As the title so bluntly stated, Imagery exists. Use it.
Let me give you two extracts. Tell me which one you prefer.
EXTRACT 1
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EXTRACT 2
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There's an obvious difference here! A reader is much more likely to continue reading the first extract, because of the build up of tension.
I take a lot of reading requests on this site and I always find books that have appalling levels of description and imagery. After all, these are the things that will keep a reader engaged.
It's also about getting the reader to develop a personal affection for the character. For the narrator in extract two, I don't really care what happens to her. But, for the protagonist in extract 1, I probably would care because of the build-up of tension they've used.
After all, tension and suspense is the only thing that makes the reader turn the page...
You've got to make them feel connected to your characters.
For those of you that remember, in the beginning of After the Crash, everyone was throwing some serious hate at Bradley.
SPOILER ALERT: that was not how I intended it at all. I thought everyone would sympathise with him and his reckless actions.
But, instead, I got comments like:
"Be grateful, kid. You ruined someone's life..."
The contrast of emotions is really real. At the end, I had people saying things like:
"OMG! No, Bradley...I'll miss youuuuu."
See, this was the validation I needed. A well-written character will always be able to change a reader's opinion. The reader will side with them, even when they've done something stupid.
*cough calling himself Jared cough*
For a lot of you, these techniques will be only a snippet of nostalgia from your school days.
But, I've got a list below and if you feel like imagery is something you struggle with - keep a list and try to include at least one of these techniques per chapter.
That's a basic list and if you try and use them, you really can't go wrong.
Okay...there's another common mistake made here on Wattpad.
THE OVERUSE OF DIALOGUE.
We all make this mistake at one point or another. But, using to much dialogue, really makes the reader less engaged in the story.
Your work must have quite an even balance of dialogue and imagery (maybe even slightly more imagery.)
I'll have more on this in the next chapter about grammar and layout, but it is still something very important.
There are some good sources for all of the things listed in this chapter.
》 There's an amazing book called the 'Descriptasourous' available on Amazon [I think] this can really help with imagery and how to transform boring sentences into interesting ones.
》 Google is also a great source. Looking up synonyms for words often results in better crafted sentences.
I hope this chapter helped all you budding writers.
