Writing colors

What Good Writers Do

Description of the story

~ Please give lots of attention to the description of your story as well as the cover. Consider them as a preview, a way to intrigue the readers. They might not mean as much as the chapters in the story, but they're what leads readers to your account.

Personally, I usually never read a story without description because if the author has no time to write a quick paragraph to show what kind of story we're getting, then what does that say about the effort he/she puts in the chapters?

~ Another thing, do not present all the characters together, also do not reveal their cool things in the description.

Usually, it is much easier if you have one or two main heroes, then the rest of the characters are built slowly as the story goes. The secondary characters can be as lovely (or even more) than the main one or two, but presenting everyone all together makes it look overwhelming for the reader who might end up not attached to any of them.

Storyline

~ The outline needs to be clear before even starting to write the story. Of course, one can start writing and wing it, but usually if things are thought of ahead of time, the writing is much easier. Also, that allows you to put hints to some things that will happen later, and this makes the events seem much more plausible to the readers.

When I'm struggling with some details, I actually write bullet points describing the events in the story. I did this at one point in Aella, and it's working really fine so far :D

~ Although it is good to have a clear view on where the story is going, do not be afraid to change your mind if you feel like you got your hand on a more interesting thing to tell. This happened countless times for me in Pirate Chains, and what triggered the slight change in the storyline was actually the fans' comments! They are a fountain of ideas, so do not hesitate to accept their thoughts.

Story

Now here I have a lot to say, and I'll keep coming back to edit this part to add more advices

~ The story needs to flow naturally. Events must happen for a reason, and the writer needs to satisfy the reader's questions and explain why such a thing happened and why it happened now. For example, if a whore who is an expert in the art of pleasuring others decides to quit his/her job, you (as an author) need to lead the crowd (readers) to that decision slowly and they need to be convinced. That way, when the evil guy refuses to let the whore go, you have a crowd of moms and daddies cursing the evil dude and cheering for the whore.

~ Writing in good English is not a given, so use a grammar check software before publishing your chapters, like Ginger for example.

~ I believe the best stories on WP have chapters that are not too short. When a reader opens a new chapter, he/she need to be submerged with the feels of the story. If the chapters are always too short, you can't expect the readers to truly understand the characters.

Do not stuff unnecessary descriptions here and there just to make the chapter longer. A short chapter can actually be more interesting when it is well written.

~ Punctuation is important, do not ignore it

~ Write a story, not a long conversation

~ Don't rush the events

~ Don't take long to update (Look who's talking, right?) :D

Characters

~ The main character needs to make the fans feel sympathy for him, so make sure to show that he's strong before the fact that he's breaking. Only then you can get the feeeels ;)

~ If you haven't reflected well on a character, you can't expect the readers to really like it. So before writing, make sure you think well about each character ALONE, especially the heroes.

~ Try to choose different personalities for the different characters and make the interaction between then interesting and/or fun

~ For each character (especially the main ones) focus on a few aspects/features of their personality. This way, whenever you say a name, the readers' minds will automatically remember some words or adjectives.

For example, for Pirate Chains, when I say Armpit, everyone thinks Ewww. Theron -> crazy, delusional. Nash -> peacock. Ajax -> Asshole, and so on...

This way, you get to keep the personalities different and interesting as the story goes further.

~ When you feel like you (the writer) is starting to have a multiple personality disorder because of a story, THAT'S when you know that you nailed the description nicely :D

~ Describe what the people are wearing only if it's relevant to the story.

~ Please allow your characters to be logical. If the hero is a werewolf fighting rogues and risking his life, the heroin cannot be eating pizza and watching a dumb animated movie at home!!!!

Also, I've noticed something REALLY WEIRD in many, many stories on wattpad. What's with the sleeping heroin??? The girl does absolutely nothing other than take a shower, get yelled at by someone, and then Pouf! The day is over and she goes to take a nap! I have a feeling there are many tired moms on wattpad who are trying their best to write a story :D My advice, go take a good nap, and then come back to write because we need to wake the heroin :D

~ Take the time to read and respond to comments and be open to new ideas and critics

~ Do not expect lots of votes or comments at the beginning, but if you hang in there, you'll get more traffic to your profile :)

Best of luck!