Being Cliché:
1) Okay, so I was reading a book and its start went a little something like this:
"Honey, you'll be late for school!"
Immediately, I sighed. Then, I backtracked. Why did I sigh? Oh, only because every Wattpad story in existence starts like this: A parent (usually a mom) calling up to their kid that they're going to be late for school. The teenager then groans or sighs or gets mad and looks into the mirror at their blue orbs and glistening blond waves and hopes that today they'll make friends and find a boyfriend, and somehow magically they do just that, even though they said that both was nearly an impossible feat.
Sorry, this is more like a rant, but this is something you NEED to avoid.
2) Everyone, listen up. Unless you have a brand-new perspective (doubtful), please don't write the classic fall-in-love-with-a-werewolf-alpha romance novel. It's not new. You might get a lot of readers, but let's face it. One time, I wrote a story because everyone else was writing things like it, and I figured I might as well get a lot of reads. I did get a lot of them, but you know what I found out? I wasn't proud of my work. Write about things that YOU'RE passionate about, not what others want to read, and you might just find yourself pouring your heart into what will be an excellent book.
3) The prude girl who also happens to be a virgin falls in love with the bad boy who shows her how to live again.
I won't elaborate. I am exasperated by you guys sometimes, y'know?
Description:
1) In the same book mentioned above, it went a little something like:
"I went on the bus and sat next to a girl with brown hair and brown eyes.
"'Hi, I'm Karen,' she said.
"'I'm Felicia,' I replied.
"'Are you new here?
"'Yeah...'
"'Oh, okay, I won't pry into your personal matters.'
"The bus stops, everyone gets off, I stop at my locker, and get into my first classroom. The teacher walks in and everyone goes quiet."
This could easily be rewritten:
"The bus drove up next to the curb; hitching my backpack onto my shoulder, I stepped on and scanned it quickly. I managed to get into a free space a millisecond before the bus took off again, and looked at the girl next to me. Her hair was brown and curly and framed her face poorly, and her eyes were the color of dark chocolate.
"She turned and smiled at me, extending her hand. 'Karen,' she introduced, extending a pale hand.
"I tentatively shook it. 'Felicia.'
"'Oh, are you new here, Felicia?' She didn't actually seem very interested.
"'Um, kind of...' I stopped, realizing that she didn't care.
"'Okay, cool,' she said, 'but if you don't want to talk to me, that's okay.' She looked out the window for the rest of the ride.
"During the ride, I thought about...paragraph inserted here.
"When the bus screeched to a halt, I seized my backpack and, without a backward glance towards Karen, was one of the first kids off of the bus. A bell rang, and kids filtered around me towards their respective classes. I, having no idea where I'm going on my first day..." Seriously, being late for school is cliché enough, but it being her first day...smh "...on my first day, have to consult my schedule and ask multiple people for directions. Luckily, my locker is near my first period classroom, so I'm not too late as to get a punishment. Everyone's babbling to one another as I choose a seat towards the back of the classroom.
"The teacher then walks into the classroom. She has red, wire-rimmed classes and black hair pulled into a strict bun. She surveys the classroom sternly. I force myself not to draw back into my seat when her cold, dark eyes pass over me. The chatter falls, though she didn't order it to, until it fades entirely and she's standing in front of twenty silent girls."
THAT is a much more interesting description. There is a lot more natural human interaction. Don't cut the description; expand it. It frames the story nicely, cushions it, wraps it up like a gift to deliver to the reader. The teacher, instead of just walking into a room where students expectantly go silent, scares them into shutting up with her eyes alone and her no-nonsense stance. It gives the brain more time to adjust to things, and get interested. A lack of description can easily throw off readers.
YOU ARE READING
Help on Making a Story
RandomThis is a book about common mistakes that any writer can make, and how best to fix stories and writing. Though some of this is about Wattpad, some of it is about writing stories, or just writing in general. It's all useful information. It ranges fro...
