Tere! (roughly pronounced: TEHR-reh)

Alrighty, peeps. I've received several timid letters telling me that you're afraid of me. Please, don't be. I'm so far from being scary that it's almost funny. I've never raised my voice against anyone, not ever. I'm not here to judge, I make mistakes as well, and I would read and review every single one of your stories if only I'd have the time. Yes, seriously.

Otherwise, I'm Mav. I'm 18 and Estonian. Currently trapped in a ridiculously time-consuming high school life, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life after graduation. If you've got some crazy ideas, let me know. Er... no, not a writer, because that demands a talent for story-telling, which I have yet to possess. At some point, I dreamt of becoming a doctor, but as I discovered I was susceptible to losing consciousness to the mere sight of a picture, I drew a veil over that thought. Not to mention, I avoid all remotely ghastly pictures from then on...

Haven't figured out why, but I've got Twitter.

Bitter Sea Light is my amazing friend and classmate. She shares my love for soccer as well as writing. Drop Maria a few words about her writing, I can assure you that it makes her happier than the painting of a green frog that is sitting on my wall. Seriously.

Judging at The Immortal Cookie Awards and The Mystic Awards -- winners are up!

I've got two wonderful betas, Cascsiany and TRDancer. They're amazing.

"I have never been jealous. Not even when my dad finished fifth grade a year before I did." - Jeff Foxworthy

FanFiction Concerns:

Since every person on this site seems to be under the impression that everyone who's writing Twilight fanfiction is in love with Twilight and/or its characters, I've got news for you.
I'm not. I don't like Twilight and I'm tired of the same situations/characters that are always, invariably and every time the same. My recommendation, request, suggestion and pleading to all of you...
Please, do put something different into them! Be creative and imagine that they live in a tea pot, eating lemons, Edward being the peg-legged spider and Bella the butterfly and solving the problem of contagious sneezing, but don't make them the same superficial perfect characters every single time. Thank you!

1) Spelling issues. The tangible problem, not the accidental little mistakes that happen to everyone. Youth might excuse small spelling problems, but it doesn't stop a person from utilizing actual words instead of the "Zomg, u gotta C dis!", neither does it stop a person from using 'shift + the letter' to use capital letters. Please, do find yourself a beta, it helps tremendously!
It seems to be a "fashion" not to use punctuation marks, but squish one's words into a long line of the unknown. It is incredibly onerous to bite through your writing if it's 23 lines of seemingly unconnected, desultory words. On the other hand, don't think that adding five thousand exclamation/question marks will increase the emotion of your character. It will not. Less is more.
If there's anything in the English language that isn't clear, ask someone to explain. I do that from time to time, and so far, I've always been welcomed with nothing but kind, helpful words (and much more knowledge).

2) Over-used plot lines. Those who have hung around this site long enough know what I'm talking about. There's a limit to the amount of times we can read the exact same thing, over and over and over again. Bella being bitten before Edward came back and them meeting x years later, a player Edward becoming a monk just after he's met Bella, the three perfect girls meeting the three perfect boys and them living perfectly ever after, a "super-vampire" Bella... et cetera. I'm not saying that I don't like any of the previously mentioned plot lines; I'm simply suggesting you to put your own little twist into the story, a "personal touch", so to speak.

3) A wimpish portrayal of the characters. Seriously. If you have zero character development, zero dents, zero change and zero improvement (even deterioration!), why are we reading the story at all? Where does the story take us if it isn't moving anywhere? Give us modification, plot, explained actions -- anything we could use as a basis for our opinion of the story! If you're going to let Bella think "oh, I'm so ugly, blah, blah, blah..." -– do not make her description of herself a perfect one. No, really; it ticks me off to see that.
Furthermore, if you are going to create an out of character (OOC) character (a character description that has absolutely nothing to do with the original characterization), you need to stick to your idea of that fictitious creation, because it's unbelievably difficult to read sporadic, bumpy characters who seem as if they'd have serious case of a personality disorder. All the time.
Unless that's your intention, avoid changing characters abruptly and unfoundedly. If a sudden change of foible happens, give reasons, explain. Groundlessly created characters are bound to beguile plot punctures. And plot holes... let's not even go there.

4) Over-usage of certain words. Change, people, change. The ultimate reason we're reading a story at all! Let us learn new ways of description, uncommon words, different rotations and for once, fabricate Alice into something else than a 'shopaholic pixie.' I shall love you forever if you manage to put some depth into her character.

5) Lack of research. Honestly, it makes me laugh (and not in a good way!) when even the basic, essential things are not thought about. Nobody is expecting the writers to be rocket-scientists (which, according to my brother, is much easier than quantum physics), but if your all human character pops out a perfectly healthy, 3.5 kg baby when she’s 5 months pregnant, that’s not research. That’s an impossibility.
Also, all the new (young?) readers who are pondering on writing a lemon or graphic content: please, do learn basic facts about a human body and intimate situations. One doesn't have to be experienced to write a good intense scene, but reading a factually incorrect lemon is like throwing up in one's food. Ew. Nobody wants that.

6) Perfection. Apotheosis. Whatever we name it -- let it desuetude. It’s completely fine to describe an Edward who, for once, is not an Adonis. We all have flaws; rendering up a dent to your character will only make us see your character as a more real, palpable person. We need more of that around here. Please don't idealize so much, it gets repetitive. Reiterating something constantly makes me read the story with certain cynicism, as if I were reading a parody. If everything about a character is so darn sublime, they wouldn't make any mistakes. Flawlessness implies that there's no room for improvement.

7) Don’t threaten. Please, just... don’t. There's nothing wrong with trying to reach a number of reviews, but remember -– it’s just a number, an amount that doesn’t show anything but the kindness of your readers. Don’t hold back your updates if you happen to not reach it. It’s difficult, almost impossible to reach a higher number every time. Learn from the times you saw a bigger number -– notice what you had written in that chapter to see what you did right. Use it to your advantage and improve as a writer, but stop threatening so much. It’s not encouraging to see “I will take the story down if I don’t get –insert a number– reviews!” I will just stop reading your story. (Harsh, but simple.)

8) Stop pleasing your readers. Naturally, it’s incredibly nice and heart-warming to hear what they want to see, and you can learn from their suggestions or even take a few tips, but remember -– a writer can’t please everyone. If your plot is thought out and you know what you want your characters to experience (and are able to explain it to those who ask!), there is no need to turn it all upside down because a reader told you (s)he’d stop reading if you don’t do this or that or the third option. I know it’s difficult, but even Harry Potter, one of the biggest series out there, has its negative critics.

9) Don’t be afraid of criticism. Critics (at least on this site) usually mean well, and when they give us something to think over, that’s only a good thing– a fantastic thing. The next time someone tells you that your story is not the best (and accounts for her/his words!), smile at it. Let it go -– ask what you did wrong and smile from the thought of improving, getting better every day, bit by bit! We are only human after all.
But criticizing just for the sake of doing it is completely pointless -- if you didn't notice any visible flaws, there's no point in trying to make them up. Giving negative criticism to another author will not magically turn you into a better writer. It doesn't work like that.

10) But please don’t flame... those who have told you they don’t want it. Leon doesn’t mind, so flame him if you have the unexpressed urge to flame someone (although he definitely wouldn't deserve it). In general, flames make us unhappy and bitter. If you do criticize -– reason your thoughts, explain as much as possible! It’s cryptic to get an anonymous review that looks something like this: “I didnt laik it atall hte cabbage’s dark burple."
I mean... huh? Are we talking the same language here?

11) Information. That’s a very, extremely basic thing, but it would be much appreciated if you’d let the readers, a.k.a. us, know beforehand if your story does not include canon pairing or involves graphic content! If you claim to put Bella and Edward together (eventually) and do not do that... then I will flame you. I know I just asseverated that I didn’t like flames (and I don’t!), but not letting your readers know about a non-canon pairing or Edward ending up with an original character, you’re simply begging for flames... Just basic information is all we need in order to have choice, whether we read the story you've written or not. The warnings are there for a purpose -- please, don't wallow in gloominess if someone decides not to read your story on principle. It betides at every turn!
Impart a summary at the beginning of the first chapter. People will cast aside your story more easily if they can't see what they're going to be missing out on if they won't read the story.

12) Overly serious writing. Garnish your words and chapters with a little humour, even if it’s dark fiction. I find jail movies always the funniest ones (The Shawshank Redemption, people!), although they’re invariably not cheery in general. Don’t worry too much about the kind of humour; we all have different taste, but I’m sure everyone will see it as a great thing if you make an attempt to be funny or put a hidden joke into the chapter. It’s not difficult to make me snicker or laugh, I’m sure that includes most avid readers.

13) Character’s actions. One of the first things for a writer to do is to describe a character -– a personality, to be exact. Yes? Yes. Furry, fluffy, fat, thin, scrupulous -- we do have to give out some basics of the character we’re going to be “hanging out with”. But to follow through – that’s my suggestion. As an example, if you characterize Bella as 'a responsible, independent, free-spirited amazing rare soul,' make her do something that would make us know that what you claimed is true, not just see your words before we were to notice a rapid, uncharacteristic change in Bella’s character in the next moment, drinking, gambling and murdering people. Or rather -– if you do that -– make us feel the change from the new course of her actions. Broadly speaking, it will give the reader a much more elaborate meaning behind your words if you, indeed, do support her character description with the character's actions. Words are what we mean, but actions make people feel what we are.
Characterizing a fictional person in a certain way does not palliate, extend over, or even explain abrupt uncharacteristic changes that we might see in their actions. "In description" and "in action" must be connected to an extent. A person's character is deeply combined to her/his actions -- please do not forget that.

14) Stop showing off. I know it might be one of the most arduous things to do, but please - there's nothing more intimidating than to know some of the writers story statistics that do not compare to us, civilians, abecedarians. We know the writers on this site are highly talented (and love you for it!), but if you think that your story statistics/hits/reviews (whichever) automatically increases the quality of your writing, think again. Surely, to some extent, it exhibits that your story is being read by people from all over the world (which, let's admit it - inflicts a wide smile in all of our faces!), but do consider that quantity does not necessarily express quality. And eventually, the latter is what we are looking for (at least I am) and value most.

15) Systematise. You can't expect a reader to find anything from your writing if it looks as if an earthquake has swallowed it. Create sections, don't expect people to find (or know) important matters if they're not public or visible. And please do split apart your A/N's from your story -- it's distracting to be the one pondering and wondering where in the world does the chapter end and author's note start (or vice versa). Prevent confusion.

16) An event + an event = consequence. Everything has a cause and a result. Everything.
Unless we're dealing with a world where Isaac Newton never lived... do think of the likely situations to happen, disintegrating your plot by ignoring important consequences will end up in sundered contents and inevitable questions of the comprehensiveness of the whole story. In another words (as an example), if you're going to make Bella being abused, you're also going to have to face questions of why she hasn't ran away yet, why hasn't child welfare interfered (because that's a likely thing to happen nowadays!), why hasn't anyone noticed? Just... why? Or, if you turn Edward into a conflicted drug addict, you're unavoidably involved with explaining his different manners, deep addiction, ragged appearance... et cetera. Neglecting the cause just because you like the idea of it, not the reality of it, will cut through your writing and make it riven. Please do think of the consequences of your character's actions and swath your writing into one whole piece where actions don't appear out of thin air and effects do not vanish. Conjunct substance results in better understanding of your (undoubtedly great) writing.

17) "Just the same." If you are thorough, meticulous and intelligent (which you are), express it in your writing. Don't fall into the breach of "what others do" or "what others want to see". It will be the cause of the same equally stuffy, dreary and futile characters whom we've all seen already (and might even cause you to get bored of your "own" characters). It seems like the safe way to go, because we've seen it everywhere and it just seems... logical. But, for once, let go of the (same) image of the character you're going to write about and give him/her condiment, something different. Remember, difference is not always a bad thing.
I'm not talking about making everyone extremely OOC characters, I'm simply implying for you to look for originality, a "signature" of sorts. If you are interested in continuing to write and/or become a "real" writer, take into consideration that we do "carry away" expressions and even sentences when we don't think of what we write. I understand that it happens, but the next time you start to characterize someone, don't think of what others have written about him/her. Think of the way you see the character in your mind (and please don't tell me it's "exactly the same" as to what you just read from a story you loved!) and form it into words. Don't be afraid of elaborate depiction. (But try not to over-do it either. Three chapters of Edward's hipbone is not a way to go.)

18) Avoid predictability. To an extent, this might seem as a suggestion that remonstrates with the 'information' part, but it truly doesn't. It's calming to know that the characters you're writing about (eventually!) end up together and I do not consider that predictability. A foregone conclusion as the whole substance is what I'm talking about. If reading the first chapter will immediately reveal the entire story to me, then I won't read any further. I value my time too much to do that.

19) Superficiality. This is a subject I cannot disregard in any way. I hate shallowness everywhere, even in real life (and there are not many things I truly dislike). Lack of texture in anything does not encourage our opinion of it. A personal view is carved out of substance -- if there isn't any depth, where do we base the fundamental of our opinion?
It would be amazing if people would stop creating characters that have absolutely no depth in them. If one describes Bella as a "profound and deep" character, and expects us to believe it after she's just proven to us that all Bella values in Edward is "pretty car, lots of money and good looks" and all the other crappy materialism, then... no. If you're going to create a shallow character, please don't delude yourself. Or learn about character development, because that's also a marvellous thing to practice and discover in stories, but generally, it's very easy to go overboard with superficiality.
Complicated people are interesting, they have something to offer us, stories to tell, depth to discover -- don't let the chance of creating an intricate, in depth character to slip from your fingers.

20) Plagiarism. While we're using someone else's characters, we cannot wholly say that the story we're writing is "ours", because it is not (due to obvious copyright issues). But please -- please -- don't copy off someone's hard work and display the writing as your own. Not only will it make you a thief (yes, a thief), but it might result in a writer who's so upset that they leave writing overall. Whereas two people can invent something at the same time (A.G. Bell and E. Gray are an excellent proof of that), the chances of that happening are nearly non-existent. Respect the writers by letting them know if you're inspired to create a story entirely based on their writing, but don't just write patently similar story to a tale that stands out as original. It's wrong. It shows disrespect and dishonesty -- do not plagiarize.

21) Repetition.
“Don’t do it!” I said.
“Do what?” he said back.
I said: “Jump...”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” he said. “I was just enjoying the view.”
“Oh,” I said. “Let’s go home then.”
He smiled and said: “All right.”
No ‘explication de texte’ needed... if it is, then -– say, say it what we said about saying ‘said’? It’s fine to use it from time to time, but it’s simple to over-do it, and not only with the word 'said'. Dictionary is one useful place to hold on to.
That doesn't mean that you should avoid the word 'said' overall -- far from it.

22) Inspirational writing! :)
If even only one person found this list useful, then my mission has been accomplished. But for carrot’s sake, please don’t take this as my confidence in writing. Although a maximalist by nature, I am a rather hesitant person and do not aver that my writing would be any better than the issues I handled. If, by some unknown reason, I have irritated you with this or made you even more insecure, then I just want to tell you that...
You are amazing. You are improving if you’ll let yourself to. You're allowed to flame me for this, if you are in desperate need to get it all out of you by putting me down. I promise I won’t take offense.

Love you all,
Mav ;)
Ps. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm not available as a beta. I would neither qualify nor would I have the time. I apologize. Feedback is still much appreciated!

:D