A Guide to Wattpad Popularity

Part 3 - Purpose of Stories

So I'm going to veer off slightly and explain why all stories must have a purpose to them.

Authors don't usually write novels just for the sake of it; they do it to get a point across through their stylistic, rhetorical, and strucutral features of their novel. 

This point or purpose is known to the Honors English student as the unstated argument. 

The unstated argument is never directly stated through text. It is what is drawn from it from the book or work holistically. It's what we've learning to get out of fables and tales when we were younger-that's right kids!- the MORAL OF THE STORY.

Personally, I do believe every story should have an unstated argument. Through these stories, it's so easy to subtly get a point across regarding society, love, friendships, and practically every aspect of our lives. If I can tell from a beginning of a book that I'm not going to get anything from it, I won't continue reading it. 

Not a lot of people possess this ability, so keep in mind that you don't have to directly state it in your summary. DON'T DIRECTLY STATE THE UNSTATED ARGUMENT ANYWHERE. THAT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE. 

MAKE YOUR READERS WORK FOR IT BECAUSE THEY'LL BE GLAD THEY DID. NO CLASSIC BEST SELLING NOVEL STATES THEIR PURPOSE RATHER THAN DEMONSTATING IT IMMEDIATELY. OR EVEN AT THE END. PLEASE DON'T DO IT.

So basically, show rather than tell. Show, don't tell. 

Don't compromise your story to fit the stereotypical, pointless shit that goes on with a lot of the stories here. I mean if you have your own truth that you'd love to communicate, by all means do it. I mean Ernest Hemmingway's Old Man and the Sea is basically him whining about how his popularity went out the window through the destroyed sea man, Santiago, but it still relates past a star's downfall. 

"A man can be destroyed, but not defeated." This is such a fantastic line. It's so simple, but can be translated in a million different ways. The truth Hemmingway got from the universe was that he can still have hope, but it will ultimately destroy him. How saddening is that?

Sorry, I'm being a Hemmingway fangirl. Apologies. Back on track. 

It's difficult to do this, I know. We can't all be Zora Neale Hurston who expressed multitudes of ideas about folklore, God, romance, and self-discovery in only a couple hundred pages.. Seriously, if you've ever read Their Eyes Were Watching God, you'll probably know what I mean. 

"She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her." This quote is the end of me, especially know what it means. This would be an example of when it's okay to tell the audience something, especially when it's towards the end of your novel and don't have time to describe the sullen eyes and empty heart.

And that was my input on theme. Remember to think of what makes the best authors so amazing. It's their prose, their language, and most importantly, their message that speaks to so many people. 

-Emily

“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” 

 Aldous Huxley, Brave New World