Hey everyone! I'm Hannah, also known as oceanwaved on Wattpad. This is my second year participating in the Wattpad Block Party, and I'm just as excited (and honored) to be here as the first time. A HUGE thank you to KellyAnneBlount for dedicating so much of her time to and for hosting this amazing event!
Before I dive into my post, I'm going to further introduce myself since just a name might not be enough. On Wattpad, I'm a graphic designer (using Pixlr, Polarr, and Photoshop CS6), a writer (usually in the genres General Fiction, Action, and/or Fantasy), and a reader (obviously). Outside of Wattpad, I'm a high-schooler, and some of my hobbies (excluding reading, writing, and designing) include dancing, playing card games, watching Chinese drama, listening to music, and looking at memes on Facebook.
For my Block Party post, I've decided to do a Q&A, as you can probably tell from the chapter title. Throughout the month of June, I asked some of my friends and followers to ask questions so that I can answer them in my post.
All right, here we go!
Q: How long have you been using Photoshop? Is it difficult or easy?
A: As of June 29th, 2018, I have been using Photoshop CS6 for a little bit over a month now. In my opinion, the transition from Pixlr to PS CS6 was relatively easy, mainly due to the similarities between the two graphic programs. I was, however, confused on some of the PS features and had to search tutorials up on the web. If you find Photoshop to be too difficult, don't give up! Perhaps it's a good idea to use Pixlr first (Pixlr is free anyway) or just dedicating ten minutes every day to learning something new.
Q: Where do you find/get inspiration to continue to write through writer's block or even doubt/insecurities of writing a poor piece of work? What are some tips you have for those who face those challenges?
Honestly, I still struggle with this every day, and this isn't just about writing. It's about graphic design too.
When I'm dealing with writer's block, music usually helps me undergo the struggle, especially if the lyrics are somewhat related to the story plot. Reading other stories are also inspiring, as long as you don't copy the work! There's still a fine line between being inspired and plagiarizing. As for the doubt and insecurities, I always have to remind myself that I'm writing for myself, for my own enjoyment, and not for anybody else. As cliche as it sounds, always write from your heart.
Q: How do you come up with titles for stories?
To be honest, it's a mixture between "what describes my story in the least amount of words possible" and "what title looks/will look good on a cover". Always try to make your titles adequately describe your work and able to catch the reader's attention when they're browsing through the millions of Wattpad books.
Q: How do you manage Wattpad life and personal life?
I feel like I don't go on Wattpad that much anymore. Motivation to create anything is draining out of me. Typically, I would spend a few minutes in the morning just going through my notifications. In the afternoon, I would respond to the messages. And the cycle repeats.
Q: Do you have any tips on internet safety?
Know what you should reveal to the public and what you shouldn't. Obviously, on your profile, you shouldn't put "Hi. My social security information is ____________. Oh, and my address is _____________." You never know who might be reading your profile right now and trying to garner information about you.
If I could go back to when I first started Wattpad, I wouldn't have revealed my age to others. That's just my opinion though.
Q: Can you give us a snapshot of your writing process?
I'm currently on a break from writing, sorry! In the past, I didn't plan anything out. I just wrote stuff, I guess, based on what I was thinking about when I was writing.
Q: What are your favorite writing or reading genres?
I love writing fantasy, general fiction, action, and spiritual stories, although most of them aren't that good. Well, whatever. As for reading, teen fiction, romance, and mystery/thriller are my favorite genres. I've just started to read more supernatural works though.
Q: What was the title of your first ever book?
Oof, taking a walk down memory lane, are we? It was called "Diving Into Tragedy", and it was a science fiction book that I never finished. Whoops.
Q: Did you have any past usernames? If so, what were they?
My first usernames were so embarrassing that I'm not even going to put them on here. I don't want to ruin this Block Party with my eccentric usernames, but if you really want to know, just private message me LOL!
Q: What are your favorite books, both on and off Wattpad?
On Wattpad, some of my favorite books include Once Upon a One Night Stand by simonesaidwhat, All Started With A Dare by infinitely_finite, The Other CEO by ivojovi, and The Girl In Black by HeartlessThoughts.
Off Wattpad, my favorite books are The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, and The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West.
That's it for the Q&A! If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments below, or if you want, my inbox is always open to questions, as long as they're not follow or reading requests. I really hope that you enjoyed reading through this post. Apologies if it was kinda boring.
For my Wattpad Block Party giveaway, I'm giving away a free graphic (of your choice), a shout-out, and a graphic resource pack. There will be TWO winners! The graphic resource pack consists of 4 PSD Filters, 4 Polarr Filters, 16 PNGs, and 20+ fonts.
Hope y'all have a fantastic day or night, depending on where you live!
Hannah xx
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OR HERE:
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