Okay, just to clarify, these are GUIDELINES NOT RULES. You don't need to follow them, but honestly it will make your work look so much more organized and clean. I just want to try and make your writing look clearer. Znoby has stickied this, so I'm guessing he's fine with it. Thank you, Znoby!
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Posting a Thread - How you actually start a thread.
Remember! These aren't required, just recommended!

Reading a new fic can be a pain in the behind sometimes. You don't know what rating it is (PG or NC-17 ... Big, big difference.) Or whether it's Ryden or Gablliam. When you reach the end of a fic and it ends with "I love you, William" and you don't particularly like Gablliam, it's sort of a waste of time. So! To make things clearer before someone starts to read, I'd recommend you post this before your first chapter.

Title: (The title + Chapter number, If it's a chaptered fic and date it was updated. EG. What Sarah Said - 8.12 - CHAPTER SIXTEEN )
Rating: (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17. See Rating's - Explained further on.)
Genre: (To see different genres, check IMDB.)
Pairing: (Slash Pairing - If there is one)
Point of View: (First is Me, Myself, I. Second is You, Yourself. Third is He, She, They.)
Beta: (OPTIONAL. If you have had someone that checked over your work, post their board name in there. It's nice to get a little bit of credit.)
Notes: (If you want to post anything that isn't part of the story, here it goes )

If you don't know how to use the codes, use these in here but remove the asterisk inside the [ ];

[b*]Title:[/*b]
[b*]Rating:[/*b]
[b*]Pairing:[/*b]
[b*]Point of View:[/*b]
[b*]Beta:[/*b]
[b*]Notes:[/*b]

Also, when posting a new chapter of your fic, Post it in the same thread, please do not post a new thread for each chapter. I've made that mistake in the past, and it takes up so much space.

Note: Please title your fic! It's very aggravating when you see 19 "Untitled"'s scattered across the Fanfic Page. If you title your work, it will look alot cleaner and nicer.
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Grammar and Spelling - Which Witch is which?

Grammar is a big, big problem in this section. I can't tell you the amount of times I've seen grammatical errors in work. I've made errors too, but I try to correct as many as possible.

If the quotation begins the sentence, the words telling who is speaking are set off with a comma unless, of course, a question mark or exclamation point is needed.

Example...

quote:

WRONG: “I didn’t even know it was broken.” I said.
RIGHT: “I didn’t even know it was broken,” I said.

quote:

WRONG: “Do you have any questions?” She asked.
RIGHT: “Do you have any questions?” she asked.

quote:

WRONG: “You mean I can go!” He yelled.
RIGHT: “You mean I can go!” he yelled.

quote:

WRONG: “Yes, consider this just a warning,” She said.
WRONG: “Yes, consider this just a warning.” She said.
WRONG: “Yes, consider this just a warning.” she said.
RIGHT: “Yes, consider this just a warning,” she said.

quote:

WRONG: “I really like your hair,” He smiled.
WRONG: “I really like your hair.” he smiled.
WRONG: “I really like your hair,” he smiled.
RIGHT: “I really like your hair.” He smiled.

Also, notice how you don't capitalize the word after the ending quotation mark unless it's a proper noun. If it doesn't end in he/she/they said (Or another speaking verb. Shouted, said, whispered, ect.) you use a period inside the quotation mark. Smiled is not a speaking verb.

More examples...

quote:

WRONG: Alex said. “It’s a really nice day.”
RIGHT: Alex said, “It’s a really nice day.”

quote:

WRONG: The boy winked, “Hey, how are you?”
RIGHT: The boy winked. “Hey, how are you?”
RIGHT: The boy winked and asked, “Hey, how are you?”

quote:

WRONG: Matthew waves, “I’m over here guys!”
RIGHT: Matthew waves. “I’m over here guys!”
RIGHT: Matthew waves and yells, “I’m over here guys!”

Capitalization

Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
Captialize the first word of a direct quotation.
Capitalize specific names, places, languages, races and nationalities.
Capitalize a title of a relationship if it's used as someone's name

quote:

I think Dad wants to talk to you.<-> I think her dad wanted to speak you her.

Also, capitalize the first, last and every important word in a title. Don't capitalize preopsitions (such as in, with, of, at.) Short connecting words, the "to" infront of a verb, or a, an, or the.

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Paragraphing - Where do I put the spaces?

Its really hard to read a fic that's in one huge block. To make thing's easier on the eyes, put spaces in between paragraphs.

This is incorrect...

quote:

She walked over to the door.
The girl opened it with full force and slammed it closed.
She looked around and took a deep breath in.

Don't put every new sentence on a new line, it takes up unneccessary space. You shouldn't start a new paragraph unless the subject changes or someone new speaks. It’s just easier to read and it's the proper way to format a fic.

This is also incorrect ....

quote:

"Bren." Ryan started, sweat forming on his forehead. "I don't think we should be friend's anymore." Brendon stared in shock. "Why, Ryan?" Ryan sighed. "I... It's too difficult to explain." Brendon frowned away the tears welling up behind his eyes, he stepped backwards and ran back to the classroom, hugging himself as he did so.

This is incorrect because you need to start a new paragraph everytime someone new speaks.

Spelling.

Please, if you have no idea how to spell a word, use a dictionary or ask someone. Don't guess. Typo's are acceptable and everyone makes them, as long as you change them once they're spotted.

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Rating's - Explained.

Rating fic's can give people warning over what will be said and described, whether it's mild swearing or hardcore sex. Here are the guidelines.

G: G and PG can be pretty interchangeable in this fandom. Some people might think that because this is a slash fandom, nothing can really be rated G. It's up to you to decide if you think your fic is mild enough for a G rating, but basically G means no swearing, no nudity, no sexual shenanigans… you get the picture.

PG: PG adds a little more than G. Light swearing, mild content…nothing major.

PG-13: this can include lots of things. Elevated language, mild violence, mild suggestive themes and actions such as kissing, light nudity, etc.

R: It's a gray area here, because people can confuse when to use an R and an NC-17 rating. R can include things like heavy violence and descriptions of gore, frottage, hand jobs, blowjobs, and masturbation. Sometimes people like to denote things as 'hard R' if it's a particularly detailed blowjob scene or something of the like that doesn't quite reach an NC-17 rating but isn't as mild as a simple hand job.

NC-17: this rating is used for extreme violence/subject matter. Things like rape and detailed violence would use this rating. Also, sexual acts that involve penetration (except for blowjobs) would also use this rating: vaginal sex, anal sex, fingering, penetration with objects, etc.

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Readers

Giving constructive critisism can help a lot. If there is something bad about the fic, (EG. Formatting, spelling) tell them, it's for their benefit. If there is something good or something you like, tell them, it's good to recieve compliments! Please don't slate their work and add nothing positive, it's hardly the best encouragement.

Also, give the writer at least one whole day before bumping, it put's pressure on the writer and their work might not be at it's best if it is rushed.

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BETA-ing.

BETA's look over your work. They edit it for spelling mistakes, grammar errors and overall layout. They do not change the storyline, so don't worry about that. Although if the story is confusing, they may give advice on how to improve. If you need a BETA, I am readily available, please PM me your story if you want me to BETA it.. If you wish to be a BETA, please post below and how people can contact you. The BETA's so far are ...

CAZ the OMEGALOMANIAC! (AIM: ShootingStarsUp)
Panic in Wonderland
Time To Dance, RyRo.
Emily Rigby. (AIM: mlealways Email: purplepandabear27@gmail.com)
KathryneLee (Email: Kathryne.Lee.Owens@Gmail.com)
Sama
Sophaloaf *Email: sophietheblob@yahoo.com)
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Thank you for reading! Those are the Fanfic Section's guidelines!

Happy reading & writing!
Caroline

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CAZ the OMEGALOMANIAC!,

This is good! Thank you!

quote:

Smiled is not a speaking verb.

...Crap... >__>

No problem! I'm here to help!

Haha, don't worry, I make the same mistake

Thank you Caz!

I love you!

I love you too, Ash!

I just hope people take these into consideration.

Thanks Caz!! Hopefully more people will read this. I'm getting agrivated with reading fics with bad grammer and no spacing.

And I was thinking about starting a fic, so this is helpful!

OMG CAZ I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH FOR THIS.

ZNOBBS SHOULD STICKY THIS.

quote:

I'm getting aggravated with reading fics with bad grammer and no spacing.

Haha, I fixed it No problem! I was just sick of the unorganization of the Fanfic Section.

quote:

OMG CAZ I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH FOR THIS.

ZNOBBS SHOULD STICKY THIS.

I love you too rachel!

Hahaha! If he did, then I'd be very happy, but if he doesn't, it doesn't matter

I would more than happy to be a BETA. I took a class last year for Grammar and Vocabulary and I kept the books!

Fabulous! Okay, I've added you to the list

quote:

I love you too rachel!

...BUT I'M ASHLEY. DDDD:

...I TOTALLY MISSED THE PART ABOUT BETA OPPORTUNITIES. PUT ME IN, PUT ME IN, PUT ME IN, I SWEAR, ALL TYPOS I MAKE ARE EITHER BECAUSE MY COMPUTER SUCKS OR ON PURPOSE. >.>

FML, I'M SO SO SO SORRY. I'M SO TIRED.
I LOVE YOU ASHLEY.
;____; <3 Please forgive me?

AWW I LOVE YOU TOO CAZZY. YOU'RE FORGIVEN.

AND HAVEN'T YOU BEEN STAYING UP UNTIL LIKE 5 FOR A WEEK??

quote:

AND HAVEN'T YOU BEEN STAYING UP UNTIL LIKE 5 FOR A WEEK??

*Nods* Mhmn, writing prompts.