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Oh come on. Don't look so worried! You're going to catch on quick.
The idea is simple. When writing, you want to make this "word:idea ratio" as high as possible, where you have fewer words to more ideas.
This is vital especially when starting your story. In your story, you need to engage people very quickly in the ACTION (the forward movement of your plot) while also introducing your characters, your setting, your style, and any other information vital to contextualizing your story... and do it all as briefly as possible.
Do you see where the word:idea ratio comes in? You need to cut down on words (the time it takes to read) while getting out as much information as you can.
But let's start with how NOT to do this.
HOW NOT TO increase the word:idea ratio:
🚫 Do not get rid of context. Writers who want to get off to a fast start often skip exposition (the part we introduce the characters and setting), and this makes it hard for the reader to care. It's not engaging if the main character gets creepy texts to start your book, if we don't know who the main character is. In a movie when this happens, we have visuals to help introduce the characters and setting. We have subtle directing that can make us root for a character. In a book, the writer has to do the dialogue, the visuals, the directing... EVERYTHING.
🚫 Do not get rid of beauty. Do not skip sensory details just because they could slow down your work. They are a foundation of good writing, and perfecting their use should be a part of every writer's work ethic. And, as we've seen in previous chapters, pretty passages can double as space!
HOW TO increase the word:idea ratio:
✅ Make your dialogue both build character and move the plot. If you read Chapter 1 of "Elise Runs and Dorothy Falls", you'll notice that both Elise and Germón (the cat) say things that, in addition to demonstrating their personalities, move the plot forward. Here's an example:
"Daddy's probably holding up the pastry line. Hrmph."
"Or, being just a girl, you're impatient. I know that look. You should be more trusting of adults."
Elise, who speaks first, demonstrates she is impatient and childish (personality) while also letting the readers know that her dad is running late (moving the plot forward). Germón, on the other hand, helps define Elise's age, prompts the reader to envision Elise's expression, and makes it clear Elise holds disdain for adults, while also building on their conversation (and thus moving the plot forward).
✅ Make your dialogue both build character and build the setting. In chapter 1 of ERDF here is an example:
"Many animals have been able to speak for a very long time, Elise. If you listened to your tutors, you'd know that. Magic is a complicated but not altogether unscientific subject." ... "If you were magic yourself—a witch—you'd understand intuitively."
Germón tells you a ton in these four sentences. Information-wise, he tells you that animals have spoken for a long time in this world, that Elise doesn't listen to tutors, that magic exists, that those who use magic are called witches, that magic is explicable through science, and that Elise isn't a witch... At the same time, we learn that Germón considers his intellect superior and treats Elise like a pupil.
✅ Make your actions describe your characters' appearances and mannerisms. In chapter 1 of ERDF here are two examples:
Her cat began to fiddle with the ribbon that she had tied around her waist. "In fact—oh, a snag."
Here we learn that Germón, despite his intelligence, never stops being a cat (he is fiddling with her ribbon the way a non-magic cat would).
Elise pushed her braided brown hair behind her shoulders, and while a yellow band hardly kept the remaining hair out of her eyes, she managed to use those grey eyes sarcastically. "Says a cat!"
This short paragraph uses physical actions as a segue into describing her appearance. All the while, as you can see, their argument continues, giving us an idea what these two are like together.
Hopefully that's a good primer to help you get started on improving your own word:idea ratio! Next, let's move on to a different subject: Wattpad. Your writing has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is Wattpad in our case. So, without further ado...
...wait... Hold on.
Only one gif for the whole chapter? That can't be right. Right?
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Oh there's one! What about another one?
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Aww. What about ANOTHER?
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