From the perspective of a fanfiction and original book writer, these are my tips and tricks for writing a good Wattpad book.
A short book that showcases ways that I found helpful to get your story views quickly and effectively. Some people think it'...
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As someone who's read way too many books and written a lot to, formatting is one of the most important things you can do here. It's the make or break between getting a new reader or losing one.
It doesn't matter how good your story is if it's unreadable!
There are a lot of reasons why formatting is important and some of them might not even be things you think about! For example:
🍃 Having no paragraphs can be a problem for people using text-to-speech as the AI just reads with no breaks.
🌹 It is increasingly harder for people with Dyslexia to read, amongst other disabilities.
🌻 It makes reading it a lot slower and frustrating!
🌱 The plot of the story gets lost.
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My main pointers.
Speech should always have its own line. I prefer when there's a line gap between the paragraphs but it's also okay to not have that, as long as it has its own line. As someone who used text-to-speech a lot, the first option is much better for that and my sister, who has dyslexia, agrees this one is easier for her.
(Note: I do understand everyone has different reading and writing styles and that's okay! I can only give my own personal preference but what do you prefer?)
NOT: Katerina ran as fast as she could until she got to the red line. When she got there she turned to shout. "Michael!" she yelled. Michael came running towards her at full speed.
INSTEAD: Katerina ran as fast as she could until she got to the red line. When she got there she turned to shout.
"Michael!" she yelled.
Michael came running towards her at full speed.
OR OPTION 2:
Katerina ran as fast as she could until she got to the red line. When she got there she turned to shout. "Michael!" she yelled. Michael came running towards her at full speed.
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Pargaphs should always be used and there is no excuse when they aren't. It's so offputting when there is one big lump of information and your brain doesn't know what to do with itself!
NOT:
Any other family would have disowned her but Lucius and Narcissa would do anything to keep their children safe. Narcissa was particularly interested in making sure Lyra got a carefree life and Lucius was there to make that happen the best he could...if Potter hadn't gotten in their way. He kept dragging his daughter into his danger and he hated it. While Lyra spent the majority of her time with the golden trio, fighting trolls or saving Ginny from the chamber of secrets, she also enjoyed spending her time with Neville, Dean and Seamus.
INSTEAD:
Any other family would have disowned her but Lucius and Narcissa would do anything to keep their children safe. Narcissa was particularly interested in making sure Lyra got a carefree life and Lucius was there to make that happen the best he could...if Potter hadn't gotten in their way. He kept dragging his daughter into his danger and he hated it.
While Lyra spent the majority of her time with the golden trio, fighting trolls or saving Ginny from the chamber of secrets, she also enjoyed spending her time with Neville, Dean and Seamus.
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THE RULES OF CAPITAL LETTERS
What should have a capital letter? Well, let me tell you because I've studied English now through high school and college. I get some countries might to it differently and that's fine! Here are my pointers though.
🌸 At the start of a new sentence, no matter how long it is. If there is a full stop, there should be a capital letter.
🌹 For names and places / nouns. E.g. Gryffindor, Brazil, Annie, London.
🌻 For titles. E.g. Miss, Mr, Mrs etc.
🌱 Abbreviations. E.g. BBC, TV, USA etc.
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TIME SKIPS!
It can get confusing to do time skips sometimes but the worst thing to do is just carry on the chapter without telling people there has been a time skip. So, what do you do?
🌸 Use a divider like the ones in this chapter. Most people associate them with time skips so you don't even have to mention the fact there has been one.
🌹 Leave a couple of spaces of lines that are different to the usual spacing.
🌻 Clearly display 'THREE DAYS LATER' ect.
🌱 Some people also leave a line and just do '...' to show it as well.
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The next chapter gives some formats that you can use!
Some include ones that are better for certain fandoms.
