"What's a Negative Comment You Agreed With, Fanfiction Writers?"

[@ritanagy3894]

Stuttering is the airbrush of writing, if you can use it well, you should, in some places it's even weirder if you don't (hypothermia fics), but it's easy to over do it and can look weird and messy

[@rachelmr24]

Yeah. I like to mutter dialogue to myself to see if it sounds right.

[@nessstarries6204]

wtf is a hypothermia fic

[@YourWaywardDestiny]

@@nessstarries6204 A fic where there's hypothermia, a hypothermia risk, or the threat of extreme cold I'd imagine.

[@VoxAstra-qk4jz]

WTF is a hypothermia fic? Where two characters you like freeze to death over like 20 pages?

[@Moravian_Mf]

​@@VoxAstra-qk4jz No, it's just a fic that includes hypothermia

[@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155]

Someone once wrote a detailed critique of my fic, and I’m like “you’re absolutely right.” Basically saying the plot idea was good(the idea being a gravity falls fic where everyone on the wheel has a power related to their symbol) but the idea was underutilized and some of the powers were lame, which I agree with(especially Stan’s). Some were obvious(Robby was a healer, Pacifica had the ability to control an army of llamas, Wendy had ice powers) but for some reason, Stan got magic knives

[@ahmadalamin9431]

is it "Break Me Down (I'm Star Dust)"? I read that fic yesterday! If not, (It has a similar concept) can you link your fic? I want to read it now! (:

[@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155]

@@ahmadalamin9431 it’s called the return of bill cipher. Though, fair warning, I wrote it when I was like 14-15 and had the idea since I was like 10-11

[@nemnyoom]

dude that's the best possible power for him. unless you lean into the fact that his symbol looks like pac man

[@catbatrat1760]

I feel like giving Stan magic knives would cause WAY too much chaos XD

[@InkyIridescence]

​@nemnyoom ngl Stan with Pac-Man powers would be hilarious lol like imagine just activating your inner creature, turning pixelated and just chomping on anything you see Although magic knifes are also sick as hell and would defs fit him

[@bugsontoastt]

When it comes to accents I think it depends. I wouldn’t write out a German accent, but I would write out a southern accent, but that comes down to the fact it’s a different way of speaking! Like “Ain’t that the truth” and “what do ya know, ‘s workin’!” still reads well and kind of makes you picture the voice with that accent without breaking up the look, while “Zhat is it!” Just doesn’t work for me, el oh el

[@zalamazu]

I think it’s because of the letter change. (Removal of letters feels normal but changing letters into something else feels cartoonish). The way many American southern accents are written is by removing letters, having different variations of pre existing words, and speaking in absurd idioms and similes. I’m West Virginian so I can typically spot when a “southern” accent looks off. (I quote “southern” because the accent varies from state to state, so what I say is general.) While I’m not German, I think the German examples reads really weirdly. It’s way too fixated on how they’re speaking and not what they’re actually saying. Even if someone has a strong accent, it’s probably not strong enough to use entirely different letters. Writers can still tell their German by how they place their words (using less contractions, saying “no?” after some sentences. Also very general and probably not getting that completely right, but you get it.) And hey, maybe I’m wrong and some German people don’t mind the Z. Who am I to say? I have heard many Germans complain about it though. Ultimately if you don’t know what to do, just play it safe and don’t change the letters, don’t exaggerate anything.

[@bugsontoastt]

@@zalamazu you are SO RIGHT actually. That’s why it feels different!!

[@lfglws]

⁠​⁠@@zalamazuAs a german, I don’t like it. For one, it makes it hard sometimes to understand which word the person means. Secondly, it feels sometimes like the language/accent is getting mocked. Learning a new language is hard, so why “shame” people for not speaking it 100% properly? (I also feel like it could have racist undertones when you look at how some asian or african languages for example get written down, you know?) I think another version how one could write a character of a different language is using typical idiom. For example, by saying something is not quite perfect you would say “nicht das gelbe vom Ei”. If a german character want to say something around that line, one could make them say this idiom, just translated word for word to english: “nit the yellow from the egg” (and then explain it to different characters when confused)

[@bassyxgrelle8659]

There are a couple fics I've read where stutters and accents do work, and just as many where they don't. It really depends on the writer and the character they are writing. I mean, character voice is a very real thing, and can help differentiate between which of your characters is speaking if you don't outright say which character said which line, like if a character has a country accent or if they are learning a new language and pronounce words incorrectly. One of my favorite fics that incorporates accents and dialect differentiations is called "Lost in Translation," it's a Linked Universe fic, so it's Legend of Zelda but a bunch of the games combined into one au in case you haven't heard of it. I can't remember the author rn, and I am choosing to be lazy and not look it up, but they do an amazing job of writing characters with distinctly different speaking styles, and they provide a guide at the end of each chapter so you can piece together what each character was saying if you needed the extra help!

[@persialionheart]

The thing is. A lot of people write stutters by separate letters. Which sometimes can work but other times it can be too much. More realistically, its full words or half words which are stuttered out. Sometimes even a couple of words.

[@emandems_]

i think stutters can be written if they’re short like: “O-oh! Yeah…” but if they’re meant to be a continuous thing (eg: a character with a stutter) then it should be implied in how you say they said something (stuttered, muttered, ect)

[@cutelilscrafty]

8:43 I'm trying to get a diagnosis for Autism myself, and I have several characters I write as who are autistic coded, because I use some of my own experiences as inspiration. I think only one was written as specifically Autistic, but he's already heavily Autistic Coded in his own canon.

[@OrcaBerry]

Yeah, as an autistic author I’m in the same boat lol. Write-what-you-know means drawing from (partially) your own experiences to write realistic characters/emotions/motivations/etc, and when I started writing I had no idea a bunch of my experiences were actually very autistic and not stuff everybody does/feels

[@OrcaBerry]

Unintentionally Autistic coded characters, my beloved

[@maliciousintent_]

i once got told i wrote everyone in a fic OOC. i redirected them to the "crackfic" tag and my repeated mentions of purposefully exaggerating character traits.

[@bonnietelocole6777]

I usually only write stutters if it's a situation where they would happen, like a character being extremely upset, caught of guard, or if they've gone nonverbal. I pull from my own experience of having a stutter under stress to ensure that while my use of them is limited, they are realistic.

[@sketchycat6223]

I’m so grateful to be in such small fandoms, that negative comments are rare for me. Some of these comments are so unnecessarily rude- especially considering fanfiction is free!! You don’t just get to demand stuff from the author as if they owe you anything!

[@soxnsandalsss]

My friend actually has a stutter so let me give you all more accurate stutter examples: Instead of, "I-I-I-I hav-hav-have t-t-t-to" Say, "I hav-hav-have to." Or, "I, I, I, have to." OR, "I-I-I, hav-hav, sh!t!.....I have to." Sometimes people will stutters will straight up stop talking and then repeat the phrase with less stutters.

[@BryanLu0]

The issue is that that is utterly unreadable in a text format. When you are listening it is easy for your brain to filter out stutters, but visual noise is much harder for the brain to parse

[@EMMCNE]

people keep commenting on one of my fics because four years ago i promised a second book that has not even been started and i also have no plans to ever actually do, but when i promised it i fully intended it to be a series, so now i’m just ashamed. at least the book is complete i guess?!

[@narwhalwithaknife9465]

I’m personally okay with accents or stutters when it’s not overdone. Like a single stutter when shocked or scared. Accents I mostly write more as dropping the ‘g’ of certain words, using ‘ya’ instead of you, or using subtle changes in speech patterns to allude to an accent without changing the words drastically. Because it’s really easy to overdo an accent in writing.

[@tiredtoastlol5]

Recently i got a comment on my oldest fanfic that a lot of my characters were blinded by anger. And yeah, me several years ago had no idea how to write plot progression but DAMN. and the accent thing, i think it depends. If its important to the character and not hard to read, sure. Same goes with stutters.

[@ViolinCereal]

I write stutters mainly because _I_ stutter and its ingrained in how I view speech. I keep having to remove things like "Well, you see, I, uh, you see, i dont really" because its just. Completely unreadable and doesn't make much sense for the character.

[@lovetolovefairytales]

Someone said my fic sounded a lot like an episode of Beyond Belief Fact or Fiction. They weren't wrong. I was obsessed with that show as a child and it's strongly influenced my writing style. Not to mention that particular fic's plot WAS based on Beyond Belief. So yeah. Not sure if they meant it negatively or not but they be right.

[@narcissisticrats]

honestly, stutters don't bother me THAT bad if there not to long or frequent. the accent thing on the other hand... I read this one crossover fic, and the accent made it UNREADABLE!! Like I get they were transported to another world or whatever, but you don't need EVERY SINGLE WORD to have a accent. it genuinely made me get a headache trying to figure out what 1 sentence said. I love the concept of that fic, but I had to drop it after that.

[@sweetsea3607]

I very rarely get comments and I'm surprised I haven't gotten anything negative. Even when I put a very popular character into a certain limelight. Like one time I put Alastor from Hazbin Holtel on New Zack Island from D.O.A. For those who don't know New Zack Island is a place that stops people from using magic so I had Alastor sulking, "Stupid island. Doesn't let me use magic." It was a fish out of water situation and he was also pestering the main character and their crew. Before I posted it I kept thinking people would complain because of how much they love Alastor but no. It's got 2.3k views so I guess what I did was okay. The problem is I don't know what people think except for those extremely rare few moments.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

Oh, that sounds fun!!!

[@selenarose5833]

i only like stutters if theyre written like actual stutters. nobody (without a neurological disorder) will go, “w-w-w-what d-d-d-did y-you s-s-s-say?” it would be more like “what-what did you say!?” if you want to hear an actual stutter, rick from rick and morty is a really good example.

[@wonderlandian-geek]

Anyone who (politely) asks for a second chapter on one of mine. I really do want to write a second chapter, I KNOW there’s more to the story and more i could write. But it’s been over two years and I have no clue WHAT that “more to the story” is. So I intentionally left it on a cliffhanger and it’ll probably stay that way, to mine and many of my readers’ dismay.

[@KarolineWithAK]

I use stutters in my oc fic a lot because all of my characters are nervous all of the fucking time, but maybe i should reel back on that

[@ZoeHerron-hf7zt]

The first comment I ever got on a fix was "negative" it was asking about the accuracy on if acorns were poisonous to eat. Well turns out I was very vague about it. You can eat acorns but they have to be prepared a certain way before hand.

[@L-ghtlessSky]

I feel like, with accents, don’t overdo it unless your whole character’s idea is “incomprehensibly accented” and for stutters.. in moderation.

[@trixie7759]

I feel like Accents can be quite awkward to read, since sometimes writers make it like comedically strong that it feels weird, and Stutters, if a large part of the character, are fine to leave in as long as they’re not doing too much yk? Like a character I write fairly often, Dr. Flug from Villainous, has a nervous stutter, so in a scene where he’s upset, I add it, but usually I try to keep it only happening occasionally, rather than the way he’s written by some to be stuttering every other sentence. Back to the topic at hand, i the funniest negative comment was the time I was asked if English was my first language bc I made like 2 grammar mistakes, still laugh abt that one

[@futurestoryteller]

Write for legibility. I think you _can_ write an accent, but you need to make sure it's readable. Not readable - don't write it.

[@explosive_nuclear_catz]

When stutters aren't overly used, it's fine.

[@jan_Eten]

2:57 you associate ðe ~ wiþ singsongy voices i associate ðe ~ wiþ kinky/risqué dialog we are not ðe same

[@pemanilnoob]

Good rule of thumb for critiquing people, NEVER assume they know what you’re talking about. NEVER be vague

[@Her_Imperious_Condescension]

My god, I hate that. Sometimes I get people commenting on my fic going "Hey, I'm confused about some plot points. Can you explain it?" No idea what 'some plot points' are without context, but sure, I respond "Sure, can you tell me what you were confused about? I'd like to know what I should revise to make it clearer, I know I have a lot of loose plot threads", and then I get nothing back, or a "Nevermind, I reread it." _That doesn't help me._

[@pemanilnoob]

@@Her_Imperious_Condescension oh that’s… yeah made me cringe.. do they just think you KNOW about all the plot holes in your story without fixing them? Weird stuff aaaaaa

[@bonkdonk297]

​@@pemanilnoob yeah, like why do people think that? I had someone tell me "there were some parts that didn't feel necessary and took away from the story, you should have taken them out before posting" and then never replied to me when I asked them which parts. do you really think I would have left the unnecessary parts degrading my story in if I KNEW WHAT THEY WERE?

[@realdragon]

I love when people treat me like an absolute idiot when explaining something to me

[@pemanilnoob]

@@bonkdonk297 really hope they dont become story critics in the future lol

[@artfuldodgerrr]

The only time I write stutters is if it's a nervous stutter. Like, imagine a character being told something devastating and responding like "W-what did you just say?" Kinda like a vocal double-take. Other than that, I don't write stutters.

[@jayreid2513]

Same! Or if it's a dialogue quirk a character already had (like if it's from a book or video game). Otherwise it can be hard for me to follow along to

[@KeefeSencen1543]

HONEY I´M HOME!

[@justsomesystem]

was it spelt charon or sharon i love him anyways

[@KeefeSencen1543]

@@justsomesystem charon I think

[@justsomesystem]

@@KeefeSencen1543 thanks anyways i love charon i would kiss his poison-covered lips

[@rock-not985]

I love when a fic includes accents, its so fun to read dialogue written in a way that you immediately can hear them speak with the accent

[@NoahDrawsALot]

Exactly this! Like there are some characters where i just can’t get invested in the fic because they left out the accent. I just love it when authors incorporate accents whilst still making it understandable

[@loismae73]

This is so true for characters with VERY strong accents- like Hagrid from harry potter

[@5charlotte5]

The thing is that so few authors get it right, so I'm just dragged out of the fic because the accent doesn't read anything like how it sounds. I prefer to just imagine it, but I guess this one is just preference

[@sketchycat6223]

Yes!!! If the characters accent is iconic & everyone knows they have it- I see no problem with writing it in.

[@Scypek]

As a non-native English speaker, I absolutely hate phonetic accents. English writing already has NOTHING to do with English pronunciation, why are we suddenly pretending otherwise? Oh, he's saying "ello" because the H is silent when he says it? As supposed to the "gh" in "though" or "e" in "smile" which are totally real parts of the word that exist?! Also, "speaking with an accent"... as opposed to what? There's no default. Everyone pronounces things their own way, and the formerly default British English is now officially a Funny Accent too.

[@SwoodleArt]

I think stutters can work, but most of the time I prefer when they aren't there. I think they're best used in moderation Do: "H-hey... you alright back there?" Don't: "H-h-hey.. y-you al-alright b-b-back t-t-there?" Sometimes this can make the dialogue harder to read, at least for me. Similar thing with accents. They can be fun to use in moderation, but it's better to not overdo it for the sake of comprehension.

[@Dressup_Doll]

The only time I’ve done anything like the second example is because the character is lagging and it’s like that in the show. That, or if the character is super terrified and panicking.

[@Mary_Studios]

The don't is only something I feel like makes sense if the person is really cold and is shivering and having a hard time talking.

[@flimsyflame1251]

I think one of the best pieces of advice I heard about stutters is that they’re usually not like the second example. Instead of “W-w-what d-did y-y-you just say?” People tend to repeat phrases and words. So “What- What did you- What did you just say?” Reads better I’d need to check if this is actually accurate cus I don’t remember where I got it from. But it has helped me to be more intentional with my stutters because it causes me to actually think about them

[@Ra1ndr0p]

For me when a character stutters I write something like '"-hey.. you.. you alright back there?' They stammered" instead of simply writing the stutter

[@lunarskys2645]

I always want my dialogue to feel like someone's talking, like, "if I forced the voice actor to read it as written, out loud, would it sound normal?" Which helps with "t-t-t-t-t-technically" bull crap, but it still makes a decent amount of stutters because in real life, people stutter all the dang time. At least they're _accurate_ stutters? No one's called me out on it though, so maybe I'm doing okay

[@deg8517]

I think for my own mental health I will not read anyone’s take on stuttering characters as a stutterer myself

[@deg8517]

(I fear it will boil down to “you shouldn’t write stuttering characters because it’s annoying to read and no one wants to hear about that)

[@sleppy_Hello]

As a stutterer as well, from what I've read, its when its over used, and its genuinely just harder to read. And specifically when said character isnt a stutterer in the original metarial, its not the "being annoying" you were worried about tho :)

[@pencilonpaper1026]

read the comments ahaha.... they were not it as well as someone who used to stutter

[@fantasystaplesuwu1554]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Some people just... have a stutter. Sometimes it's worse than other times. Sometimes it IS annoying to listen to, that can't be helped. But that doesn't mean writers should completely brush off such representation. If you are writing a character who has a stutter, then they have a stutter! In real life, you can't "tone down" a speech impediment or a disability for others comfort. That's not how it works. So it would make sense that writing such a character would require the "over-use" of stuttering.

[@lunarskys2645]

I think part of it, is ignorance to what stuttering is actually like in the real world, and the other part of it is people forgetting that listening to stuttering and reading stuttering aren't much alike. Sometimes a stutter written out can be a bit much because it makes it harder to read. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't write characters with stutters, it just means you need a better method of writing that stutter. I don't have a stutter but I support y'all!

[@LeotheLizardKwing]

As someone with a stutter that isn’t the generic “t-t-t” but more of a “my mouth has stopped working on this particular sound so I am going to start the entire sentence over,” I do think it’s helpful to write them into the text. Not every sentence needs to have a word the character trips over, but if it’s there in the voice it’s worth having, especially in fanfiction.

[@TealOSC]

I do that too! Like: "What.. uhh.. what are you doing?"

[@renth3m]

“wha-.. WHAT are you doing-?”

[@ronan-outoftime]

for me sometimes i forget what i'm about to say and have to repeat a few words, something like "and then they went and did.. they did something, they did, they did, oh i know they did this and said that"

[@ExzaktVid]

Yeah, the stutters in books are kinda unrealistic. For me its like, so, its like, its like, like, not just repea - um - repeating, a single sound.

[@renth3m]

normally i don’t have stuttering characters, but if they are afraid, they do stutter (not constantly) and repeat words plus my sociopath character restarts sentences to add more emotion

[@mikaylabaer4289]

As someone who legitimately stutters and has since elementary school, I don't mind it... if done correctly. (tl;dr included at the end, because this turned out _way_ longer than I wanted it to... I should make a reddit post) I was lucky enough to be able to go to speech pathology for nearly a decade while in school, so I know some of the tips and tricks to get over a stutter, as well as some of the most annoying aspects of it. Here's a few things I've learned that might be helpful to someone: (keep in mind, this is all my personal experience, and everyone's experiences with stuttering is different) *Stutters are situational.* Or, they _can_ be. In my experience, yes, they are. I don't necessarily stutter around my family and friends in private situations, because my nerves aren't high enough. If I do end up stuttering in front of them, it is likely because I am quoting something verbatim or nervous about how I'll come across. Personally, I stutter most when I am reading something aloud, or speaking in front of new people. Being in a customer service job has helped a bit with the latter, but if I'm tired or hungry or something, you can bet I'll stutter going through the menu. *Stutters can be related to emotions.* In my experience. Like stated before, I stutter more when I'm nervous, tired, hungry, etc. I also stutter when I'm happy, excited, grateful, etc. Anytime emotions are high, you can bet my vocal chords are going nuts. Speaking of which, *Stuttering has different physical manifestations.* And those manifestations can change. When I was in elementary school, I would elongate my syllables ("I don't uuundersssstand tthhat.") When my mental health was tanking at the start of middle school, I would repeat syllables a lot ("I don't- don't under-derstand that.") As I have grown older, and the manifestation that seems to have stuck, is having a physical blockage in my throat where air physically won't leave my throat ("I-... I don't-... understand th-... that.") It should be noted that one person can exhibit all of these at once. ("I-... I don't- don't uuundersssstand th-... that.") *Even people who haven't gone to speech pathology have developed tricks to help.* There are a few unconscious tricks that seem to occur naturally; such as repeated body movements along with the stutter, blinking, head nodding, tapping something, etc. There are also some tricks that I learned during my years of treatment; like humming before you start a word so you're less likely to get a block, slurring all your words together so your body can't form a block, slowing down and choosing each word deliberately, etc. There are also a few social tricks that don't work but kinda get engrained; like repeated apologies, nervous laughter, just stopping, or any other kind of shame-related form of getting around it. *Most of the time, I am aware I am stuttering.* Especially since I have been working on it since I started learning about multiplication, I hear myself stutter more often than the people around me do. When I am in public, I am _painfully_ aware of whenever I stutter. I can tell I am going to stutter before I start speaking, especially if I know what word I plan on saying. I can feel it in my throat when I lock in my brain that I plan on saying a specific Trouble Word or sound. It's almost like a bubble or a weight that just sits at the back of my throat. There are very few times where I don't know I'm stuttering, and that's usually just when I'm overexcited. *Certain sounds/syllables are more difficult than others.* It's probably different for everyone, but every fellow stutterer I've encountered has agreed that fricatives and plosives SUCK. Fricatives are like f, v, or s. S's are the worst for me; I hate when a word starts with them, I hate when a syllable starts with them, if I'm in a new environment I avoid it like the plague. Plosives include b, t, p, d, g, and k. Those mostly suck because, with my blocks, they involve stopping any sound coming out in order to produce the (ex)plosive sound. A few more small things, then I'll wrap it up because this is already too long: Stuttering can be affected by mental health. Stuttering can be physically painful. When trying to push your way past a stutter, your face can do some pretty weird things that you're unaware of. Kids can be ruthless, so if a character has been stuttering since they were kids and they went to a public school, they probably have some sort of trauma or triumphs that pop into their minds during bad stutter days. I've described stuttering before as a looming shadow waiting to strike, since it's always in the back of my mind and the back of my throat whenever I speak. It is rare (for me) to stutter in the middle of a syllable; it's either at the beginning of the syllable/word, or _possibly_ the end, I don't think I've stuttered on a random vowel before unless it's a diphthong. When writing a stutter, try imagining the shape of the mouth when they speak and figure out where the stutter is starting; mine usually start in my throat, but I've known people who have blockages somewhere further up in their mouth. A nervous stutter like "W-What" or "I- I'm not sure" are perfectly fine to include and not at all offensive; making someone be almost incomprehensible for the sake of "oh, look at this poor wittle baby, they're so innocent and cute" can be offensive and, honestly, could be seen as ableist because stuttering (I think) can be a neurodiversity and my own stutter came from my ADHD. Overall, if a stutter is done in a way that isn't cutesy UwU confessing to senpai infantilization, I'm pretty alright with it. Obviously, everybody stutters when nervous or giving a presentation, and I'm not trying to gatekeep anything. This list was more just to detail some of the nuances of a stuttering disorder. (I believe a stuttering disorder is defined as stuttering more than 10% of your words. And, yes, tests are ran by having the stutterer ramble about something or read something while the pathologist sits across from them with a pencil and paper marking down each success and each stutter as they speak. And, yes, it's stressful.) If you're writing someone who has a stuttering disorder, I would invite you to do some research, since my list isn't even half of it and it's already long enough. Drew Lynch, a comedian, has a stutter, so listening to some of his bits could be a good place to start in order to gain a general feel for it. Feel free to add any comments, questions, critiques, or concerns. tl;dr: Stuttering can be a really nuanced thing. What can be a stuttering trigger for some (like reading for me) could be perfectly fine for someone (like someone who struggles with everyday speech and conversation). If writing a character with a stutter, try giving them a tick/tell for when they stutter, like tapping their leg or 'bonking' their head in the air to push past it. If your character has been struggling for a while, give them different ways of coping with it/strategizing their conversations to avoid it. Certain sounds/syllables/words/phrases can be more difficult than others. Nervous stutters are something everyone can and does have, but try not to overdo it unless there's something else there.

[@MrInitialMan]

I have a stutter when I'm agitated, and I will get hung up on the first phoneme of a word and sound like a skipping CD. If someone gives me their full attention, I can then speak normally. So to write my stutter, it would be like. -------------------------------------------------- "K-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-" My co-worker looked at me. "You need something?" " _Keith,_ let's set the wires."

[@Monica-br8pi]

Absolute badass for leaving this comment. I have struggled with stuttering myself and have written characters who do so too, to differing degrees. I think writing with them has its own utility and, like most things, can be done well or poorly. I agree with your points and hope it will help people write better about the subject and, most importantly, be more informed about it! So, thanks!.

[@MrInitialMan]

To add to my earlier comment, I'll occasionally do the first two syllables of what I'm trying to say: "I tho- I tho- I tho-" is what I sometimes sound like when I'm trying to start a sentence saying "I thought." Oh, and getting impatient with a stammerer just makes it SO MUCH WORSE. So if in your story, you have someone telling someone who stutters to "just say it," _ramp up the stutter_ because that's what happens.

[@Respectable_Username]

This is an amazing comment and I wish it was possible to bookmark comments for future reference! If you do end up turning into a Reddit post, could you include the link somehow here (I know pasting a full link often doesn't work, but there's ways around that) for folks to keep for future reference?

[@lightningninja6905]

I might one day write a character with a stutter thanks to this fantastic post also, as an aside, stutter seems like a word it'd be easy to stutter when saying. Who came up with that? (probably the same person that came up with lisp)

[@SpaceOpal]

about the accents and stutters question - I think they should be included if they're a major part of a character. take for example Gobber from how to train your dragon. he has an accent and I simply cannot imagine his character and quotes without it. however, if a character is nervous or afraid, there are better ways to write it other than stuttering because its a little annoying to read when overused

[@persialionheart]

Fr. You can't write Gobber without writing his accent because then it just doesn't sound like him

[@angstqueen9360]

As someone writing a character with an obvious accent (Conductor, A Hat in Time)-- absolutely! Cutting out his accent would make him feel like a whole other character.

[@vocaberri]

THIS!!! I have an original character who occasionally stutters generally because he's a really awkward guy with an utter lack in confidence with his speech. Stutters and accents are good to use if it's a major part of the character and in moderation but over-using it can be... tiring to read.

[@faustina9328]

I often find stuttering in characters annoying because the stuttering always seems to be written the same way.

[@jisung1e3]

I agree (Unrelated but the aaravos pfp goes hard)

[@InsomniacFlaaffy]

The only negative comments I've gotten was them getting mad at me for writing an interracial couple dealing with racism, which they invalidated my blackness, or about "drama" I was in on tumblr

[@catbatrat1760]

I love your profile pic!

[@jootersblaccat]

@@catbatrat1760 I agree it's cute

[@kan1563]

Same, I've written about an AU set about being a FOB and fetishism since it was a POC character; and all the comments were just telling me that it's not realistic because it was set in the future, or that wish there was less focus on it and would rather have smut without the drama after. Weird times

[@darkstarr984]

@@kan1563It’s sad when people just dismiss things they don’t personally deal with. Like, I mostly hear people who want the drama too in these things. And do they realize if they only want the smut they could just click away after?

[@catbatrat1760]

@@kan1563 What does FOB stand for?

[@CosmizEve]

can't get negative comments if I dont post my work 😎

[@aceofspades8474]

Literally, I almost wish I had some of this constructive feedback though to give me some goals to work on and improve stuff, but I have nothing posted anywhere so no one can see my work yet.

[@notllikethat]

⁠@@aceofspades8474 yeah, same I wish I could get some feedback, but I want it to be said in a nice way. Otherwise I’ll just get upset and that’s not at all helpful

[@Arkylie]

​@@aceofspades8474 If you can handle some amount of negative feedback, putting your work out to the public (AO3 being a good space for that, if it's fic) is how you improve. I've watched so many webcomic artists grow tremendously over the course of a few years, purely because they put in the time to put things out to the public -- it's beautiful. Skill comes from practice. As far as goals to work on, well, it really depends on where you are in your writer's journey. Early on, it's just about getting words written down, then it's about achieving a level of coherence (people can tell what's going on). After you're able to write a coherent scene, then you might focus on having characters who are easy to tell apart based on how they talk; I heavily recommend trying to write a story opening without any visual detail, to see if you can introduce a cast (of two or three people -- I did it with five) who can be told apart without being "the redhead" and "the big guy" and "the skinny guy" or whatever. Once you have distinct characters, you might focus on plot. The most basic plot is "Someone wants something badly, and is having trouble getting it." If they don't want it badly, if they don't really *need* their goal, then why should we care? And if they don't have any trouble getting it, the story is typically boring. I've also heard this expressed as "Get your hero up a tree, and then throw rocks at him." If you've got all that, you might try working from prompts (Whumptober is coming up), or browsing TV Tropes to see what inspires your Muse. Or you might focus on getting better with the mechanics of English (or whichever language you're writing in) -- there's lots of resources for this. Just remember that the only true Rule of writing is to convey what you intend to convey -- using the words and phrasing and punctuation that doesn't get in the way of communication. Everything else is guidelines, not rules, and guidelines can be ignored when they get in the way of communication.

[@nova-witchwood]

I don’t think anyone will read my work- as a large multiverse fic, it has over a hundred characters ( some OCs ) and a very complicated system for how they work and interact. :(

[@aceofspades8474]

@@nova-witchwood Sounds niche but I’m sure it has an audience somewhere out there. Even if it doesn’t get seen much, you can still find the joy in writing it for yourself.

[@lizanna6390]

I got a comment from a frequent reader that a relationship was very one sided. They did this with lots of apologise and 🙈🙈🙈 but they were so right. I had planned to address it at some point but when readers started picking up on i did it sooner. If I have constructive criticism I try to deliver it in a compliment sandwiche but still sometimes get a nasty response.

[@V1G4M1]

Yup, been there before as a comment too. Really liked the fic chapter, but found that one thing felt weird… got a screenshot of a definition of what a crack fic is. when I tried to explain myself, they got nasty about it and blocked me. I know what a crack fic is, the thing had nothing to do with it being a crack fic! :/

[@lizanna6390]

@@V1G4M1 I was accused of trying to chase them off the Internet then got a comment from another reader having a go. I told them how much I enjoyed the story, read the whole thing, I just suggested they look for a beta reader. You'd think I'd insulted their mother.

[@V1G4M1]

@@lizanna6390 there has been a trend in writing circles that basically is „if you don‘t enjoy it, keep your mouth shut“ and while I do get it somewhat because people can be assholes, it‘s taken to extremes :/

[@lizanna6390]

@@V1G4M1 I do but if I enjoy and only spot this one flaw I try to show the writer respect and help them improve but I avoid it now unless their authors note say they welcome feedback as I do.

[@CrimsonMistress]

The only time I give criticism is when they ask for it, or when they say they’re open to it. Otherwise it’s unwarranted. If I don’t like the fic I just click off and don’t read any more works from the author bc I know I won’t like their style of writing 🤷

[@name2865-n2y]

In terms of long paragraphs, I feel it's about finding a middle ground. Overall I'm okay with long paragraphs, just not REALLY long paragraphs. However, the one thing I really struggle to tolerate is "Entire story with massive spaces between every line." I don't know how many people have experienced this, but I've read quite a few fics that will have so many gaps in between lines. 1 line gaps is great, 2-3 is fine, but I was surprised at how many stories can have 5+ blank lines in between each and every line. The reason you'd sometimes space things out a bit is so that it's easier on the eyes for big paragraphs, but having too many gaps can be just as hard to track the end of one line to the next than none at all.

[@dandylion5587]

I see what you mean, that can be hard to read, but this type of formatting has its place in my opinion. It can be a good way to sort of establish a certain somber and detached tone. I recommend checking out this fic called “Is our blood thicker than the water of the sea?” By Cherry_dynamite, especially on a computer. The fandoms Lego Ninjago. It’s a fic that I think utilizes this format well to bring a serious atmosphere to the story. It has a purpose and thus adds instead of subtracting from the story’s immersion. Sort of a heavy fic, deals with grief but definitely worth checking out👍

[@HokutoDokuro]

As an AO3 user (a phrase I wish I didn't have to type), I'll go Paragraph, two Enters, next Paragraph. It looks bad, but one Enter is reserved for when I'm doing weird formatting things (integrating in universe text messages, for example). I do this to accommodate the default line spacing in AO3 because I don't know how to change it.

[@multidebbie1]

This is so true. You'd have to constantly be scrolling and I personally find that annoying.

[@Arkylie]

From talking with certain authors, I've learned that the extra line spaces thing crops up when importing text from certain formats or in certain parts of the world (where the computers / mobile phones are subtly different, I guess). Meaning it's largely a mechanical thing, rather than a chosen style, and it takes effort to correct. (I know enough HTML to correct any problems with paragraph tags, because AO3 sometimes screws them up, typically when an entire line is under a single other tag, like Emphatic or Center or Small.) But yes, having extra lines of space between each paragraph is painful. Even more so on small mobile screens. I like internet basic spacing, which is just one single line of space between each paragraph, with additional lines here or there to show scene transitions or offset key moments. My best friend likes a lot more space, and I had to help her learn to dial it back a bit. I've also run across writers who seem to be allergic to putting more than one sentence in a paragraph, which is somehow worse. There's a happy medium somewhere.

[@sketchycat6223]

A typical paragraph for essays is 5-7 sentences, but for fics I think 7-10 sentences is a good average. And then I tend to follow rules I learned from English class so I always start a new paragraph when a character speaks or when there’s a massive change in location or tone.

[@alicethemad1613]

You can get across an accent with slang and the grammar they use (“wantin’” instead of “wanting”, use of “mate” or “y’all”, etc.) but phonetically transcribed accents are the bane of my existence and almost never work. It’s just as bad in published lit. God, especially for German characters. If I never have to see another “zhis” or “vhat” I will die happy.

[@phantomboba]

Yeah, I have a character who’s supposed to have a slight western accent and I do sometimes write his dialogue to reflect that, but as for the phonetically transcribed ones, I feel like it can be pretty offensive if done wrong :/

[@lfglws]

As someone who is not a native English speaker (german funnily, like you mentioned in your text), I also hate them because sometimes I don’t know what certain words mean. And if I would go with your example and tried searching up zhis, google probably wouldn’t help (obviously with harder words than zhis/this)

[@CaitEden53]

0:53 Accents and lisps and stuff yes, stutters sometimes. Nervous stutter can be kept. But stuff like lisps, accents, and verbal-impediment stuttering being actually written out can be distracting.

[@kenyastarflight]

Someone left a criticism on one of my older fanfics pointing out how racist and homophobic parts of it were. I hadn't written it intending to be racist or homophobic at all, but it was a huge wake-up call to how my conservative upbringing had led me to hold a lot of internalized prejudices, and while I've since distanced myself from the fic it DID lead to me re-evaluating a lot of my beliefs and viewpoints. I feel like I'm a much better person now.

[@consumingkazoos]

when a fanfic comment changes ur life for the better (thank you for changing)

[@FunkyLittlePoptart]

Good on you for using it as an opportunity to grow. A lot of people would just have gotten defensive about it.

[@tamatebako_yt]

Don't beat yourself up about it. Stuff like this tends to be seeded and ingrained at an early age, it's hard to let go of biases. I think you were already a "good person", just someone who had a rough start. I actually react pretty allergic to all the high-and-mighty people who never had to deal with this shit. They judge you oh so quickly because it's easy, yet never stop to consider why or how this might affect you. You're a person just like them. You deserve empathy, consideration, and room to grow. Never forget that.

[@leaczinkota1979]

I mean real people can be that it's realistic

[@Messwiththehonkyougetthebonk]

Accents can be an interesting thing to write, I read Harry Potter (The first book, Sorcerer's Stone) recently, and I found a lot of charm in Hagrid's accented dialogue, so in my opinion... Just don't go overboard, and it's honestly pretty cool. Stutters? Don't go overboard, a quick little 'H-hello?' Can really set the emotion and... vibe for the scene, but d-d-don't g-go o-overb-board o-o-or e-else i-it w-will b-be h-hard t-to r-r-read.

[@I_D0nt_Even_Kn0w-gt1yz]

I love your profile pic! Reminds me of benson the duck

[@Messwiththehonkyougetthebonk]

@@I_D0nt_Even_Kn0w-gt1yz Probably because it *IS* Benson the duck!

[@Vgjhkbtucru]

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm personally a big fan if the X-Men character Gambit, and I absolutely adore it when people write his accent

[@darkstarr984]

Thank you, you’re right about the stutters. The second one sounds like chattering teeth.

[@Messwiththehonkyougetthebonk]

I... I used 'overboard' three separate times in the example, don't repeat words either, alright?

[@osheridan]

8:04 You're misconstruing what Kudos is. If a story has 2,000 Kudos, every individual reader did not say "I want to give this 2,000 Kudos!" (though some probably did). A person thought it was good enough to give one (1) Kudo, and then that happened again and again.

[@BryanLu0]

I think you mean 11:00 ? Not sure how you are reading that from this though

[@nesnibila4888]

i got this one as a bookmark note on my dead dove fic & i love it: 'uhm so firstly I don't know why I clicked on this and secondly I have no idea what's happening in this book all I know is that it's wrong'

[@purplealpaca9278]

"All i know is that it's wrong." The best way to describe DD fics

[@mimisezlol]

There was this thing called future problem solvers in middle school, where teams had to come up with solutions to scenarios that were written based on predicted, well, future problems. There was a scenario writing contest, and one year I managed to write a scenario for it. It inexplicably got to 5th place in state, but it didn't make it to the national level because it ended too neatly and happily after having a generally bleak tone. Thing is, I was told that they didn't like it when writers killed off their main characters, when killing my main character would've made sense and suited the tone. I regret not killing her to this day, even as I've realized the other errors in a story I wrote like 17 years ago

[@ohshctrash1410]

Not fully a negative comment cause I know that it's meant in a nice way but a comment I got on a fic I posted last year was that it was too short and they wanted more. I agree. My fics are usually very short. I LOVE to read long fics, but I don't have the patience to write them. Also, I think stutters especially are an interesting thing to include! I'd like to see it, personally.

[@badger_shorts7708]

When I wrote my first ever fanfic, I was very proud of myself and felt discouraged when people called it terrible. However, after a few years of experience with writing and several wips, I reread through my first story and thought: “Wow, this is sh*t” And decided to make a remastered version, with better written chapters as well as adding a few story ideas I had for the original fanfic that never came to be. Just shows that it’s okay to look back at where you started and realise that it may not have been as great as you first thought.

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

I have yet to receive any real negative comments on my fic, so all I can do is contribute to the debate. I think writing out an accent comes across as a bit culturally insensitive. Just write the words and mention that the character has an accent; misspelling the words won’t make it sound like an accent; it’ll be inaccessible for screen readers and make you look insensitive. Stutters generally aren’t that bad, but they get really annoying if you’re too excessive with them, and you might want to try having some conversations with people who actually stutter, because I’ve seen some stutters written out in ways that don’t come across like real stuttering at all.

[@EmeraldSands]

Multiple people have criticized my writing not being very descriptive, but I have a mild form of aphantasia so there’s not a whole lot I can do about it. I’ve made my peace with it though, I write for fun and I’m going to keep writing the way that’s fun and relaxing for me

[@Arkylie]

I have aphantasia too! (On a scale of 0-10, my ability to visualize is about a 1.5 -- grey blobs, vaguely humanoid.) Which I didn't understand about myself (that it's even a Thing) back when I started one NaNoWriMo with the challenge to introduce my five-person cast with zero visual detail (the main character is temporarily blind), and *man* was that an interesting and rewarding experience! Making characters distinct without any visual detail is something every writer should attempt at some point. I have to devote specific editing passes to figuring out if the lack of visual/spatial detail is interfering with understanding what's going on. Dreaming up specific visual details on my own is next to impossible, so I make use of Google Maps Street View, digital walkthroughs for apartment listings, the Costume Encyclopedia from the How to Draw Manga series, stuff like that. References are super useful if you ever want to go further with it. But of course, there's no one way to write -- and if you don't care about the visual detail, why bother to include it? Write in the way that makes sense for you.

[@floofzykitty5072]

Write out DIALECTS, don't write accents. A lot of authors don't seem to have the distinction in their head between a dialect and an accent. A good rule of thumb is that if someone is using different grammar in a deliberate way, then it's a dialect. It was previously thought tat African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) was just black people getting English wrong, but after scholars studied it, they found that AAVE is a dialect because the grammatical rules are consistent.

[@Catherine-lq2dl]

Accents and stutters can add a lot to a character - and I mean in fanfiction and in published books. Besides, people do these things in reality so acting like don't exist in real life just feels stupid

[@swaanm]

They didn’t mean “don’t write characters with speech impediments or accents”, they meant don’t try to transcribe it. A lot of people will tell you to just use the dialogue tag “stuttered” or describe the character as having an accent in narration, rather than writing those phonetically. Personally I’m fine with writing stuttering like th-th-this or lisps like thith, but find it really annoying when people try to write out an accent instead of just saying the character has one when you first meet them and having them use appropriate slang and syntax for whatever accent they’e supposed to have. Making ze German character talk like zis is distracting to me. Edit: And personally, as an Asian -American, albeit one with an American accent. I’d rather a writer just say “He had a Chinese accent” instead of making the Chinese character say herro and ruv and shit.

[@lily-P-56]

I think you're misunderstanding, the debate is whether to write out the accent like "'ello 'arry, yer a wizard!" Or to just say "so and so spoke with a something accent" Personally, I like accents that are weiten out! But I do understand that a lot of people find them annoying to read.

[@diablo.the.cheater]

@@lily-P-56 They are specially unredeable for a international audience.

[@lily-P-56]

@@diablo.the.cheater Oh yeah, that's a good point.

[@pine_demon]

​@@lily-P-56weiten?

[@DelphineDofain]

I think worse than negative comments is no comment at all when you ask for constructive comments

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

2:28 exactly lmao, sent my fic to a friend and he was like "really cool but [character] opens up way too quickly at the end it's a bit rushed" im like yea that's because by that point i hated every single word i had to write in that fic i wasn't gonna do another whole ass page to let him open up naturally

[@Arkylie]

Heh, got a similar one myself, where the complaint was that Loki started opening up to Peter Parker way too easily, and that it should have taken more conversations "unless this fic is meant to be like five chapters long" -- which in fact it *was* meant to be XD It was part of a much longer, unsolicited criticism from a person who wasn't even logged in, so I just shrugged it off and laughed. I mean, yeah, if I had wanted to make it more reasonable, I'd have drawn out the conversation a lot more, but this wasn't a priority fic for me and it joined a massive pile of WIP, so I just put in underlying reasons that Loki was, in fact, primed for Peter's words to strike home and get him to open up to a teenage superhero he'd pretty much just met.

[@katiekuo2010]

@@Arkylie I get you lol. that character is way too defensive and private to write. I honestly had a headache when I was writing bc I was wondering which page would be the one where Loki finally opened up. then I just did I timeskip because I grew lazy.

[@Arkylie]

@@katiekuo2010 I've had a ton of fun writing all sorts of variations on MCU Loki. The one I got the comment on is "A Stray Parrot in Queens" in case you'd like to find my work on AO3. But I've got other pieces with Loki playing off of Peter, and of course ones with Tony or Odin. One of my most popular has Loki fall through the ice on Jotunheim, and so stay behind when Odin rescues the rest of the team, and have to talk with Laufey for a bit before Odin returns. Loki's terrified, Laufey negotiates with Odin, and then Loki's awareness of his own nature gets played out in a very different way -- while Odin uses all his wiles to manipulate the Warriors Three into helping him deal with Thor, and so gets Thor to actually *agree* to lose his powers and get sent to Midgard (with similarly depowered friends). All because Laufey's deal was "no war, if and only if Thor gets removed from the line of succession" -- and Odin has to fight off the encroaching Odinsleep long enough to make it work.

[@angstqueen9360]

I've got a character whose stutter is part of his character. It's something he's dealt with his whole life. That, and writing characters who are terrified/freezing? I have to write some stutter, at least. I prefer more "I-- You're here, you-- dont leave me!" In the former, but in the latter, no other way to get that teeth-chattering across sometimes. As for accents? I usually don't, but with some characters, their accent makes it feel like them. For instance, I've written for Disco Elysium and Psychonauts, and those don't need accents, but I'm writing Conductor from A Hat in Time, and his voice is so incredibly Scottish you cannot take it away without it feeling wrong. If he's not saying "Yer in my way, so move it, pecknecks!" then it won't feel like him. Saying "you're" in his dialogue feels wrong. That, and "nae" shows up even in canon! Aka: I'm in the "Some folks WILL have obvious accents" category. Ill make one guy say "You think it's somethin' bad?" Just because to me, that's how they need to sound. I see the point, but I'm on the other side from the OP

[@aububub1726]

accents and stutters can be good in moderation. i read fic for danganronpa 2 and it gets pretty annoying when people overuse stutters for tsumiki. she doesn’t stutter as much in the actual game than people make it out to seem

[@jayreid2513]

Yeah, Mikan doesn't stutter that much. Toko on the other hand: Her stutters are supposed to differentiate between her and Jill

[@cravingfriedrice]

I can accept stutters at the start of a sentence eg “W-what are you doing?” But not multiple stutters in a sentence eg “W-what are y-you do-doing?”

[@abiean222]

yeah, multiple stutters are just hard to read.

[@fantasystaplesuwu1554]

That is how some people talk. Some people have really bad stutters. If you're trying to write a character that has a stutter, then you kind of have to write them stuttering. Completely excluding representation of those with such speech impediments in writing isn't the way to go.

[@ryanmackenzie6109]

Yess, I've taken to doing part-way stutters with thing like "What are you.. uh.. doing?" Or "What.. are you doing?" Or "Wh-at are y-ou doing" It sort of conveys that same message of nervousness or shyness without breaking up the speech too much

[@Ra1ndr0p]

When I want a character to stutter more I make them repeat the same word twice, so instead of "W-what are you doing..." it's "W-what.. what are you doing"

[@cravingfriedrice]

@@Ra1ndr0p It does seem much easier on the eye

[@mash9415]

loving reminder: don't assume fic authors are okay with critique, even concrit! they are not obligated to make their writing better! i'm not saying you can never leave critique in comments but if the author doesn't ask for it, then pointing out the flaws of the writing can be hurtful and unnecessary. fanfic is written for free out of love, and posted out of generosity. people are allowed to write bad fic, no-one has to improve their writing (that they are doing for fun in their own time) to some standard of what you think is good. be kind online! okay love yall!

[@YourLocalDragonDealer]

Finally a reasonable person

[@onemin8729]

Sure thing, although I would argue that putting your work out there would inevitably be up to readers to critique. I sometimes see like fics that are just so badly written, but why say something to the author? I'll just look for something else. Bless fanfic authors 🙏 they do us a favor

[@BJGvideos]

Concrit used to be the norm and I miss those days. Concrit is POLITE. If you see something like a misspelling or a plot hole or something like that, PLEASE point it out because why would you NOT? Why would you sit on that and not say anything?

[@BJGvideos]

@@YourLocalDragonDealer Wanting people to notice flaws and say nothing is reasonable? That's asking people to withhold basic help.

[@mash9415]

@@BJGvideos it's great that you welcome concrit! you could put that in your a/ns so your readers know :) but not all of us like concrit, and i think that's completely fine

[@steamvyrus6249]

a lot of these don't seem like negative comments to me, constructive criticism isn't negative

[@BassGal92]

To some people, concrit is the equivalent of flaming.

[@fluffystuff500]

I think stutters are often overused in fanfic writing, but I don't think they need to be avoided entirely as they can give more insight into a character's emotional state without having to say it directly. There are other ways to do that, of course, but I don't think writing dialogue with a stutter for that purpose is inherently bad. It's all down to writer preferences. If the character naturally has a stutter or speech impediment, it would be better to express that through dialogue tags, since it might get tedious to read in every line. As for accents, I think authors need to be a little more careful because if they change the way words are written to depict the accent, it can mess with readability or come across as mockery.

[@kaybadberg534]

I got a comment a week ago pointing out a plot hole in my story and it delayed my fic about 4 days, but I completely agreed with it. I just have rejection sensitivity dysphoria and thought that people hated my work

[@tamatebako_yt]

Yep rejection sensitivty is a b**** - can confirm.

[@peepysprite]

We don't use the tilde because literally everyone who has been on the internet since the late 2000s associates its use _exclusively_ with whiny sex pests. Every time I see it I brace for incoming emotional manipulation.

[@snartboy5000]

dude i was online way later than that and i still cant escape that association

[@abiean222]

accents are fine so long as you know how to write one, which not everyone does. and even then, you don't really need them unless its for a character where their accent is a key character trait or its a plot point. as for the stutters, they are fine so long as its not excessive.

[@gerstein03]

For if accents and stutters should be written, I think it's fine if it's not super "pronounced" for lack of a better word. "W-what are you doing I-I don't understand" is fine but "w-what a-are you d-doing I-I d-don't understand" is overkill. For accents "Come 'ere darlin'" is okay but "Cam eere darlyn" is gross Also 12:40 as cheesy and cliche as this will sound, if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. It's costs nothing to be kind but failing that, in the immortal words of Hugh Jackman, shutting the fuck up is also free

[@pandemicphilly60]

The only comment I ever got said my fic had "unique ideas" but was "insane" in practice. I still don't know what those unique ideas were.

[@Person-yr6td]

I think if the character canonically talks with an accent or a stutter then it totally makes sense to write that in as long as it's in moderation.

[@portobeIIa]

Im not a fanfic writer, but i am a text roleplayer and these greatly overlap. As a non native speaker, i kinda hate written out accents, because they assume you will pronnounce these things in your head as if a native speaker would. I rather have instructions instead. "Well, that's true," he said with his strong slavic accent. "You're not goin' anywhere, missy!" She said. But i LOOOOVE stutters. I think it makes the writing so much more realistically. I have social anxiety and stutter a lot myself, so I happen to know what saying the same word 4 times in a row feels like and how i can translate that into writing. "Wait, uh... you're not, not actually doing this..." "She just WENT there and, and, and, and DID IT!" If you have a hard time moving on from the horrible fanfic s-s-stuttering, try replacing hyphens with commas. If it doesnt make sense with commas, rewrite it.

[@sneexe]

Stutters in real life are more often repeating a word than one letter or syllable. It seems more natural when they’re written that way.

[@faustina9328]

This

[@fritzy8318]

Yes. But the way they are written fucking exist.

[@faustina9328]

@fritzy8318 Yes, but it's stereotypical.

[@sneexe]

@@fritzy8318 …Did I ever say it doesn’t? I stutter both ways irl, but it is so fucking insufferable to read when they’re written the way they typically are. I think it’s fine to put it once at the beginning of a sentence, but when it’s overused (you know what I’m talking about…) honestly I will instantly click off a fic

[@GensChilledCola]

i think accents are nice twist, i don't read much fanfic but a good example of accents imo is in the manga series "the summer hikaru died" where most characters have a country accent with the exception of a few, and some characters have thicker accents than others (at least that's how I interpret it) for example words ending in "ing" often get changed to ending with "in' ", or "you" to "ya", "and" to "an' " I think if its only a few words in the speech that are give an accent it reads nicely

[@mintyecco]

The accents thing feels weird. I don’t do it very often, I normally don’t ever, but since joining the TF2 fandom I’ve been more accommodating. I’ve tried to take how Sniper and Scout talk, for instance, and take parts of them and put it to the page. There are fics that do it far better than me, but it is something I’ve done recently.

[@toyotatacoma1616]

Yeah normally I’m an accent skeptic, but you simply cannot write the TF2 mercs without adding that flavor to the dialogue.

[@mintyecco]

@@toyotatacoma1616I’m honestly terrible at it compared to many other writers. I can do a little bit with Scout, but Sniper is tricky af. Idk, it’s one thing to listen to voice lines over and over again but it hits different than if I was doing that for a show or something. The people who read my stuff say it’s pretty solid, but I think they’re mostly talking about the descriptions in that department 😅. God forbid I’m good at writing anyone but Engie (I’m also from the south) 😂

[@dalacer6670]

Yeah same since the accents the characters have are quite theatrical (Idk if that’s a good way to describe it lmao)

[@Animasing-n8p]

as a french perso i thought they meant accent such as "é,è,à" etc and i was like "what do u mean don't write accent they are in words?! " but when i finally understood, i thought about it. And I think it highly depends on the narration style you're going for. Though, for the stuttering, it's just best not to overdo it because it easily can become hard to read! Also for the accents, i feel like sometimes you can just easily make the accent implied without like, writing it directly? By using common words used by people in this region or something, or by the use of ponctuation maybe? I'm unsure

[@gabrielabatista6016]

As a Brazilian, I've made this mistake before too. Took me a while to understand that in English accents are the different ways people pronounce things when they speak based on region and/or language, and the "á, ã, â" is more usually specified as a graphical accent instead. False cognates being the bane of all bilinguals, trilinguals and multilinguals in general; gotta love them, lol.

[@Animasing-n8p]

@@gabrielabatista6016 FOR REAL THOUGH LMAO-

[@shyguymike]

I have once been told that I include way too many details. Not everyone cares about every single character's birthdate, middle name and blood type. I mean, I still do not follow that advice, but it is good advice.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

I'm interested in character's birthdays! I just like knowing them; I've always thought about writing a story where 2 characters share the same birthday!

[@TiredOcto]

About the accents thing, they can be ok if done well but if not.. I read a fic once that had half the letters missing from a British guys speech and not even where it made sense, and just sounded like the stereotypical American impression of the accent he had and honestly hurt to read

[@fantasystaplesuwu1554]

Question. If stutters should be used in moderation, how would you write a story with one of the main characters having a stutter speech impediment? Of course you don't see that often, but it's something one may want to do. I don't think we should completely exclude representation of those with a prominent stutter if one desires to write such a character.

[@uboa8060]

I mean, the moderation thing can still apply there, just in a different way. If it's the t-stutter, you could just not overdo it with too many repetitions all over the place, since it would convey the same idea. But it would obviously still show up more because it's a main point of the story.

[@totallynotanauthor]

For the accent thing (0:49), I write out accents. For a Scottish character (an earth elf and my oc, not a fanfic), I have the POV character note that "earth" is pronounced "air-the." For a character in a not so well-known book (The Black Book of Secrets), I have him written (when talking to the other POV character (oc of mine)] in a way that shows off his accent. Here's an example: "'e told me it was 'er fault the vase shattered, not yours!" [Lyra (oc) had knocked over a very expensive vase and Ludlow (character) had been helping her clean it up before Lyra's parents saw.]

[@vanillaextract4135]

Most critiques I’ve received on published works have been minor things like “you translated this word to Russian weirdly” or “this detail doesn’t fit the canon timeline.” Stuff there’s really no disagreeing with because it’s objectively true. Stutters: Some people have stutters in real life??? Of course it’s not bad to portray that in fics. Though I would definitely suggest doing a bit of research on how stutters actually work instead of just putting several of the first letter of every word and calling it a day. Accents: Generally my rule is if all the characters have the same accent, you don’t write it out. If someone has a notable different accent, you can, just don’t go overboard. A lot of the times you can get across an accent just with dialogue, ie if a character says “jolly good!” your readers are probably going to assume the fucker is British (that’s just an example, it doesn’t have to be a stock phrase like that, a little googling of regional slang goes a long way).

[@vanillaextract4135]

On another note - there have been times when I’ve posted fics with really bad formatting issues and I REALLY wish someone would have pointed that out to me 😭

[@jakobdiehn6596]

"i edited out all the useless fluff" me: the sacred texts!

[@lilythearcticfox]

I think that if you're writing someone's speech, don't include stutters. But if stuttering is part of the character, I'd keep it 3:54 I have the opposite issue. I'm a beginner writer, and pretty much my whole book so far is dialogue. I think it's mostly because of the way I think and imagine things. I skip the u important details and skip straight to the important stuff like dialogue. It also makes my chapters really short. They're like 3-4 pages long so far, man.

[@SeltzerFountain]

Stutters are fine, i genuinely dont get how they take people out of their immersion. Do you not hear people stutter irl?

[@SheepSleeper]

For the accent question: I read a book called "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neal Hurston. It was an incredible book and I highly recommend it if anyone is interested in African American Literature from the Harlem Renaissance. However, the dialogue was difficult to read because it was written in vernacular, but when I read it out loud it made perfect sense since its written how it sounds.While Hurston didn't need to use vernacular for her dialogue, its impressive how she copied it from sound to paper. I would agree that accents/vernacular should be written out because it makes the work difficult to read, but it also adds to the setting, both in location and time period. Great Ace Attorney, which is another incredible work, also writes accents for characters like Gina who speaks differently from other characters because she is Irish. So I can see the balance of accents/vernacular usage being when a character should be 'othered' through the setting they originated to expand upon the world the author created.

[@flareongirl3606]

I liked the last one because it’s true. Being kind is not that hard to do. Readers get a more enjoyable story and writers can keep on improving their craft for themselves and for others. Kindness can go a long way

[@phantomheist]

I find accents and stutter help create a sense of character when reading. However, whenever I do write them I write a translation after.

[@VoldyIsMouldy]

If used in moderation stutters can be ok, just don’t wattpad it. As for accents I personally love seeing them written out and I often love the struggle of trying to figure out what the hell that character just said lmao

[@pageturner2958]

For the first one, I think written out stutters and accents can be ok, kinda depends on context For example, I am currently reading a webcomic that is historical fiction and the characters come from different places across the US, so having some of their accents spelled out helps with the immersion I guess context matters and there is absolutely nothing wrong with HATING accents in writing. But there are billions of people on this earth and billions of books that have been made, so one man's ick may be anothers yum and one book's flaw may be another's win

[@LitaMoraes]

I think accents could be written out in dialogue, but not all the time, otherwise it’s downright irritating.

[@plantcatto]

stutters and accents r good in moderation unless the character is a stutterer, then try to match how much the character stutters in canon with wh ur writing. so if they stutter when saying certain words at the beginning of a sentence in canon, copy that into ur fanfic. if that makes sense? stutterers feel free to correct me politely!

[@thefirstuwu8874]

Just want to say how much I like your use of images (stock photos) in your videos, it gives more soul and sometimes subtly makes a joke, a comment or just shortly expresses an opinion.

[@SorryItBroke]

3:09 i agree like ~ is a cool symbol and fuck just periods, exclamation marks, and question marks. we neeed periods, exclamation marks, AND fluently marks P.S. 7:23 that commenter was really nice ngl!! and they surprisingly only made one mistake in their like thingy and it was capitalizing capitalizations, but aside from that, their doing good at the language!! i can confirm as a big ol hamburger eating amurican!!!

[@commercialairliner]

1:06 I'm sorry, donkey-WHAT?!?

[@harlows.journey]

I appreciate when stutters are more written accurately "he- hey, how- hey, how are you?" not "h-hey h-h-how a-are you?"

[@Riri_loves_cats]

‘Tonka Joey is amazing!’ We all shout in unison

[@markipliertrash1562]

TONKA JOEY IS AMAZING 🗣️

[@razpb3rry_shortcak3]

TONKA JOEY IS AMAZING

[@Stoatmaster]

~Tonka Joey is amazing~

[@vannillaAJofficial204]

TONKA JOEY IS AMAZING🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@Haumenic]

TONKA JOEY IS AMAZING 😟😊😋😌😎😃😅😂😙😄🤩😃😒😃😒😄😕😄😏😄😏😏😏

[@girlwiththegreenhair]

Personally i hate when things are written in accent, just tell me the character has one, otherwise i can't stop laughing

[@kens_a_dreamer]

I think stuttering is fine, as long as it’s not too redundant, accents I’m cool with too if it’s not illegible. I’m currently reading a book called “Almost There” and it’s basically an AU of what could’ve happened if Tiana accepted Dr. Faciler’s deal. A good read so far, but when Tiana said (and I quote) “N’awlins” I had to pause and figure out what she said. With the context, I figured out pretty quick that she said “New Orleans” but it still threw me off. 😅

[@BJGvideos]

That's a pretty common real-world term for the city though.

[@iszybrawl2466]

Accents give characters more characterization, there are different ways to make characters form of speaking completely different, and accents is just one of the ways to differenciate every character, also saying "don't use accents" in the comments is stupid because it's such a subjective thing that your enjoyement of it comes of you personally and not the writer

[@WYATTWHATWHY]

writing out accents and subsequently stutters require a bit of nuance and moderation when implementing them in fic and writing. if too extreme, it can be really frustrating and annoying to read and even a hassle to write yourself. "w-w-w-w-what di-di-di-did you s-s-s-s-s-say...?" "what-- what did y-you say?" "What did you say?" accents in writing are slightly dissimilar to stutters/stuttering, because if the accent isn't such a major part of the character in the plot or the character still sounds like them without it-- then you maybe shouldn't write out every syllable to the T. But, if relevant or the character just isn't THEM without it written, then go for it! once again, it's all personal discretion and it changes from fic-to-fic and fandom-to-fandom! some fics i can let slide excessive stuttering or excessive accent writing because you can take what you can get, or the rest of the fic (Like plot, worldbuilding, concept, ship) is way better and important than dialogue! tl;dr- --- do what you want but have some discretion

[@fritzy8318]

People have stutter like that in real life ass.

[@WYATTWHATWHY]

@@fritzy8318 Read my comment again and realise I'm not talking about medical conditions, ass.

[@kipperdoodler]

i love accents in writing, it helps the characters feel more like themselves and it’s a fun little immersion thing stutters should be used SPARINGLY!!!

[@MoonFlower_pan]

This isn’t about anything in the video. So I can was reading the picture at 6:13 and I just want to say as a Mexican American person I would like to say that the circled ‘slams’ that says cap is so real. That’s it. Good video!

[@Danny_the_Platypus]

I personally cant stand reading fics where the author doesnt write accents. I love reading accents in dialogue cuz it just makes the characters sound more human. And for stutters, i feel like when done well they can add a lot to the fic, but shouldnt be used in abundance

[@Squishy_the_fox]

I NEVER get critism and I HATE IT. There was even a time someone left an entire paragraph of hearts on my fic 😭😭😭😭

[@CallieTheCattleDog]

I say, yes. Stutters and accents help set emotion or help you understand imagining the character better, and it makes you seem more advanced in writing. I think they’re some good basic tools for story writing.