Writing Tips

Missing Words

I think this is something we all have seen here on Wattpad when reading a book, and maybe we see it in our own works when we reread as well.

I know I've been a victim of this and many authors on here have.

So many of us can get so wrapped up into writing that we *forget* a word or sometimes even a phrase that is so very important to the text.

I don't have much to say on this, but I will give an example and a tip on how to correct this issue.

First, here's the planned sentence:

I ran up the escalator stairs and started to shove people out of my way in a hurry.

Now, that's the sentence that we're thinking in our heads, but this is what we write instead (thanks to your brains and fingers going too fast):

I ran up the escalator stairs and started shove people out of my way in a hurry.

Even though it's such a minor change in this example, it will make readers stop for a moment and have to reread it. It can be a turn off, but some people are able to mentally correct it knowing you just forgot a word. Major ones can happen too, and they're usually like this:

I ran up the escalator stairs and started to out of my way in a hurry.

These usually are the ones that will make people leave and also give you a heart attack. Why a heart attack? Well... It's a flaw you know will turn your readers away from your work.

But now... How can we fix this issue?

These two solutions are pretty simple:

1. Reread your chapter

I know many people get annoyed hearing this over and over, but it's so important. You can find more than just missing words while rereading it.

2. Have a friend/family member/editor read it.

We don't always catch everything ourselves, usually because we know how everything is planned and will just skim the chapter. Having someone else reading it for errors will help a LOT since they don't know your plans on the plot or story.

Bonus!!

Get Grammarly!

If you're a college student or someone who wants perfect school essays, you probably already use this program. If you don't know it, Grammarly is a free grammar software that you can install into your browser and computer for free. They have free features that help clean up writing (whether story writing or an essay) and make it look a lot better, plus it can detect when you miss a word. There's also a premium version of this that has more features (like syntax, sentence style/structure, etc), but that's up to you if you wish to purchase it.

I hope this chapter helped you guys! And remember to leave a comment on anything you wish for me to cover in this book! (Wattpad story or writing related)