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Description
Introduction

I would like to start off this guide by saying upfront that the only fanbase that I write for is Hetalia. Why do I choose Hetalia, and why do I stick with it? Well, to put it simply, it’s because the main story doesn’t really have a story. Every single character is undoubtedly round. There’s so much to work with in terms of being able to set them in alternate universes (AU’s) because the characters are essentially timeless.

With that out of the way, I should also say that these are my opinions and my opinions alone. If you don’t follow everything according to this guide, that’s not to say that you will burn into a fiery crisp or have your eyes gouged out, but personally, I will judge you. In short, I will think you are either ignorant, misguided, or an attention whore. I’m usually left to assume the latter. This guide isn’t completely dogmatic nor am I trying to be arbitrary as I’m sure I break some of these rules myself. Some I’ve made early, some I still do now. I’m only human. But I feel that it’s important to keep these things in mind when writing a good Hetalia reader-insert.

Well, with that cleared up, this is my personal, somewhat thorough, and direct guide to how I write Hetalia reader-inserts. (At this point, I’ll just say reader-inserts since I only write those pertaining to Hetalia anyway.)

Disclaimer: Some content may be so direct in my opinion that I am sure some will find it offensive. I’m going to come out and touch on some things that bug me and might bug you. Again, these are my opinions and my opinions only. Either be mature and respect my opinions or quit reading, hit the “Back” button, shut off your phone, or do whatever it is that will get you away.

Table of Contents

0. Coding

1. My Method

i. Inspiration
ii. Starting
iii. Process
iv. Things to Watch Out For
01. Accents
02. Labels
03. Time-Skips
04. Reader Descriptions
v. Motivation
vi. Submitting
i) The Right Category
ii) Preview Pictures
iii) Groups
vii. Audiences

2. The English Language

3. My Pet Peeves

viii. Spacing
ix. Dialogue
x. Caps Lock
xi. Author Notes
xii. Time-Skip Labels

4. Last-Minute Pointers

0. Coding

Before starting the writing process, I thought it would be useful to show you some basic html coding to help you along the way. Type all coding without spaces.

Italics

< i >[Text here]

Italics are used for emphasis or as an indication of a title of a work.

Examples:

“I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one caught up in this mess,” he snorted in a sarcastic tone.

In Camigani’s Corner, the reader bases the Magic Trio’s furniture and food on the story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Bold

< b >[Text here]

Avoid using this unless you absolutely need to make a point at the beginning or end of the story. Otherwise, you could use this as a stylized way to indicate a title. Do not bold your words unless you absolutely know what you are doing.

Examples:

Do not read this story unless you’ve read [name of story] first!

Don’t forget to read the bonus chapter! (Use at the last chapter of a story)

On the wall in the bathroom, spray-painted in hard black graffiti were the words, AXIS OWNS U.

Underline

< u >[Text here]

As decided by English-rule-creating big-wigs with nothing better to do, underlining is obsolete. Nowadays, you only use this for highlighting emphasis, but it’s mainly reserved for essays and instruction manuals if anything. Just don’t use this when writing a story.

Subscript

< sub >[Text here]

Some people like to use this to make their font smaller, though it can become an eyesore for people with eye problems or anyone using a phone. Be mindful of your audiences when you choose to use subscript. You may use this for little footnotes or inserts of information that can’t be written otherwise. Using this is a form of stylized writing. Do not use this unless you know what you are doing.

Examples:

He kissed me… you hiccupped in a meek whisper of a thought.

No!No! NO!

Strike

< strike >[Text here]

This is a very stylized form of writing. You should not use this to cross out author notes since it takes away from professionalism. This should only be used for humor’s sake, but do not overuse it. Using this too often will take away from the story and make it confusing. Otherwise, you may use it for visual purposes. Again, do not overuse.

Examples:

The vampire loomed over you, his skin sparkling in the light fangs hovering over you, ready to feast on his prey.

The list had words crossed out in angry lines. Look, _______________, I’m sorry I was such a There comes a time when you we have to realize we weren’t meant to be.

Link Text

< a href = " [Link URL here] " > [Text here] < /a >

Do not put this in your actual story. Put this in your description box to link continuing chapters, other reference stories, or cleaning up links.

Examples:

(These don't actually link to anything, but I'm putting them in highlights as an indicating example.)

First
Previous
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1. My Method

i. Inspiration

So you want to write a story involving a reader. A reader-insert in a sense is a fan-fiction with the addition of oneself—usually yourself or your reader—in the plotline. You’ve got your phone or keyboard ready, a nice place to sit at, a character in mind, and a will to write.

Before even typing stuff down, you need to give it some thought. Ask yourself, “Why am I writing this?”

If it’s for attention, screw you. Writing something because you want attention for your insecure, attention-seeking self is disgusting.

Now, if it’s because you want to practice writing with characters already created, because you want to challenge yourself to put a reader into an otherwise concentrated canon-character story, or because you enjoy writing in general, then you’ve got that part cleared.

Then, think to yourself, “Is this story that I’m about to write different in any way?”

You could give me all the reasons why you justify the difference in seven-minute-in-heaven series, but I’ll brush you away and put you on my blacklist of writers I will avoid. I’m not even kidding.

If you feel that the story you write will be able to break out of the cliché bubble in some way, then don’t be afraid. Ease yourself into the story and see how you can make your story or universe work. Experiment and create. Be innovative. Be inspired. Don’t just copy off of other people.

When you’re stuck and can’t make something work, manipulate your setting and plot to do so. Don’t be afraid to break boundaries and step out of your comfort zone. That’s what will set you apart from the rest of the writers out there.

ii. Starting

Every story needs inspiration be it some funny little incident you came across in your life, an intriguing fact you saw or heard about somewhere, or even just a prompt someone gave you. Okay, so you’ve got that out of the way. Where to begin from here? How do you start out a story?

So what I usually do is have a character in mind that could fit a scenario. First and foremost, I need to look at the canon character being featured. Austria doesn’t fit in a sports setting. France doesn’t fit in a punk rock setting. Poland isn’t too keen on the masculine side. Etc., etc., etc.

The point is: do research on the canon characters before plotting. Chances are, if you’re constantly reworking the character to fit the plot, just stop. It’s not worth it to write a character out of context like that. You either have to do that or choose a different character to work with your plot.

I’ve come across many instances where I had a plot in mind, but the character didn’t fit. In Not Very Often, I actually thought of going with Iceland instead of Norway as the main character, but as plots go, Norway was more shyer and reserved than Iceland around strangers. For The Lotus Veil, I wrote eight drafts all featuring Thailand before realizing his character was too light-hearted for the grim plot. So, instead, I chose to feature Macau. Most widely known of all my stories might be The Dragonheart which features Norway. I went with Iceland for a while before deciding that Norway’s character called for more flaws and a stronger character development.

In short, choose a character to fit a plot, not a plot to fit a character.

From there, you’ve got the character and plot down, I’m assuming. Now comes the actual typing/writing.

iii. Process

Okay, so I know not everyone does this, but I cannot outline for the light of me. If I have a strict plot and/or guidelines that I need to follow, my whole thinking process falls apart. A story is not an English essay. A story contains characters, wit, plot development, attachments, a need to move forward, and hopefully some satisfaction towards the ending.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t just go all gun-ho with it and write whatever comes to mind, but…that’s what I do. I just write what my brain processes. I tinker with some things along the way, but I just go with the flow for the most part.

How do I know if the story’s a wreck and not going anywhere? Simple. When it hits me that I have no idea why the story went in a certain direction or is taking too long to hit the climax and conclusion, I stop and review. I go back, read between the lines, try to see if I can salvage something workable, and think it through.

More often than not, if I have to revise, that means the story wasn’t good enough to keep my own attention. It’s scrap-worthy.

I’ve got to be honest: I’ve been trying to write Snake Eyes Olivine for a while, and I just can’t anymore. It’s hit a wall despite my expectations for the story. The thing is, I had to change the plot for a certain reason, and because of that, the entire thing was squandered. I’m not afraid or hesitation about rewriting it, and if that means creating a good story, then I’ll do it even if it means throwing away 12+ chapters of work.

But that’s just the general surface of everything. In between I think about hooks, little references of previous works of mine, witty humor that shows my readers that it’s me writing the story, consideration for the reader as well as supporting and featured characters, and some plot development.

Every now and then I throw a little fan-service into the mix, though, honestly if I need to tempt my audiences with fan-service, then I’m a pretty shitty writer. Good fan-fiction writer? Maybe. Developing or well-versed writer? No. Same goes to all of you! If all you write is fan-service, then shame on you! You’re an embarrassment to the fan-base and yourself! To be honest, I usually only do that for kicks. I just like reading about what kind of reactions I get from people. It’s amusing to me is all. Moving on. Next topic.

iv. Things to Watch Out For

01. Accents

I try to skip out on foreign words and accents nowadays. It’s pretty offensive now that I think about it. I live in a place where I see different ethnic backgrounds every day. Whether they’re fluent in one language or two languages doesn’t make a difference. If they’re speaking English, they never put in bits of a foreign language in their sentences. If they’re non-native speakers, they try their gosh-darn hardest to speak English. So try not to integrate other languages unless it’s in context—like maybe France using French to be seductive or Romano cursing in Italian to make a point. Don’t overuse this method.

As far as accents go, just mention it somewhere in the exposition like “He spoke in an English accent.” Don’t go spelling out every single verbal tick, iteration, and conjunction you see. Sweden especially. N’ one w’nts t’ read s’nt’nces like dis. It’s okay for J.K. Rowling to do it with Hagrid because Harry Potter is a children’s series. It’s entertaining for children to pronounce the syllables and manner of speech in the head as well as reading it out loud. Hetalia is for mature audiences. Most of you who are reading this aren’t even old enough to be technically allowed to read the comics or watch the series. That’s why it’s important to keep the age-groups in mind.

02. Labels

“She noticed he was German: tall, blonde, and blue-eyed.”

Really? Because every time I see someone tall with blonde hair and blue-eyed, I just see someone who’s tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. I can’t make a judgment right away. For all I know, that person could be Swedish or Danish from a Hetalia context. Romania might be the worst example. You don’t see too many Romanians with strawberry blonde hair, pointy teeth, and red eyes. Prussia is a little obsolete.

Think about it. Who says—let alone thinks—stuff like this?

“The American enveloped you in his arms and blah blah blah.”

Unless there were several people in the room with different nationalities that you could pinpoint and knew about, saying something like that is completely out of context.

Someone like…I guess Mikasa from Attack on Titan is Asian. You don’t see people writing, “The raven-haired Asian glared daggers at the captain.” No! It’s because it doesn’t matter! If it doesn’t matter, don’t bother mentioning it!

03. Time-Skips

Calling them out, specifically.

The moment I see something like “Time-Skip” in a story, I stop reading and rethink my life choices. No, I was kidding about that last part. I do stop reading, however.

You don’t see professional authors with published books and awards going “Fast-forward to two weeks later” in their story. It might happen in a humorous story, but if the mood you’re going for is anything but humorous, don’t add it. It takes away from the professionalism of the story.

If you need to indicate a time jump in your story, do so with a wordless line of sorts. Add a transition here or there to specify if necessary, like, “The next day” or “Two weeks had passed since…”

04. Reader Descriptions

You know what you look like. Putting in words or symbols like (Name), (e/c), (h/c), or (h/l) distracts readers from the plot. It makes them pause and process what sort of descriptions they need to come up with. It might be miniscule, but it’s not necessary, either. Don’t bother writing descriptions.

As for describing things to other characters, you can be vague. Maybe write “the description of the woman matched those of ______________.” Physical descriptions are nice sometimes, but I think it’s shallow of someone to think about their love interest’s physical appearances enough that it has to be specific. Sometimes descriptions have to be in context, though. You can’t have overly scrawny or chubby henchmen or hitmen.

v. Motivation

There will be a time when you ask yourself, “Why am I still doing this?” or “Why can’t I write anymore?”

Stop.

Breathe.

Relax.

First of all, if you’re wondering why you don’t have a wide audience, don’t be shallow and distraught. Everyone starts from somewhere. The reason why some veteran writers have so many supporters is because they gathered all of the early fanbase’s audiences. In the beginning, there weren’t many writers out there so there were only so many people to turn to.

I started out as a nobody. When I first wrote my first series, I only received two hundred readers on my first chapter by the time I was done writing, and I was fine. The point is, someone took the time to read what I put out, and I was happy.

Then again, the reason I began writing in the first place might be different than what everyone else does on here, but I’m just giving you my input on the matter.

Be true to yourself. Give back to the community with your skills more so than your generosity. It’s not selfish as long as you’re putting out quality work without making requests or doing commissions. Chances are, if you aren’t invested into what you’re doing at least 80%, then you’re bound to put something out that you aren’t satisfied with. That’s not to say everyone else will not be satisfied, thought the main reason why you write should be for yourself. If you do not put yourself and your interests before anything else when writing, then it will show in your writing.

Secondly, you might just lose the motivation to write altogether. You might be trying to crank out a chapter of whatever series you’re working on or trying to fulfill one too many requests. If you become overburdened with responsibilities, then stop writing and take a break. Forcing yourself to write isn’t going to get you anywhere. When you realize that you’re not writing for the sake of enjoyment anymore, something you love can end up making you downright miserable. I’ve been there many times, and aside being occupied with school, that’s the main reason why I’m unable to get stories out at certain points in my life.

That being said, you’re bound to lose support from your audience. It’s a gamble. While taking a break might save the quality of your writing from falling apart and going into the gutters, you could lose support from your fans who might forget the plots of your many series. I’m pretty guilty of this, myself, though there’s nothing I can do about it to compensate for the matter.

Don’t forget that school, work, and your health are more important. If your education and financial lifestyle are in jeopardy, you’d better rethink your priorities. There are more important things than trying to constantly update your works. The most loyal and understand of fans will understand and patiently wait for you no matter how long you might take. In that sense, it helps to have a positive and determined outlook on life.

vi. Submitting

i) The Right Category

So now you’ve finished writing your story. You made sure you saved your story, right? Did you do your html coding properly? You did? Good! Now you can copy and paste your document into the text box and start the fabulous process of proofreading and checking between the lines! Do your spell-checking, punctuation and grammar editing, and all that good stuff. Even if you miss some stuff along the way, your faithful readers may be kind enough to point out your mistakes. Be sure to thank them for taking the time to correct you. Better late than never if anything.

Okay, so this is an important part: PUT YOUR READER-INSERTS IN THE “FAN ART > FAN FICTION” CATEGORY!

I cannot stress this enough how many times I’ve seen stories make the front page under something like “Literature > Prose” blah blah blah. It’s not real literature! Real literature is where you make up everything from your characters to your original concepts and settings. Think about how the real writers of real literature pieces must feel when they see something like a reader-insert making the front page under the same category as something they put their heart and soul into writing! Shame on you if you’re guilty of doing this!

ii) Preview Pictures

Once you’ve gotten that out of the way, don’t forget to put the proper credit for Hetalia and any pictures you use. Just saying something like, “I don’t own the preview picture” isn’t good enough. Wouldn’t that make you upset if you were the illustrator of a storybook, and all the author wrote in your name was, “I don’t own the pictures that were drawn?”

Honestly, I can’t stand any writer who uses a preview picture that isn’t theirs. Why? Because 95% of the time, writers don’t even bother to ask the original artist. It’s not fair that they use art that someone else put time and effort in to promote their own stuff. Why should you be getting attention and even money or points for using something that they didn’t give you permission to use? It’s not right to me. You don’t even need preview pictures. You’re trying to write a story, aren’t you? So why need a visual aid that you pretty much stole?

Heck, by deviantART rules, under FAQ #157 and #306, you aren’t supposed to use preview pictures without the proper permission from the original artist or copyright holders. Be glad you’ve been getting away with using those pictures without an honest deviantART member reporting your behind.

My point: don’t use preview pictures if they are not yours and you did not get permission for the original artist.

There are a lot of people using preview pictures without permission, and if you fall into this category, you go on my blacklist. I automatically judge you.

iii) Groups

Okay, so with everything submitted and posted as a real deviation, there comes the process of submitting your stories to groups.

Groups can be a great way to promote your stuff and see what others have to offer to the community. You absolutely must respect the group’s submission process and folder organizing. There are some groups that do not allow reader-inserts and go as far as banning you from the group if you don’t abide. Hetards is a good example of that scenario. There are also groups that do not accept fan-fiction and reader-inserts so respect that.

Also, try to submit to the right folders if you can. Don’t be lazy and drop your submission right into the Featured Folder. As an administrator for Readertalia, I get instances where new members will drop stories into the Featured folder expecting the modifiers to sort their stories into the right folder. That’s not how it works. Not only that, but some groups don’t want you submitting more than # amount of chapters of a series into a group since it clutters the folders. Respect the groups’ rules. Please.

When it comes to submitting to a number of groups, promoting yourself is nice when you’re starting out, but if I see a deviation make the front page solely based on submitting to 30+ groups at once, then you are a sad, pathetic person. I’ll admit that I have stories that have been submitting to more, but I’ve also had people ask for my stories to be submitting into their groups so that’s an exception.

Though…I’m sure no group wants a poorly written reader-insert in its gallery—all thirty of them, in fact. So watch yourself when you submit to a bunch of groups because I will judge you in that way, too.

vii. Audiences

Now that you’ve submitted to the right category and put your story into a decent amount of groups, here comes the antsy part: waiting for feedback.

Depending on what you write and what you continue to write, you’re going to get either a very colorful audience or a…let’s just call them the backwater readers of the Hetalia fanbase.

You can tell when a story attracts the backwater readers due to short and lack of insightful comments, a high demand for a second part, a strong demand for a lemon, or an immature comment about something kinky they wish the characters would do.

Then there are the people you should either ignore or try to respect their opinions. They are human, too. Not everyone likes Hetalia, and with the reputation it has with poorly written stories making the front page, not everyone will enjoy seeing these so often. Try to place yourself into their shoes and understand where they are coming from. Do not constantly argue with them—even if that brings up your comment count. It makes you look bad, and it makes the commenter look successful in pulling your strings. There is the option of choosing to block people, but in my opinion, that’s the coward’s way out. Do what you want, but try to be mature about it either way.

On the more pleasant side, there are devoted readers, readers who will pick apart your stories, offer their honest opinions, comments, concerns, interests, and advice. You may choose to take their opinions into consideration or ignore them. If their comments interfere with the way you want your story to go, stop reading and simply thank them for taking the time to reading your story. Again, be mature.

If someone makes a comment that you cannot really give a proper response to, do not constantly spam the comments section with “:hugs:” or smiley faces or plz icons. That makes you look like a comment and attention whore. I will judge you if you do this. People have better things to receive than a smiling emote or a heart; if they don’t, they are pathetic and sad creatures.

But no matter what sort of readers you get, appreciate every single one of them. Not everyone will entirely like your story, but the point is, they take the time to click on the thumbnail and skim through the lines at the very least. Granted, something draws their attention, and if so, good for you—unless it’s for the wrong reasons.

Do not sell yourself out for the sake of reaching every audience. You will make one side upset regardless so don’t turn yourself into someone you’re not. You will not be able to please everyone. Understand that, and accept that. Find your niche and go with it. The further you delve into your specified styles and genres, the deeper you dig yourself into the hole you’ve made. It becomes extremely hard to reach out to other audiences once you reach a certain point so choose your path wisely.

Would you rather become someone popular in the stagnated fanbase, or would you like to choose an honest path and write things you enjoy but not receive as much recognition for it? The choice is up to you. I will say this: there are more backwater readers than there are genuine appreciators for good literature. It’s a gamble, but you could be remembered down the line for being that person who is embarrassed for writing fan-service or be the one who came up with many unique concepts.

2. The English Language

I’ve got to be honest: I wrote a lengthy section on punctuation and grammar, but it was too long for this guide so I’m making that separate and link it later. Seriously, if you’re not able to get a grasp on the English language or think you’re doing something wrong, then look it up. It’s not hard.

3. Pet Peeves

I’ll just touch up on some points that I frequently see.

viii. Spacing

When writing out someone speaking, make a new paragraph. Don’t put it in the same paragraph. Please.

Don't do this

You could see a scatter of tourists walking along the designated path towards the edge of the garden. The murmurs and buzz of the people and bees mixed with the faint splashing of the fountain made you suddenly feel enchanted. It was like everything just melted: your stress, your exhaustion from the entire trip, your aching wrists that wanted to clutch onto your camera…“Achoo! Crap!” Way to ruin a moment! Your nose had gotten so congested from the mucus that when you sneezed, everything just went flying. It was disgusting to say the least.

“Wouldn’t that be cool if they had blue roses?” you asked looking around for any colors of the sort. “I’ve yet to see it,” Matthew replied looking around for any shades of blue among the roses. With no blue roses in sight, you headed towards the Japanese Garden.“Hey, this is like Kiku’s backyard,” you observed recognizing some of the similar Japanese themes and plants. “It’s not as colorful as the rest of the garden, though.” “It’s nice and cool in here,” Matthew said waiting for you to finish taking photos of the tori at the front of the garden. You didn’t take that many pictures only stopping for a bridge, a water feature, or swirled rock garden design. Instead, you ended up looking at some of the monochromatic scheme of green against grey. There was the occasional splash of contrasting red, but other than that, there wasn’t much to see.

Do this

You could see a scatter of tourists walking along the designated path towards the edge of the garden. The murmurs and buzz of the people and bees mixed with the faint splashing of the fountain made you suddenly feel enchanted. It was like everything just melted: your stress, your exhaustion from the entire trip, your aching wrists that wanted to clutch onto your camera…

“Achoo! Crap!” Way to ruin a moment! Your nose had gotten so congested from the mucus that when you sneezed, everything just went flying. It was disgusting to say the least.

“Wouldn’t that be cool if they had blue roses?” you asked looking around for any colors of the sort.

“I’ve yet to see it,” Matthew replied looking around for any shades of blue among the roses. With no blue roses in sight, you headed towards the Japanese Garden.

“Hey, this is like Kiku’s backyard,” you observed recognizing some of the similar Japanese themes and plants. “It’s not as colorful as the rest of the garden, though.”

“It’s nice and cool in here,” Matthew said waiting for you to finish taking photos of the tori at the front of the garden. You didn’t take that many pictures only stopping for a bridge, a water feature, or swirled rock garden design. Instead, you ended up looking at some of the monochromatic scheme of green against grey. There was the occasional splash of contrasting red, but other than that, there wasn’t much to see.

ix. Dialogue

I kind of also want to touch up on something. Some people use single quotation marks for dialogue. Personally, I think it’s obsolete and far from stylized to a dysfunctional degree. It becomes harder to distinguish quotes and contractions from one another. Don’t be that hipster idiot that lowercases your I’s in poems just because it looks cool. It doesn’t always work, and it usually doesn’t. You need a valid reason.

Don't do this

‘I didn’t see that coming,’ he said.

Do this

“I didn’t see that coming,” he said.

Also, I’m sick of seeing people ending their quotations with periods instead of commas where incorrect. It’s wrong. I can’t tell you this enough, everyone. It’s wrong to add a period when branching off on dialogue right before showing the speaker.

You need to add a comma where appropriate. For interrogatory and exclamatory statements, there are exceptions. Please refer to English language guides for further references. If you make these mistakes, I will think you are untrained in the English language. Period. No exceptions. You can write the most beautiful story in the world, but if I see these, I exit out of the window—unless I’m critiquing submissions. In those cases, I have to bear with errors sometimes.

Don't do this

“There isn’t much to do around here.” He said.

“There isn’t much to do around here.” he said.

“There isn’t much to do around here.” Alfred said.

‘There isn’t much to do around here,’ he said.

Alfred said. “There isn’t much to do around here.

Alfred said “There isn’t much to do around here.”

Alfred said “there isn’t much to do around here.”

Alfred said, ‘There isn’t much to do around here.’

“Is there something to do?” He asked.

‘Is there something to do?' he asked.

Alfred asked “Is there something to do?”

Alfred asked. “Is there something to do?”

Alfred asked “is there something to do?”

Alfred asked, ‘Is there something to do?’

Do this

“There isn’t much to do around here,” he said.

“There isn’t much to do around here,” Alfred said.

“Is there something to do?” he asked.

“Is there something to do?” Alfred asked.

Alfred asked, “Is there something to do?”

x. Caps Lock

Using all capitalizes letters. No. Only when appropriate—which is rarely. Just an exclamation point is fine.

Don't do this

“VLAD, YOU BLOODY MORON!”

Do this

“Vlad, you bloody moron!”

xi. Author Notes

Inserting stupid author notes at the beginning, middle, and end of your story. For crying out loud, deviantART has a description box. Put your little notes in there. If you need to redirect something, mark it with numbers, footnotes, or asterisks.

Don’t do this

Okay, so this is a story I wrote when I was watching this funny episode of Blah and thought it would be funny to write a story here. Comments and favs much appreciated!

**

Story story story story.

(Alfred, you stupid idiot! Why would you act that way to Reader-tan????!!!)

Story story story.

[I couldn’t think of anything to write here so pretend you were wearing whatever awesomer-than-Prussia outfit you could think of!]

Story story...

(OMG! Why would I put something so mean????)

I’ve read worse. Though, if you are going to put an author note at the beginning, please be professional about it. You could do this, for example:

It is highly recommended that you read the prologue before starting this chapter

or Please do not read this story unless you have read [Title of story].

xii. Time-Skip Labels

Blatantly spelling out timeskips.

Don’t do this

~Le timeskip!~

Time-skip!

Fast-forward to XX hours later

Meanwhile, meanwhile

Prussia is here to bring you this awesome timeskip!

Back to Blah and Blah Blah

Do this

-----

< hr > This creates a line that looks like this:

*****

~~~~~

Or nothing at all. You don’t need a breaker to specify a timeskip if you’re good. You can stylize these however you want. Just be careful since Microsoft Word automatically makes a stylized line when you hit the "Enter" key after creating more than two of the same symbols.

4. Last-Minute Pointers

This is a checklist. Congratulations. You’ve reached the end. In conclusion, I want to thank you for taking the time to either read this or scroll all the way down.

Here’s a list of the basics you need to look for to get your started as well as things to avoid doing.

-Have an idea that will keep you motivated until the very last paragraph.

-Choose characters that are appropriate for your idea.

-Change the plot and setting to fit the characters. Don’t change the characters to fit the plot.

-Keep your plot consistent and clean with the setting used (eg. Slang and modern words with modern times, archaic phrases and words with older times.)

-Use spelling, punctuation, and grammar properly. Do not hesitate to look up guides.

-Submit into the “Fan Art > Fan Fiction” category.

-Avoid using preview pictures that do not belong to you unless given permission by the original artist. It’s against dA rules to do so otherwise.

-Be respectful of your readers.

-Handle criticism in a timely and mature manner.

-Do not reply to comments if you are not expressing gratitude and/or appropriate feedback.

-Do not exchange comments with only emoticons, emojis, plz icons, and/or spam that are not insightful.

-Do not sell yourself out with fan-service if you respect your dignity online.

-Do not force yourself to write.

-Put your family, education, and health above writing reader-inserts.

-Respect your followers, readers, audience.

-Respect yourself.

-Love what you are writing. It will show otherwise.

Description
Introduction

I would like to start off this guide by saying upfront that the only fanbase that I write for is Hetalia. Why do I choose Hetalia, and why do I stick with it? Well, to put it simply, it’s because the main story doesn’t really have a story. Every single character is undoubtedly round. There’s so much to work with in terms of being able to set them in alternate universes (AU’s) because the characters are essentially timeless.

With that out of the way, I should also say that these are my opinions and my opinions alone. If you don’t follow everything according to this guide, that’s not to say that you will burn into a fiery crisp or have your eyes gouged out, but personally, I will judge you. In short, I will think you are either ignorant, misguided, or an attention whore. I’m usually left to assume the latter. This guide isn’t completely dogmatic nor am I trying to be arbitrary as I’m sure I break some of these rules myself. Some I’ve made early, some I still do now. I’m only human. But I feel that it’s important to keep these things in mind when writing a good Hetalia reader-insert.

Well, with that cleared up, this is my personal, somewhat thorough, and direct guide to how I write Hetalia reader-inserts. (At this point, I’ll just say reader-inserts since I only write those pertaining to Hetalia anyway.)

Disclaimer: Some content may be so direct in my opinion that I am sure some will find it offensive. I’m going to come out and touch on some things that bug me and might bug you. Again, these are my opinions and my opinions only. Either be mature and respect my opinions or quit reading, hit the “Back” button, shut off your phone, or do whatever it is that will get you away.

Table of Contents

0. Coding

1. My Method

i. Inspiration
ii. Starting
iii. Process
iv. Things to Watch Out For
01. Accents
02. Labels
03. Time-Skips
04. Reader Descriptions
v. Motivation
vi. Submitting
i) The Right Category
ii) Preview Pictures
iii) Groups
vii. Audiences

2. The English Language

3. My Pet Peeves

viii. Spacing
ix. Dialogue
x. Caps Lock
xi. Author Notes
xii. Time-Skip Labels

4. Last-Minute Pointers

0. Coding

Before starting the writing process, I thought it would be useful to show you some basic html coding to help you along the way. Type all coding without spaces.

Italics

< i >[Text here]

Italics are used for emphasis or as an indication of a title of a work.

Examples:

“I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one caught up in this mess,” he snorted in a sarcastic tone.

In Camigani’s Corner, the reader bases the Magic Trio’s furniture and food on the story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Bold

< b >[Text here]

Avoid using this unless you absolutely need to make a point at the beginning or end of the story. Otherwise, you could use this as a stylized way to indicate a title. Do not bold your words unless you absolutely know what you are doing.

Examples:

Do not read this story unless you’ve read [name of story] first!

Don’t forget to read the bonus chapter! (Use at the last chapter of a story)

On the wall in the bathroom, spray-painted in hard black graffiti were the words, AXIS OWNS U.

Underline

< u >[Text here]

As decided by English-rule-creating big-wigs with nothing better to do, underlining is obsolete. Nowadays, you only use this for highlighting emphasis, but it’s mainly reserved for essays and instruction manuals if anything. Just don’t use this when writing a story.

Subscript

< sub >[Text here]

Some people like to use this to make their font smaller, though it can become an eyesore for people with eye problems or anyone using a phone. Be mindful of your audiences when you choose to use subscript. You may use this for little footnotes or inserts of information that can’t be written otherwise. Using this is a form of stylized writing. Do not use this unless you know what you are doing.

Examples:

He kissed me… you hiccupped in a meek whisper of a thought.

No!No! NO!

Strike

< strike >[Text here]

This is a very stylized form of writing. You should not use this to cross out author notes since it takes away from professionalism. This should only be used for humor’s sake, but do not overuse it. Using this too often will take away from the story and make it confusing. Otherwise, you may use it for visual purposes. Again, do not overuse.

Examples:

The vampire loomed over you, his skin sparkling in the light fangs hovering over you, ready to feast on his prey.

The list had words crossed out in angry lines. Look, _______________, I’m sorry I was such a There comes a time when you we have to realize we weren’t meant to be.

Link Text

< a href = " [Link URL here] " > [Text here] < /a >

Do not put this in your actual story. Put this in your description box to link continuing chapters, other reference stories, or cleaning up links.

Examples:

(These don't actually link to anything, but I'm putting them in highlights as an indicating example.)

First
Previous
Next

1. My Method

i. Inspiration

So you want to write a story involving a reader. A reader-insert in a sense is a fan-fiction with the addition of oneself—usually yourself or your reader—in the plotline. You’ve got your phone or keyboard ready, a nice place to sit at, a character in mind, and a will to write.

Before even typing stuff down, you need to give it some thought. Ask yourself, “Why am I writing this?”

If it’s for attention, screw you. Writing something because you want attention for your insecure, attention-seeking self is disgusting.

Now, if it’s because you want to practice writing with characters already created, because you want to challenge yourself to put a reader into an otherwise concentrated canon-character story, or because you enjoy writing in general, then you’ve got that part cleared.

Then, think to yourself, “Is this story that I’m about to write different in any way?”

You could give me all the reasons why you justify the difference in seven-minute-in-heaven series, but I’ll brush you away and put you on my blacklist of writers I will avoid. I’m not even kidding.

If you feel that the story you write will be able to break out of the cliché bubble in some way, then don’t be afraid. Ease yourself into the story and see how you can make your story or universe work. Experiment and create. Be innovative. Be inspired. Don’t just copy off of other people.

When you’re stuck and can’t make something work, manipulate your setting and plot to do so. Don’t be afraid to break boundaries and step out of your comfort zone. That’s what will set you apart from the rest of the writers out there.

ii. Starting

Every story needs inspiration be it some funny little incident you came across in your life, an intriguing fact you saw or heard about somewhere, or even just a prompt someone gave you. Okay, so you’ve got that out of the way. Where to begin from here? How do you start out a story?

So what I usually do is have a character in mind that could fit a scenario. First and foremost, I need to look at the canon character being featured. Austria doesn’t fit in a sports setting. France doesn’t fit in a punk rock setting. Poland isn’t too keen on the masculine side. Etc., etc., etc.

The point is: do research on the canon characters before plotting. Chances are, if you’re constantly reworking the character to fit the plot, just stop. It’s not worth it to write a character out of context like that. You either have to do that or choose a different character to work with your plot.

I’ve come across many instances where I had a plot in mind, but the character didn’t fit. In Not Very Often, I actually thought of going with Iceland instead of Norway as the main character, but as plots go, Norway was more shyer and reserved than Iceland around strangers. For The Lotus Veil, I wrote eight drafts all featuring Thailand before realizing his character was too light-hearted for the grim plot. So, instead, I chose to feature Macau. Most widely known of all my stories might be The Dragonheart which features Norway. I went with Iceland for a while before deciding that Norway’s character called for more flaws and a stronger character development.

In short, choose a character to fit a plot, not a plot to fit a character.

From there, you’ve got the character and plot down, I’m assuming. Now comes the actual typing/writing.

iii. Process

Okay, so I know not everyone does this, but I cannot outline for the light of me. If I have a strict plot and/or guidelines that I need to follow, my whole thinking process falls apart. A story is not an English essay. A story contains characters, wit, plot development, attachments, a need to move forward, and hopefully some satisfaction towards the ending.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t just go all gun-ho with it and write whatever comes to mind, but…that’s what I do. I just write what my brain processes. I tinker with some things along the way, but I just go with the flow for the most part.

How do I know if the story’s a wreck and not going anywhere? Simple. When it hits me that I have no idea why the story went in a certain direction or is taking too long to hit the climax and conclusion, I stop and review. I go back, read between the lines, try to see if I can salvage something workable, and think it through.

More often than not, if I have to revise, that means the story wasn’t good enough to keep my own attention. It’s scrap-worthy.

I’ve got to be honest: I’ve been trying to write Snake Eyes Olivine for a while, and I just can’t anymore. It’s hit a wall despite my expectations for the story. The thing is, I had to change the plot for a certain reason, and because of that, the entire thing was squandered. I’m not afraid or hesitation about rewriting it, and if that means creating a good story, then I’ll do it even if it means throwing away 12+ chapters of work.

But that’s just the general surface of everything. In between I think about hooks, little references of previous works of mine, witty humor that shows my readers that it’s me writing the story, consideration for the reader as well as supporting and featured characters, and some plot development.

Every now and then I throw a little fan-service into the mix, though, honestly if I need to tempt my audiences with fan-service, then I’m a pretty shitty writer. Good fan-fiction writer? Maybe. Developing or well-versed writer? No. Same goes to all of you! If all you write is fan-service, then shame on you! You’re an embarrassment to the fan-base and yourself! To be honest, I usually only do that for kicks. I just like reading about what kind of reactions I get from people. It’s amusing to me is all. Moving on. Next topic.

iv. Things to Watch Out For

01. Accents

I try to skip out on foreign words and accents nowadays. It’s pretty offensive now that I think about it. I live in a place where I see different ethnic backgrounds every day. Whether they’re fluent in one language or two languages doesn’t make a difference. If they’re speaking English, they never put in bits of a foreign language in their sentences. If they’re non-native speakers, they try their gosh-darn hardest to speak English. So try not to integrate other languages unless it’s in context—like maybe France using French to be seductive or Romano cursing in Italian to make a point. Don’t overuse this method.

As far as accents go, just mention it somewhere in the exposition like “He spoke in an English accent.” Don’t go spelling out every single verbal tick, iteration, and conjunction you see. Sweden especially. N’ one w’nts t’ read s’nt’nces like dis. It’s okay for J.K. Rowling to do it with Hagrid because Harry Potter is a children’s series. It’s entertaining for children to pronounce the syllables and manner of speech in the head as well as reading it out loud. Hetalia is for mature audiences. Most of you who are reading this aren’t even old enough to be technically allowed to read the comics or watch the series. That’s why it’s important to keep the age-groups in mind.

02. Labels

“She noticed he was German: tall, blonde, and blue-eyed.”

Really? Because every time I see someone tall with blonde hair and blue-eyed, I just see someone who’s tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. I can’t make a judgment right away. For all I know, that person could be Swedish or Danish from a Hetalia context. Romania might be the worst example. You don’t see too many Romanians with strawberry blonde hair, pointy teeth, and red eyes. Prussia is a little obsolete.

Think about it. Who says—let alone thinks—stuff like this?

“The American enveloped you in his arms and blah blah blah.”

Unless there were several people in the room with different nationalities that you could pinpoint and knew about, saying something like that is completely out of context.

Someone like…I guess Mikasa from Attack on Titan is Asian. You don’t see people writing, “The raven-haired Asian glared daggers at the captain.” No! It’s because it doesn’t matter! If it doesn’t matter, don’t bother mentioning it!

03. Time-Skips

Calling them out, specifically.

The moment I see something like “Time-Skip” in a story, I stop reading and rethink my life choices. No, I was kidding about that last part. I do stop reading, however.

You don’t see professional authors with published books and awards going “Fast-forward to two weeks later” in their story. It might happen in a humorous story, but if the mood you’re going for is anything but humorous, don’t add it. It takes away from the professionalism of the story.

If you need to indicate a time jump in your story, do so with a wordless line of sorts. Add a transition here or there to specify if necessary, like, “The next day” or “Two weeks had passed since…”

04. Reader Descriptions

You know what you look like. Putting in words or symbols like (Name), (e/c), (h/c), or (h/l) distracts readers from the plot. It makes them pause and process what sort of descriptions they need to come up with. It might be miniscule, but it’s not necessary, either. Don’t bother writing descriptions.

As for describing things to other characters, you can be vague. Maybe write “the description of the woman matched those of ______________.” Physical descriptions are nice sometimes, but I think it’s shallow of someone to think about their love interest’s physical appearances enough that it has to be specific. Sometimes descriptions have to be in context, though. You can’t have overly scrawny or chubby henchmen or hitmen.

v. Motivation

There will be a time when you ask yourself, “Why am I still doing this?” or “Why can’t I write anymore?”

Stop.

Breathe.

Relax.

First of all, if you’re wondering why you don’t have a wide audience, don’t be shallow and distraught. Everyone starts from somewhere. The reason why some veteran writers have so many supporters is because they gathered all of the early fanbase’s audiences. In the beginning, there weren’t many writers out there so there were only so many people to turn to.

I started out as a nobody. When I first wrote my first series, I only received two hundred readers on my first chapter by the time I was done writing, and I was fine. The point is, someone took the time to read what I put out, and I was happy.

Then again, the reason I began writing in the first place might be different than what everyone else does on here, but I’m just giving you my input on the matter.

Be true to yourself. Give back to the community with your skills more so than your generosity. It’s not selfish as long as you’re putting out quality work without making requests or doing commissions. Chances are, if you aren’t invested into what you’re doing at least 80%, then you’re bound to put something out that you aren’t satisfied with. That’s not to say everyone else will not be satisfied, thought the main reason why you write should be for yourself. If you do not put yourself and your interests before anything else when writing, then it will show in your writing.

Secondly, you might just lose the motivation to write altogether. You might be trying to crank out a chapter of whatever series you’re working on or trying to fulfill one too many requests. If you become overburdened with responsibilities, then stop writing and take a break. Forcing yourself to write isn’t going to get you anywhere. When you realize that you’re not writing for the sake of enjoyment anymore, something you love can end up making you downright miserable. I’ve been there many times, and aside being occupied with school, that’s the main reason why I’m unable to get stories out at certain points in my life.

That being said, you’re bound to lose support from your audience. It’s a gamble. While taking a break might save the quality of your writing from falling apart and going into the gutters, you could lose support from your fans who might forget the plots of your many series. I’m pretty guilty of this, myself, though there’s nothing I can do about it to compensate for the matter.

Don’t forget that school, work, and your health are more important. If your education and financial lifestyle are in jeopardy, you’d better rethink your priorities. There are more important things than trying to constantly update your works. The most loyal and understand of fans will understand and patiently wait for you no matter how long you might take. In that sense, it helps to have a positive and determined outlook on life.

vi. Submitting

i) The Right Category

So now you’ve finished writing your story. You made sure you saved your story, right? Did you do your html coding properly? You did? Good! Now you can copy and paste your document into the text box and start the fabulous process of proofreading and checking between the lines! Do your spell-checking, punctuation and grammar editing, and all that good stuff. Even if you miss some stuff along the way, your faithful readers may be kind enough to point out your mistakes. Be sure to thank them for taking the time to correct you. Better late than never if anything.

Okay, so this is an important part: PUT YOUR READER-INSERTS IN THE “FAN ART > FAN FICTION” CATEGORY!

I cannot stress this enough how many times I’ve seen stories make the front page under something like “Literature > Prose” blah blah blah. It’s not real literature! Real literature is where you make up everything from your characters to your original concepts and settings. Think about how the real writers of real literature pieces must feel when they see something like a reader-insert making the front page under the same category as something they put their heart and soul into writing! Shame on you if you’re guilty of doing this!

ii) Preview Pictures

Once you’ve gotten that out of the way, don’t forget to put the proper credit for Hetalia and any pictures you use. Just saying something like, “I don’t own the preview picture” isn’t good enough. Wouldn’t that make you upset if you were the illustrator of a storybook, and all the author wrote in your name was, “I don’t own the pictures that were drawn?”

Honestly, I can’t stand any writer who uses a preview picture that isn’t theirs. Why? Because 95% of the time, writers don’t even bother to ask the original artist. It’s not fair that they use art that someone else put time and effort in to promote their own stuff. Why should you be getting attention and even money or points for using something that they didn’t give you permission to use? It’s not right to me. You don’t even need preview pictures. You’re trying to write a story, aren’t you? So why need a visual aid that you pretty much stole?

Heck, by deviantART rules, under FAQ #157 and #306, you aren’t supposed to use preview pictures without the proper permission from the original artist or copyright holders. Be glad you’ve been getting away with using those pictures without an honest deviantART member reporting your behind.

My point: don’t use preview pictures if they are not yours and you did not get permission for the original artist.

There are a lot of people using preview pictures without permission, and if you fall into this category, you go on my blacklist. I automatically judge you.

iii) Groups

Okay, so with everything submitted and posted as a real deviation, there comes the process of submitting your stories to groups.

Groups can be a great way to promote your stuff and see what others have to offer to the community. You absolutely must respect the group’s submission process and folder organizing. There are some groups that do not allow reader-inserts and go as far as banning you from the group if you don’t abide. Hetards is a good example of that scenario. There are also groups that do not accept fan-fiction and reader-inserts so respect that.

Also, try to submit to the right folders if you can. Don’t be lazy and drop your submission right into the Featured Folder. As an administrator for Readertalia, I get instances where new members will drop stories into the Featured folder expecting the modifiers to sort their stories into the right folder. That’s not how it works. Not only that, but some groups don’t want you submitting more than # amount of chapters of a series into a group since it clutters the folders. Respect the groups’ rules. Please.

When it comes to submitting to a number of groups, promoting yourself is nice when you’re starting out, but if I see a deviation make the front page solely based on submitting to 30+ groups at once, then you are a sad, pathetic person. I’ll admit that I have stories that have been submitting to more, but I’ve also had people ask for my stories to be submitting into their groups so that’s an exception.

Though…I’m sure no group wants a poorly written reader-insert in its gallery—all thirty of them, in fact. So watch yourself when you submit to a bunch of groups because I will judge you in that way, too.

vii. Audiences

Now that you’ve submitted to the right category and put your story into a decent amount of groups, here comes the antsy part: waiting for feedback.

Depending on what you write and what you continue to write, you’re going to get either a very colorful audience or a…let’s just call them the backwater readers of the Hetalia fanbase.

You can tell when a story attracts the backwater readers due to short and lack of insightful comments, a high demand for a second part, a strong demand for a lemon, or an immature comment about something kinky they wish the characters would do.

Then there are the people you should either ignore or try to respect their opinions. They are human, too. Not everyone likes Hetalia, and with the reputation it has with poorly written stories making the front page, not everyone will enjoy seeing these so often. Try to place yourself into their shoes and understand where they are coming from. Do not constantly argue with them—even if that brings up your comment count. It makes you look bad, and it makes the commenter look successful in pulling your strings. There is the option of choosing to block people, but in my opinion, that’s the coward’s way out. Do what you want, but try to be mature about it either way.

On the more pleasant side, there are devoted readers, readers who will pick apart your stories, offer their honest opinions, comments, concerns, interests, and advice. You may choose to take their opinions into consideration or ignore them. If their comments interfere with the way you want your story to go, stop reading and simply thank them for taking the time to reading your story. Again, be mature.

If someone makes a comment that you cannot really give a proper response to, do not constantly spam the comments section with “:hugs:” or smiley faces or plz icons. That makes you look like a comment and attention whore. I will judge you if you do this. People have better things to receive than a smiling emote or a heart; if they don’t, they are pathetic and sad creatures.

But no matter what sort of readers you get, appreciate every single one of them. Not everyone will entirely like your story, but the point is, they take the time to click on the thumbnail and skim through the lines at the very least. Granted, something draws their attention, and if so, good for you—unless it’s for the wrong reasons.

Do not sell yourself out for the sake of reaching every audience. You will make one side upset regardless so don’t turn yourself into someone you’re not. You will not be able to please everyone. Understand that, and accept that. Find your niche and go with it. The further you delve into your specified styles and genres, the deeper you dig yourself into the hole you’ve made. It becomes extremely hard to reach out to other audiences once you reach a certain point so choose your path wisely.

Would you rather become someone popular in the stagnated fanbase, or would you like to choose an honest path and write things you enjoy but not receive as much recognition for it? The choice is up to you. I will say this: there are more backwater readers than there are genuine appreciators for good literature. It’s a gamble, but you could be remembered down the line for being that person who is embarrassed for writing fan-service or be the one who came up with many unique concepts.

2. The English Language

I’ve got to be honest: I wrote a lengthy section on punctuation and grammar, but it was too long for this guide so I’m making that separate and link it later. Seriously, if you’re not able to get a grasp on the English language or think you’re doing something wrong, then look it up. It’s not hard.

3. Pet Peeves

I’ll just touch up on some points that I frequently see.

viii. Spacing

When writing out someone speaking, make a new paragraph. Don’t put it in the same paragraph. Please.

Don't do this

You could see a scatter of tourists walking along the designated path towards the edge of the garden. The murmurs and buzz of the people and bees mixed with the faint splashing of the fountain made you suddenly feel enchanted. It was like everything just melted: your stress, your exhaustion from the entire trip, your aching wrists that wanted to clutch onto your camera…“Achoo! Crap!” Way to ruin a moment! Your nose had gotten so congested from the mucus that when you sneezed, everything just went flying. It was disgusting to say the least.

“Wouldn’t that be cool if they had blue roses?” you asked looking around for any colors of the sort. “I’ve yet to see it,” Matthew replied looking around for any shades of blue among the roses. With no blue roses in sight, you headed towards the Japanese Garden.“Hey, this is like Kiku’s backyard,” you observed recognizing some of the similar Japanese themes and plants. “It’s not as colorful as the rest of the garden, though.” “It’s nice and cool in here,” Matthew said waiting for you to finish taking photos of the tori at the front of the garden. You didn’t take that many pictures only stopping for a bridge, a water feature, or swirled rock garden design. Instead, you ended up looking at some of the monochromatic scheme of green against grey. There was the occasional splash of contrasting red, but other than that, there wasn’t much to see.

Do this

You could see a scatter of tourists walking along the designated path towards the edge of the garden. The murmurs and buzz of the people and bees mixed with the faint splashing of the fountain made you suddenly feel enchanted. It was like everything just melted: your stress, your exhaustion from the entire trip, your aching wrists that wanted to clutch onto your camera…

“Achoo! Crap!” Way to ruin a moment! Your nose had gotten so congested from the mucus that when you sneezed, everything just went flying. It was disgusting to say the least.

“Wouldn’t that be cool if they had blue roses?” you asked looking around for any colors of the sort.

“I’ve yet to see it,” Matthew replied looking around for any shades of blue among the roses. With no blue roses in sight, you headed towards the Japanese Garden.

“Hey, this is like Kiku’s backyard,” you observed recognizing some of the similar Japanese themes and plants. “It’s not as colorful as the rest of the garden, though.”

“It’s nice and cool in here,” Matthew said waiting for you to finish taking photos of the tori at the front of the garden. You didn’t take that many pictures only stopping for a bridge, a water feature, or swirled rock garden design. Instead, you ended up looking at some of the monochromatic scheme of green against grey. There was the occasional splash of contrasting red, but other than that, there wasn’t much to see.

ix. Dialogue

I kind of also want to touch up on something. Some people use single quotation marks for dialogue. Personally, I think it’s obsolete and far from stylized to a dysfunctional degree. It becomes harder to distinguish quotes and contractions from one another. Don’t be that hipster idiot that lowercases your I’s in poems just because it looks cool. It doesn’t always work, and it usually doesn’t. You need a valid reason.

Don't do this

‘I didn’t see that coming,’ he said.

Do this

“I didn’t see that coming,” he said.

Also, I’m sick of seeing people ending their quotations with periods instead of commas where incorrect. It’s wrong. I can’t tell you this enough, everyone. It’s wrong to add a period when branching off on dialogue right before showing the speaker.

You need to add a comma where appropriate. For interrogatory and exclamatory statements, there are exceptions. Please refer to English language guides for further references. If you make these mistakes, I will think you are untrained in the English language. Period. No exceptions. You can write the most beautiful story in the world, but if I see these, I exit out of the window—unless I’m critiquing submissions. In those cases, I have to bear with errors sometimes.

Don't do this

“There isn’t much to do around here.” He said.

“There isn’t much to do around here.” he said.

“There isn’t much to do around here.” Alfred said.

‘There isn’t much to do around here,’ he said.

Alfred said. “There isn’t much to do around here.

Alfred said “There isn’t much to do around here.”

Alfred said “there isn’t much to do around here.”

Alfred said, ‘There isn’t much to do around here.’

“Is there something to do?” He asked.

‘Is there something to do?' he asked.

Alfred asked “Is there something to do?”

Alfred asked. “Is there something to do?”

Alfred asked “is there something to do?”

Alfred asked, ‘Is there something to do?’

Do this

“There isn’t much to do around here,” he said.

“There isn’t much to do around here,” Alfred said.

“Is there something to do?” he asked.

“Is there something to do?” Alfred asked.

Alfred asked, “Is there something to do?”

x. Caps Lock

Using all capitalizes letters. No. Only when appropriate—which is rarely. Just an exclamation point is fine.

Don't do this

“VLAD, YOU BLOODY MORON!”

Do this

“Vlad, you bloody moron!”

xi. Author Notes

Inserting stupid author notes at the beginning, middle, and end of your story. For crying out loud, deviantART has a description box. Put your little notes in there. If you need to redirect something, mark it with numbers, footnotes, or asterisks.

Don’t do this

Okay, so this is a story I wrote when I was watching this funny episode of Blah and thought it would be funny to write a story here. Comments and favs much appreciated!

**

Story story story story.

(Alfred, you stupid idiot! Why would you act that way to Reader-tan????!!!)

Story story story.

[I couldn’t think of anything to write here so pretend you were wearing whatever awesomer-than-Prussia outfit you could think of!]

Story story...

(OMG! Why would I put something so mean????)

I’ve read worse. Though, if you are going to put an author note at the beginning, please be professional about it. You could do this, for example:

It is highly recommended that you read the prologue before starting this chapter

or Please do not read this story unless you have read [Title of story].

xii. Time-Skip Labels

Blatantly spelling out timeskips.

Don’t do this

~Le timeskip!~

Time-skip!

Fast-forward to XX hours later

Meanwhile, meanwhile

Prussia is here to bring you this awesome timeskip!

Back to Blah and Blah Blah

Do this

-----

< hr > This creates a line that looks like this:

*****

~~~~~

Or nothing at all. You don’t need a breaker to specify a timeskip if you’re good. You can stylize these however you want. Just be careful since Microsoft Word automatically makes a stylized line when you hit the "Enter" key after creating more than two of the same symbols.

4. Last-Minute Pointers

This is a checklist. Congratulations. You’ve reached the end. In conclusion, I want to thank you for taking the time to either read this or scroll all the way down.

Here’s a list of the basics you need to look for to get your started as well as things to avoid doing.

-Have an idea that will keep you motivated until the very last paragraph.

-Choose characters that are appropriate for your idea.

-Change the plot and setting to fit the characters. Don’t change the characters to fit the plot.

-Keep your plot consistent and clean with the setting used (eg. Slang and modern words with modern times, archaic phrases and words with older times.)

-Use spelling, punctuation, and grammar properly. Do not hesitate to look up guides.

-Submit into the “Fan Art > Fan Fiction” category.

-Avoid using preview pictures that do not belong to you unless given permission by the original artist. It’s against dA rules to do so otherwise.

-Be respectful of your readers.

-Handle criticism in a timely and mature manner.

-Do not reply to comments if you are not expressing gratitude and/or appropriate feedback.

-Do not exchange comments with only emoticons, emojis, plz icons, and/or spam that are not insightful.

-Do not sell yourself out with fan-service if you respect your dignity online.

-Do not force yourself to write.

-Put your family, education, and health above writing reader-inserts.

-Respect your followers, readers, audience.

-Respect yourself.

-Love what you are writing. It will show otherwise.