Date: May 27, 2015 05:59 am Title: Formatting - It makes a big difference
ur number 2 was a complaint u posted in comments on my story. However when ur reading a book there is no huge spacing in between lines. I someone is getting tired they either need to take a break or the story is boring. If a reader doesnt ant to invest in what the author has to say they should discontinue reading the story like u did.
The content of my story is good and for u to commnt in such a way, if ur an admin is asking to lose writers, quqlity writers simply because they won't do a story ur way. these are novels not scripts... they are supposed to have paragraphs and "" quoatation marks....They indicate speech btw not line spacing1 thank u very much for being a downer insteadof uplifting writers.
Have a good day and get Redone.
Author's Response:
Yes, it does touch on the same suggestion I made for your story. When reading stories that have been published, you'll find that a new speaker = a new line. I'll touch on this more in my next update, but for now, the main point I'll make is that many (most?) readers will find (regardless of the time of day or their level of alertness) that including multiple speakers in a paragraph without starting a new one results in a "talking head syndrome". Characters in a scene begin talking, and after a bit, we lose track of who's talking, where they are, and what the characters are doing. It's essentially a scene of talking heads in white space. By creating a paragraph space you give the reader time to process what they are reading and who is speaking.
As the author, this is clearest to you as it began in your head. Without that time to process, this is much much less clear to the reader. Think of it as a gap of knowledge. When you start humming a song, you know what the song is because it is in your head. Others? Not so much. Maybe after a good spell of time, but not the way that you do. The same is true for each scene you write and each conversation you portray.
I'm sorry you thought I was a downer. I was trying to let you know that I, as a reader and reviewer, wanted to engage in your story but was being held back by something that I thought you as a writer might consider easily modifiable. A lot of writers ask for feedback and want to know what they can do to make their work better; I now know that you are only receptive to 100% kudos (as you are ignoring my compliment). It's responses like this that remind me why so many people lurk, read, and never speak up. It's the fear that if they so much as say something that doesn't involve full-on flattery, they will get attacked. It's an unfortunate tightrope.
[Report This]Date: Feb 22, 2015 11:51 am Title: Formatting - It makes a big difference
Ahhhhh I thought we were getting the Consistency post!! Shakes fist to the sky. I'm just kidding ;) or am I? Lol.
Fomatting is very important. I'm definitely not a fan of either the block of text or of the large spacing in between text. The big block does my brain in trying to figure out who's saying what and when the hell did he end up on the Ranch when he was just in LA. As for the large spaces my mind drifts from the story into scrolling down and it just breaks up my mental involvement in the storyline.
I agree with Michaela. This should be a requirement for everyone to read before starting on a ff of their own. A wealth of information is in here!!
Im also a fan of your gifs lol. Holes is one of my fav movies so I appreciate me some Sam!!!
Another topic you can maybe tackle is follow through. (I'm not sure if that falls under consistency though) I've seen this a lot lately where there's like a million unfinsihed stories by the same author popping up literally at the same time. (There are a few stories labled under different authorships but I have a strong inkling that they're the same person. Lol) I mean one or two chapters posted but a new one is already available. Shout out to the homies that have a few stories going but still are consistent in posting for each with strong plots!! (Michaela, Brandy, Teddy)
I thank you for your offerings as usual my dear. More soon! <333
Author's Response:
Posted today. I looked back at my promise of "by Sunday at the latest". Does posting on Sunday still count? This chapter was just a spur of the moment piece that was motivated by my frustration.
I love the blocks when he is somehow in two different ends of the country in the same paragraph. Dude was magic, but even Michael needed some layover.
With the large breaks I start line-editing and/or copy and past it into a word doc so that I can delete them. Yeah, I'm definitely an editor.
XOX. You two have me feeling like 
I went back and forth on "following through" and ended up including it in my consistency segment at the end. I've gotten a very negative response from at least one author when commenting on the number of incomplete stories they had as reason for not reading their new story (they'd asked me to), so I'm going to keep that topic brief for now. Oh, there are definitely authors on here who have two different SNs. Some have admitted it...I'll admit to having done the same thing when posting about a very controversial topic. I didn't want to be banned and I didn't want to cause chaos each time I posted. Now, I honestly just don't care.
Thanks for chiming in and I hope the Consistency segment covers most of what you'd hoped it would.
[Report This]Date: Feb 21, 2015 01:44 pm Title: Formatting - It makes a big difference
YES! Formatting!! You already know how I feel about the block of text. But the valley spacing... I will make an exception for that if the writing is good, but if its not near perfect quality writing I won't bother with those either!
The moderators for this site should make this thread a mandatory read and quiz people on it before they can even sign up and post here. That would clear up a lot of this stuff that's showing up lately.
Author's Response:
LOL. It's interesting how something as simple as formatting can be so off-putting.
Thanks, Michaela :) I just hope some of the people who do this stuff take note and/or come in here to bitch me out. I'd rather have a dialogue with them about it than to have this go ignored.
[Report This]Date: Feb 21, 2015 12:03 pm Title: Formatting - It makes a big difference
A huge pet peeve and a big reason I don't read a ton of ff is bad formatting! You hit all the major points here. I can't decide what's worse...walls of text or quadruple spacing. Either one gets the boot for me.
How do you feel about fics written in the present tense? They drive me up the wall. I don't know if anyone else has that big of an issue with it, but it's probably my main turn off. Maybe I'm just being neurotic??
Author's Response:
LOL. My thoughts:
Ooh, I really should try this story. I keep seeing it pop up on a regular basis, so I'd like to support the author.
-clicks on title then scrolls down and clicks to open the first chapter-
Oh lawd, that's a huge block of text!....should I? Yes, I'll try. I mean, I'd hate to miss out on a great story simply because of formatting. Wait, who's talking now? Who just did that?
-30 seconds later, clicks the tab shut-
I just....can't.
/end scene
It's very unfortunate, as that has nothing to do with the actual plot, person's writing skill, or grammar. It's just a huge pain on the eyes.
How do you feel about fics written in the present tense? They drive me up the wall. I don't know if anyone else has that big of an issue with it, but it's probably my main turn off. Maybe I'm just being neurotic??
I'm rather neurotic, so I'm not the person to ask this. My major pet peeve with writing in the present tense is that it is incredibly hard to sustain. So often people switch between present and past tense, which is a huge mindfuck. It's as irritating as when the pronouns get switched up. Then I'm torn between trying to figure out if there is another man in bed with them or if Michael is doing himself. Neither are visuals I want in a fanfic. Perhaps I should write a chapter on different POV?
Date: Feb 21, 2015 11:57 am Title: Formatting - It makes a big difference
your tips have really helped me! Thanks Hunty!=)
Author's Response:
Glad it's helpful!