70 Deadly Wattpad Sins (The Book Of Evil Advice!)

Sin #01: All About Grammar (Grammer? Grammor?)

so u've jst writen a hole sotry in less thn 30 min, an no1 wnts 2 raed it. y note?

If the above is any indication, then it's because your style of writing is giving everyone a headache. Grammar is a skill that can be 100% improved on, and even toyed with to achieve different results ranging from character tone to narration quirks. However, it's impossible to get to this level without having a rudimentary understanding of how language works.

What if the author is inexperienced?

Now, fair where fair is due. A large majority of Wattpadders are in High School or below, and are probably still learning how to write proper English in class. While some people might excuse the odd mistake in light of this, it won't change the minds of those who read a story without knowing the author's background.

Then again, that same writer could be a university graduate who still has trouble finding the correct spelling or sentence structure. There's no way of knowing who's who when a story is just being read casually, and the reader can't be expected to care more about the incoherent plot than the author does... because they, y'know... wrote the damn thing.

Okay, but how does this affect the story?

Really, you have to ask that? Try to imagine the world's most generic story... Perhaps there's a Beta werewolf hunting down 1D, trying to kidnap them from a basement full of homoerotic vampires. And there's probably a brooding bad boy somewhere, I don't know.

Now, replace every noun with the word 'flaarghfl'. That is, 'The flaarghfl went to the flaarghfl in the hopes that flaarghfl hadn't eaten the flaarghfl's flaarghfl.' Boy, that's a fun read, huh?

Even in the off-chance that the grammar mistakes aren't completely illegible, consistent inaccuracies just bring the whole story down in the reader's eyes. It's certainly time that could be spent writing something more respectable and worthwhile, anyway.

The authors who suffer from this sin project the idea that they don't care about their work enough to proof-read or seek aid, and it reeks of an unprofessional attitude... not one worthy of any serious reader's time. It will hurt their eyes, and they'll click off after the tenth or so mistake to read something that actually makes sense.

So how do I fix this?

Honestly, it isn't that difficult to change with a little positivity and an eagerness to learn. The way most authors react is by reading a whole load of different books to get a good sense of how certain words are spelled/how sentences are lain out properly.

Read over your current work(s), again and again until you understand what tiny blunders you are frequently prone to, and correct them. This way, you have a higher chance of avoiding them during the first draft of your writing... a huge time-saver.

This leads into another method; proof-reading your drafts, every time, several times. If you want to be a good author, then you need to know the ins and outs of what you're expecting others to read. A good rule of thumb after completing a chapter is reading it once for consistency/logic in the plot, and again for grammar/syntax errors.

Also, and I can't stress this enough... Use spell-checking programs if your own capabilities in English are lacking. The one on Wattpad's Create section (the little ABC with a tick above the text box) is fine and dandy, but you might want to copy and paste your chapters into a website called SpellCheckPlus for a more comprehensive and thorough scan.

Are you kidding me? Do I look like I have time for all of that?!

Ah, yes... Totally forgot for a moment that you were the Chairman of International Affairs. Well, lucky for you there's a faster alternative method... although it requires crediting someone else for the work.

If you go to the Community Club section of Wattpad and look for the pinned threads in 'Improve Your Writing', you'll find a section where people advertise their editorial services.

A few things to note when hiring an editor: this person will be reading your story from start to finish (unless stated otherwise) and telling you what needs to be changed, or even changing it themselves. Their watchful eyes aren't limited to spelling mistakes though, so don't get offended if they nit-pick around for any other grievances.

Payment usually includes you checking out a chapter or two of their own novel, following them or even providing a dedication in your story. It's a fair price, considering what you're asking them to do, after all...

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That's pretty much all I have to say on grammar. Watch out for strange capitalisations, duplicate words and muddled structure as well - not every spell checker will acknowledge these as errors. The first step towards success is making sure that you're not rambling incoherent slurs like a loon.

Thx a lut! I'll nevr mess up the the Sentence again evar!

Get out.