Meet the authors Edition #3 (Dec 2018 To April 2019)

interview #44 @WaterNymph47

1 how would you advise a Wattpad newbie?

Know why you're here and proceed from there. For example, I'm here to build a following of younger readers, because of what I write here (I write essays and poetry, but I post them elsewhere since I want a different audience), to get honest deep editing from authors who are here for the same reason, and maybe get to the point of publishing.

Thus, I search out and connect with other authors, push my work to a higher level, and read all sorts of things to gather ideas and develop a sense of what my audience likes and what they might be missing.

If you're here to find friends, you want to be in clubs a lot. If you want to have a hobby, write when you can and develop a group. If you mostly want to read, read. If you don't know what you want and how this site can serve you, you won't get the most out of it.

Other than that, follow the two writers commandments: read everything all the time, and write as much as you can - regardless of inspiration. You need to know what good writing is and grow the self-discipline to keep going - because inspiration comes to you through hard work as opposed to the other way around. Think of it like being an archeologist; you have to dig and dig before you find that fossil.

2 what's your favorite book?

My favorites fluctuate all the time, though for fiction I tend towards more surreal books that use the fantastic and bizarre to explore very real and down to earth issues (when it comes to nonfiction I tend towards the history or study of something).

However, there are two Wattpad authors I feel are particularly good: freeaccount @freeaccount) and the pretty much unknown Roz E. Simmons @user61927660). One has a more whimsical and the other a much more serious approach. Another favorite of mine is @alveonacy (Aaliya T.)

3 what's one Wattpad goal?

To finish a novel and get some deep reviews on it. I feel a lot of genres cateringto young people, young women especially, are poorly written and conceived whenthat doesn't need to be the case. I also love taking an old cliché andcompletely changing it and I feel there's a market for that.

4 what's the best part of Wattpad?

 Being able to sift through and find amazing authors among the mix! This is a Treasures and Trash barn of a forum, full of possibilities and variety of all kinds. The suggestions below a work are very good and are a great way to get 'lost' and uncover new interests. And even if you don't it has a thrill of its own.

Other than that, I'd say helping other authors but that is not unique to Wattpad.

5 if you could gain advice from your favorite author, who would you choose and what would you ask?

I'm just going to limit myself to more recent authors. I think at the moment I would pick Patricia Lockwood, a poet and autobiographical writer. I would choose her because her surreal and beautiful work has always touched me, and she had pretty much the least advantageous background for becoming and author.

I would ask her how she kept going since that is one of the deepest issues for me. I, and many other people, freeze when the deck feels stacked against them, and she had pretty much the strangest and sometimes unhealthy road to where she is now.

6 what's a song you enjoy? Who is the artist?

Hmm...a tricky one! I guess I will pick a song I've been listening to a lot this week: St James Ballroom by Alice Francis. It's a great example of electro/now swing and just a fun song all around. I would also recommend her work in general, as she is very talented and ridiculously fabulous.

7 Are you still surprised when you gain a new vote, follow or comment?

Yes. It's a pretty rare occurrence!

8 how would you celebrate a publishing deal?

Probably by donating and making a trip before I go back to school. I'd be more focused on my next move!

9 what's your favorite holiday and why?

Christmas. Because why would you pick another. Sure, there's a lot of annoying gimmicks and it can be very fraught, but when it works it's the most amazing thing that ever happened

10 what inspired you to write?

I was always a storyteller. As a little kid, I'd draw comic like strips and keep busy adults hostage with wild tales about...something. Eventually, I just wrote. I was just written this way;)