#Bughead Writers' Guild

[bugheadwritersguild]

With the summer hiatus upon us, I’m thinking of perhaps (no guarantees) starting this blog up again? I want it to be a good writing resource but specifically I’d like to update the beta list and perhaps do little blips- mention where your strengths are so we can match people up based on where they need mentorship. Doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to other betas, but it’d probably be helpful for specific skills (chefs giving food opinions as part of beta-ing for example or people like me with English degrees having extra help in grammar and basic writing). I don’t think I can dedicate a whole whack of time to this blog and I’m not letting my hopes get up like last year but I think this would be a great community tool and it’s a hole that we have previously filled in the community as others have taken on other vastly important roles.

Let me know what you think and maybe we can start one hiatus with the end of another 💙💛

-Kelsey ( @brownhairedbetty )

[bugheadwritersguild]

Hey buggies!

So unfortunately my life has become quite busy and while I’ll still be sharing things I find relevant to this blog as I’m on tumblr but I will be holding off on English 101 with Betty for the next 2 Sunday’s. It will return on August 19th I promise! We got a bit more attention on lesson 2 than lesson 1 so I think we can get the ball rolling when we get started again. Thanks for understanding.

-Kelsey/Betty ( @brownhairedbetty )

[bugheadwritersguild]

Characterization and “OOC” (Out of Character)

*Reminder that this is generally writing advice and you don’t have to follow it if it’s not your style.

When you’re putting your characters into alternate universes, you have a bit of freedom. That being said, people tend to read fanfiction because they like the characters, and if you deviate from who they “are” there should generally be a good reason. For example, Betty is a very friendly person, but if she was assaulted she might start to act withdrawn. Another reason for going out of character might be because you want to align the characters more with the comics (this is fairly common with Jughead as the comics version has more humour than sarcasm and is more concerned with food than classism).

You may also sacrifice character traits for characters that play side roles in your narrative (I’ve seen some where Archie is a cheater and Veronica is horrible- some people genuinely don’t like these characters and perhaps use their writing for wish fulfillment, or perhaps like me it’s just integral for the plot to work). It’s great if you can still keep some of their “essence” but sometimes that just doesn’t mesh with the writing.

This is important if you want to really shake a character up. Give them a good reason. Betty turns a 180 and becomes a dark badass that even “Dark Betty” can’t rival? Why? And just saying “oh she was like that all along and was just suppressed” is probably not your best bet. You can say that, but it’s much better to show it or go gradually.

Maybe you want to put Jughead in sports even though he’s generally disinterested. Find an angle to preserve his character- make Archie basically force him into it. Make him lose a bet. Make him ironically interested in it (think: The Other Guys, ballet scene- I don’t approve of the context for it, but just as an idea). Make him do it in an awkward attempt to impress Betty so they can be “the cheerleader and the jock” and admit he seriously hates it when the truth comes out.

But here’s what we know about Betty’s character: She’s passionate about doing the right thing, even if she has to make sacrifices or do not-so-great things to get there. She has a “darkness” that is left ambiguous but is generally not who she is as a person. She is very compassionate. She has a natural curiosity which feeds into her investigative tendencies.  She appears to be the “perfect girl next door” and pushes herself to do well in school and enjoys extracurriculars like running the Blue and Gold as well as cheerleading and being a guide for new students. She doesn’t want to be perfect, but doesn’t appear to have a disdain for her clothing so it’s probably more a rebellion from her demanding mother. She also takes medication for ADHD (it’s implied that Alice is using it as a “study drug for her” but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely. She also has a mental health history when it comes to self harm as she digs her nails into her palms). These are good things to keep in mind when you write about Betty, but you can change things as you need to. Try to keep Betty as Betty, but make her your own too.

Jughead Jones has adopted a few fandom quirks. The first one is a disdain for his first name, which is suggested as he doesn’t go by it in the show but isn’t outright stated. His father doesn’t go by Forsythe either, so it might just be a time honoured tradition to go by a nickname. Another quirk that is common is smoking. Neither of these things are out of character for Jughead but they’re also not established in the canon. They fit in with his character as he had a dark and brooding exterior who wouldn’t care about what a bunch of teachers say in grade school about cigarettes being cancerous and he gets bullied enough that it could be another reason for the aversion fo his name. The fact that his relationship with his father, particularly in season 1, is so rocky may also contribute to this. For canon character, he appears to transition from lone-wolf introvert to leader which speaks more about the people he is around. He would not be friends with the jocks, but he is a prince among thieves so to speak. He is recklessly passionate about his beliefs and makes decisions before thinking them through. More often than not, this has led to problems down the road. He also enjoys a hefty amount of sarcasm and borderlines on being a conspiracy theorist (or is and is just fuke-lucky like in some of the comics).

These are hardly exhaustive descriptions, but it’s just something to keep in mind while writing. WWJD and WWBD- what would Jughead do? and what would Betty do? Keep who they are at the forefront of your writing, adjusting as necessary, and you’re already on your way to a good story. That being said, there are always exceptions to the rules so don’t be afraid to break them when necessary.

[bugheadwritersguild]

I’ve tried to stay out of this because I was a bit nervous about dramatic fallout, but you are all right. Plagiarism is theft. Due to the nature of this blog, I don’t think there will be any issues, but I just wanted to make it clear.

-Kelsey/Betty ( @brownhairedbetty )

Attention, Buggies.

In light of multiple recent accusations of plagarism within the fandom, the @blueandgoldoffice will not be reccing any fics that have been found to be plagarized nor any other works from the authors in question.

The most recent fic’s plagiarism has not been made public at this point, no doubt it will, and the moderators have decided not to out this author or this fic until she has had a chance to publically take responsibility.

That being said, there is a zero tolerance theft policy in this community and on our personal blogs - particularly (as in this case) when there is substantially documented evidence. While this situation is nothing but heart-breaking and unfortunate, we can’t look on this situation with the least degree of allowance. Everyone who chooses to steal - whether it’s a few lines, plot points, or larger themes - violates the trust between author and reader.

Fanfiction is a wonderful outlet for creativity and an invaluable way to add to any fandom. When content is published under the guise of originality and found to be the product of someone else’s creativity, we simply cannot support the work or the author any longer. We hope you understand our stance on this tough topic.

Thank you for understanding,

<3 Jandy and the rest of the B&G Mods

[bugheadwritersguild]

Welcome to lesson 3!

Common spelling mistakes.

So we have the basic your vs you’re or their, there, they’re. It’s vs its. Stuff that is often taught early on but a lot of people forget over time (side note: a lot is another one as quite a few people spell it alot). So your and their are possessive pronouns which means you are talking about things that people own or otherwise poses. “Hey Jughead, I like your crown beanie.” “We should go to Pop’s, their milkshakes are the best.” Its is also a possessive pronoun as opposed to it’s which is a contraction of “it is”. This can be confusing because possessive pronouns with names involve apostrophe s (eg: Jughead’s treehouse) so it would stand to reason that it’s is just following this rule. Unfortunately, the English language doesn’t always follow rules and does not agree with that sentiment.

Like it’s is a contraction of it is, you’re is a contraction of you are. Think of that apostrophe as the glue holding the shortened words together and if the sentence works just as well with “you are” then you’re is the spelling you’re going for. Same goes with they’re. They are going to Pop’s. They’re going to Pop’s.

There is a place. Over there, for example. Your character might also say “there there” in comfort, though the reasons why people do this is a bit convoluted (you’re welcome to fall down the google rabbit hole if you’re curious).

There is also then and than. Simple, then is in relation to time. Betty and Jughead kissed for the first time and then Betty had an epiphany about the car Polly had mentioned. Than is a comparison word. Betty is taller than Veronica. We went to the Whyte Wyrm and then Pop’s because milkshakes are better than beer.

To go back to contractions, another common spelling mistake (and admittedly, one that I have strong personal feelings about and it brings me out of that immersive state when I come across it, but it’s okay if you’ve made this mistake before) we have should of. That’s not a contraction, right? You’re right. It also doesn’t make sense according to the English language. Unfortunately, could have is not commonly used it conversation. Could’ve, the contraction, is infinitely more popular and if you’re mostly hearing it out loud, it does sound suspiciously like could of. It’s not though. Side note: Please do not check out the definition of “could of” in urban dictionary as it is quite rude.

That’s all I can think of today, but feel free to submit more ideas for next time! If you don’t help me out, I have to come up ideas all by myself.

-Kelsey/Betty ( @brownhairedbetty )

PS: For those who are in the discord, or who are interested in the discord, there are further resources available through channels writing 101 and the weekly writing workshops (live) that are announced regularly. If you need further resources, these are heavily recommended, though our blog is always one ask away as well.

[bugheadwritersguild]

*arrives a day late, with starbucks*

Sorry everyone! Lost track of time! Also losing ideas for these, so a reminder that submissions are always greatly appreciated either here or here

Anyways, welcome to lesson 4: speech!

I believe this topic has been covered on the discord server, but I have not looked into it to prevent plagiarism.

The basics are that you put speech in quotation marks. You also have to start a new paragraph for each person who is speaking, which may seem tedious but is meant to avoid confusion over who is speaking. If it looks awkward, I recommend just writing it out and then going back to fix mistakes like making sure it’s clear who is speaking. You may need a beta reader to double check that it’s clear, especially since as a writer you may be biased because you already know who is supposed to be talking.

It can get pretty redundant so try to mix up your word choices so it’s not “Blah blah blah,” said Name. Here’s a helpful list for alternatives for said, but coming up for alternatives for names (especially when pronouns are not useful, such as when there are two characters of the same gender talking): http://www.spwickstrom.com/said/

Other important things to keep in mind are punctuation.

“Not fair!”

Sometimes there’s enough context to just have a sentence in quotation marks and call it a day.

“I live on Elm Street,” stated Betty Cooper.

When you follow speech, you use a comma instead of a period, as the information about who is speaking is consider a part of the same sentence. If you aren’t using a period, then a question mark or exclamation point by itself is fine also.

“I live on Elm Street,” stated Betty Cooper, “in the house next to Archie’s.”

Here we have the same thing, but with more information. Sometimes you’ll interrupt a sentence to give that information and if they’re related then you keep them together like this. If it’s a new sentence, it’s not split and will be done with the second part capitalized instead.

That’s all I can think of today, but feel free to let me know if I missed anything major. I’ll probably do another lesson on speech in the future.

-Kelsey/Betty ( @brownhairedbetty )

Sources and additional resources:

https://mcckc.edu/tutoring/docs/br/english/Rules_for_Writing_Dialogue.pdf

https://www.nownovel.com/blog/dialogue-words-other-words-for-said/

[bugheadwritersguild]

Beta Readers

So for now, I am going to keep up the current list as I curate the new one but for those who are already on the list or would like to be added to the new one, here is the link to the form: https://form.jotform.com/81705374717259

Let me know if you have any issues as I have never used this form system before or perhaps I missed something in the design. After it gets a few members, I will create a separate form for beta readers so I can pair people up if people aren’t comfortable choosing on their own.

Hit me up if you have any ideas of suggestions.

Oh! We also have an email now! bugheadwritersguild@gmail.com so we can also be reached there and we can store stuff in the google drive if you need us too.

-Kelsey ( @brownhairedbetty )

[bugheadwritersguild]

*Notice*

I am switching the schedule for English 101 with Betty to every other week, but because of this they should be better and more well researched.

-Kelsey/Betty ( @brownhairedbetty )

[bugheadwritersguild]

Since we’re back on the air, I’d also like to remind everyone that we do affiliations. They’re actually super helpful when it comes to finding gaps in services offered to the fandom and prevent too much overlap and stepping on feet so if there are any other writers tools in the fandom, send them our way so we can partner up. We all work better together.

-Kelsey ( @brownhairedbetty )

PS- side note, would people like the discord link in the affiliates? I haven’t used it myself but we were on hiatus when it was first brought about.

[bugheadwritersguild]

Tiny milestone!

As of yesterday we officially hit 10 beta readers in the Beta Readers Plus! So proud of everyone 💙💛

So if you ever want a fresh pair of eyes, we got you covered, and if you want to join then check out the page and hit up the link so I can add you in!

-Kelsey ( @brownhairedbetty )

[bugheadwritersguild]

Bughead Beta Readers List

Let me know if you want to be added to the list!

- @brownhairedbetty

- @birdlovesafish

- @itstenafterfour

- @kingcoleandqueenlili

- @annioe

- @formergirlwonder

- @of-mermaid-bones

- @jandjsalmon

[bugheadwritersguild]

New to fanfiction Writing? Here are some resources I have dug up!

8 Tips for Writing Better Fanfiction- A Simple Guide

Tips, Tricks, and Do’s and Don’ts: this resource is a list of resources, so if you need something specific, it might be here. It’s also on fanfiction.net which is a popular fanfiction website.

How to Write Fanfiction: tips based on how similar fanfiction is to historical fiction.

How to Avoid Tense Change in Fiction Writing: This isn’t fanfiction specific, but is something writers often struggle with, particularly early in a story before it is really decided when the story takes place. Just a useful thing to know.

The Ultimate Point of View Guide: Just like writers struggle with tense, it is also very common to struggle with which point of view to use. I often catch myself switching point of view on accident when I go back for edits.

A Guide to Writing Really, Really Good Fanfiction: Keep in mind, this one isn’t serious, but I threw it in anyways because it was amusing

I could not find good riverdale-specific resources. The two I looked at were biased and had serious typos so I’ve decided to just use these general writing tips here. If you have Riverdale-specific writing tips, send them our way and we will either add them to this list or make a completely new one!

[bugheadwritersguild]

Just a reminder that we are still here, even though we aren’t currently overly active. If you need anything, just hit us up, we’d love to help!

-Kelsey

[bugheadwritersguild]

Good news everyone! I restructured the theme blog a little bit (though for some reason any links in posts won’t work due to formatting and I can’t figure out how to fix it- sorry!! It works fine on mobile though) and have reached out to create partnerships with other bughead group blogs and resources! Our new Affiliates page is now up and running so feel free to check it out and if you want to join in, drop us an ask or contact me personally <3

- @brownhairedbetty

[bugheadwritersguild]

hi! I was wondering if you could help me with finding a beta reader? I'm nervous abt publishing and would like some feedback!

Hello everyone! This lovely writer is looking for a beta reader so drop her a line if you’re interested :)If nothing else, I can always help you too via @brownhairedbettyGood luck!!

[bugheadwritersguild]

Hey! So it's me, Kelsey, founder of bwg and I just wanted to remind everyone that we are an open resource for Bughead fanfiction needs :) haven't been very active due to a lack of being sought out as well as an emergency in my life but we are here if you need any help!