How I Hit Number One on Wattpad
How to Succeed on Wattpad
Have a professional looking cover. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is! That is how most readers on Wattpad will discover your writing, and the cover has to convince them it’s worth checking out.
Post as clean a copy as possible. Readers will forgive the occasional typo, but if the story is riddled with errors, it’s unlikely that your story will take off. With over 100 million uploads, the readers have plenty of other options.
Types of Transport
When the movie Avatar came out, I went to see it and wrote a little review on it. I said then that it transported its viewer to another world better than any previous science fiction film—and that because of that, it would be considered by many youngsters to be the “best science fiction film of […]
The Irresistible Novel
Two or three times a week I get asked, “Where can I find a great book on editing?” I’m always flummoxed by that question. You see, I’ve read dozens of excellent books on editing, and I always have to stop and say, “First, you can’t read just one book on editing. If you really want […]
Never Have Writer’s Block Again
The best advice I’ve ever heard Ernest Hemingway give is the advice I personally swear by. He said, “The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck.” […]
The Importance of Finding Your Tribe
This spring I attended a writers’ conference in Utah. When I walked into the conference center, I noticed their sign said “Welcome to the Tribe.”Now, I know what a tribe is, but the word used to be limited to aboriginal groups in far-flung eras or countries. I know it’s become a buzz-word in social media […]
Writing Contests!
Writing contests are an excellent way to hone your skills and get noticed. The United Authors Association is a new non-profit writer’s organization with the principal goal of improving literacy. Bob Muench says, “We are working with the state prison in Draper to start helping their residents improve their reading and writing skills. We have […]
The Heart of Your Story
I was asked to read a screenplay over the weekend. It opened with two minutes during which it explained what a common household device was, showing how it was made in a factory. Then for three more minutes it had characters eating breakfast talking about their cultural heritage. I began to wonder when the story […]
Write What You Know or What You Can Imagine?
Many years ago, the most common bit of writing advice doled out to aspiring authors was “write what you know”. We all became so familiar with that advice, even third-grade children considered it when choosing topics for their creative writing assignments. However, Frank Herbert certainly never visited the barren and dangerous world of Dune prior […]
Quotable Quotes
Sometimes when I read a story, I find that it’s just “bleh.” It may be easy to understand, easy to follow, but I have a hard time identifying any real virtues. For example, when you write a story, look at your dialog. Are there any quotable lines in it? If you go to IMDB.com (the […]
Developing Charisma as an Author
Over the past three decades, I’ve helped a number of writers reach the point where they’ve become international bestsellers, and I’ve spotted a trend. Most bestsellers attract an audience in part because they are charismatic. But what does charismatic mean? Some people think that in order to be charismatic you need to be physically beautiful […]