The Wattpad Guide

Part Two - Writing

Part Two- Writing

I am nowhere near the most popular writer on Wattpad, but I like to think I've made my place here. Popularity would be nice, sure. But what I find the most important is feed back. Feed back is the best confidence boost by far. But for some people, getting good feed back is a challenge. And no I'm not talking about those comments everyone gets. "I love it, upload more soon!"  Those comments are nice, yes, but does the person really love it? And have they really read it? Or are they just commenting and voting in hopes you'll return the favor? We will never know.

One way to ensure legit feed back is going to the Critiqueing Club. Sure, you may come across people who will fool you into believing they read it, but some people there will actually read it and leave you honest, thorough feed back. The best way to make sure this happens is find a discussion where someone is asking you to do the same. With those people you know they will do it most of the time because they do this for flood prevention. They don't want to be overwhelmed with requests, so they want something in return. And lets be honest, alot of people go looking for free reads without having to do anything in return.

Other than going to the clubs to gain feed back there is another way... A harder way in the beginning, but pays off in the end if you really work at it.

Just writing correctly, and professionally-

Now, this place isn't a professional writing site. So, it is perfectly okay to make mistakes. You shouldn't have to worry about being critisized for them on here. But, if you start off with trying really hard, and don't quit, it will pay off with time.

Indenting-

For alot of Wattpad authors (like myself) we write on Microsoft Word or another program similar. When we finish a chapter we copy and paste it here and upload. I indent all the time when I write, but when I upload it here the indenting is gone. That's okay. I know some people are OCD about everything being perfect, but most of us don't have the time to go back and indent everything.

In my opinion, its a good idea to use Microsoft Word to write. Wattpad messes up, its not perfect. So to keep your work safe, its always best to keep it somewhere else too. Like on your computer and a jump drive. A jump drive to ensure you won't lose it if your computer decides to mess up on you. I don't know how many times I see member freaking out because their book disappears. All that stress could have been avoided if they had wrote it on Microsoft Word.

Spelling-

Spell check shouldn't be your only spelling tool. Spell check isn't always correct, it may give you a completely wrong word. Sometimes spell check won't always catch your misspellings. Like if you mess up and write 'a' when you meant to write 'and'. Accidents like that.

Proofreading-

I hate it, you hate it, we all hate it. But there comes a time when we need to do it. Now, skimming doesn't always work. If your missing a word or letter, you might miss it by reading to yourself because your brain will automatically add it because thats what you want to see. Reading it out loud will be the best help to make sure it sounds right.

Dialogue-

This is my favorite part of writing. Its where your characters come to life and their personalites show through.

Stiff and formal dialogue should be avoided at all costs. Make it sound like something you and your friends would say. Picture it like a movie. Envision your characters talking to one another. Make your dialogue believable. Read your dialogue out loud. Say it like  you want them to say it. Become the characters when you do this. Plain and simple, become an actor.

"Good evening, Rachel," said Eric.

"Hello, Eric," she replied.

By looking at that example; does that really sound real? No. No one talks like that. Maybe in a historical fiction, but not if your book is teen fiction. Too formal.

It should have went like this:

"Hey, Rach," muttered Eric.

"H-hey, Eric," blushed Rachel.

The next thing I'm about to point out is something I am guilty of doing.

Paragraphs-

When your writing dialogue, and a new person speaks, always start a new paragraph. When I first started wattpad I did this, but one day someone pointed it out to me. I haven't fixed this in some parts of my writing though. But the newer stuff is right.

Italics-

When I first started on wattpad, they didn't have the italics option. So, my alternitive to putting emphasis on a word was THIS. Since the option is now available, caps lock should be avoided unless necessary. Like if your character is shouting. But even then I believe you should just do this: "I said, no!" she shouted.

When your putting emphasis on a word, always use italics. Like this:

"Trying to scare you," I pout.

Another good time to use italics is to show your characters thoughts. This is increasingly handy when your writing in third person narrative.

Numbers-

I notice this problem alot when reading on here. People don't know when and when not to write out numbers. Here is a chart:

17---should be---seventeen

10 minutes---should be----ten minutes

The only time you don't have to write out the number is when your writing a specific time: like 12:15.

Making your writing believable-

This part irks me for some reason, but I always keep it to my self.

If your from England or another country and you're writing about a character from America, you should use the word mom instead of mum. Now don't take my word on this, but Americans don't say mum unless they're orginally from another country who says mum. I, myself, have never heard an american say mum unless they were british.

Here is another chart that could come in handy-

You're- is the same thing as- You are

They're- is the same thing as- They are

Don't- is the same thing as- Do not

When your using those contractions, use them both ways. Like this:

Don't go.

Do not go.

If it sounds right both ways, then you done it correctly.

That's it for my writing tips for now!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

--Kelly

PS: The next part will be my thoughts on Cliches.