Most Common Writing Errors ✔️

Pictures Over Description?

Sorry I haven't been updating this much, I'm working on a long "BTS FF Pet Peeves" chapter that I hope will be fun to read. It's very detailed and it's been taking a while to write, so I hope you enjoy it when it comes out!

This chapter talks about using pictures to avoid description and using italics/bold for emphasis.

Read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

Part 1: Pictures

A lot of Wattpad authors use pictures in their story, and I think that's cool. Multimedia storytelling is super interesting, and it's something I'm currently studying in my English class.

I don't think there's anything wrong with using pictures in your story as long as they aren't A) excessive and B) used instead of describing things.

Pictures are not an excuse for you to not set a scene or describe things. Unless you're writing a script (which most people on here aren't), pictures being used to set a scene aren't very good for engagement since you're telling the audience what the scene looks like instead of showing it.

Part of the glory of writing is that every single reader will interpret your words differently. Even with descriptions, part of the fun is being able to imagine the scene for ourselves.

I'm someone who can't imagine a scene's appearance no matter how well it's described to me, but trying to put pieces together is still fun. When an author gives a picture instead of describing the scene, my engagement isn't as high.

Even if you're writing a script, relying too much on pictures hurts the narrative flow. Scripts are already hard enough to write for people to read because they're not engaging. They tell everything and even have character secrets sometimes listed in the character sheet. They're not meant to be read; they're meant to be performed, which gives them the emotion they need.

Pictures can take away from the immersion depending on how often you use them. I myself have used pictures in my stories, most notably, Like Crazy. Since it has such a whacky, new world with different creatures, places, and events, I did both description and pictures/gifs to set the scene for the readers who prefer to read descriptions and also the ones who are more visual and need that visual aid to picture things clearly.

If you're a reader who prefers stories with lots of pictures, there's nothing wrong with that! Same applies to readers who prefer stories with absolutely no pictures whatsoever. It's your preferred reading style, and that's the glory of Wattpad, right? You can find anything and everything on here.

My main point is to encourage you to use pictures if you want to, but don't use them as an excuse to not describe the scene.

There are also a lot of readers who dislike excessive pictures and/or gifs. They want to read a story. If they wanted to look at pictures and gifs, they'd open Google and type "pictures and gifs." So keep that in mind while deciding what pictures to include in your story.

Pictures and gifs can definitely help your story stand out and even immerse your reader more in the world you're crafting; however, be cautious not to overuse them (depending on what type of story you're telling), and don't use them as an excuse to not describe a scene, character, emotion, etc.

Part 2: Emphasis

Italics and bold are used for emphasis. Bold isn't used as often, and when it is, it's most commonly used to bold chapter titles to give them more emphasis.

For that reason, I will be focusing on italics.

Italics are a great way to give emphasis. However, like with most if not all things, excessive use of italics is distracting and gives it less emphasis.