How To Spot A Diamond In The Rough

Note: For Some Reason My Links to Fanfiction.net aren't working properly so please ignore those (the links at the end of each group - summaries, word length, etc.). Sorry!

Well, good morning to you! I was shocked when you said that you had to leave for a few days. Is everything alright? Oh, you had some meetings you couldn't miss, well that's fine. Just let me know if anything serious happens, will you?

What's that bag you've brought with you - camping equipment? My, you're planning on staying in that building for the night! I hope you've already grabbed everything you'll need. If not, you can just borrow anything from me. Just know that if you break anything then you'll have to buy me a brand new one!

Have you already eaten because I can make something up real quick. Oh, you have? Well then, come by tomorrow - that way I can have some company since those workers haven't been around much lately. Have a great time!

                                                                                                                                   

As viewers visit http://www.fanfiction.net/, they are met with categories beyond categories of stories. There are also even hundreds of thousands of stories under just one category! For a new user of this website, that's overwhelming. Then there's also the actual process of choosing a story to read once a user picks a category. The main issue people find with this is trying to avoid the terrible fiction. How do you spot a diamond in the rough through all this muck?

For expert browsers on this website, these adept users have found small clues to help discover amazing fan fiction without even having to waste hours on reading. These are some of those main hints:

Summaries

Before a person has to even click on a story's link, they have the option to read a summary. What most writers put in those two to three sentences will usually show their writing ability. Therefore, experienced browsers know to avoid stories that have summaries with terrible grammar and spelling. They also know that a story which has "not good at summaries" in the summary box is a waste of time. Usually, those two hints reveal that the writer's idea has not been written well enough for most of the picky readers on this website. In my personal opinion, I find that this has the biggest reveal above anything else.

Example of how not to do a summary

Word Length and Number of Chapters 

Another hint which states a lot about different fan fictions is actually a mix of two things. With a glance of the eye, just below the summary box, one can view the subcategories which minimizes a person's search. Two of them are the chapters and the words. Users of the website have grown used to what constitutes a fair length per chapter in the format offered. Personally, I search for fiction which has an average of 3,000 words per chapter.

One will begin to notice that some fiction has chapters with 500 words and others which have 10,000 words (Those can usually turn out to be one-shots, also known as short stories). However, readers have to start using simple mathematics if they want to avoid stories which have 50 chapters but only with 5,000 words in all (100 words per chapter). Those stories turn out to have less writing skill then most. 

 Example of Word Length and Number of Chapters

The First Chapter Tells All 

Once a reader is able to minimize their search by the two hints offered above, greatly by the way, they then have to start previewing the fictions by reading the first few chapters or so. There are two things which a reader can come across that will allow them to stop reading in the first paragraph instead of the seventh chapter. These two hints are the number of grammar or spelling mistakes a writer makes and the comments the author can post on their chapters.

Number of Grammar/Spelling Mistakes 

On http://www.fanfiction.net/, there is the option for writers to find a Beta. A Beta is basically another person who reviews the chapters of a story before they're published. Usually, the Beta will fix any leftover grammar or spelling mistakes that the author has not caught. Therefore, well written stories shouldn't have many mistakes if they're capable of finding a Beta (Trust me, there's not a lowering supply of these nice people). If, by chance, there's a story with terrible grammar and spelling, then the writer has not taken the time to find a great Beta. They haven't spent enough time to dedicate to their stories which others would do (That doesn't mean one has to spend over 5 hours a day on their stories. It can be around 30 minutes or so).

Example of Spelling/Grammar Mistakes 

Author Comments 

On the top and/or bottom of a chapter, many writers on http://www.fanfiction.net/ will add their own little flair to their stories (whether that be responding to reviews or talking with the characters of their stories - like an interview). That is also the time where a reader can get to know an author as well as the author's personality. These comments can put specific writers into the spotlight, almost like a celebrity. However, if an author states something mean then people will stop reading their stories. Therefore, a reader can choose whether or not the author's personal information will decide if they want to read his/her stories. 

Complete or Incomplete? 

First of all, most stories on  http://www.fanfiction.net/ are incomplete. That means that they're either in progress or have been discontinued. Many find that they want a story that is either complete or is nearing the last chapter. Most don't want to read a story that only has one or three chapters - they want a story which is already far into its plot. The reason? Readers don't want to have to wait for a chapter to be updated, sporadically. They also despise when a story is 50 chapters in (and 300,000 words in all) but then the author chooses to stop writing.

This comes down to a personal choice. Do you want to chance a story and place a bet on someone you don't know if their story isn't complete yet? Or, do you just want to read the stories that already have a reliable author? Granted, there are those amazing stories which are already 15 chapters in and you just can't stay away. Go for it! Stories that last over 10 chapters have a higher chance of being completed then those that have less.

Discontinued (Incomplete) 

Reviews... Not So Much 

In the entire time I have been browsing fan fiction, I have found that I only read the reviews if I reviewed a story myself. It's not necessary to pay attention to reviews for they fall under three categories: fluff, critics, and flamers. Most writers, and browsers, have to ignore majority of the reviews which are made up of fluff to try and find those select few critics that actually help in their reviews (Don't even get me started on flamers, yet). Frankly, this process just takes way too much time for browsers to use.

The only thing browsers need to notice when it comes to reviews is the amount a story is receiving. For the more a reviews a story has, the better it is. 

 Number of Reviews Stated In The Summary

And now you all have the main hints to browse http://www.fanfiction.net/ if you want to. Have fun!

                                                                                                                              

For all of those reading these posts, here's my author comment :)

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this and I hope you start to take an interest (even if it's small) in fan fiction. I should tell you that currently I am a college student who is also using this blog for my English class. The red posts are for my class and the blue posts are my personal ones. I hope you've been enjoying these!

And now a fun fact about me: I have a poem published on http://teenink.com/ which is called The Last Caravan. My friend and I wrote that for an English assignment in high school and then I published it for another project I had :)

Also, I've been putting links on the bottom of my posts as a little bit of fun. Sometimes they'll be links to music while other time's they'll be links to videos. I hope you enjoy those as well!
Here's the link for today's post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toXNVbvFXyk

Everyone, have a nice day!