No, this is not an announcement. I just want to help out beginning writers who wish to create a book on this site. I probably have no room to talk when it comes to writing, but let's get into it.

Simple Rules.

No, I'm about 99% sure none of these rules should be on Wattpad's tos. But these can help you write better stories or help with descriptions.

1. Try using proper grammar. This includes not using modern slang.

I can not stress this enough. Proper grammar helps the reader understand what is happening in your story and will help with reading clearly. This includes quotation marks, proper spelling, knowing when to use an instead of a, knowing the difference of spelling between homonyms (when two or more words sound alike but have different meanings and spellings), knowing when to capitalize certain words, and the use of commas and full stops.

Examples of improper grammar:

The man said there walking down the road

You're name is weird terrance

Fixed, proper grammar:

The man said, "They're walking down the road."

"Your name is weird, Terrance."

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The difference between you're and your is that the word "You're" breaks down to "You are." The word "Your" is possessive, like "Aqua is your name."

Incorrect examples:

"Your boring."

"You're posters are cool."

Correct examples:

"Hey, I like your posters."

"You're so cool!"

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Differences between they're, there, and their.

They're is another compound word that can break down. They're means "they are."

There, in context, means, "Hey, look over there." This is often used in place of they're which is not what you want to do.

Their is a possessive pronoun. In context it is used something like this, "Their hair is red." Not sure exactly how to explain it, but it needs a character or multiple characters to be used, if that makes sense.

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This is a newer addition, but I noticed this happens in at least 1/5 books. Do not use modern slang in a way it shouldn't be used. I'm sure all of you are familiar with it, but here's just a review.

Slang includes: idk, smh, idc, omg, ttyl, rofl, lmao, lol, stfu, and etc.

This applies a lot if you're writing a story, more than likely a fan fiction (face the facts, it's wattpad), set back before texting. An example would be 1882.

I would make an exception if you are referring that two or more characters are texting. That'll probably be the only way you'd use slang in a proper book.

2. Make new paragraphs.

When one character is speaking, make sure it is known when a new speaker is now talking. If your story does not use dialogue, or even if it does, when you're done with a certain topic in a story, like you're done describing a character or a scene, make a new paragraph. Don't make your stories in one paragraph, it's difficult to read. Optional: If dialogue is used, tell the reader who is speaking. This becomes optional in only some places. I'll explain.

Example:

"Hey! What's up?" Aqua ran to her friend while smiling.

"Hello, how are you?" (This is where it is optional to tell the reader exactly who is the person that was speaking. It was described in the previous paragraph that our character, Aqua, was addressing her friend. It is not needed to put "(friend name) greeted" but it can be used).

When there is no difference in paragraphs, especially with dialogue, it gets difficult to read. If the story is in one paragraph with dialogue, it can be challenging to understand who is speaking.

3. Address what perspective the story is in, and know what each perspective means.

This is a little bit optional than the previous ones. Knowing what perspective your story is in is very helpful at times. Though, often in stories, authors get mixed up on what 1st person is compared to 2nd person.

How to identify what perspective the story is in:

1st person will have key words such as I, me, my, and mine. 1st person is seen through the reader's eyes if that makes sense. Many beginning authors mistake 1st person, or if it is a fan fiction, "Y/N's Pov," and 2nd person. Please do not do this. An example of 1st person: "I don't want to get out of my bed today.

2nd person is when it addresses the reader directly. Key words are you and your. An example would be, "You got out of bed." Again, do not mistake this for 1st person.

3rd person is the narrator's point of view. It typically follows one person. In 3rd person, the narrator knows the feelings and thoughts of one character, similar to 1st and 2nd person. I'm not exactly sure on how to explain it, so I cheated and used Google to support this. Example: "The girl had walked up to her friend. He greeted her and waved, trying not to become flustered."

One of the lesser known perspective, unless learned in ELA in school, is the omniscient perspective. I believe that this is not stated directly. An omniscient perspective is when a story does not stick to one perspective, it can change from one character's perspective to another, or, if I'm wrong, it's when the reader knows every character's feelings. If this does not make sense, I apologize.

4. Do not ever use asterisks in your story.

Asterisks are these in case for anyone who doesn't know: ***

I'm aware this goes along with the theme of using proper grammar, but I can not stress this enough. Do 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 use 👏🏻 asterisks. End of story. It makes your writing come off as immature.

I get it, someone does an action and you want the reader to know that, which is good, very good, but please don't use asterisks to describe what's happening. There's many other ways you can describe what your audience is reading without having to limit yourself to asterisks.

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Examples of not following my advice:

"*cough* Sorry, I *cough* have a cold," I apologized with weak and thin sounding words.

*she laughs evily*

*blushes a deep red*

Examples of following my advice:

I coughed, "Sorry, I have a cold," I managed to apologize while coughing in between almost every weakly spoken word that emitted through my mouth.

Her evil laugh echoed through the walls, creating a chamber of taunt for us.

My face flushed with a bright red for what seemed like an eternity.

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Now, which sounds better? The first examples or the second ones?

If you said the second examples, thank you for further justifying my point.

If you said the first examples, everyone has their own opinions, but I would advise you to open your mind to something other than asterisks. There's so many more opportunities for describing words and such when you don't use them!

To be continued.

I have yet to finish this, so it will be edited, but this is here to help.