Lesson 7

Lesson 7 - Background Image to your text.

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This lesson will teach you how to add background image to your texts in HTML.

REMEMBER TO REMOVE * WHEREVER YOU SEE

<*div style="background-image: url(YOUR URL HERE);*">

If you want to add more characterizations feel free to do so. You can add background color, text alignment, font, font size etc. The basic characterization has been already taught to you. So feel free to use them here.

REMEMBER

Place the code of the basic characterization after the semi colon.

It should look something like this.

<*div style="background-image: url(YOUR URL HERE);*background-color:#FFFFFF;color:000000;Padding-top:265px;padding-bottom:10px;text-align:center;*">
TEXT HERE.

ASSIGNMENT
Write a small paragraph about anything you want using the above codes. Do not forget to add an image to your background. Change the background color, font size, font style and padding top and bottom.
Oh! And you can even do these sentences in bold, italics and underline if you want!

Lesson 6

Lesson 6 - Basic Characterization

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This lesson will teach you the basic characterization in HTML.

Divisions are easy and comfortable to deal with. So that's what I'm going to teach you. The basic division.

Remember to remove * wherever you see.

<*div style="background-color:#000000;font-size:14px;font-family:'century gothic';text-align:center;padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;color:#FFFFFF;">INSERT YOUR TEXT HERE </div>

So going step by step I'll explain everything, that is, which code does what and how to change them according to your own needs.

#000000 is the background color code. You can change this code to whichever color you prefer. Just Google 'HTML Color codes' and you will find tons of different codes.

14px is the size of the font and Century Gothic is the font. You can change them as well.

Text-align Center means where you want the text to be placed. You can change it to right, left whichever you prefer.

Padding top: It represents how much empty space you want to leave from the top before writing starts. Similarly padding bottom shows how much space to leave from the bottom. You can change the number before 'px' according to your preference.

Borders

This is the basic code. <*div style="border-color:#000000;border-width:3px;border-style:double;">

Replace #000000 with any color code of your preference.

Double is the border style. You can change that to regular,dashed, dotted etc.

3px is the width. You can also change to any number.

Now if you want to add back ground color and other characteristics add them up using the basic characterization code. It will look something like this

<*div style="font-size:14px;font-family:'century gothic';text-align:center;padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;color:#000000;border-color:#000000;border-width:3px;border-style:double;*"> TEXT HERE

ASSIGNMENT

1.Write a small paragraph about anything you want using the basic characterization code. Change the background color, font size, font style and padding top and bottom.

2. Write a sentence and add border to it.

Oh! And you can even do these sentences in bold, italics and underline if you want!

To her surprise by Bree_Niah

A teen fiction by Bree_Niah.

The book cover is good. I liked the texture and the font and the colors are good too. Nice job!

The prologue is a bit vague, also the sentences are too big. Consider making them short. Short sentences are easy to read and understand. They also make the scene more easy to visualize. Apart from that, the story sounds good and quite original.

The start was good, quite catchy I'd say. But there are mistakes, grammatical and in punctuations as well. They need to be fixed. I think getting an editor at this stage would prove to be more beneficial at this stage.

The concept of the chapter was good. There was a consistent flow to it which made me stick to it to the end. The descriptions, details were good. The sentences were short and the picture was cleared.

Overall, I would say, nice plot, god story and your characters are pretty strong. Keep it up!

Here is the story: http://www.wattpad.com/story/4595489-to-her-surprise

-SJ

Lesson 5

Lesson 5 - Text Alignment and Background color

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This lesson will teach you how to align your text and to change the background color.
Remember to remove * wherever you see.

TEXT ALIGNMENT
Left Align: <*h1 style ="text-align:left;font-family: arial;"> YOUR TEXT HERE <*/h1>

Center Align:<*h1 style="text-align:center;font-family:arial;"> YOUR TEXT HERE <*/h1>

Right Align:<*h1 style="text-align:right;font-family:arial;"> YOUR TEXT HERE <*/h1>

H1 is the code for header.

BACKGROUND COLOR
<*span style ="text-align:center;font-family:arial; background-color:yellow;">TEXT <*/span>

*Just replace the color with either the code using #FFFFFF or write the name of the color!

ASSIGNMENT
1.Write a sentence in left align.
2. Write a sentence in right align.
3. Write a sentence in center align.
4. Write two sentences in different background color.

Lesson 4

Lesson 4 - LINKS

This lesson will teach you how to insert links behind pictures and words.
Remember to remove * wherever you see.

HYPERLINKS
So what is a hyperlink? Hyperlink is a link hidden behind something.

You can use the link behind a word and a picture.

BEHIND A WORD
<*A href="LINK HERE">WORD<*/A>
Replace the 'word' in the code with 'any other word of your choice.

BEHIND A PICTURE
<*A href = "*LINK HERE"> <*IMG SRC = "*LINK TO IMAGE"*>

LINK HERE: The link of your favorite singer/actor (See assignment)
LINK TO IMAGE: Link to the picture you're going to use but first you need to upload it to photobucket and then past the direct link.

Still finding it difficult?
Check out the tutorial here:



ASSIGNMENT
1. Write a link to your profile using the first code.
2. Use any image of your choice and link it to your favorite singer/actor's site or photo.

My Sister, Audrey by hauntedforeveralways

A teen fiction by hauntedforeveralways.

The book cover is attractive, quite nice I would say but I would suggest changing the font since its not that visible, also changing the color of the font would benefit. Choose fonts like Avenir, Chunk five etc...they will make your font look more visible.

The prologue was short and sweet. i would say i have never read something like this before. It was all about love relationships that I've read on wattpad, but this is different. This topic is so wide and beautiful, I absolutely loved the concept.

The start was good, but I would suggest reframing some sentences there. For example, 'Her name was Audrey. The younger is called Lucy' to Her name was Audrey and the younger one, Lucy. It sounds more smooth and adds to the flow.

The chapter was good. the dialogues were natural and I liked them. The flow of the chapter is really good as well. But there are a few suggestions that i would like to make. Start a new paragraph whenever there's a dialogue. It make the dialogues really stand out and plus it helps a lot in the presentation. You've also missed a few commas in the chapter, so another edit of the chapter is necessary. Also, you could be a bit more descriptive about scenes, try to elaborate as much as you can. It just makes the scene easier to visualize.

Overall, I would say really nice, good concept and I loved it!

Check it here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/5497457-my-sister-audrey

-SJ

The Popularity Crisis by FunnySigns

A teen fiction by FunnySigns.

The cover was beautiful. It was really great. i loved the colors and the font. It was really capturing and I loved it

The prologue was good, interesting. It was well written and the flow was good too. I liked how the prologue begin as well.

The start was great, I loved the lyrics it was something different. Moving over, I think the paragraphs could have been a little shorter in length. They are way too big, you should consider cutting out the length. Either edit it or make it into two separate paragraphs, that will solve the problem.

And also try to make paragraphs when writing dialogue, that will make the chapter easy to look and plus it'll help loads in the presentation.

Otherwise, the flow is great and the punctuations are perfect too. At this stage I would suggest you to get an editor just to make the chapter even more sharp and accurate.

Overall, the story was great, I loved it.

Check it here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/5357273-the-popularity-crisis

-SJ

Unpredictable by Smircle

A teen fiction by Smircle.

Beginning with the book cover, I guess it could have been more creative and attractive. The story has a great title and I guess there are loads of chances to make the book cover even more eye catching. So I guess you should try for another one!

The prologue is definitely something I haven't read before. Its unique and written quite well. you missed a comma in the first sentence but its okay. But apart from this, I think its really good and different.

Good start. I liked how the descriptions begin as well, they were amazing. You did miss a few commas and words but nothing that another edit of the chapter wouldn't fix. The paragraphs are good, they're of perfect length.

I loved the characterization. It has a very strong base and the emotions are perfectly displayed and the plot is really well structured. I loved it!

Overall, I would say, definitely well written, amazing descriptions and flow.

Check it here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/3361941-unpredictable

-SJ

Lesson 3

Lesson 3 - OTHER BASICS

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This lesson will teach you the remaining basics in HTML.
Remember to remove * wherever you see.

BLOCKQUOTE
What is a blockquote? Blockquote is an HTML tag used to define long quotations.
<*blockquote> INSERT TEXT HERE <*/blockquote>

CENTERING TEXT
<*center> Text Here <*/center>

HOW TO START ON A NEW LINE
<*br>
For example: Hello<*br>Who is your favorite singer<*br>I love Eminem<*br>
It will look something like this:
Hello
Who is your favorite singer
I love Eminem

HEADER
<*H1> Text here <*/H1>
The 1 in the code represents the size of the header. 1 is the largest and 6 is the smallest.

HORIZONTAL LINE
<*hr>
Its the same as using <*br>

ASSIGNMENT
1.Write a sentence in Blockquote.
2. Write a sentence and center it.
3. Write a three sentences using <*br> code..
4.Write a sentence in Header.
Oh! And you can even do these sentences in bold, italics and underline if you want!

Novel writing tips!

The idea of my book, 'Innocence Betrayed' came to me late at night when I was discussing a horror book with my sister. I just kept on throwing some general ideas at her and she helped me in shaping them up. In the end, when I got the whole idea of it, I decided to pen it down, not because I wanted people to read my story but for my own satisfaction. Truly speaking, I tried delaying the idea but the thoughts and scenes kept nagging me until one day I finally decided to write it down.

The moment I started writing, I realized  how difficult it is. Apart from writing the right scene down, there are so many things you need to worry about; whether your grammar is correct or not, or whether you're using the right descriptions or is the scene getting more vague. There are so many problems that come up, but in the end its all about dedication to your story. Many people believe that grammar is not important for writing a fiction or non-fiction since an editor will fix it up for you, but c'mon I think you should try to be more accurate as possible.

This blog post will briefly cover grammar, description, and dialogue.

So today, I'll cover the grammar part. Description and dialogue will be posted sometime later.

So what's the secret to perfect grammar? I believe there is none. It all depends upon how and which language you prefer to write in. For example, you might write in American English but your reader might prefer reading the British English and thus, he'll point out mistakes according to that. So I think, the grammar can never be perfect but I'll surely give some tips and suggestions on it.

1) The first thing is tense.
You need to know which tense you're going to write in. I've critiqued many stories which begin with present tense but gets concluded in past tense. That's not acceptable. You need to be careful. Try and maintain the same tense throughout the chapter. That's one of the reason, I believe, to successful writing. If your sentence or story is in perfect past tense, stick to it, don't go to simple past or continuous. That will mess up the chapter.
To know more about tense visit here: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/tenses_satz.htm

2) Voice.
Try and frame the sentences in active voice whenever possible. Reason? Its sounds weird, maybe old-fashioned, I would say. Try and stick to active voice.
To know more about active and passive voice visit here: http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm

3) Commas.
This is the section where majority make mistakes, frankly, even I do. My editor fixes them up for me. You should know when and where to place it. Wrong placement of commas can make your sentence sound weird and awkward. It may make your reader uncomfortable.
This will help you out in commas: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm

4) Words.
Try not to repeat words. use different words, synonyms, throughout the chapter. The use of same words makes the chapter very boring and uninteresting. For example: the word 'said.' You can use different words like, tell, speak, utter, state, talk etc. Try and use synonyms for different words. It makes the chapter more interesting.

5) Punctuation marks.
Many people mess them up. Try to make your punctuations as accurate as possible. Something like this, '?!' or '!?' sounds very unprofessional, either it could be '!' or '?' they cannot be both at the same time. So try avoiding these small mistakes.

6) Pronouns.
Try to use them instead of writing the name of the character again and again. But if you're starting a new paragraph, make sure to mention the name of the character and then proceed to use the pronouns to avoid confusion.

Okay, so this is not a thorough list of the rules, but I consider them basics. You can take these rules as base and frame up your chapter!

Have any questions? Feel free to ask me.

-SJ

Hunted by midnight-disaster

A werewolf story by midnight-disaster

Beginning with the book cover I think it was very creative, catchy and attractive. Its the type of cover you don't normally get to see, if you know what I mean, its simply beautiful!

The start of the prologue was very catchy as well. It was brief and detailed and I loved it. The dialogue was very well crafted and that's what drove me in. Your prologue gave the right amount of information a reader needs to get started with your story. It had quality and quantity. Good job!

The start was amazing, tense and catchy. The dialogues were perfect and the length of the paragraphs were good too; they weren't too big and too short, they were of perfect length.

The shows drips off mystery...haha seriously, it was that well written. the grammar was good but the use of punctuations could be improved, like '?!' and the descriptions and details show how well your research in the topic has paid off.

The concept, the plot and the idea is totally unique. Its different and very imaginative. Good work!

Overall, I think it was wonderful, very hooking and beautiful!

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/2551350-hunted-watty-awards-2013

-SJ

Living with undead by kkheisummers

An adventure story by kkheisummers.

Starting with the book cover I think you need to change it. It could be more creative and eye catching. Posting in the multimedia club for a book cover would benefit the story a lot. Also the font is not visible. Try and chose a book cover which would make your font color really stand out.

The prologue was interesting but very short. Try and make it more elaborate. Try to give some more details about the plot and your character so that the readers get a faint idea about what they are going to read about. But make sure not to give away the whole idea. Two paragraphs would be enough for the prologue.

The chapter was good. The start was capturing but the grammar could be a bit more accurate. You missed certain commas and some sentences could be re-framed  Its nothing major, especially nothing that an edit of the chapter wouldn't fix.

The details and descriptions flow well with the story. I liked the idea of your main character and especially Narumi's. She seems to be very secretive. I loved the plot and the way you are taking it ahead. Good job. The other thing I would like to suggest is, the first chapter is too short for the beginning, it could have been a bit more longer but that depends from person to person!

Overall, I like the concept and the way its written.

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/4050455-living-with-the-undead-on-hold

-SJ

Paragraphs

Many people face this problem. How should my paragraph be structured? How big should it be and what should it include? This is something which we all face while writing something. We mix them up and end up writing a whole big page as one paragraph.

Remember there are certain rules while writing a paragraph. You need to have a clear idea of what you are writing and when what happens in the story.

So the first question which everyone faces is, "When should I start a new paragraph?"

If you are writing a novel, fiction or non-fiction, the best place to start a new paragraph is when you're writing a dialogue. Start from a new paragraph whenever a character speaks something. It makes it more readable and understandable.

What should my paragraph contain?

Your paragraph should contain only one scene at a time. Do NOT write multiple scenes in one paragraph. It makes the reader more confused and gives a very unclear picture of the scene.

What should be the length of my paragraph?

Try and keep it short. Some readers take big paragraphs the hard way. Some find it boring and others might not read your story just because you have very long paragraphs. Long paragraphs can confuse the reader with its twists and descriptions. I, personally for this matter, prefer reading smaller paragraphs and I advise all the people who ask me for a critique to shorten the length of their paragraphs. Short paragraphs are very easy to read and visualize.

Your paragraphs should act as a connector or a link to the previous paragraph. Try to maintain as much continuity as possible for a free flow of the story or chapter. Try to write different scenes in different paragraphs.

I hope I helped in solving the problem of paragraphs!

-SJ

The Dreamer by CrazyASheerio564

A historical fiction by  CrazyASheerio564


The cover is very beautiful. I loved it. No doubt! The font used was amazing was well. I liked it a lot!

The prologue was short and sweet. I liked how it is structured and the sentences are framed. I would just reducing the space between 'the trouble.' It is unnecessary but otherwise it is very intriguing.

The story was portrayed in a beautiful manner. I loved the details and the flow of the story You did miss a few punctuations like the commas are misplaced. Another edit of the story would fix it.

Also put the flashback in 'Italics' that's the way of presenting a flashback. you don't normally write PAST and PRESENT it makes it lok very unprofessional.

Overall, beautifully written, the dialogues and interaction sound quite natural. Good job! I loved it!

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/4996467-the-dreamer



                                                            BEHIND HER SHADOW

A teen fiction story!

The book cover is quite good but the color of the fonts could be changed as they are not quite visible. The name of the cover should be readable and visible. I think changing the color of the fonts would do the job!

The prologue was beautifully written. I loved the framework of the sentences they are quite different and attractive.

The chapter was quite good. I would say it was very well written. The details and descriptions flow quite well and the use of grammar is good too. There are some places where you could reframe some sentences but nothing too major. Another edit would fix it.

One more suggestion, just shorten the length of the paragraphs but apart from that I don't think there is anything else that i can fault!

Overall, fantastic chapter. I loved it!

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/5151821-behind-her-shadow

-SJ

Under my skin by dmsharp

A non-teen fiction by dmsharp.

The book cover was really good. I loved its simplicity and the font. its readable and beautiful.

The prologue was well built. It was structured in a good way and gave limited information to the reader. The use of grammar and vocabulary is quite wide and its makes the reader even more interesting and intriguing.

Over to the chapter now, I think the beginning was very casual and good. I liked it. The grammar is good again and the punctuations are perfect as well. The interaction between the characters is quite good but I would like to give just one suggestion.

The paragraphs in the beginning of the first chapter are well structured. They are short and easy to read. But the last two paragraphs are quite big. I would suggest you to reduce their length so they become small and easy to understand.

Overall, I think it is quite challenging for you to write such a story. I mean, there is so much trauma and tragedy in it. It is very important to show the emotions correctly and perfectly.

I would say, very unique, different, challenging and very interesting to read!

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/15907991-under-my-skin-chapter-one#.UYOg-rWSDE8

-SJ

Left to Di(e) by 4forneveralone

An Adventure novel by 4forneveralone.

Beginning with the cover I think it could be more creative and different. The name of the book on the cover is not clear so I think you should try changing it. Try for a smaller size picture with 256*400 that will fit perfectly.

The prologue was very nicely written. It gives a sense of mystery while reading it. Good use of language and vocabulary I'd say. But in the last line there is a mistake. It should be 'forgotten or betrayed. You missed the 'or' in the sentence. Overall, the prologue is very interesting and hooks the reader.

Moving over to the chapter, it was quite intriguing, different and unique. the interaction was wonderful. it didn't feel forced, it came out quite natural. I liked it. There are a few grammatical mistakes like in the second paragraph of the Homeward chapter it should be she has, because 'she's' sounds weird. The punctuations are correct as well and so are the size of the paragraphs.

Overall, it is very interesting, and as I said earlier very unique
 and something different to read.

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/4002244-left-to-di-e

-SJ

FONTS

Lesson 1 - FONTS

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This lesson will teach you about Fonts, Font size and Font colors.
Remember to remove spaces

FONT COLOR
< span style ="color:#FFFFFF"> TEXT < /span>
#FFFFFF is the color code. Replace it with some other code. You can google "HMTL color codes" and find some of them.
OR
You can simply replace the #FFFFFF with the name of the color.

FONT SIZE
To change the size of your font simply change the number of the percentage in the following code.
< span style="font-size:200%"> your text here < / span >

FONT STYLE
To change the style of your font use the following code.

< span style ="font-family: courier;"> your text here < / span >
< span style="font-family:arial;"> your text here < / span >

You can replace the Courier and Arial with Gothic Century, Times New Roman etc...

ASSIGNMENT
1.Write a sentence in different font color.
2. Write a sentence in different font size.
3. Write a sentence in different font style.

Oh! And you can even do these sentences in bold, italics and underline if you want!

The Real Me by the_Dreamer13

The Real Me, a teen fiction, romance by the_Dreamer13

Starting off with the book cover, it was interesting, very interesting! I loved the concept and the design. Intriguing yet simple at the same time! The fonts used are perfect and readable.

Over to the prologue now, it was interesting as well, a bit mysterious but I would say it is very challenging to write such a story since the main character keeps on changing personalities! The quality of the prologue is good, gives right information the reader needs to begin reading the story. Good job there!

The beginning of the story was great! I loved your idea of giving a faint background of the main character. The details of the characters flow well with the chapter. I loved the dialogues as well! They are very neatly scripted, the punctuation is correct.

The only issue is with the length of the paragraphs. They are way too long, shorten them up a bit. People prefer reading shorter paragraphs then lengthier ones.Short paragraphs are easier to read and they help a lot with the presentation of the story. For example: The fourth paragraph of the first chapter can be broken up into two. Start a new paragraph from, 'Whenever they talk...'

Overall. very unique concept, different plot and easily enjoyable as i has a good built and is very well structured!

Check it out here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/4970300-the-real-me