Inside the Atelier: Writing 101

Numbers, Anyone?

Guess what?

The statistics on this website don't say a damn thing about who you are as a writer.

Let me repeat.

The statistics on this website don't say a damn thing about who you are as a writer.

They don't. They never have. But we're so often lured into the illusion that we're not worth it because a visual representation of our success hasn't followed. 

Or on the flip side... some of us think we're more than worth it just because we've seen a high read count. (Hm, feel free to sit and meditate on this one.)

It's no secret that mentality changes are inevitable. More than that, it can really affect those of us that are newer in our dream of being a writer, or the young ones that are still building confidence and self worth. Perhaps we have hope that this story we've pulled from our own genius will be the one people flock to, the one that gets us a laurel and a seat on Mount Olympus. Even worse, we compromise our stories because we think certain scenes and content will get thousands more eyes. 

But want to be let in on something else?

You don't have to incorporate smut to make something lovely. Your blurbs don't have to be sexual in nature to draw in a crowd. The amount of times I've come across stories that consist of something simple like Taehyung and Jungkook waiting at a bus stop for their chance encounter, but the summary has some halfbaked pun about riding something else. *Yawn*

You don't have to follow the trend of cliches that have been used so many times over that we can recite them in our sleep. This might sound counterproductive, but everything has already been written before. Our ideas aren't exceptions, but it's the way we reshape and manipulate the elements that make it fresh.

You don't have to write lowercase intended or make your prose "aesthetic" or visually pleasing. There are some stories where I wonder if the writer is okay because they must have run out of breath from all the purple prose and run-on sentences. And I hope their hands are good too from holding that thesaurus to the chest. (This is okay too, I'm just being blunt but there's a fix.)

You don't have to romanticize sensitive topics like depression, suicide, mental illness, sexual violence, emotional abuse, etc. (It's alarming that we still have to have this conversation. C'mon babes, let's progress. It's 2020.) A work might've leapt off the virtual library shelves with mention of some super problematic things. Fame doesn't excuse the writer from being absolutely out of bounds. 

You won't be happy if you're comparing yourself to other people. Enough said.

And take the writing advice you receive here on this platform with a grain of salt. I'm serious. Protect your craft and reference experienced writers. Even published authors say you're getting better or you're getting worse. But besides that, isn't this what they teach in school? We're supposed to be skeptics so that we can improve. Anyway, let me stop short on this point because I'm already giggling and yes, you should be skeptical of my advice as well. Though I'd never intentionally steer you wrong... that's the thing. The consequences of some advice can be unintentional. 

Excuse me if I'm too forward, but it is the freedom that Wattpad provides that can also be considered its greatest vice. Specifically in our humble fanfiction corner. Rules begin to form, and so do hierarchies, and so does our definition of what is considered a good work versus what is a great work--or what is pisspoor. The funny thing is, the buttons that allow us to vote, comment, or show our support can work against us too. 

How? Well... one might not think they have to work as hard when they've crossed the finish line of ratings earlier than anticipated. Sometimes, success stunts growth. And with so many eyes on what's being written, it might show. 

The pursuit of improvement never leaves us.

Yet the point is that numbers don't dictate the quality of work. We're not here because we're published, we're here because we're learning. If you're getting the hang of the process, you go! Do your thing! Wattpad isn't your be all end all, and you've got so much room to grow. Cast your net and see what you catch, and regardless of what you get, you've done something iconic in making a move for yourself and taking a creative step forward. Throw the pressure off. 

And if you want to keep the pressure, name one person in our BTS fanfiction corner that's a published bestseller. 

I'll wait. 

If you've been here for a while, you already know the drill. You're braver than most and I hope you wear it proudly. We love to see you flourishing. 

And if you need to hear this but haven't been told directly...

Stay humble. ❤️ 

With love,

Milan