldn't be seen in a modern day dance. We also see the word used more often for scientific papers with it's other meanings.

There are other issues in the sample, but the main point is you've got to use your synonyms carefully and know what your words mean. Synonyms aren't the only place I've seen writers mess up on getting their meaning across.

One of the mistakes I've seen writer's do is write an opinion as a fact. This is fine when said writer uses facts to support their opinion, but not when they're making blanket statements of their opinion with no supporting facts. This isn't so much of an issue in creative writing, but in discussions of creative writing. One person for example may say something like "don't use first person narrative" and not follow it up with reasons why people shouldn't use first person narrative, nor do they leave any opening for when said narrative can be used.

Another mistake I've seen are writer's show misread the critique people leave them. Recently I told a writer that [character a] and [character b] were never in a particular position together time line wise. By the end of the conversation said writer trying to tell me that my point was instead that [character a] and [character c] never met each other. What's worse is between this conversation they were making an argument to support the idea that [character a] and [character b] did in fact hold a particular position together time line wise because [character c] and [character d] never met which is actually an unproven statement.

Surely though this is the end of the issues right?

I think the worst kind of issue is when a writer means to write one thing and instead writes another. A writer may intent for their OCs fatal flaw to be clumsiness, but the character doesn't act like a clumsy character. Or how about a character whose misunderstood, but turns out not to be. These are issues which result from characterization issues in the writer's writing due to the writer still learning how characterization works. In some cases though I've seen writer's accidentally give off an incest vibe between two characters despite the fact they don't mean for a story to have an incest vibe. Other times there is an unintentional bias in the writing on the part of the writer.

Many will insist that the reader is misreading their story, and not getting the picture. This isn't because said writer is delusional, but because they really honestly think their meaning is getting across in the words they use. Rarely do I see the writers complain about readers "just looking to much into things", but a couple of times a few writers tried claiming the misinterpretation was made because the reader looked to much into things.

One of the things which can mess up "meaning" is a writer or readers reading comprehension. The first level to reading and writing is to recognize the words on paper, but the second is to comprehend what is being said with the words. Sometimes it is the readers fault, but other times it's the writer's fault for not using the correct words.

Emphasis here on the fact most of this outside of thesaurus abuse is unintentional. Emphasis to on the fact sometimes even adults can sometimes slip up and use the wrong words as they write. The main way to solve the problem is to make sure one reads over their story a few times before posting to make sure it says what it says.

Some mistakes though occur because of difficulties in reading comprehension. Sometimes the reading comprehension occurs because the reader is reading at their grade level, but other times the writer has a learning disability which effects their reading comprehension. Getting ones meaning across is very important, but another important thing is to understand not to beat oneself up when you don't get the meaning you want across. As I said it happens even to adults who read at a college level and who have no reading comprehension issues.

Be aware that this is an issue, and do your best.