✨h i✨

i'd just like to start this tip off by saying i am NOT a professional writer, by any means, and this is not a "omg i'm such a better writer, buckle up and listen because you suck."
...cause it's not.

i've just noticed that whenever someone slides in my dms, asking if i could look ever their book, i'm always giving the same advice, and i figured i could just write it all down here and maybe make it a bit more organized.

so let's get into it!

#1-For The Love Of Everyone's Eyesight, PLEASE Cut Off Your Paragraphs.

i CANNOT stress this enough.

i know personally that whenever you're reading a fanfic and it's all the same paragraph, just one long blob, i don't stick around to see where it's going.

a great way i've found to make sure my paragraphs aren't going on too long is this:
(p.s., it's not mine)

TiP ToP
Ti-Time
P-Person
To-Topic
P-Place

and dialogue!!
ALWAYS break after dialogue

if you're not sure when to break paragraphs and other things, just go with your gut and don't be afraid to experiment!!!
for me, it took me a little bit, but i found i like to keep my paragraphs on the shorter side and break them sometimes to stress more on a singular thought. but honestly, it truly depends on you. don't stress bc you haven't found your writing style!!

if you've already written a fanfic or two, among other books and stuff, tell me about your writing style! i love to hear other's ways of doing things.

#2 Dialogue?? Grammar?

honestly, there are so many different rules for dialogue and i can't keep track. (also i liked to fall asleep in english/language arts and only paid attention when we got to creatively write, sooo)
luckily, *like a lot of things* there's an app for that!!!

-that's so big i'm so sorry-

for awhile, i just used the free version. a) i was broke, and b) i wasn't really a "serious" writer, i just wrote really awful Marvel fanfic and dreamed about being Gally's girlfriend. and c) i wasn't exactly sure how to buy the better version.

but, i got the premium version for my birthday, so yay!

(also, i'd just like to point out that this isn't an ad for grammarly. *awkward chuckle*)

the free version is perfectly fine to use! it points out spelling problems, and helps with ending punctation for dialogue bc ain't nobody got time to memorize all the rules. it also- *drum roll please* helps with grammar!!!1!!11!

i HIGHLY encourage you to stick your chapter/book through the checker and see what it can help with. you've really got nothing to lose, and you can even use grammarly to back up your book! and you can even add it to your browser or download the app to have it check while you're writing in wattpad, if you don't want to move back and forth.

although, i must say, it IS still a free version. the premium version helps with a lot more, and keeps your writing fluid and makes sure it's not just a jumble of words you wrote at 2am and thought it sounded alright to your sleep-deprived mind.

#3 So You've Got A Book

-i had to i'm sorry-

so you have a book. or a chapter.
it's time to edit!!

literally the first thing i look at when someone's asked me to do a thorough read-through (that hurt my eyeballs) is the sentences. 
9/10 a new writer will add a lot of simple, non-compound sentences together. you want your writing to sound a little more seasoned, using the 

Long/Long/Short method. 

This method is used EVERYWHERE, and can be flipped and changed any which way! 

Short/Long/Short
Short/Short/Long 
etc, etc, I'm not typing them all out. 

the main "theory" of sorts is that you do not want your paragraphs to sound monotonous. 

for, Random Example™: 

"Jack loved Jill. But Jill loved Rick. Jack really wanted Jill." 

(this is literally just the simplest of examples.)
here's your first take on it. 

"Jack loved Jill. He really wanted her, but Jill loved Rick." 

you did good by adding two sentences together and changing the order, BUT- it's still lacking something.
a little bit better:

"Jack loved Jill, but wasn't sure how to tell her. He really wanted her, but Jill loved Rick." 

this is great!! you've added some more detail, and it's a whole lot better than the first time!! but by adding some detail and mushing two sentences together, you've ironically found yourself in the same predicament.
ending two sentences with her makes it seem a whole lot monotonous. you've also set up both sentences with a ", but". 
this is a really good start tho!!

"Jack loved Jill. He really wanted to tell her, but wasn't sure how to say it. And Jill loved another person; Rick." 

yay!! you've taken out the extra her, and made it flow a whole heck of a lot better! 👏🏼👏🏼
it's almost there!! 

just one thing. 

". . . And Jill loved another person: Rick." 

you used a semi-colon wrong. that can easily be swapped out with a colon or a comma, and would have been caught by the free version of Grammarly. 
but you did it!! you made three "children's book" sentences sound like something that would actually be in a real book. 

and thus, that shows the steps to make your writing flow a lot better. 

i've covered a lot of info there, lmk if you're a little confused, and if you want to have me tackle another couple of sentences.
this was actually a lot of fun! 

anyway this is getting long and i should be writing actual stories so i'm ending this here. comment anything else you want me to cover!!