|| Writing Advice & Tips ||

Questions / Description

These are questions you should be asking yourself as you write, to be honest. I cannot count how many times I come across wattpad stories that has these following:

  ♢ Lots of dialogue

♢ Not enough actions / verbs

♢ Not enough description

If you're lazy to throw a couple verbs and adjectives here and there, I honestly don't think that's cool lol. When you're writing, you want your audience to feel like they are a part of this story truly. Did you not learn that in your literature class?

So while you are writing, ask yourself:

  ♢ Where are we now? (setting)

♢ Are we indoors, outdoors? Hot weather? Cold?

♢ Is the sun radiating it's warm rays? Is the moon out? If so, full? Crescent?

♢ What is the main character doing? Feeling? Saying?
example: You felt incredibly nervous just watching the couple bicker in front of you. The sweat began to build at your palms and your worried eyes flickered back and forth between the two.

  ♢  How loud? How soft? What color? Short? Tall?
Be descriptive with anything. A person, object, building, setting. You have to literally paint a picture for your audience so they can imagine what you're imagining.

For example, you may be describing a setting of a gym for volleyball practice.

"The gym was a vast area and the wooden floors were polished. The sounds of sneakers squeaking as the players focused on practice filled the air with the sounds of the volleyballs being smacked by hands or spiked onto the ground. Shouts of shot calls began as the practice grew more intense ."

You can play more with description like the sound of squeaking sneakers were incredibly loud, but not as loud as the shot calls of the players shouting or the volleyballs being smacked.

I can honestly keep going on and on about these questions.

How heavy are the players panting? Are they out of breath? Are they tired or energetic?

- ♢ -

Small details matter too. I don't know how hard I much emphasize that all the fanfics I read on this website do not bother with describing ANYTHING. They do not describe the setting, time, place. They do not describe the reader's actions or anyone else's.

You walking on a sidewalk? Describe the sound of cars passing by on the road. Did it just recently rain? Describe the wet puddles on the concrete and suddenly decide for the reader to splash one of them, accidentally soaking their jeans. Is there wind? Sunshine? Storm? Hell, even put a violent-ass tornado whipping by. I don't know LOL.

In the middle of an intense battle?

Describe the blood shed, describe the horror in someone's eyes when they witness this. Describe the wounds on one person. Little or large? How fatal? How much blood are they losing? Are they losing so much blood that they can barely walk? About to pass out?

- ♢ -

Describe your dialogue!!! Omg!!!! :VVV

Using "said" is okay, but so frequently is repetitive. There are MANY, MANY terms you can use while using adjectives:

♢ softly whispered

♢ harshly shouted

♢ heavily panted

♢ cried gently

♢ wailed, sobbed, screamed, wheezed, asked, questioned, commanded, demanded, obliged, spat, sung, sang, etc. 

There is so many of them you can use AND so many adjectives you can use along with them.

Ever have trouble figuring which to use? Google "other words for whispered" or something.

Ever struggled using a different word rather than shy? Google "synonyms for shy". For bright? "synonym for bright".

Google is there and it's so helpful because I find so many of them to use in a single chapter or two.