[25] The Other Pokereviews, Part 47

About the most interesting thing today is someone mixing up “monotonous” and “monogamous”. Also, a grimdark fic where Sun joined Team Rocket and also Lillie just left Lusamine to her own devices after she recovered, because nothing could possibly go wrong there.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12420176/1/A-Soldier-s-Duty

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

It’s also a good idea to double-space between paragraphs, as FFN doesn’t let you use indents. Currently, your story looks a little impenetrable.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12422840/1/Kalos-Adventures-Light-and-Dark

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

Also, a new speaker means a new paragraph. Not following this rule makes your story very hard to follow.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

[Also, just a brief note, one of the characters will become a Pokémon Performer, so I will need ocs to be other performers. If you wish to submit one, just tell me their name, appearance, regular and showcase outfits, and their teams!]

No personality? You sure about that?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12424862/1/Pokemon-Adveger

Your title is misspelled.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

You’re making a lot of errors that make your story hard to follow. You need a beta reader. Start looking here: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/42724996/1/Beta-Signup

[I also have two openings for team members]

What do you mean by this? Pokemon team members, or Team Rocket members?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12426013/1/Pokemon-story

Non-story chapters are banned on this site, just so you know. This is at risk of being taken down by moderators. A forum is a better place for this.

It’s also helpful if you give us an idea of what the story will be about, as some characters will be more or less suitable depending on the story.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12305578/10/Pokemon-Mystery-Dungeon-Beacon-of-Hope

This is the SYOC fic that thinks it’s a tabletop RPG. The author got impressively whiny after I complained about their review racketing:

[Speaking of that chapter, since apparently some readers don’t understand why they’d have to give input, I’ll just go ahead and say that it’ll just be an option rather than a requirement. That way even if you don’t say jack shit when I ask you to, everyone’s OCs have an even chance of survival. But seriously guys, for those of you who just chose not to give input even when I asked for it, you could’ve at least told me something like, “hey, why don’t you choose what my OC does” instead of nothing, and I would’ve accepted that.]

And what would be the purpose of that, other than inflating your review count with empty reviews? This is not a tabletop RPG campaign. You choosing what the OC does is the default state of affairs. What you’re asking for here is dangerously close to interactive fic, which is banned on this site.

Another reviewer also decided to complain at my complaining and insisted that Havan’s OOCness was my fault for not explaining his personality properly, which is hilarious. They must not be very familiar with SYOC.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436502/1/The-Tale-of-the-Two

I appreciate that you’re not capitalizing pokemon.

[Hey guys and gals, this is my first story]

This sort of information should be saved for your author’s note. The summary should be about your plot and story specifically.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

Not using paragraphs makes me not want to read your story.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436318/1/Ash-X-Serena-An-Amourshipping-OneShot-Story

This belongs in the Anime world. Find your story under “Manage Stories” and select it from the dropdown menu that says “World: Any” in the “Category” section.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Or gym. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436314/1/Pokemon-The-Adventure-Begins

You might want to pick a more original title. There are quite literally thousands of titles in this category that are variations on, if not identical to, this one.

Titling chapters in the story itself looks kinda weird; the dropdown menu should suffice.

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

[for 3 kids in Pallet Town]

In prose, numbers less than 13 or so are written out with letters.

Opening your story with a character waking up for the day is generic and horribly, horribly overdone, and to be honest, it’s so incredibly dull and boring a start that even if I hadn’t seen it, very literally here, hundreds upon hundreds of times before, I would still tell you you should have started at some other, interesting point. Also, no one will ever care what your character is eating for breakfast.

[Coming down the steps is a short haired young man. He had on a blue cap]

Pick past or present tense and stick with it.

[“I know that look,” Caleb smiles]

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

This is far too insubstantial for a first chapter. Remember that your first chapter is your opportunity to hook your reader – in other words, to show them what makes your story unique and worth reading. Going over the opening to the game that everyone’s already familiar with does not do that. If you have a plot, start there; you’re not obligated to cover every mundane detail leading up to the inciting event. (Note also that the standard badge quest is not a plot.) See here for more information: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/142411850/1/First-Chapters

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436312/1/Pok%C3%A9mon-Power-Trip

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

[Now, I am certain that not many of you have heard of me, but I will explain it for you; I am a former professional professor]

You want a full colon there, not a semicolon. Also, “professional professor” is redundant and sounds awkward besides.

This is far too insubstantial for a first chapter. Remember that your first chapter is your opportunity to hook your reader – in other words, to show them what makes your story unique and worth reading. All you’ve done is reiterate information that everyone in your audience is already familiar with. Who is this person, why is he doing this, where is he going, and why should we care? The first chapter should answer those questions. See here for more information: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/142411850/1/First-Chapters

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436165/1/Ivan-s-Adventures-Chapter-One

[First time fan fiction writing piece! Any comments are welcomed!]

To begin with, this should go in your author’s note. The summary should be about the plot of the story itself.

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

Titling chapters in the story itself looks kinda weird; the dropdown menu should suffice.

[If your were]

Proofread.

[his parents needed his help or they’ll lose what little they had]

Keep your tenses consistent.

[His father interrupted the monogamous pattern]

I think you want “monotonous”. “Monogamous” means being married to one person.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

Also, a new speaker means a new paragraph. Not following this rule makes your story unreadable.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436041/1/g

Try harder.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12436004/1/Grey-Adventure

I appreciate that you’re not capitalizing pokemon.

You might want to pick a more original title. There are quite literally thousands of titles in this category that are variations on, if not identical to, this one.

Titling chapters in the story itself looks kinda weird; the dropdown menu should suffice.

[In the quiet and peaceful streets of Aspertia City, a young brown haired woman could be seen]

Opening a story referring to people by surface physical traits is bad writing, because it’s simply not relevant information. This is especially true when you’re writing fanfiction and everyone already knows exactly what she looks like.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

This is far too insubstantial for a first chapter. Remember that your first chapter is your opportunity to hook your reader – in other words, to show them what makes your story unique and worth reading. Repeating the exact same opening everyone’s already familiar with does not do that. If you have a plot, start there; you’re not obligated to cover every mundane detail leading up to the inciting event. See here for more information: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/142411850/1/First-Chapters

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12435840/1/onye-the-wanderer

Your title isn’t capitalized. Neither is your summary, it seems. You also need to learn how to use commas.

In general, this is a mess. You need a beta reader. Start looking here: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/42724996/1/Beta-Signup

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12435710/1/Penishead-and-the-Other-One

Songfic is banned on this site.

lrn2troll

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12435671/1/A-Champion-s-Calling

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Or mother. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

[He had in fact been born and raised for ten years here in the Kanto region, before departing for the islands of the Alola region when he was twelve.]

The SuMo protagonists are 11.

[Four years ago now, began to feud with Admin who was running his team violently, beating on people and Pokémon extensively and brutally when they stole.]

So he doesn’t consider pokemon people, I see.

Opening your story with a dry summary of past events is not a good move. If the information is relevant, it should come up organically while the story is in motion.

[“Yup. How’ve you been?” Sun questioned]

“Questioned” is what police do; it’s a synonym for “interrogated”, not “asked”.

On a related note, you’re overusing unusual speech verbs. Don’t be afraid to use said; lovely word, won’t bite, usually more fitting than whatever trendy verb you’re using in its place. You may have heard to avoid said because it’s so bland and boring, but that’s actually its greatest strength. Nonstandard speech verbs stick out; they’re used for emphasis, when how something is said is important to the story and you want the reader to stop and take notice. If you use that emphasis for every single line, the reader will become oversaturated, lessening the impact when you actually do want emphasis on a speech tag.

[“Oh, plenty!” Lillie began, seeming to return to her cheery demeanour, “When my mother became better, she left for the Unova region to begin an Aether Paradise there.]

You’re generally writing dialogue correctly, but when two complete sentences of dialogue are interrupted by narration, the narration is a complete sentence, and ends with a period.

Also, Jesus, why did anyone involved think leaving Lusamine to her own devices was a good idea? Shouldn’t she be in prison for all the kidnapping, pokemon abuse, and illegal experimenting?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12435276/1/Pokemon-ORAS-Littleroot-Town

You might want to pick a more original title. There are quite literally thousands of titles in this category that are variations on, if not identical to, this one.

[A boy is on the move to Littleroot town and is prepared to start his new journey to become a Pokemon master! Find out what happens in Chapter 1 of this ongoing story.]

You might want to make a summary that doesn’t make it sound like this story will be exactly the same as every trainerfic ever.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

This is far too insubstantial for a first chapter. Remember that your first chapter is your opportunity to hook your reader – in other words, to show them what makes your story unique and worth reading. Repeating the same opening everyone’s already familiar with does not do that. If you have a plot, start there; you’re not obligated to cover every mundane detail leading up to the inciting event. See here for more information: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/142411850/1/First-Chapters

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434688/1/Just-My-Luck

Titling chapters in the story itself looks kinda weird; the dropdown menu should suffice.

Don’t center all your text, it’s hard to read.

[Castilia city]

All parts of a name are capitalized, also it’s “Castelia”.

This is far too insubstantial for a first chapter. See here for more information: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/142411850/1/First-Chapters

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434521/1/Broken-Siblings

This is completely incoherent. You need a beta reader. Start looking here: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/42724996/1/Beta-Signup

Also, pay attention to your formatting. You have weird line breaks and everything is double-spaced.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434502/1/outskirts

Your title isn’t capitalized.

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

[“Ehehe…Whoops,” the trainer laughs, nervously, “So these were, ah, yours, yeah? Sorry ’bout that, kiddo.”]

“Laughed” is not a speech verb, so there should be periods instead of commas here. Furthermore, when complete sentences of dialogue are separated by narration, the narration is a separate sentence and ends with a period.

If you use horizontal lines to separate your author’s notes, you should just different symbols for scene breaks; otherwise, the notes look like part of the story.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434453/1/PMD-Journey-of-Hope

Titling chapters in the story itself looks kinda weird; the dropdown menu should suffice.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

This is far too insubstantial for a first chapter. Remember that your first chapter is your opportunity to hook your reader – in other words, to show them what makes your story unique and worth reading. A single scene does not do that. See here for more information: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/142411850/1/First-Chapters

Any particular reason why Arceus is male in this, by the way?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434451/1/A-girl-and-A-boy-who-share-the-same-dream-Azure-H-X-Ash-K

Your title isn’t fully capitalized.

This belongs in the Anime world. Find your story under “Manage Stories” and select it from the dropdown menu that says “World: Any” in the “Category” section.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

This is incoherent. You need a beta reader. Start looking here: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/42724996/1/Beta-Signup

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434448/1/Tales-of-a-Pokemon-School-Dropout

Read this: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/55376155/1/Capitalization-Thread

You wouldn’t capitalize animal or mouse or dragon, so you shouldn’t capitalize words like pokemon or pikachu or charizard. The only time you should capitalize it is if you’re using it as the pokemon’s name, ie, Ash’s pikachu is called Pikachu. This is because you only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, which are the names of places or things. Similar reasoning should be applied to any other words you’re thinking of capitalizing, like telephone or trainer. Or professor. Before you message me about this, please check the thread to make sure your argument hasn’t already been addressed.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

[The dark brown eyed women sitting on the other end of the video call]

You want “woman”, singular.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434432/1/Push

This belongs in the Anime world. Find your story under “Manage Stories” and select it from the dropdown menu that says “World: Any” in the “Category” section.

You’re formatting dialogue inconsistently. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

[“Is there a problem, Miss Waterflower?” Lance questioned innocently.]

“Questioned” is what police do; it’s a synonym for “interrogated”, not “asked”.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434350/1/A-Pokemon-Fanfic

You might want to come up with a real title.

This belongs in the Anime world. Find your story under “Manage Stories” and select it from the dropdown menu that says “World: Any” in the “Category” section.

[After a terrible accident, Jessie is taken captive by a rivaling gang who tortures her to insanity. Meanwhile, James and Meowth, having been left behind, are taken in by Ash and friends.]

Ah yes, heap trauma on the woman so the men can feel sad about it. Charming.

[the sooner we can capture pikachu]

“Pikachu” is his name, so it should be capitalized.

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12434293/1/She-gave-up

Your title isn’t fully capitalized.

[she was a ybe her team was not the strongest]

Something seems to have gone wrong here.

You should separate your author notes with a horizontal line; otherwise, they look like part of the story.

While I appreciate that you’re not capitalizing pokemon, pokemon species shouldn’t be capitalized either.

[Michelle loved her pokemon, It’s true, and she was sure they loved her back…Well, perhaps only Eevee as he evolved into a Sylveon out of love, but still; why? It wasn’t her pokemons fault, but Michelle doesn’t think she could take anymore.]

I can’t understand this at all. You need a beta reader. Start looking here: fanfiction {dot} net/topic/11834/42724996/1/Beta-Signup

You’re formatting dialogue incorrectly. Dialogue is written as [“Hello,” she said] or [“Hello!” she said], never [“Hello.” She said] or [“Hello”, she said] or [“Hello” she said]. This is because dialogue and speech tags are considered to be part of the same sentence, so they have to flow together. The only exception to this is if the next sentence doesn’t contain a speech verb. In that case, the second part <i>is</i> considered a separate sentence, so it’s written as [“Hello.” She grinned], never [“Hello,” she grinned]. Note that something isn’t a speech verb just because it’s a sound you make with your mouth, so generally stuff like “laughed” or “giggled” is in the second category. (“Speak” is also not a speech verb.) Furthermore, if you’re breaking up two complete sentences it’s [“Hi,” she said. “This is it.”] not [“Hi,” she said, “this is it.”] or [“Hi,” she said “this is it.”] And if you’re breaking up a sentence in the middle, it’s [“Hi. This,” she said, “is it.”] The same punctuation and capitalization rules apply to thoughts, except you don’t use quotation marks (or single quotes) with thoughts. This is because quotation marks for thoughts make it look like your characters are talking out loud, which is confusing to the reader.

3 Comments

  1. CrazyEd says:

    mixing up monotonous and monogamous

    Maybe it’s just a sign the protagonist is going to turn out to be polyamorous. You don’t really see much of that in fiction.

    No personality? You sure about that?

    But they do need a regular and showcase outfit.

    monogamous pattern

    Ah, no, just a little bit of spur-of-the-moment parental swinging, it seems. Nevermind.

    Try harder.

    Just a heads up: This link is broken.

    began to feud with Admin

    This sentence is a bit hard to read (I think its missing a subject somewhere), but it seems a bit weird to use “Admin” that way. Is it the character’s name? The narrator seems to know them personally, so why not use their name? Or at least a definite article.

    questioned, questioned, questioned, questioned

    I wonder what the deal is with this word just suddenly appearing as the default word for asking someone a question. It’s like it went from zero to copypasta in a single round of reviews.

    1. Mini-Farla says:

      Just a heads up: This link is broken.

      Most of them are; people take down stories all the time. Nothing to be done for it.

      This sentence is a bit hard to read (I think its missing a subject somewhere), but it seems a bit weird to use “Admin” that way. Is it the character’s name? The narrator seems to know them personally, so why not use their name? Or at least a definite article.

      Looking at the story, it seems like there is supposed to be an article there. Now you see why capitalization is important.

      I wonder what the deal is with this word just suddenly appearing as the default word for asking someone a question. It’s like it went from zero to copypasta in a single round of reviews.

      Oh no, it’s been around since Farla was doing these. It’s just an extension of the “said is dead” crowd, i.e., nearly everyone on this site.

      1. CrazyEd says:

        Oh, no, I see what happened. I saw the link and assumed you’d only copied half of it or something, but in actuality, the title of the story was just “g” and I took it as part of the URL guff.

        “said is dead”

        I know that you’ve had the whole “said is wonderful” copypasta, but I’ve noticed that in the last set of reviews or two, it’s always been specifically the word “questioned”. I wonder what makes that specific word so much more common than any other speech synonym.

        Personally, I feel like I overuse “told”. Even though it’s because my characters very often tell things to other characters, I’d still probably get the point across if I made half of them saids.

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