Guide to Writing

Writing Tip 14: Read through your chapters

Chapter written by KatherineArlene

When you've completed your chapter, before you hit that publish button, you'll want to make sure you've edited it to the best of your ability. Reading it through from beginning to end without stopping will help you spot any mistakes in grammar, missing words, repeated words or phrases.

One of the best methods is to read the chapter out loud. Hearing what you've written will help you catch those mistakes more easily than silently reading. This is because your brain may fill in the parts that are missing or skip over the parts that are wrong. It will also help you by letting you know if your dialogue 'sounds' realistic.

Many people write their chapters off Wattpad and then copy and paste them into the text editor. Reading it through on once you've done that is quite helpful. It will most often have formatting and font different from what you used when writing, making mistakes stand out more. However, be careful if you use British English - in most cases the text editor uses American English, so it may tell you certain things are spelled wrong (e.g. realised is correct in British English, but incorrect in American).

After you publish, there is one more editing check you can make, reading it on the app or website, whichever one you haven't already previewed your chapter. A really neat trick for reviewing your chapter on the app, if you spot an error, make a picture quote of it and email it to yourself. When you're done, you can go through those emails and correct all the mistakes in one go.

Remember to take the time to edit your chapters as you upload them. That will let your readers know you're taking your writing seriously.

What others have had to say

-Fraz- "I usually save my file, print it to proof read and once I'm happy put it up as a pdf. Thereafter, I copy it to wattpad and that helps me minimize mistakes."

AaronStone07 "Publish something that you will anticipate to read from beginning to end. Ask yourself this: would I borrow this book from the library after reading this one particular chapter? If yes, then you are good to go! Apart from the usual grammar concern, focus should be made on style of writing and on impressive emotional connectivity that readers should develop with the characters via their situation."

Ammelia11 "It can be easy to say you want to publish your chapter right that second, especially when you know you're late to update (sorry, readers!) but you should always check it through before you hit that publish button. This is the case especially if you're writing on your phone. It can be easy to use text speak when you're on the go, but at the end of the day text speak shouldn't be in the story unless it's an actual text or the style of the story - it can seriously put off readers.

I normally use the Wattpad editor, but then copy and paste it into my Word doc. This is because it's easier for me to be on the go if I have it on Wattpad (though I also paste drafts into Google docs and Word so I don't lose things). I mostly check it through Word before publishing because I'm British - the Wattpad editor tends to be in American, so I check it through the Word spell checker, then copy and paste over the results. No chapter is ever perfect on the first go (that's what editing is for) but you can make a good first impression by bothering to take the time to check over your work before it goes out to the masses."

sweetpotato- "Make sure to reread your chapter before publishing, because there might be some mistakes. If you're not so sure about your grammar, look for an editor in the Improve your writing club."

As always, give us your opinions in the comments below, and feel free to discuss! What's your routine before hitting that publish button?