WELCOME TO MY FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE! THE LAST EVER. In this edition, we'll be taking a look at many things regarding the book. This edition includes a Q&A, consideration of bonus chapters, feedback/reviews, my final notes, etc. Thank you so much for reading!
NOTE : Some might call this a farewell. It kind of is, if you think about it. But I'm choosing to think of this as more of a see you next time. I'm hoping that some of you will choose to continue this journey with me, even if it is on my other account as well.
It's kind of crazy. This book has taken a little more than a year to write, and it's sad to think that it's over. No more waking up Saturday mornings posting a chapter or reading a chapter. I think what I'll personally miss the most is interacting with everyone. You all are my world, my Wings, and I'm going to miss you so much it hurts.
FEEDBACK : If you don't comment anywhere else in this entire page, I would appreciate if you could comment inline here and tell me your thoughts. This is to improve my writing so that next time I can hopefully deliver even better than before. Thank you so much for your participation:)
How did you originally find my books/my account?
What have I done wrong? How can I fix it? Be blunt.
Were there any chapters/scenes you felt were useless?
What are characters you think would have been better if more developed?
What part of the plot would you have changed if you were the writer?
Overall, how would you review this story?
What was your favorite chapter?
What did you love most about Sophie and Keefe's relationship? What did you dislike the most?
What was your favorite part of the story?
Q & A : Thank you to everyone who sent in a question(s)! These sorts of things aren't possible without you. Also, I'm so, so sorry that this is so long. I kind of ran out of time to make it more concise due to an onslaught of last minute questions, haha. I also didn't have time to make sure I didn't type something strange like hours instead of ours (I caught myself doing that once for some odd reason) but I normally self-edit so hopefully it'll be fine.
How did you discover KOTLC?
I haven't really talked about it on this platform, but for a very long time now I've been much more into writing than reading. In fact, I hadn't read a book that I really liked reading in a very long time. I remember I was in a bookstore, a smaller one I think, and I just picked the first book in the series off of the shelf because it was a long fantasy book (I like those – probably stems from my love of the Heroes of Olympus series) and it looked interesting. I bought it. I don't buy books very often, but I like to think of it as my miracle buy. I picked the perfect book. I read it so fast and fell in love with Shannon Messenger's writing style in the series. It was the only thing I have truly loved that I've read in a very, very long time.
Why did you make an account on Wattpad?
I originally made a Wattpad account because I had been reading a lot of Keeper stories and I wanted to interact and show support for the writers I was writing. I actually ended up figuring out quite quickly that there weren't very many good quality fanfictions written out there, and I think at that point (this was 2017 or so) there was only one good sokeefe fanfiction because not many of us shipped Sophie and Keefe. Every story on Wattpad was a matchmaker one. I followed the trend but put my own spin on it. I figured that if no one could write a story with proper formatting and grammar, I couldn't possibly do worse than that as long as I actually tried my hand. (No offense, but so many writers don't format their writing whatsoever and it's probably the thing that makes me turn away from books immediately over anything else.) I wanted there to be a good quality sokeefe fanfiction out there for people like me, that were looking for a read that at the very least was formatted correctly and not just the same thing. No shade to any of the writers that wrote anything in 2017 – I just didn't find anything to my personal taste.
What device do you use for your writing?
My computer, always.
Why do you ship sokeefe and when did you start?
I've always been the type of person that shipped a character with the person they were not supposed to be with, I guess. Not always. I live for some good Percabeth. But the majority of the time, I guess I find that love interests in stories just aren't interesting characters. I ship sokeefe because truthfully, if I had to choose who I would want in Keeper of the Lost Cities as my boyfriend, it would be Keefe. He's interesting. He has real substance to his character.
I always had shipped sokeefe, but when I really started to dislike Fitz and Sophie's relationship was when Alden's mind shattered and Fitz took it out on Sophie. I thought the relationship was so, so toxic. In comparison, Sophie and Keefe always seem to build each other up. They're the only two people that are always there for each other. They always show their love and support for each other no matter what, even if it requires a window sleepover with heel throwing. Fitz and Sophie's relationship looks so golden on the surface, but it just doesn't seem to have any depth in my eyes. The deeper you look, the more troubling it is. In the most recent book, Legacy, Fitz is pressuring Sophie to pay attention to him when she barely has enough time for herself at all, never mind him. It's just things like that. If he really cared for her, he would understand that it was not the time for a relationship and that she had a lot on her plate, not feel the need to progress their relationship when she clearly was so exhausted. If I had a boyfriend, I would want him to look out for me, to support me. I would want a best friend before anything else. The way Fitz forces his values onto Sophie bugs me, and I just wish that they could have more than a cognate relationship. In the end, it just feels incredibly forced on both sides. Sophie is so uncomfortable, always. And then Keefe walks in, and it feels like she just relaxes. Yes, you can argue that it's because she's not dating him, but truthfully, that was never the case from the start with Fitz.
I'm sorry to all of the Sophitz shippers out there, but this is my sincere opinion. We can agree to disagree. But I hope you've brought all of your reasons for why you like Sophitz, because I'm not sure I'll ever be able to understand why you chose that ship.
How do you stick with a story for so long without starting to fall out of love for writing it? That's always my problem, I start feeling guilty for not updating stuff, but I also have my own life, so how do you do both without just giving up on the story?
Sticking with a story is so, so hard. I've trained myself not to move onto other stories unless I can finish one, though. I tell myself every time I'm writing a story that I just have to keep going because if I don't finish this one, I'm not allowed to start on the next one.
Don't think that I'm sitting here with no brand-new ideas. I have a word doc of 60 ready at a moment's notice that I can whip out. I have several entire books that I've plotted out in my drafts, that I haven't written.
I think every writer struggles at one point or another to finish their story. Whether that be from lack of motivation or completely falling out of love with the story. I know it doesn't look like it ever, but around halfway through the story I almost always find myself falling out of love with my stories.
I think that this is partly because of the writing process. I plot out my stories beforehand, but I'm slowly learning that I need to treat it more loosely. If you find that you're falling out of love with your story, it might be because you don't think what you're planning for the rest of your story is very interesting. Take a hard look at your plot and rewrite everything you need. The fun part is creating. Not just the craft and execution, but the actual idea in itself. Focus on that. Pull from that. Try discovery writing more. I've already rewritten my plot for To Be Female, my most recent work, several times. To keep myself invested in the story, I've only written about half of the plot so far, so that when I have ideas for the story I can incorporate them.
If you don't have a plot, try having one. I find sometimes I don't want to write, and I can't think of what to write about. Having at least the next ten chapters plotted out in advance is so useful, because sometimes even when I'm feeling like I don't want to write, I get into the emotions of the story in the scene I've planned out. When you plot, make sure you plot loosely enough to allow yourself room to breathe. Plot sparsely enough to be creative. Plot less than you think you need in a chapter, always.
If none of this works, maybe you just need to take a break from your project. If you never finish anything, force yourself through one thing even if you hate yourself for it. It's part of the growing process as a writer. Otherwise, I think that sometimes it's okay to just step away from the project and work on something else. I have many friends that work on three different projects at once and switch between them when they get bored. There is no wrong writing process, as long as you get a legible book at the end of it. If you need eighteen different ideas going at once, as long as you can sustain and finish those stories, by all means, go for it.
It's normal to fall out of love with a book/project. You just have to determine whether it's worth it to keep going and your goals. Even if I hate my book so much, maybe in a year I'll read it back and think that with editing I can make it a really good book. Maybe you're a writer that needs to get a first draft down and edit tons. It really just depends. Just remember that you should never stop writing.
Sorry, I know this is a long answer. One last thing: all of you who tell yourselves that you don't have time to do whatever you want to do (we all do that) ...you're a liar. That's right, I just called out 100% of the people reading this. Hi. If you want to do something badly enough, you will make time for it. This includes writing. You can never get better if you don't write. You can never have too little time for something that is your priority. I make so much time for my writing because I love doing it. It doesn't appear magically on a silver platter (and if coronavirus seems like a silver platter to you, better get on that before whoever offered takes that back), I make the time myself.
Could you write a story about Sophie and Keefe having kids?
See, here's the thing. I love Sophie and Keefe's relationship. But I don't think that I could personally write about them having kids. I've barely gotten a taste of romantic love/relationships, and yet I'm already realized how inexperienced I am – how much I don't know, if you will. If my story were to be genuine, I think I would have to genuinely want kids and dream of that relationship. Right now, I'm very young. I have so much to do before I want to pursue having kids, if ever. I only have a vague idea of how it might feel to have a kid. Don't get me wrong – I'm one of those people that loves kids. It just wouldn't feel right. I'm not ready to genuinely write that stage of a relationship.
Which POV do you like better?
I can't really choose. I love all of my babies. My characters are precious in their own way. Keefe is so fun to write because I get to be experimental with my sense of humor and clever remarks, while still dealing with the vulnerability of his character. Sophie is too altruistic and good for all of us. In this book, specifically, she has so much depth that I could sink and die at times. Both character's perspectives are great in their own ways.
Which chapter did you enjoy writing the most?
Hands down, Chapter 39. It's when Sophie has a nightmare at Keefe's house and wakes up crying really hard. Her dialogue, her inner thoughts, everything in the chapter is just well done. I think that I like the most emotional chapters because they're the chapters that I sink into myself. I'm the type of writer that mouths the words as my character says it and cries if my character is feeling sad. I remember writing this chapter. It's one of the pieces of writing I have where I can look back specifically and recognize all of the truth in the chapter. My truth. Not everything is mine, but some of the thoughts mirror some of mine in certain ways. From the description in the chapter to the inner turmoil Sophie goes through, it's so vivid. It's my favorite chapter in the entire book.
What was the hardest thing to write so far on Wattpad?
I'm not sure how many people reading this story were here before this, but maybe about a year and a half ago, I had a story up on this account and my original account that was posted called monochromacy. It was a story about a girl running from herself. It was a thriller, but it was really deeply psychological. I wasn't ready to write it, and I'm still not. It's one of those stories that I'd like to go back and write another time.
What was the most embarrassing typo that someone ever caught?
Oh, god. There are a lot of them. I have readers that love to make a game of catching typos, haha. (Love you all tho) I think there was a time someone caught me using you're instead of your. That was really embarrassing. A common mistake, but that's one of the things I don't do.
What was your motivation to not give up on writing this story?
A huge part of what motivates me to write at the moment are my readers. I do it for everyone reading my stories. This story, I knew about halfway through was going to be my last fanfiction for a very long time. I originally thought that was going to be because I was going to take a long break, which I haven't taken in three years. I was looking forward to that for a while, and then I got To Be Female. Sometimes I don't know when to stop. But I'm so happy that I didn't give up on this story.
Why did you want Sophie to propose to Keefe?
This is such a good question. Props for this.
I wanted some sort of twist at the end, but not something unhappy, if that made sense. I never want my readers to be able to predict what the next chapter is going to be, regardless of where they are in the story. Originally, it was because I wanted to show that it was okay for a girl to propose to a boy. I still stand by that, to an extent. But I also really wanted to show how in sync Sophie and Keefe were with each other, even accidentally. I wanted to show how they were meant to each other and both of them knew it. This seemed like a natural explanation when I wrote it.
What kind of stories would you like to write on your other account, going forward?
I think I'm going to take that account in a direction away from romance, honestly. That's probably pretty shocking to hear. That's basically this entire account. I love reading the genre, I just don't think it's something I enjoy writing nearly as much. I've found that I really love writing stories with darker elements are intense emotions. Happy romance isn't cutting it for me anymore. I enjoy writing the darker, more emotional scenes. It shows, too. I think I'm really going to start writing more of what seems to compliment my writing style and what I like to write more than anything else.
That said, I'm kind of genre-hopping right now. Save for horror, teen fiction, fanfiction, and pure romance, I don't think I'm above writing anything on my second account. It might be experimental for a little while. I think I might settle into some sort of dark fantasy; we'll see. To Be Female is made up of four different genres or so, last I checked. It's going to be interesting, that's for sure.
How do you get inspiration to right your stories? What about this one specifically?
I always get inspiration from the world around me. Always. Ideas just come to me. Sometimes I'll be walking, and I'll see something like a park bench locked up and have to write it down in my phone notes. Sometimes I'll be shopping for books, look at the title of a book, and write down my own book idea for that title before I read what it's actually about. I get inspiration anywhere and everywhere. I think when you look for beautiful things in life, even in the moment, you start to appreciate it all that much more.
For Seventeen specifically, it's kind of hard for me to remember. It's been a little more than a year. (Can you believe that? I can't.) I remember my idea for Sunflower Crown (that was an actual book that I discontinued before it started) better than I remember the one for this story. I think for this book I just really wanted to incorporate the idea of soulmates. I've been rather obsessed with the werewolf genre these days, partly because of predestined mates. I wanted to bring that interest into my writing, which I've done twice now. I decided that having a subplot surprise of cancer would be a good added touch. I think that was just about the entire book. Everything else came to me during the writing process.
What was the funniest thing that happened to you while writing?
That I wrote an entire story in a pharmacy. An entire story came to me and I drafted it in a pharmacy. The entire thing. It's just mind blowing to me.
(For those of you wondering, I'm talking about Dear Keefe, Love Foster from the Playing with Fire series. Granted, it was letter entries of a story, but it still blows my mind)
Why aren't you doing a sequel?
Two big reasons.
The first being that I think I need a break from fanfiction. Specifically, Keeper of the Lost Cities fanfiction. I've written five books on KOTLC as a whole, four of which being sokeefe. That's a lot. I've decided that I really want to focus on creating original work going forward, because I'd like to develop that part of myself as a writer. I've also been longing to be more experimental with my work, not limited to characters already built for me and settings that the book/show was based on.
The second is that I'm working towards something: being a published author. I look at Wattpad, at this platform, as a tool. I'd like to build my platform as much as possible before I publish a story, so that I know that readers will actually buy my book when it comes out. I need the support to make my dream a reality. It's a business move, quite frankly.
Oh, also, Seventeen is a really long book. Like a year's worth of long book. That's a lot of book. I'm kind of done writing on this one concept. I got bored and fell out of love with it a long time ago, so I'm ready for a new idea and a new concept to develop.
What future fanfictions would you write if you were to continue writing fanfiction?
The entire concept of Miraculous fascinates me. I think at some point if I were writing fanfiction I would definitely have to try that out. I also need to write a fanfiction about Maya and Josh from Girl Meets World, because they're one of my OTPs. GMW is my favorite show of all time. If Carmen Sandiego continues, I'd love to write something along the lines of that. (That's a dope show. Seriously.)
How did you get into writing? What made you get into writing?
I used to be an avid reader. I read all the time. I guess one day I decided that I wanted to try writing because I thought books were just so cool. I started writing on the platform I did because I had some friends that were writing, and I figured I could try it out and get some feedback. I started writing on Wattpad because there were a lot of features that made posting writing to this site so much easier. You can respond to comments on fanfiction.net. It's just so much more efficient.
What's the first story you can ever remember writing?
I have this god-awful warrior cat fanfiction that I wrote maybe a year before I came onto this site. It was awful. There were so many plot holes. I plotted nothing, I just wrote, and I had so many ideas for the story that it all spiraled out into five possible separate subplots. It was a mess. Even if it's not a formal plot, I think that as a beginner writer if you have a lot of ideas to at least have a document where you plot something for your story out.
If you could talk to your past self just getting into writing, what's one thing your present self would advise your past self to do/not do for your writing career?
I think I would've started my second account much earlier. I would've told myself to try out a plot much earlier in the process. I would've told myself to be more experimental with my writing process the way I am now. Other than that, I don't think that there was anything else. If you keep writing, you discover everything. With every book, I've learned something about my writing process or my writing in general. I've developed as an author naturally, and I think it's cool to see.
What advice can you give me for writing?
My #1 biggest advice that you just have to keep writing. Pick up a pen, a pencil, a computer, and start writing. If you don't write, you're not going to go anywhere. You won't learn how to develop your writing through your writing. If I had only ever plotted out books, I wouldn't know very much about my personal writing process. It's different for everyone. If a novel intimidates you, try starting out with shorts. Whether that be a true short story or a oneshot for some character from your favorite fandom, it's still writing. You learn when you experiment. Be experimental.
My second biggest tip would be to format your writing. I know, this sounds basic, but 75% of people writing fanfiction on Wattpad don't seem to understand basic formatting. Come on guys, it's not that hard. I know you've read a book before. Open up any book ever with dialogue and learn how to do it the right way. Not only is it going to make you look that much more professional, but you're going to have more people reading your book. That's more feedback. Formatting is such a basic step, but if you can't get your book format, your grammar, and your punctuation right, there's no hope for you. In my eyes, you might as well not write. There are things like Grammarly that will literally do it for you. There isn't an excuse. You're just lazy.
This tip is a little bit more advanced, but I assume that most people reading this haven't written very much. Description. Everyone forgets it. I used to forget it. If you go back and read Set a Torch to Flame, you'll see that there's much less description than you can find in Seventeen. Since I've been aware of it, I've fixed it. Description adds so much to your story – it helps fix pacing (let's be real, pacing is really hard), it helps add onto that pathetic word count that you chastise yourself for, and it helps the reader visualize what you're writing. It really brings your writing to the next level. Even if it doesn't seem that big to you, I'm here telling you right now that it very much is. It's the top amateur mistake that people who can do the above tips make. Almost every time I review a first chapter, I have to point out the lack of description.
Has writing always been easy for you?
Honestly, I think writing is half the battle. In art, I separate things out into two sectors: ideation and craft. Without an idea, there is no craft. I've always had an abundance of ideas, so that's half of it that's easy for me. Writing itself I've always enjoyed. I think it's just overall come pretty natural to me. I learn from my mistakes, shaelinwrites, and Alexa Donne. (Those are two YouTubers I normally watch a ton. I highly recommend Alexa Donne to anyone who writes.) I go from there.
What was the inspiration for your originals (monochromacy, HIS, TBF, etc.)?
I'll break it down. I think I've had three original novels and a short story in total. You're the Absolute Worst (YTAW), In Her Shoes (IHS) or Cinderella in a Shoe Store depending on when you noticed the story up on my profile and which account, monochromacy, and To Be Female (TBF). So far.
YTAW and IHS I'll discuss as a tandem topic, I guess. YTAW was my first ever original, and it was an attempt at comedy, or my version of it. Both YTAW and IHS were teen fiction RomCom attempts, if you will. IHS was pretty much the better version of YTAW, so I kind of count it as a complete rewrite although they were featured on my account as two different stories. My inspiration from those two books was just pulled from the teen fiction phase I was going through at the time (cringe, you could tell, too). My goal with both of those books was just to make people smile, honestly. I just wanted to brighten someone's day. Writing it forced me to brighten my mood to get into writing character.
monochromacy I would qualify as a short story. It was my best attempt at combining all of our world issues into one story and showing how they hurt people, really. That sounds dark, I know. I just wanted to highlight and point out the flaws in our society in the most brutally honest way. I'd also been meaning to try writing a thriller (I failed, I'll have to try that again someday) and it was very psychological and descriptive. It was just a very experimental piece of writing. It's currently unpublished because I'm not proud enough of it to keep it up, but I do think I'll try working on it again someday.
To Be Female, I consider a different breed of work. I built the world from nearly scratch, the characters, the society, everything. I'm so, so proud of it because it incorporates everything I love at the moment. I've been wanting to try out fantasy for a while, and it dripped into this book. I've also been very deep in my werewolf phase (still am) of reading and wanting to incorporate that into my writing, which you can see in both this book and Seventeen. I wanted to write my own werewolf story, but I wanted it to be about more than werewolves. I know there are stories out there with a similar main plot as mine, which centers around how females are forcibly bred because the population is dwindling (I don't portray that necessarily as brutally as it sounds in the story, but it's kind of a harsh reality) and there's major sexism in the plot. If I had to name two causes I cared about in the world, they would be the environment and gender equality. My interest in gender equality carries on into this story. Much like mononchromacy, I wanted to highlight our world's issues. Only this time, I did it by focusing on one of them and doing it through a completely different society. If you actually read TBF, you'll see that it's mirroring ours in many different ways. It's satirical, if you will. And for good reason. I think this story is incorporating so many genres and elements that I don't think anyone could ever get bored of it.
What's your favorite subject in school?
At the moment it's art. English I do halfheartedly because I know it's easy, if that makes sense. Art is very experimental. I might go into design in the future, honestly. We'll see.
How do you plan your stories?
My writing process has greatly evolved over the years, so it hasn't always been the same. I always start with a synopsis/story description, then start drafting the plot. I've decided this time around (this is TBF's, since it's my most recent work) that I'm going to plot what comes to mind and write the plot as I go so that I won't fall out of love so easily with the story. I use the plot to develop my ideas, in a way. I don't always stick to it. If I start a chapter knowing what I have planned and end up somewhere else that I like, I'll modify the plot. At the moment my process is half discovery half plotter, if you will. I just find that it's the best for keeping my ideas flowing and my interest pleasant. It's definitely not one for someone that lacks ideas or motivation, though, so don't necessarily take my writing process as any sort of template for what you should be doing.
What were your thoughts on Flashback?
Honestly? Boring. Half of the book was Sophie and Fitz talking in the Healing Center. I didn't read Keeper of the Lost Cities for the ships, I read it for the fantasy. Just sayin'. It's not even that the book completely killed my ship, it was just that I had to read about it all the time instead of getting my action fix.
What were your thoughts on Legacy?
Okay, since Lodestar all of the KOTLC books have been going downhill. I've been loosing interest. There's been a ton in the beginning, nothing in the middle, and a ton thrown into the end to keep us all reading. My personal theory was that Shannon was stressed out by her deadlines and needed more time to make a good book. Legacy proved me wrong. It was a pretty strong comeback. I really liked it compared to the past three books and Lodestar (but that ending was my favorite out of all books, so it saved that one for me) and it really made me fall back in love with her writing style, which is what made me like the books in the first place.
Will you still look forward to the rest of the series coming out?
To an extent. Not as much as I once would've, admittedly. But I'd like to see how Sophie's relationships play out and how Neverseen gets defeated. I want to see if Sophie ends up being a councillor or not. I want to see what tricks Shannon pulls out her very complex hat. I'm looking forward to those.
What's the story behind your username(s)?
Yikes, time to expose myself. I've had two on this account. My first one was Swoopsietheowl. *cringes* That's after my stuffed owl. Ahh. Yikes. I changed it because I thought it didn't sound very professional (I wonder why) and it was more childish than I thought I was.
I changed my username like three separate times and finally landed on crayonowl because I thought that this would always be my platform that was from a younger stage of my life (thus crayon instead of pen or something) and Owl is my pen name, obviously. I'm not really sure if I'll ever change that, at least on Wattpad. I think if I get published and use a pen name I'll somehow include owls in there for symbolism/reference purposes. Like [real name] Barnes or something. Yeah.
How strong do you think your chances are of getting published in the real world?
Maybe it's egotistic, but right now I'm on this high. I genuinely have the mindset at the moment that I will get published, no matter what it takes. Of course, I can always self-publish, but I think that I'll traditional publish first if I can. I think that having so much experience as a writer, this platform, and my determination, I'll get published no matter what. Maybe someday the world is going to spit in my face, though. We'll see. All I know is that it's been years and I still haven't given up on this dream, so what makes anyone think that I would stop now? Someone let me know.
That^ said, I have a long way to go and a lot of writing to improve drastically before I will even consider trying to get published. I have a lot to learn before I'll be at the level of a published writer.
Would you consider yourself an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?
I'm an extrovert. (And let me tell you, for those of us out there, Coronavirus stinks.)
Will you be returning to this account at some point?
I think I'll always be writing shorts or continuing smaller books that aren't novels on here. I doubt that I'll never write a fanfiction again, truthfully, just probably not for a very long time. I'll always be replying to comments and things on here though, so it's not like this account is going to be dormant. It's just going to be writing-dormant for a little while.
How have you been so committed to writing/updating?
I've found that posting with an audience and writing with a schedule that I stick to helps a lot. Also, telling myself that I can't move onto another idea if I don't finish the one I'm on is pretty motivating. This is a hobby, and one of my joys is writing and another is interacting with people on Wattpad, I'd say. I look at it as something separate.
When you first started Wattpad, did your fanfiction ideas come immediately?
Considering that Set A Torch's synopsis is the summary of every 2017 Keeper of the Lost Cities fanfiction ever averaged and redone, um, yes. It wasn't exactly original, haha. I started by pulling from parts of the series like the matchmaker plot and in I'm Waiting (my Becknessa fanfiction, none of you guys know what that is, I know) I pulled from a relationship already brewing and just developed it more. They were less ideas and more continuations of something already happening, I would say. As time has passed, though, I've learned to harness more original ideas now that I actually know how to write. There's nothing shameful about a steppingstone, but I'm careful that I don't grip onto each stone like it's my lifeline, if that makes sense.
Did you think you'd get so many views, compliments, and votes?
Short answer: never.
Long answer: I aspired to be big. And so I was. I knew that I could do it, even in the start, but I don't think I can ever predict how big I'll become in the future. 2017 Owl would be quaking at 600 followers and almost 100K views. Quaking. I'm still shook by that, so this is terrifyingly awesome. I never thought that I would be this big. Every time I hit a milestone on Wattpad my mind is blown all over again. All I know is that someday I'll have a published book. No clue as to how well that will go, but it's happening one way or another.
Why are owls your favorite animal (I assume)?
They are. Owls and cats. Don't come for me but I'm not a huge dog fan. Cats are my favorite just because they're cute. Owls...
Owls span back into my days as a fifth grader reading the Heroes of Olympus series like it was my lifeline. That then launched me into a Greek gods phase, which then put me into mythology. That's off topic. Anyways, Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom. Again, you can come for me, but she's the cool one. Her animal is an owl. It represents wisdom. She also is a goddess that is a mix of craft and creativity, so that's super cool. Also, Owls are just cute fluffy children that are freaking amazing. I'm not really sure who (heh pun intended) can dispute that.
How do you get yourself to write even if you're not in the mood?
If you struggle with this, I highly recommend plotting out your story. Sometimes you just have to start writing an idea you had to write already some other time and get into the craft and the character's head as you go. That's what I normally end up doing when I force myself to write because I'm on a schedule. If you struggle with motivation, get yourself a schedule, too, while you're at it.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Fantasy, werewolf, paranormal, romance, thriller, realistic fiction. Right now, I'm kind of a sucker for young adult. It really depends on what phase I'm in. (I also might've liked teen fiction once upon a time, but I'm ashamed of that so let's pretend that doesn't exist.)
What is the biggest thing you make sure not to do in your writing?
Repeat words. I say honestly, realize, before, and actually constantly while drafting, just to name a few. I can hardly stand it when a book I'm reading has a phrase they use often, so why would I do it in my own? I wouldn't say that this is the biggest thing, but it's definitely the thing I actively look out for. The biggest thing would be making sure that my writing has description, but since I've started purposefully including that, it has naturally joined my writing so I don't need to pay attention and look out for it anymore.
What's your favorite color?
At the moment it's either maroon (purple-red) or indigo (blue-purple). Please also notice that both red and blue make up purple and that purple is the consistent color here. So essentially I just love purple:)
What's your least favorite subject?
It varies from year to year between math and science, depending on which I happen to be struggling more in.
EXTRAS/BONUS CONTENT : You want to read this.
There will be three different bonus chapters for Seventeen in this story, and then the rest (if any) will be posted in YCBA so if you want that consider adding the other book to your library.
As for what bonus chapter content I'm planning on making...I'm leaving that up to you guys. Comment inline on this comment and say what bonus content you want me to make. No limits. Comment as many ideas as you have, in whatever perspectives you want. If you agree with an idea already suggested, please reply to that comment instead of making a new one. Thank you!
NOTABLE COMMENTS : a.k.a the funny stuff. The laughs are where it's at.
stawp omg 😂 it was so bad but so good at the same timeee
FANART : this will be updated. Thank you so much for the beautiful art edits & covers, loves. [Also, sorry for any art left out, apparently stupid Wattpad has a 20 images per part limit that I was unaware of. Wow.]
skimmilk11 - these are gorgeous <3 i'm so sorry i couldn't display all of them. wp is dumb like that
FINAL NOTE : Thank you so very much for reading. It means the world to me. I can't thank you enough. I love you. It's bittersweet that this has come to an end, but I do believe that someday those of us that this book meant something to will come back here and rejoice in the memory ❤️
OTHER WORKS TO CHECK OUT : Below I have each of my books, an introduction to each with some insider information, the cover of each book, and a synopsis.
First and foremost, if you haven't already gone and taken a look around my second account [ _surreality ] then please go check that out. Going forward, I will be more active on that account and working with it as my main account. This account will remain as my fanfiction account, but I'll be working to develop my originals account more.
On _surreality :
I think that the majority of you will like what I'll likely be working on for the next six months: To Be Female. This story is a werewolf story, but it doesn't center around that. It's more of a worldbuilding aspect, if that makes sense. It contains fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, slowburn romance, werewolf, and some satirical qualities. It's very cross-genre, especially depending on where you are in the story, so I don't think it'll be a boring read whatsoever. I will warn that are some more graphic/bloody scenes, some mild cursing, and some brutal topics included in the story, as it is a much more mature work than almost anything I've posted on Wattpad. I'll leave the cover and synopsis below.
Synopsis: Her species is in danger of dying out, slowly. Long reign the kings and crown princes, turning their entire world upside down and watching it burn. Female unmated she-wolves are becoming rarer than any species ever, and as one of the last ones, she has to be on the run daily so that she isn't forcefully claimed. It's only fate when she runs into her true mate. But can she accept him when she realizes that he's one of the royalty she's hated so passionately all her life? And when he can't understand or relate to her troubles? She comes from nothing, whereas he comes from everything. He wants her to trust him, to let him in and she doesn't know how to do so. And perhaps that's his fault.
Note: You don't need to know anything about werewolves whatsoever going into this story. All context will be provided.
On crayonowl :
General Rule - A good writer makes sure that their books have enough context and exposition that any reader can read the story without previous context.
Obviously, this rule fuzzes a bit in the fanfiction community, since most fics aren't alternate universes. Even with alternate universes, the same characters mean that authors don't necessarily have to develop their characters. This is why writing fanfiction is such a good step for someone starting out writing.
In all of the following stories, [almost] any story can be picked up and read. This includes other fandoms, sequels, oneshots, etc. I've made a special effort on my account to make sure that people can read no matter their amount of background knowledge. I will always provide that for you. Even in To Be Female, I've detailed the rules of my werewolf society/hierarchy for everyone so that people can pick up the story regardless of their werewolf knowledge. Keep that in mind reading the following synopsis'. If something interests you, don't let it being from a different fandom hold you back. It's a good rule to find good stories in general. Unless, of course, you're mortally against the ship in another story for whatever reason.
This first story is probably the story I am the most proud of on this account. I think that it's underrated, quite frankly. It's a short story from Stina Heks' perspective, explaining why she is the way she is. It's a quick read, but hopefully an insightful one.
Synopsis: ❝You don't know me at all.❞ Christina Heks is a misunderstood character in a flawed world. Many judge her for what she does, but never ask her why she does it.
This next story is the start to a Keeper of the Lost Cities trilogy that I'm known for called Playing With Fire (PWF). It is a work written when I first was on Wattpad, so the writing quality will not be as good as it currently is in Seventeen, but it hopefully isn't disgustingly awful. There are a few things from KOTLC that I messed up, but it is what it is. Don't be intimidated by this series being a trilogy - if we're being real, each book is about 20 chapters each. Seventeen would be worth two of the stories in the trilogy. I've much expanded my chapter length, as you might have noticed. Every story in the series can be read as a standalone, I would say, but it's also a series for a reason, so it does make more sense if you read in order.
Introducing...
Synopsis: Matchmaker scrolls arrive just in time, and Sophie has the most difficult decision to make. Keefe and Fitz are two of her favorite guys around. Whatever she chooses, she is going to hurt at least one of them.
Note: This story does look very cliche at first, I do realize. I promise it doesn't just stick to what most fanfictions does. It is a series, after all. If I say so myself, there's something huge that most readers never see coming. If you're just looking for an entertaining read, this series is probably it.
You Can't Burn Ashes (YCBA) is where I keep all bonus chapters/oneshots for the PWF series, plus extra oneshots regarding KOTLC. It's a really fluffy place, haha. I might put some Seventeen bonuses in there someday. We'll see.
This next story is from the show Backstage, that's on Netflix. The ship is Becknessa, of course.
#1 in becknessa
I sidestep the question. Not lying, sidestepping. "What are you getting at?" I observe how tense he is. I take my finger and place it on his chest, our faces close. "Are you jealous, Beckett?"
He's watching me cautiously. "Maybe."
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A Becknessa Story. Told by Vanessa and Beckett. If you don't want Backstage Season 2 partly spoiled for you, please don't read and then complain to me that it contains spoilers.
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Beckett is a dancer at Keaton, Ms. Hellswheel's son. Vanessa is the best dancer and choreographer at Keaton for ballet, now that the seniors have graduated. She's Prima captain, and doesn't pay him a second glance.
I have two more books, Song Suggestions (SS) and Musical Whims (MW). MW is oneshots based off songs. You'll see what I mean if you read a part. I'll let you go find those on my profile, as they aren't full stories. Sunflower Crown is my account book, where I detail my side of emotional turmoil, writing, and where I'm headed in the future with both of my accounts. PROMPTED is where I keep contest entries, random oneshots for fandoms that aren't KOTLC (Miraculous, anyone?) and writing shorts.
Overall though, the best way to support me and see more of my writing is by supporting me on Patreon. I would really appreciate if you would check me out over there. You can find me at patreon.com/surrealities or Owlmoon. I'll leave my Patreon page link as the external link to this page for your convenience. Thank you so much ♡
Thank you so much for reading all of this! If you're still here, drop a comment:) I love you, my Wings. Peace out. ✌