100 Interviews with 100 Wattpad authors

Interview with ToastedBagels

1. What inspired you to write?
I draw inspiration from a lot of things. Most of the time, I’m inspired to write by the goofy and often ridiculous things my family members say. And other times, I get a brand new celebrity crush, and he inspires me. But usually, it’s my family crazy antics that spark the urge to write.

2. Would you call yourself a wattpad celebrity Wrhy so or why not?
I wouldn’t consider myself a Wattpad celebrity, actually. Yes, my main story Float has a lot of reads. But that doesn’t mean that I’m a celebrity; only one of my stories has really caught on. And, as you might have noticed, Wattpad is a place where even the worst of stories (we’re talking predictable plots, unrealistic and unbelievable main characters, and grammatical mistakes in every sentence) can get a million reads. So, no, I’m not a celebrity. I just happened to have gotten lucky with one of my books.

3. How did it feel when you saw Float as number 1 under Teen Fiction?
I was ecstatic. Even if I’ve seen some pretty crappy stories up there at Number 1, it still felt pretty good to get there. I’m happy that people are enjoying my story enough to want to vote and comment.

4. When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?
 Nope. I tend to just pick out names that sound good to me. For example, the main character in Float is Waverly Lyons. I didn’t purposely name her something with some beach-related name (“Wave”-rly); I just thought the name sounded cool. A little awkward, a little weird. But she’s awkward, and from Vermont.

5. If you could spend the day with one of your  characters who would it be, where would you go and what would you do?
If I could spend a day with one of my characters? That is so tough. Can I pick two? Jesse and Lena, from Float. They’re twins; aren’t they kind of a package deal? I just think Lena is one of the most kick-ass characters I’ve ever written. And, even though Jesse’s a total idiot, he’s hilarious. I like funny people; we’d have a nice day getting some ice cream or something. Just hanging out.

6. Movies books or plays? 
Books! I love a good comedy or action movie and classic Broadway plays, really, but books are just magical.

7. Are any of your characters inspired by actual people?
All of my characters are modeled after real people! Each character I write down is this weird mix-and-match of traits I’ve seen in people I know or television characters.

8. If you could publish one of your stories would you Wrhy so or why not?
 At this point, I don’t want to publish any of my work. Yes, I’d love to get published one day. Just not right now. I’d actually be mortified if one of my current stories showed up as a hardcover copy in a bookstore. My writing needs to be refined so much! Right now, my stories are just about teenagers getting into funny, awkwardly romantic situations. If I’m going to publish something, I want it to be a more mature work, something I’d be proud to have my dad read (I base everything off of how I’d feel if my dad read it. If he read Float, I’d probably toss myself off the nearest bridge. Which is a pretty damn big bridge. But honestly, what teenage girl wants her dad reading her romance stories? Talk about awkward). 

9. What's your favorite and least favorite things about writing?
  My favorite thing about writing is getting to explore different places in the world and meet new people through my own imagination. My least favorite thing? Writer’s block. It’s the most crippling feeling in the world.

10. What are some writing tips you can give the readers? 
 For the love of God, use spellcheck. I’m sorry, but I just get so upset when I click on a link to a story that sound super interesting, and I can’t even make it through the first paragraph because the writing is so awful! Commas are your friends; spellcheck is your friend; the thesaurus is your friend. Use them! And don’t start off your story with some spiel about that goddamned alarm clock everyone seems to own.