March 9, 2023.          Written by Yewande Joseph

THREE THINGS THAT HELPS ME WRITE BETTER TILL DATE

Would you have been a very good writer if you have been writing during the time of Sweetdreamer33, Anna Todd and Robert Thier?

Did you get that?

Okay, I'm actually asking if you would you have been very good if you started writing just when Sweetdreamer33 started writing on Wattpad?

Are you saying... "Yewande, yes. That's a long time. I should and would have become very good and famous like them."

Are you saying... "Yewande, no. I don't think so."

This will bring me to say that...it doesn't matter when you start, if you do not walk towards achieving a thing, you will never get your results.

Whether you began your writing journey with them or not, if you are not persistent till you get the kind of results you desire, you will only suffer more heartbreaks for not being good enough.

So, you can start with them, and still not be recognised or known as a writer.

After writing two books in the first few months of 2016, I said to myself, "I want more."

If these people aren't reading what I'm creating, then there must be something I'm not getting right.

There must be something that needs to be fixed.

There must be something lacking in my book.

I knew I wasn't good enough for these people to trust my works so easily when they have their best authors updating stories back-to-back.

Why are you deceiving yourself when the likes of Anna Todd, Sweetdreamer33, Claudia Tan, Mercy198, Symplyaisha, Ad_zy1, Toyosibby, Daniel_lexy, Mary Fagbenro, The Omoope, Donald Uzoka, Rukky Adams, Chris Achojah, Rihanna_Adedeji, thechristinewrites, Rhoda Kadiri, Chiomachris are dominating Wattpad.

No matter how great your plot is,
no matter how good your grammars
are, go out and find readers.

Don't deceive yourself that your new book can be recognised or get a lot of attention immediately.

So, when I joined Wattpad, I recognised that. I'm just starting, I need to put in some work, create something convincing and not deceive myself.

I wanted to be good.

So, I started roaming Wattpad looking for books like...

'How do I write an interesting story?'

'How do I get readers captured and glued to my book.'

I'm going to reply these questions with just one statement, now. If you get it, you will find your way in writing. Writing will become easy for you. Writing will become very sweet to do. People will say you are lucky. People will wonder how you become so good in few months.

Hello, PLEASE READ.

You didn't get that.

1) Read books - But don't read for pleasure.

In year 2016, when I wasn't getting reads, when people were pointing out my mistakes, when people would only read chapter one of my book and not come back again, when there were no readers asking me when I would update the next chapter, when I had read all articles and saved books on how to write better, I realised that today I learnt how to write better by reading other people's books.

- I didn't read because I like the author❌

- I didn't read because I like the summary of the book❌

- I didn't read because I like the book cover❌

- I didn't read because I saw a review on the book❌

I read because she was the bestselling author☑️

What made her book so special? How did she write that story?🤔

I read because she was the most famous on Wattpad☑️

How did she have plenty reads on that book?🤔

I read because her book kept popping up whenever I opened Wattpad☑️

Why is her book appearing whenever I opened my Wattpad account? Who is she?🤔

I read because everyone was reading his book☑️

Why is his book so loved and now the most talked about?🤔

I read because his book was popular among Nigerian Jambites☑️

Why are Nigerian Jamb officials pushing this book out?🤔

Why is this book still in Nigeria's scheme of work and till date she never faded?🤔

My curiosity made me discover I could learn by reading these people's work.

Remember, I didn't pick the book because I like it. I picked it because she was one of the bestselling authors on the platform, and I wanted to learn what she had written in that book that made her the bestselling author.

At the end, these authors might end up being your favourite authors, your teachers, mentors, role models, and you will see yourself writing like them.

Don't choose that you are a romance author, or a mystery/thriller writer yet. That might limit you to learn from other authors who write different genres. When you read different genres, you might discover your new interest. And discover the kind of books you want to write. From there, you will also realize the kind of books you want to read, and begin to write them.

I started by writing stories that centre on marriages when I love reading romance stories and non fiction books. But I fell in love with teen fiction, making use of that platform to put my write-ups and use my voice to talk about the things happening in the society. Then adult stories. Humour also. I wrote my first romance last year. I'm writing a fantasy story this year.

This will bring me to number two which is learning.

Remember you are no longer reading for feelings.

Now, you are reading to learn.

But what exactly do you want to learn from these writers?

What will they teach you without attending their classes, or seeing them face to face to hear what they have to tell you?

See you in my next update. Bye.

Author's Note

Please stay expectant😊

There will be a YouTube video for this post. It is a little more different. Explanatory as well. Just like a different class. Thank you.