Wattitude Magazine - September 2012

9 - WATT's Happening

♥ WATT’S Happening With  . . . KileyCouture. ♥

The Watty Awards is Wattpad’s well-known, year round annual celebration of ‘the most loved stories by the (wattpad) community’ that challenges us to complete a book in a year.  A lot of people participate in this celebration every year since it began and it’s great to the support that these participants are getting from their readers.

Some Wattpad author’s that are getting a lot of buzz this year are:

     -Dadelik with her story ‘Paying For His Mistakes’ already having over three million reads. Her story is showcased in the Werewolf genre here on Wattpad. When asked “How do you feel about all the support you receive from your readers?” Her reply was “When I think of the support I have received from the readers for PFHM I am blown away. When I started the book I wasn't sure that it would have been read. It isn't a typical romance story and it definitely isn't a normal werewolf story. So I was surprised that people liked it, voted for it and even recommended it to others.

I must be honest though. PFHM would not have been written without the readers. With each new chapter readers flooded my inbox telling me of stories of their lives. These readers shared their struggles and pain that they were feeling. The story help them to deal with their hurts and challenges they face. I was amazed at their strength and bravery. Also at their courage to share of their lives. I wanted to write something that would help and honor them. They, along with those who commented on each chapter, encouraged me to write and to create something unique. The emotions in the story was a mirror image of their hearts. I feel like the readers and I created something amazing together. Without their support and courage to share of their lives, I know PFHM wouldn't have been as special. These readers have not only support my book but they have supported me. They have helped me to overcome my fears of my dyslexia, to write boldly and have helped to change my life.”

Paying For His Mistakes - Sarah Crossen is rejected by her mate, all because of something her father had done. Dejected Sarah forces herself to go on. Why? Because she is pregnant. When the pack discovered that she is, she is more hated than ever. Especially by her mate Conrad. Even though he rejected her, she still got herself pregnant by some random guy! With no one left to turn too Sarah has to face the hardest thing she will ever deal with in her life.

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     -Cold-lady19 who is also a participant in this year’s Watty Awards with her story SwEeT MaDnEsS having over two million reads. Her story is featured in the Horror genre here on Wattpad. When asked, “How do you feel about the opportunities given in the Watty Awards?” She replied by saying, “I think they are a great opportunity for all the writers on wattpad. Somehow they make the writing process more exciting and fun for all the competitors because you have this excitement within you when you know you have chances to win something.” Sweet Madness is the story of a girl trying to fight the demon of insanity – Madness.

SwEeT MaDnEsS – “Don’t make this any harder, Angeles” I swallowed hard. The way he said my name sent a chill through me. How did he know my name? Who was he? “I’m not opening the door” I took a step backwards, looking at my kitchen. There was a knife on the counter, I needed it. If this man tried to break inside my apartment, I was going to fight back. He sighed deeply.

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     -Sharlay with her story PRETEND already having over a million reads is entered into the Watty Awards in the Teen-Fiction category. When asked, “Where did you see your story going when you first started and has it turned out like you wanted it to?” She replied, “When I first wrote PRETEND I just really wanted to write a teen fiction/love story that I would enjoy reading if I came across it. I wanted to write a story that people could relate to and one that had a few surprises here and there. I also wanted the main character to have quite a genuine and caring personality even though she was going through different issues, I wanted April to inspire people and a story that would just put a smile on their face.

PRETEND - When April's boyfriend (Kyle) breaks up with her she is heart broken. She can't seem to get over him, but when her best friend's brother poses as her boyfriend at a party to make Kyle jealous and it works, she hatches the perfect plan or so she thinks . . . Sometimes pretending isn’t the best game to play especially when pretending can become real and especially when you’re pretending with your best friend’s brother.

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     -Bambi_Rivers with her story Mute is participating in the Watty Awards. Her story is featured in the Science Fiction category here on Wattpad.

Mute – Music: ON World: OFF. Welcome to Syrus. Please pick up your complimentary pair of headphones at the gates. Plug them into your mandatory devices and skip to track four. Listen and enjoy. Cor’s world is filled with notes and pitch and tone. Twenty three hours of the day she is hooked to the music mandated by the Serial Seven, Syrus’ elite council. It is essentially every teenager’s dream: Hit a button and drown the world out. But what happens when the music stops?

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AND NOW FOR A CURRENT WATTY AWARD WINNER:

     -Perfectrain, who won in the Short Story category of the Watty Awards in 2011 with his story ‘The Girl Who Wished To Be Skinny’. His story is an inspirational story meant to show girls that looks aren’t everything. In interview when asked:

     1. What was it like competing in the Watty Awards?

It was great. It’s kind of funny . . . the story I expected to do well didn’t do as well as my others, and obviously not as well as the story that won. But I’m glad that my most important story did. It was very suspenseful. A day didn’t go by when I didn’t go back to the ‘Votes’ page to see if I was behind or ahead of the rest of my competitors. Whenever I would fall behind, I would be like “Noooo!” and whenever I would get ahead, it would be the most amazing feeling in the world.

     -How did you feel about all the people reading your book and how did you feel when you won?

I was happy that the message of my story was able to reach so many people, girls in particular. The best feeling you can ever have is when you know your story is reaching someone. And I think winning the awards was a testament to that. You could say that I was the ‘Rooky’ between me and my main competitor, who at the very beginning had an overwhelming amount of votes and reads already. Way more than I did. But I ended up winning. So I take great pride in coming from behind.

     -What’s something inspirational you’d like to say to authors that may be a bit apprehensive about entering the Watty Awards?

Obviously you want your story to be the best that it can be, but don’t worry too much about whether ‘it’s good enough or not”. Just enter. I mean . . . you have nothing to lose so I don’t see why not. If you never enter, you’ll never win, but if you DO enter you might win. Plain and simple. My stories weren’t that popular before I entered. Not in the slightest. But I still ended up getting several in round 2. So your story doesn’t have to be super popular, or the most amazing thing since sliced bread for your story to get nominated. Throw votes, reads, all of that out the window and focus on completing your story and entering.

The Girl Who Wished To Be Skinny - Megan Parker is a 14 year old girl who HATES being fat. She absolutely abhors her body. From her chubby thighs to her hairy arms she just can’t stand looking at herself in the mirror. While in the girl’s bathroom she wishes that she could be skinny. To her surprise, a fairy godmother appears from sparkle and glitter and tells her that she’ll grant her wish but only on one condition. Megan quickly learns that looks aren’t the only thing that matters to attract boys, and more importantly, they aren’t the only thing that matters in life. A short fairy tale for all ages.