Hello,
Welcome to the TTT Writer’s Guide. A place to help writers understand the TTT app better so that they can make the most out of it.
WORDS AND THEIR MEANING
Bundle - A Bundle is a collection of chapters (tales/chat stories). A Bundle can be made by the TTT Editorial team. It can also be made by the Community in two ways- a) Assembling existing pieces OR b) Creating a new one from scratch.
Chapter - A tale/chat story becomes a chapter when it’s part of a Bundle.
Contest Flags - Contest flags signify an ongoing contest/writing challenge on the app by the TTT Editorial team. Eg: A flag called WriteFor21 means the post is a prompt under that particular challenge. You can find Bundle and Post Challenges under the Challenge feed in the Community tab.
TTT Pick (Blue star) badge - This badge is given by the TTT Editorial team to signify that they’ve read it and liked it and have hence picked it for the community to read.
Popular (Yellow thumbs up) and Rising (Grey zig-zag arrow) badges - These are badges given to signify the popularity of the tale among the community.
TTT Recommended Writer (Purple diamond) badge - The purple diamond badge on a profile indicates that the writer is a TTT Recommended Writer. This means that we recommend that writer to app users.
TTT Verified Writer (Green tick) badge - The green tick on a profile indicates that the writer is a verified writer. This badge is reserved for celebrities or well-noted personalities. And is given by the Editorial Team only.
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WHAT CAN YOU DO ON THE TTT APP?
Create Bundles - Compile your stories into mini books for other readers to discover.
Read and Listen - Read and listen to Bundles created specially for you by our Editorial Team.
Create chat stories - Write chat stories with multiple characters and share them.
Templates - Pick from a wide range of backgrounds and templates for your story to share on social media.
Prompts - Customized writing prompts. For getting you started. And for when the writer’s block feels too hard to get by.
Write in English or Hindi- Share your story with the world in both English and Hindi .
Write really short stories on the go - A story can strike you anywhere. So, why make it wait? The TTT app lets you write whenever, wherever.
Write in your favourite genres and formats - With a range of formats and genres, tell the stories you’ve always wanted to.
Build your feed and your following - Build a fanbase of readers who’ll see ‘every’ story you publish.
Drafts - Not happy with your piece? Don’t publish yet. Save drafts that can be edited later.
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WRITING ON THE TTT APP
Clicking on the write icon on the bottom tray opens up 4 options-
Tale
Chat story
Bundle
Draft
TALE
Clicking on Tale allows you to write a story/chapter in a format of your choice.
Formats
[ 140 ]
Your very own tales in 140 characters, or fewer.
Character limit: 140
[ poem ]
Feelings, ideas, and imagery strung together in rhyme or otherwise.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ musing ]
Meandering thoughts. Moments of reflection. All shown, a way home.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ rant ]
At times, enough is enough. Say all you've been holding back. We're listening.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ short story ]
Long story short, a plot-based narrative written in under 1,900 characters.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ open letter ]
The traditional letter format, redesigned for modern times.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ thought ]
For things that strike you anytime, anywhere.
Character limit: Under 300
[ diary ]
You, as you are. And what you feel.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ review ]
Books, movies, shows, plays or just about anything. Go critic.
Character limit: Under 5000
[ page ]
Your piece doesn’t fit the formats we have? Write it on a page.
Character limit: Under 5000
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CHAT STORY
Clicking on Chat Story allows you to create your own chat based stories. You can add characters and announcements to make your story engaging. Let the world read what your characters have to say.
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BUNDLES
You can create a Bundle in two ways
By adding existing tales from your profile.
Writing a fresh tale/chapter and adding it to the Bundle you’re creating.
Bundles need a minimum of 3 chapters. There is no maximum limit.
You Bundle can have multiple chapters and you can choose to publish only 3 of them. The remaining chapters will be saved and can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Edit Bundle’ option from the 3-dot menu on the ‘Published Bundle’ screen.
You can shuffle the order of chapters by long-pressing on a chapter and dragging it.
They also need a Bundle description along with a cover picture. Each chapter of the Bundle also needs a description that can be added at the time of creating the Bundle.
A Bundle created can have tales of the same format or a mix of different formats. For eg: It can have a tale, or a chat story, or both.
To delete a Bundle, first unpublish it and then delete it from drafts.
You can share your Bundles as a link on WhatsApp etc. If someone doesn’t have the app, the link will open in the browser so that they can still read it.
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DRAFTS
Unfinished pieces, thoughts- started but not ended. Being happy with what you’ve written is tough. But your phone crashing while you’re on the last paragraph of your short story is heart-breaking. Drafts are those friends you can count on. Everything is stored in the Drafts section. You can access it by clicking on the main writing icon in the centre of the screen. Best part, they even save your piece when you have no internet.
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CHARACTER COUNT
Hovering under your screen, is a ticking character counter. It’s not to be afraid of, unless you’re attempting certain formats. Like a [ 140 ] has to be 140 characters or fewer and a [ thought ] has to be under 300 characters.
You can write a piece that’s up to 5000 characters long. However given social media restrictions, your piece will be considered for our social platforms only if it’s under 2000 characters.
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THE TWO CLAUSES
You own the sole IP and rights to your piece even after publishing it on the TTT app.
However, when you publish a Chapter with us, we ask you to tick two boxes before publishing.
I agree that this is an original piece of content and I'm the sole owner of it.
> This is to avoid any plagiarism on the app and to protect you in case of false complaints
I give TTT the rights and permission to use this piece of content in text and audio.
> We regularly scout the app for good pieces that we can make the most out of. If we find that your piece could be published on any of our other mediums, or maybe needs to be recorded to improve its experience- this tick box is for that. In either case, writer credits will be given to you for this.
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WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE POSTING
Good stories help increase reader engagement. And while you’re free to experiment with your styles and formats, here are some things we at TTT feel make for a good story.
Intent - What you want to say.
Content - What you’re saying.
Construct - How you say it.
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BUNDLE WRITING TIPS
1) Plan for a larger story
A Bundle is not just one short story, or one letter.
It could be 5 of each, a mix of both, or more.
Think how a single story will span across multiple chapters.
2) Break down each chapter in points
A pointwise breakdown of each chapter gives you clarity and structure.
Say in Chapter 1 your character-
a) is on a date
b) orders pasta
c) has a great time
In Chapter 2 your character-
a) is on their second date with the same person
b) finds out the restaurant is shut
c) invites their date back home
Structure chapters for more diversity.
3) Develop a character across chapters
A character's journey helps form their arc.
Show their development across a story.
In Chapter 1 your character could be a child who hears her parents constantly fighting.
In Chapter 2, she could be grown up and decide to move out.
In 3, she meets a man she loves, but tells him she doesn't want kids.
In 4, she finally has a kid.
In 5, she decides to not be like her parents.
4) Mix formats and create something fresh
A Bundle can have different formats in one.
Use formats creatively to tell a single story across chapters.
Chapter 1 could be a Diary entry by your character.
Chapter 2 could be them having a conversation in a chat story.
Chapter 3 could be a short story of what happens next.
5) Tease the next chapter
Use cliffhangers at the end of your chapters to tease readers.
The more engaging your ending is of one chapter, the more excited readers will be to read the next.
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WRITING TIPS
Kill your darlings - Discard the first obvious thought. Let your mind wander more.
Good is the enemy of great - Never settle for good. Favourite thoughts aren't necessarily the best ones.
Edit mercilessly - This sentence can do better.
Read out loud - Listen for the rhythm in well written pieces.
Zoom in, zoom out - Write as a writer. Edit as if you're a reader.
Read more - It always helps.
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FIND YOUR VOICE
Writing we believe, is a powerful form of expression. And we’ve always encouraged writers to push themselves to find a voice they identify themselves with.
Experiment
Try a different genre or a form of writing that hasn’t been explored.
Step outside your comfort zone
It’s easy to write something you’re good at. Challenges, we believe, bring out the best.
Try a different approach
Same constructs and old insights can get boring. Fresh ones can bring out a new perspective.
Surprise your readers
Throw your readers a different story every once in a while. You’ll be surprised how they react.
Write in your language
English is fine but there’s always that joy of being able to tell your story in your language. Go ahead, we’re reading.
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TAGGING YOUR PIECE
Genres
Genres help categorise your pieces according to their mood and tone and in turn make them more searchable. Choose from a range of different genres for your story. A good way to judge your piece’s genre is to see under which broad emotion it fit. Pieces which don’t necessarily fit under any of the shown genres can come under ‘Literary’.
TAGS
Tags are keywords or phrases that make your piece more discoverable. They help readers while searching for specific stories.
Tags have to be comma separated and can capture the theme or context of the story. Tags need not be a repetition of the genres.
Tags play an important role during prompt contests. For example if TTT runs a ChristmasTales contest, tagging your story with this will allow us to consider it as a contest submission.
PROMPTS
For when you don’t know what to write about, or when you simply just can’t, there are prompts. Tailored and regular. You can find writing prompts by clicking on the -
Write Icon > Tale > Blue Bulb icon on the bottom right corner
You can also find daily prompts/ writing challenges by following the TTT account on the app.
Watch out for red letter day prompts and contests and submit for them by including the relevant hashtags in your submission.
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ENGAGING YOUR READERS
Once a user follows you, they’ll see every story you post. Readers love interacting with writers.
So it’s always nice to reach out to them and slip in a thank you after they’ve commented on your post.
Here are some ways to engage with your followers.
Reply to their comments on your post by tagging them.
Follow some of the readers or writers you love.
HOW OFTEN TO POST
Your followers will always look out for something new from you. A good way to keep your reader base engaged is to regularly post stories every day.
SHARING WHAT YOU’VE POSTED
A good story must be shared. Pick from a wide range of beautiful templates and backgrounds to share your stories from the TTT app to your social media platforms or WhatsApp groups. Let your stories travel. And let them look good while they’re at it.
BUILDING YOUR AUDIENCE
While users continue to discover your profile on the app, a great way to build your audience is to share your profile or pieces across your social media handles. Insta Stories, forwards, and posts always help in redirecting your followers from other platforms to follow your writing on the TTT app.
Writing regularly and on relevant tags and prompts make your pieces more discoverable to readers.
FOLLOWING AND BUILDING YOUR NETWORK
A good writer never stops learning. And with some of the finest voices on the TTT app, we’ll make sure you read and learn from the best. Follow the writers we suggest or the ones you love.
PROFILE MATTERS
Your profile tells your followers all about you. Whether you already have an established following elsewhere or not, it’s necessary to have an identifiable profile to help readers easily discover you.
Profile Name - Your profile name is pulled in during login. It can be changed only 3 times.
Pen name - Pen names are special, so we’re letting each writer have one. On the TTT app, your pen name is your handle. Your readers can tag you using it. Remember that fancy pen names are nice to read. Simple pen names are easier to find.
Bio - We know it’s the toughest to write. But bios are you, the whole you, and nothing but you. Tell your readers what you are apart from being a writer.
Profile cover picture - You can now upload a cover picture on your profile. Make it fun, quirky, or tell your story through it.
Your Instagram/Blog/Website Link - Links are a great place to direct your readers to get in touch. Or to share a purchase link of a book you’ve published. But like they say about everything on the internet, be careful with what you share.
Share profile - On the top right corner of your profile, is the Share profile option. Use it on your social media to get more readers to follow you.
Report a bug - Found a glitch, lag, bug or think something’s wrong with your app? Click the 3-dot menu on the top right corner of your profile and select ‘Report a bug’. It’ll open your email along with support@terriblytinytales.com as the recipient. Write to us with your concern, and we’ll get it fixed.
Deactivate account - Sometimes, you might need a break. And we understand that. If you feel it’s time for that, click the 3-dot menu on the top right corner of your profile, select Settings and choose Deactivate. But hey, come back soon, okay?
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WHAT YOU COULD USE THE TTT APP FOR?
Creating your Bundle (mini-book), stories, poems, chat fiction, musings, rants, blogging, articles, movie/show reviews, writing diary entries, notes, thoughts, chapters of your novel, or any other form of fiction writing.
WHAT YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE TTT APP FOR?
Advertising, plagiarizing anyone’s stories, hate speech, self-harm, bullying, harassment, grocery lists, storage place of your plans for world domination.
HAVE A PROBLEM? WE’RE LISTENING
In case you come across a piece that’s been plagiarized by someone, you could always report the piece by clicking on the three dots beside the post and share with us a relevant link of the original story.
In case you want to report abuse, you can click on the same three dots, select a reason and fill out a small text box.
For any technical difficulties, feel free to write to us at support@terriblytinytales.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.