Your fanfic masterpiece is finally finished. See you just typed The End. Now it's ready for everyone out there in Internet-land to read!

Hit save and sit on those eager hands. Remember the list of important lessons I gave you back in the Writing Tutorial Introduction? Especially #5: Never submit or post a first draft ANYWHERE! Including the 'Net. What you just finished is the first draft. You need at least two more drafts before submitting or posting. So we're moving into Important Lesson #6: You WILL write more than one draft.

1. Spelling and grammar check with the computer.


2. Word count.


3. First read-through.
   
   
   
   • Getting an overview of how the story works.
   
   
   • Looking for any place where the writing falters.
   
   
   • Making notes of problems and of what you liked.
   
   


4. Multiple read-throughs, concentrating on one issue in a pass.
   
   
   
   • Scenes
   
   
   • Characters
   
   
   • Point of View
   
   
   • Dialogue
   
   
   • Paragraph Breaks and Repetition
   
   
   • Proportion
   
   
   • Grammar
   
   
   • Finishing Touches
   
   

THE END? NOT QUITE

Your fanfic masterpiece is finally finished. You just typed The End. Now it's ready for everyone out there in Internet-land to read!

Note: The style sheet I'm referring to has nothing to do with the web coding trick called Cascading Style Sheets, Style Sheets, or CSS. Please do not confuse the two.

WHAT IS A STYLE SHEET?

Okay, you have gotten your story as far as you can take it. Now it's time to let someone else read it. If you're a lucky writer, you already have a great beta reader partner (yes it is a partnership to make the story the best it can be), but most of us have to have replacements or backups or multiple betas for every story. Or maybe this is your first time beta reading for someone and you're in a panic on where to start. We're going to start with a few guidelines for both the author and the beta reader.

FOR THE AUTHOR

As a responsible author, you should feel the need to help other writers. Then again, all you might feel is a desire to improve your own skills. You can do both with one activity: reading! You can't remain a good writer unless you are aware of what other writers are doing with your genre, with your language, and with the universe for fanfiction. I haven't found an advice book yet that doesn't stress the importance of reading. As Stephen King says: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." (On Writing 147)

You've heard it ad nauseam. It's the first rule of writing fiction for a reason. And when applied to your own writing, all you can do is stare at the prose and ask yourself "where am I not showing? Everything's there!"

Resist the urge to call the critique a hapless twit. It's the first rule because everyone makes it when they begin to write. Even experienced writers can slip into it. "Telling" a story is the quickest way to get the story onto paper, because it summarizes ninety percent of the story. Consider these two experts:

What the Heck is Pacing?

Pacing is an often overlooked element of a story. Have you ever put a story aside because it dragged? Were completely confused because of the rapid speed? Agitated because there was nothing but action, action, and more action? In short, pacing is the managing of internal pieces for the story's best interest (and the reader's continued pleasure).

You've read a story and you'd like to leave a comment; something more useful than "that was good" but less than offering a suggestion for any flaws like an in-depth critique. Orson Scott Card in his book How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy gives five questions that concentrate on story mechanics instead of literature theory.

Until now, the Editing Lessons have reviewed the broader aspects of the editing and reviewing phase of story writing. Now we're going to take a story through the editing process, just like we took "Biker Mice From Mars: Domestic Bliss" from idea to finished product.

The Story