My Guide To Writing WG stories

(Note: The following is copied from the PAWG message boards.)

Many people who come to pawg do not have much prior writing experience. In fact, many people who post their stories appear to have not previously written anything longer than an introduction thread. Because I wish to guide people in the writing of prose without having to individually comment on each thread, I've taken the liberty of creating this guide to writing stories.

The first important point of good writing is
>>>SPELLING AND GRAMMAR<<<.
No, wait, the first two important points of good writing are spelling, grammar, and paragraphs. No, wait, among the important points of writing are such diverse elements as fear, suprise...oh sod it.

Spelling and Grammar:
This is something a lot of people miss. It can be avoided with a little bit of proofreading and spell-checking. It's important to do this for several reasons.
The first is simple aesthetic. Lots of typos, barely readable words, and random commas can be a real eyesore.
Secondly, it makes you harder to understand. Some people spell so badly it takes hours to figure out what they said. Even if you can be made out, it takes some time and effort to interpret the gibberish. It's hard to get into a story when you have to stop every few scentences to figure out why a girl would be "etting" a pizza.
Thirdly, it sends a bad message. It make your mental voice sound stupid and clumsy. It creates the impression that you don't care about the story or the people reading it and that you don't put effort into your work.



DICTION:
If you want a successful story, you'll need to convey it with the right words.

Different Words: Avoid reusing the same word often, especially in the same scentence. Here's an example.
Wrong "Jane was fat. She was the fattest girl in her school. She loved to eat food with lots of fat, and she was always getting fatter."
Right" Jane was fat. She was the heaviest girl in her in her school. She loved to eat greasy foods, and she was always getting bigger."

Better Words: There are some words that are common and dull, so overused that they have lost their power. Try replacing more common words such as "good, like, make, get/got," ect.
Wrong: "I am a good writer. I like to make stories and I always get good grades."
Right: "I am an excellent writer. I enjoy creating stories and I always recieve high grades."




Write Weight Gain Stories, not Weight Gain, Stories.
Even if you have a lot of weight gain, there should be a plot. Drawings can get away with just visuals, but prose requires more mental effort to take in and can easily become monotonous. The best weight gain stories are well-written stories first and weight gain second. Make sure that you have a good plot, setting, and characters before you concentrate on weight gain.



Author Insertion and Breaking the Fourth Wall: IT BURNS!: One of the key things about a story is the suspension of disbelief: maintaining a story in a coherent and consistant world. Having characters who know they are fictional may be good for a few jokes and common on Bob and George, but it can easily destroy the feel of a story. Avoid when possible. Likewise, try not to write yourself, the author, into a story unless you have advanced to a great level of writing skill and have a very good reason. If you must, PLEASE don't make yourself omnipotent. Nobody wants to read about somebody invincible god-modding their way around their poorly-written universe, and it destroys the sense of conflict when characters' problems can be resolved with a snap of your fingers.



DESCRIPTION AND STORYTELLING: Words tell a story best when they paint a picture in your mind.
Wrong: Jane walked down the street. A stranger jumped out and zapped her with a special ray gun. She passed out.
Right: Jane walked down the dark ally, her slender form silloutted against the star-studded night sky. A shadowy figure lept out at her, his features hidden by a large black scarf and a worn overcoat. The figure reached into his pocket and whipped out a weapon-like device, it metal shaft glinting in the moonlight. There was a hissing sound, and a crackling beam of crimson light shot out of it striking Jane square in the chest. The world swam around her as she fell, and everything went black.

Further: Visual descriptions are important in weight gain fanfiction. Numbers are dull, and figurative language can improve a story's flow.
Wrong Jane weighed 300 pounds.
Right Jane was a full-figured pear-shaped woman. Her breasts were small but shapely, orange-sized. Her legs were two thick pillars of flesh, her wide buttocks like two over-fluffed pillows. Her stomach formed a single bulging roll that threatened to burst forth from her tight jeans.
Note: Don't overdo your description. If you spend too much time on it, you run the risk of boring your audience, or becoming J. R. R. Tolkien.



FANFICTION TIPS:
Many people are inspired to write stories based on their favorite shows or movies. Unfortunately a bad writer can turn any source material into a grotesque mockery of the original show.

Out Of Characterness: It should go without saying that if you use the characters of a show, keep them that way. If you radically change a character's personality, they aren't that character any more. Raven from Teen Titans wouldn't be Raven anymore if she was annoyingly chatty and open with her feelings.

Original character control: Naturally one of the main reasons people write fanfiction is to use their own ideas for characters and have them interact with the existing cast of the show. That in mind, you should follow several rules with them.

No god-like characters: Make sure your characters aren't perfect. If your character outshines all the existing ones, why are you writing a fanfiction at all? Characters that have no flaws and can easily solve any problem make the audience stop caring about them. There's no tension, suspense, or drama in a story if your character can overcome any obstacle with minimal effort. Likewise a new titan who is stronger than Starfire, smarter than Cyborg, a better fighter than Robin, and has more mystical powers than Raven is not going to be threatened or challenged by any existing villains, and realistically all the other titans would be envious and hostile towards such a power-house and feel inadequate.

No Horrible Characters: Nobody likes a god-mod, but don't go overboard. If you overload your character with flaws, the audience will just hate it. Don't go through great lengths to get pity.

You can write a Weight Gain story without writing an FA story.
When somebody writes a story with weight gain, they frequently turn the girl gaining weight into a generic feedee. It's alright though, because her boyfriend is now an FA. Sexuality is one of the core drives of all living beings, it doesn't change inexplicably at the drop of a hat. Even if you have a good explanation (and a ray from space or a magic hunger pill is generally a pretty weak explanation), always ask yourself if they need to be FAs and feedees for the story to work. So a girl gains weight, she can still continue having a relationship if her partner isn't utterly shallow and arrogant. Just have them deal with the weight gain like any ordinary couple.

Don't fuck with Sexuality: A more general statement of the previous advice. If you want to make Kagome and Sango lesbian lovers, you better have a damn good explanation for why they've shown no intimate interest in each other for the entire series and each show attraction towards men.

Crossover: Fangasms Ahead: It's difficult enough to write a good story based on one existing show, much less two or more. Only attempt to use characters from multiple sources if you have gained a lot of skill and experience. Always have a good reason and plan in mind. Inuyasha and friends won't randomly stop over at Titan Tower to hang out. The characters still need a conflict to resolve, and an explanation for how they came together.