Tips For Writing On Wattpad

Advanced Nitty Gritty: Writing Exercises to Improve Your Writing

There are three parts to this chapter: Finding your writing style, first chapter review exercise, short story writing exercise.


Are you trying to figure out how to improve your writing? Me too!

Some tricks work better for plotters (people who plan out their story, then write it) and some work better for Pantsers (people who write as they go, flying by the seat of their pants). It can even vary by book.

So part of it comes down to figuring out which methods work best for you. Here's a diagram of several kinds of writing. There is no right or wrong way - just ways that work better for you!

If one way doesn't seem to be working, try a different route. Or revisit your inspiration/motivation levels (see finding inspiration/writer's block chapter).

My additional resources page goes over more books for certain types of writing, so I'll keep things general here. Once you have an idea of *how* you write, the next important step is to pinpoint how to keep your story interesting.

Here's my personal favorite exercise. I do this at least once a year to reground myself.

   

Writer's Exercise: How to write a good story opening

1. Select your five favorite books, and grab a pen and pad of paper (or get your keyboard ready).

2. Read the first 3 pages of each book and write down:
-your favorite parts
-least favorite parts
-what you found interesting, and why you kept reading
-what parts bored you, and why
-how the author showed the character's goals/motives
-how the author revealed the world around them

-(optional) read the first three chapters of each book and write down the above details as well.

This exercise helps people determine what they like in stories, how the author did it, and why you kept reading. Hopefully, it will help you when you start a new story or revise an old one.

(This exercise is similar to the summary/blurb/cover exercise I listed in the earlier chapters, where you go onto Wattpad and use a tag in your story to locate 5 random books and compare the covers, blurbs, etc with your own book)

Writer's Exercise: Short story

Here's a short exercise that will take about 30 minutes. You will write about 15 sentences. Please skip to the 11:14 mark of the video (or feel free to start from the beginning, but as a pantser myself, I found the earlier stages a bit dry).

https://youtu.be/blehVIDyuXk?t=674

If you have any other writing exercises, feel free to leave them in the comments here!

I might add more to this page over time, but people learn in different fashions, so it's hard to find ones that work for most people. Some learn by watching youtube videos, some by reading publishing guides, and some work best with critique partners so they can see comments on their actual story. And in many cases, it's a combination of things.

Test the waters and discover which routes work best for you. I'm cheering you on. There an idea in your mind, and someone out there wants to read it. But that means you have to write it. 😉

Happy writing!