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Wattpad Writing Tips

I know I've done something like this before earlier in this book (like second part), but that was about strictly getting reads. This will be general tips for Wattpad and writing on here.

Tip #1 -- Schedule

Make a schedule for your story. Choose a specific day of the week to upload or a very so many days.

For example, I update FIRO on Saturdays . . . for the most part. I always update on Saturdays but I have a few surprise update days in there for certain events like holidays, best friends on here birthdays, school starting back up, etc. On the other hand, during the summer I updated AE every four to five days. Now, that school is back up I don't have much time to write so I've been updating it on Sundays.

Good update days if you want more people to see your story are Friday nights and Saturdays.

Tip #2 -- Remind readers to vote and comment

Sometimes people just forget. I've gotten in the habit where I automatically vote at the end of a part. Unless it's something I hate then I probably just skimmed it or just stopped reading all together.

Tip #3 -- Show, Don't Tell

I've been told by a few people that I'm good at showing instead of telling. I had no idea before several people mentioned it to me. Really, the trick there is to simply show, don't tell. That's literally what it is. I didn't know I was even doing it. I was simply just writing words that described what was going on with my characters emotions or reactions. I didn't always state ho they were feeling or acting.

Now, it's perfectly okay to tell sometimes, but don't do it all the time. Four out of five times you should show instead of tell.

What exactly do I mean by show, don't tell? I'll give you an example.

Don't tell me your character is angry. Show that they're angry. Their teeth and fist are clenched, their face is turning a little red, their shaking, etc.

Tip #4 -- Tags, tags, and tags

Make sure the tags on your story are relevant. Let's say you're writing fan fiction about The Hunger Games, but you kind of also do a Divergent crossover. If you only mention Tris or Four one time in the story, don't put them in your tags. Or if you're writing a Hunger Games fan fiction and you only mention Haymitch once, don't put his name in the tags.

Tip #5 -- Covers

Actually make a cover or have someone else make it for you as soon as possible. The cover Wattpad puts up when you first create a story is just a blurred image on your current profile picture. That is not going to attract attention. I'm sorry, but if you are one of the people that doesn't put a cover up and you have like five parts of your story uploaded, I'm not going to read it. Take an hour of your writing time and make a cover.

Tip #6 -- Description

Obviously, don't tell the readers everything that happens. Give them a blurb that's fairly vague, but not to vague. I mean they still need to know enough to decide if they want to read.

Personally, I think one of the best routes to go is to take a blurb from your story and then write a brief synopsis.

Tip #7 -- Challenges

Enter a Wattpad challenge. Whether it's the 30 day writing challenge or the Wattys or even another challenge being held by another writer on here or an official Wattpad profile like fan fiction or science fiction. Entering those challenges gets your story out to more people and who knows maybe you'll win.

Tip #8 -- Edit the fuck out of your story

First, let's touch on the base that this wouldn't be a part written by me if it didn't include some profanity.

I am bad at this. I mean at the moment, I'm writing this I'm still editing my first story on here that I wrote four years ago. By the time, I upload this part I might have just finished it or am pretty close to finishing it.

Be harsh on yourself, but not too harsh. Don't convince yourself that it is absolute utter shit that you never should have fucking written in the first place. But be harsh enough to realize what needs fixing, if you don't know. Try reading it out loud. Try asking your readers what they think needs to be edited. Ask someone if they'll help you edit. (Quick side note: I'm not trying to be a dick when I say this, but don't ask me to help you edit your story. I got way too much shit to do on my own like school, work, reading otherwise I get real pissed the fuck off, my own writing, my own editing, babysitting. I don't have the time, sorry.)

Tip #9 -- Research

Don't be afraid to research some weird shit. I've literally googled the other day "war declarations" which is completely normal considered to what I researched for the chapter before that one. I literally typed into google "if you get shot in the neck with an arrow and pull the arrow out how much blood would pour out of you". What? What is wrong with me? But, hey, I needed to know for a death. In the same day I also looked up "Major blood vessels in the neck".

Writers sometimes have to look up some weird as fuck shit. Personally, I don't care who sees my search history. My advice if you do care or if you have family members who would flip their shit if they saw that you searched some of the stuff like I have, then use a private browser or put the browser in incognito mode so that it doesn't save your search history and the pages you open.

Tip #10 -- Write for fun

I can never stress this fucking enough. Write for fun. Don't write because you feel like you have to.

Exception: essays for school, short answers on quizzes/tests, extended response on quizzes/tests, homework that requires writing

Write for fun. Write because you enjoy it. Write because it makes you happy. Write because it gives you an escape. Write because it relieves stress. Write because you love it.