I have a name —

Titles can both make and break a chapter. They aren't supposed to be giving away everything that happens in a chapter but they are supposed to give some kind of insight of what is about to happen ahead. The purpose of chapter titles are to sum up what is to happen in the chapter. I've seen people not name their title chapters and instead go with numbers like I do in this tutorial or, like I've already stated, name their titles.

One shots are stories that do not need a title--except a main title. I have to admit, I hate it when people title their last chapter 'Final'; it's a bit lame and I'm not a big fan of it. Of course, if I have read all of the story up to that point, I'm not going to stop because of a stupid, little detail like that. If you choose to use chapter titles, keep consistancy in it. From my second newest story "Her Past Becomes His Present", I have been putting titles for each chapter including the preface. Writing a preface isn't necessary but it can help if you're skipping a bit chunk of your story to jump into the main events. Read mine if you don't understand--I'd explain but that's a different topic.

When putting titles, consitancy is important! Don't make it look sloppy but putting ellipises ("..."). It looks sloppy and makes it look awkward as well. Making your titles in all capital letters can SEEM LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING AT THEM (your readers). So do your best to avoid that as well--the same goes for your main title as well. I MEAN DON'T YOU FEEL LIKE I'M SHOUTING AT YOU RIGHT NOW? I DO. It might just be me, but ... just don't do it and maybe I'll read your story longer. Also, when you title chapters--something I don't always do which may or may not be good if I really chose to write a real book eventually--if you don't capitalize your chapter titles at least capitalize the proper nouns. That's what I do at least. I'm no writing god(dess; I don't like to differentiate gender in certain words because it's ist ... kind of) so not everything I do is right no matter how official looking it seems.

Here's a big tip: don't make your chapter title too long! When you do that, you could overwhelm your reader. And don't use cliché titles either because they get old real quick. Yes, it is pretty hard to avoid clichés nowadays but there are a lot of other titles than you can muster without seeing ... desperate. To seem desperate when writing is generally when you choose general ideas/themes/plot ideas (go here). There's nothing wrong with going with the flow of what's popular, you just have to slightly stray away from that flow and make your idea stand out.

To expand on plots that are below. The linked pages are those that lead to information about these people (their main websites or Wikipedia pages) in case you don't or want to know more.

Stalker on the Kill ... watch out!

Have you seen this before? It is the very thing that makes almost every horror film predictable. The main guy has some bizarre troubled past that turns him to the metaphorical "dark side" to which he becomes a killer. In some instances, when writing, that is acceptable because of one reason: you are (most likely) basing your story off of an existant horror film. Existant is the key word. If you're just claiming to be basing your story off of a movie/book/piece of literature in the form of film or writing, etc. don't even bother. Most horror films are very predictable to a point where people watching can literally shout to their TV/screen "Don't open the closet!" or something like that and then see the character do the exact opposite. Horror films are made for the suspence factor that writing can't always provide because of the lack of the sensual hearing factor. Films typically put in eerie music that contributes to the feeling that something bad is about to happen. When writing you are purely working with the premonition of your readers. From my "The Thirteenth Floor" story, there are several factors that I took into consideration when writing it. I based it off of several movies, mashing them together for bigger twists with my own plot. Frankly, the idea of said Person A wanting to be like said Person B is weird. I don't buy it. I'd find it creepy if a person wanted to be like me. So stratch out that idea now. You can't get much substance for a plot from that idea. Just watch "The Roommate" instead of wasting your time.

Elementary My Dear Watson

Mysteries are great. However, they're hard to write. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous/popular dectives worldwide. I've attempted to write a mystery or two before but they were hard. Authors such as Agatha Christie, Steven King, James Patterson, and a few notable others are contemporary writers who have made their names by writing suspence and mystery novels for (young) adults. They make writing these types of stories easy. They aren't. You have to have the right amount of foreshadowing so that you don't give away your plot or the true villan (antagonist/bad guy) behind the epidemic of your story. When giving hints/clues in your story to who the real bad guy is, you also have to throw in "red herrings". These red herrings are designed to throw off the reader/viewer on who they think did the bad deed/crime. Before finishing the story, you must decide the ending of your story. The little stuff in the middle will come later. You have to know who commited the crime prior to writing the story or else it'll end up being confusing for those reading it. If you don't enjoy reading to gain experience for this particular category because they can be boring watch films directed by M. Night Shymalan. The guy has done a bit of work with mystery, horror, and action. He doesn't write scripts all the time but when he does, his movies come out great.

It's Alive! ... oh shiieetttt

Major turn off for me is those plot ideas where the protagonist is a scientist--well, just stop there. We all know that means nothing good is going to happen next. The very idea of a scientist working on humans is slim--that's what literal lab rats are used for. It's a bit unrealistic. Don't even attempt to be another Mary Shelly or James Patterson (who is an adult and young adult author). Frankenstein can only be made once and I'm sure Maximum Ride and her gang don't want any wannabes hanging around them. I would expand on this but I can't. It's rare to see stories like this but when I do ... they're just really weird and I don't even want to think about them any longer than I have to.

All Bow Down to King Blah Blah Blah

Now think aboug this for a moment. Why is it always that the main character--aside from the OC made, if there is one--is a Kingka? Why isn't the OC the popular one with all the friends and the guy from some idol band the one that is on the lower end of the social ladder? I'm not a big fan of writing stories with a high school because I would be all bitter and make the OC of my choosing popular and while the guy is on the lower end of the spectrum. In other stories, why is it that the girl is the lowly one with a poor job and crappy house while the guy is rich because of his family? Can't it be the other way every once and a while? You see that a lot in dramas--which might be where you authors get these ideas from--and just like everything else, they are getting old.

We Be in' Yo!

I'll be the first to admit that being in a gang would be pretty cool. I'm not a thug, mind you but they can prove to be interesting. Once again, guys previal and seem to be more popular with this whole gang scheme. They're (male idols) are always in this dangerous gang where the leader of the idol group is the leader of the gang as well--predictable. It isn't just guys who are in gangs. Females are in gangs as well. But moving onto more serious gangs than ones found in high schools--loan sharks. Loan sharks are dangerous people who work for the black market. Just like any gang, they aren't people to be fooled around with because they mean business. You might see these stories where this innocent girl runs into a tough gangster and falls in love, swearing to not hurt any female or some crap like that. Too bad most of us are writing realistic fiction where those odd rules do not apply. Gangs of any kind most likely have a soft spot for family members--which would be members of their gang. Other than that, don't count on a gang member becoming your friend unless you're a gang member yourself.

He's All Mine Now or I Hate You Fill-in-name-here!

Do you know where this is headed? This is all about where an evil ex comes back or a family member hates the main protagonist's lover. I find it annoying at times. You can always see that the lover's thoughts bounce back and forth from their current lover to the ir past one. When a family member loathes another you can see that the younger (most likely that the parent hates the child, vice versa) doesn't care and love prevails after the whole "You're forbidden to see each other" spiel occurs. Or even competiting loves in the same family. It's annoying where, for instance, the girl is the main character--an OC--and loves this one guy, my bias Yong Junhyung, unconditionally. Then suddenly out of nowhere his brother/cousin comes out of nowhere and suddenly decides that he's in love with her--the OC-- as well. Too bad, I saw her/him first now GTFO. We all know that the one that (s)he fell in love with first will end up with him/her in the very end.

I'm Sorry I Forgot ... Who're You?

Yes, this is about amnesia. This can be spun in different ways. Most occur after a big accident that tragically effects everyone's lives. To write a big accident that could possibly wipe someone's memory you have to make it a big bang! Not some tiny, puny scuffle that's comprised of an event that you (the author) stuck into a single paragraph. A long description is what is needed. I hate it when a happening is over and done with so quickly. It's super annoying when the way the person describes it make it seem like it came out of "Heroes". Fist fights are great but can be hard to explain what's going on because if there are multiple people fighting, it's hard to show a focus on them all. Even in movies you can't single out a pair (or more) as their duking it out. It's not impossible to do but you have to be careful while doing it. Anime does this well, by going back and forth between fights by giving each duel their own episode that nothing is missed--but it elongates it to a point that might make people get bored. Most do not know but there are actually several types of amnesia. Amnesia can be a very suspensful thing to add to a plot but it can also break your plot. If suddenly your two main characters are with each other, one hoping that the other will remember her/him, and suddenly it happens--you have a problem. There's a very slim chance that out of nowhere you just remember. It seems unrealistic even if it is possible.

You're Missing My Point!

There are many instances that you can missunderstand a situation. At times, authors take things too far and make the situations seem very ... bad. To misconstrued a situation without first seeing what you missed, is unrealistic and if it is realistic--it is childish. Even in the real world always get to the bottom of something before you make serious conclusions. Authors take things too far and, well, I don't like it because it isn't humanly possble for the mind to go that overboard with something they don't understand. I wish to elaborate more on this subject but I don't feel like it sorry!

More will be added to the list as I go along but I wanted to get this done with first. Be sure to request ideas if you want a specific topic talked about. Did these pictures slow your reading? I bet they did. I reread this later on I saw that I had a lot of errors. Sorry about that.