A Guide to Wattpad Popularity

Part 2 - Bad Grammar (A Lesson)

I was going to go on about all of the things you shouldn't do to gain followers, but I feel like this is much more necessary for the time being.

Okay, I'm going to be blunt here. If there is grammatical mistake in your title, even if it's as simple as a lowercase letter, I WILL NOT READ IT. Even if your story seems to be something I would very much enjoy, I WILL NOT READ IT. There are a lot of readers who will do the same, I assure you.

Yes, correct grammar is common factor among popular wattpad writers. Although some writers have grammar from hell, their stories still drive away more readers than their full potential. Bad grammar takes away from your credibility and your storytelling. 

Here are a couple brief lessons you should keep in mind while writing. 

So let's start with dialogue. I've seen a million different ways of dialogue being portrayed. The ONLY way to punctuate dialogue is like this:

"Kia, let's go to the mall!" she exclaimed.

Kia said, "No, let's go another day." 

What do you notice about this?

Well, here's what you should have noticed. If you didn't pick up on these grammatical elements, I advise you to take notes. 

Dialogue should almost always be expressed with quotations marks. The one exception to this rule is the use of the word "that". That can be used in a sense like this...She said that she wanted to go to the mall. This isn't necessarily dialogue because it isn't directly coming out of someone's mouth, word for word. 

Punctuation in dialogue should always be within the quotation marks. If you wish to place a period within you sentence, it must be done after the dialogue tag if you have one. But if you are placing a dialogue tag AFTER your dialogue, then you must express a period with a comma INSIDE OF THE QUOTATION MARKS. 
With exclamation points and question marks, you make no change to the punctuation and act as if it is a comma if you are extending your dialogue with a dialogue tag. Here is an example: "Why are you sweating?" Maria asked. Notice how this is all ONE SENTENCE because of the punctuation used. Why not another example: "You're so stupid!" James jeered. You can see with the exclamation point we have the same idea going. 

Even if the dialogue ends in an exclamation point or question mark, the following noun has to be lowercase if not a proper noun (a name, city, state, country). This is something that I see a lot, even in my own writing. This year, I learned this rule in my creative writing class. I know this is correct for a fact, so do not question this rule. I'm aware that this does look slightly awkward, but it is what is grammatically correct. It all goes with the fact that dialogue with tags are all one sentence together, regardless if the dialogue contains more than one sentence within the quotations. The quotations represent the fact that whatever is inside them is considered part of the same sentence as the tag. 

If dialogue is placed after the dialogue tag, then a comma must be used following the tag. It seems easy enough, but I've seen writers write dialogue horrendously. She said "let my people go." How atrocious is that?

Even if your dialogue comes after the dialogue tag, the first word should be capitalized. The exception to this is a continuation of dialogue. Here's an example of an okay situation to do so: "I really don't like him," Chloe whined, "but I'll still go to the dance with him." The reason that this is okay is because "but" isn't an entirely new sentence. It is a continuation of the previous sentence in the dialogue. It is not an independent clause.
Kia said, "No, let's go another day," IS AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE AND STANDS ALONE. THE DIALOGUE TAG HAD NO PART IN THIS DIALOGUE. 

Commas indicate natural pauses. Don't use commas too generously or too scarcely. Commas are important because they allow you to structure your sentences differently then the regular noun-verb set up. I'll explain commas later, but with dialogue, commas are important because they take place of periods in dialogue (but only before the sentence ends). 

When a new speaker is involved in dialogue, there must be a new paragraph. So if you have two different speakers, their dialogue must be in different paragraphs and never together in the same paragraph. Easy enough, right?

If you are ending a sentence with dialogue, either a period, exclamation point, or question mark must be used INSIDE OF THE DIALOGUE. Okay, this gets slightly confusing for a lot of people. 
The following is not correct by any means: Amber scoffed "I don't need your crap". 
Here is the correction to that sentence: Amber scoffed, "I don't need your crap." 
I know this gets confusing with the rule that replaces commas with periods. The way to remember this rule is to think of whether the sentence is actually ending with that dialogue. If it isn't, then a comma is used in place of a period. If it is, then you use a comma. 

NEVER EXPRESS DIALOGUE IN TEXT TALK LIKE THIS...
HARRY: I LIKE YOUR FACE.
ME: EW YOURS SUCKS. Get away from me.
Harry and Me: Make out passionately. 

PLEASE, JUST DON'T DO IT. I BEG OF YOU. 

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Now that we covered dialogue, I'd like to have a brief lesson on commas. Here a quick set of rules to remember.

1) FANBOYS
FANBOYS is one of the most important comma rules.
It stands for: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. After these words, a comma must be used.
Examples: I didn't want to do my homework, so I accepted the "F" on the assignment. 
She wanted to go to Spain, but she couldn't afford the plane ticket.
There are some exceptions to the and, however. 

2) Lists
If you are listing a multitude of items, then you must use a comma. This comes with the exception of two items connected by the words "and" or "or" because it is not necessary to place a comma after either word WITH ONLY TWO ITEMS.
Examples:
She bought corn, beans, and jelly.
I want scarfs, shirts, pants, or jackets. 

I'll continue this list later (aha, get it?) so I have time to do my homework now. 

My last not before concluding this is to NEVER BE LAZY WITH YOUR GRAMMAR. If you don't care enough to keep you story grammatically correctly, then people aren't going to care to read it. 

 Thanks for reading and for waiting so long while I organized all of my shit for this. 

-Em