18 Things From Wattpad
Literally the 18 things I learned from Wattpad, which I wrote back before my eighteenth birthday. Could be counted as tips or advice for all those newbies.
*This was originally posted for Wattpad Block Party - Winter Edition II
Hello everyone, it’s me Trina or better known as yourstrulytrina, returning once again to the Wattpad Block Party. On my first party, I did an interview with the leading men of my books and on my second one, I gave out some tips for the newbies who would like to survive the amazing community known as Wattpad.
So what am I going to do for this time? Well, since it’s my last block party before I turn eighteen (the next one would be probably February or around that) and I’ve spent a good three years here on Wattpad, I’m going to give out the eighteen things I learned from this place.
The majority of Wattpad’s population is the youth and as I almost reach legality, I’m proud to be one of them. Three years, so that meant I came here when I was fourteen and this website indeed help me in shaping me up during the critical years of maturation. These may help you, these may not. You may relate or maybe not. But like everything else I do in Wattpad, it’s all for good fun.
1.) This is a community.
Undeniably so. You need some help? The ambassadors are there for all your needs. Need some tips? A lot of experienced authors are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. Need someone to talk to? Just reach out and people will be there chatting with you until you feel better.
2.) Community or not, people are competitive.
You and I know that most people here wants to get discovered. They want their works to be shown to the world, praying that a publisher might contact them. So what do they do? They claw themselves up to the rankings, and with Wattpad’s new algorithm with the ranking system, it’s quite difficult to do so. It’s all friendly though, we all just want to get our stories noticed and read. To be frank, I never wanted to get published, it never came into my mind. The opportunity presented itself so I grabbed it.
3.) People will chew your work and spit it out before repetitively stomping it on the ground.
It hurts to see your sweat, blood, and tears be harshly criticized to the point that you feel your heart dropped to your chest. At first, I couldn’t control my emotions, I was kept up at night just belittling myself because of one comment. I never responded to it though, because I knew that it would be adding fuel to the fire. Now, whenever I see hate-filled comments, I just shrug it off and move on. Trust me, your heart will be made of stone if you continue to stay here.
4.) Doesn’t mean you should disregard all criticism.
Some people really want to see you improve. They’ll sit there, skim through your work, and then tell you what’s wrong and what needs to be changed. Doesn’t mean they’re a bunch of haters. It’s called constructive criticism; take it, it’s good for you. When people politely point out my mistakes, I’ll give them a silent thank you as I work on the problem. No need to be an arrogant bish about it.
5.) Being in Wattpad is like being in an abusive relationship.
Not really, but think about it. You’ll pour your heart and soul out on your writing only for someone to belittle it. Are you going to stop? Of course not, you’ll keep going even though your self-esteem is continually getting shot at. I’m at that point that I’m no longer excited when I update, I just feel an unsettling anxiousness which doubles when I see the comments. Fake it, until you make it, kids.
6.) The only thing constant is change.
I’ve seen Wattpad when the ‘followers’ were still called ‘fans’. There was still a status bar where you can say quick updates to your readers. The homepage actually showed the activities about you and the people you follow. When you click on someone’s profile, everything was there. No need to click on ‘About’ or ‘Conversations’ because all you had to do was scroll down. You can actually keep track of those who dedicated their chapters to you, because they were all listed down on your profile. You couldn’t put the media into the story itself, you can only place them at the side along with the cast, plus you can create slideshows. When your story is in-progress, you have a higher chance of climbing up the charts, now they prioritize the completed ones.
Not all are bad, just like the mentioned multimedia inside the story was a good touch. When Wattpad added the text alignment and the magic three (italic, underline, and bold), I sang hallelujah because it’s a struggle when you have the lack of controls for certain emphasis. One of my absolute favorites that Wattpad updated was in-line comments, it made tracking your reader’s opinion much easier compared to when I had to struggle with making them comment on what’s wrong or right.
7.) You’re a writer? Well, good damn luck.
Literally, good luck. If I wasn’t too loyal to this website for opening the opportunities for me, I would have packed my bags and left. Readers are tactlessly opinionated, even to the point of dragging your name into other people’s business. I mean, just stop please. They complain and moan when we do something they don’t want and let me tell you, it gets on our nerves but we don’t do or say anything because we appreciate them. When they hit the last straw though, they have the audacity to go ballistic when we actually take action for the sake of our work, name, and sanity. And it doesn’t help that this is a reader’s app, we writers have the short end of the stick.
8.) It’s a good way to expand your network.
Publishing deals are flying all over the place. Those little stickers of promoters on the book cover? They’re more likely to show on the homepage and get your story known. Also, this is a good way to bridge out to other apps that offer serialized fiction, like my good ol’ buddy, Radish.
10.) The word ‘update’ can be one of the most annoying words out there.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore my readers and everything. Sometimes, I appreciate when people comment that they want an update, but for them to say it just a minutes after I did, it makes me want to put my phone down and take calming breaths by the corner.
Just a tip, wait at least a few hours or so before you demand an update.
11.) There’s always room for improvement.
I’m not going to flatter myself and say that I was a good writer from the start nor am I an amazing write now. When I look back on the first ever version of my first story here on Wattpad, I can do nothing but cringe. It’s horrible, to spare you the boggling thoughts. I’ve improved… a lot. I still have a long way to go though.
12.) Research, please.
I live in the Philippines, my usual settings are in the USA. A lot of their culture and the things I write about are extremely foreign to me – I even had to look up how much a freaking cup of coffee costs. Not only that, but I try to make things as accurate as I can, although I do admit that I have a few slip-ups here and there. Did you know that my mom asked me if I was running away because I had about six tabs about European tours and trips? All for the love of my story.
Plus, just because you live in that place, doesn’t mean everything you’re writing is already accurate. Just double check to make sure.
13.) Age is just a number.
This is directed mostly to the youths of Wattpad, so of course I have to include this. We are at the stage where our minds drift off to the craziest dreams. Write it down, utilize whatever knowledge you have and ignore the fact that you’re completely surrounded by an intimidating bunch of adults. Let me tell you this, they don’t know how old you are and you probably don’t know how old they are. The only thing of concern between all of you is your writing.
But of course, be reminded that you need to be at least 13 before you sign up steer away from those mature stories until you’re at the proper age that is warned by the author.
14.) Be reckless, be spontaneous.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again – I created my Wattpad account with my sleep-induced mind. I posted my first story a few hours later, about midnight. When I woke up in the right state of thinking, I freaked out. That was one of the biggest step outside my comfort zone and look where it took me – you’re reading it.
15.) You have an army behind you.
With my machinegun, I plow through the battlefield with my army following in my direction. What’s my army? My readers. Their loyalty is the one thing I treasure the most, their opinions are what keep me up at night, their words are like the comfort or the slap that I need, and most of all, they’re there when I need them. The writing world is no walk in the park, you need your back-up with you.
16.) You’ll change.
There are a lot of external and internal factors for my switch in personality, but Wattpad surely had a big contribution to my current self. This community raised my self-esteem and self-efficacy by a mile, because it showed that my works can actually make an impact on someone else. I became tougher in terms of emotions. Like stated earlier, I’ve had my fair share of harsh criticism and once it got to the point that there were just too many of those, I’ve gotten used to it. I also learned to use my words properly, in the way that I should know which information I should share and which I should not.
17.) Every author is a good one, it just takes the right readers to acknowledge it.
The golden advice I say to everyone and anyone who asks for it. You can’t please everyone, but you can please someone who shares the same vision as you so don’t get discouraged when someone say that you’re not good at writing or your plot is horrible.
18.) Write for yourself because it’s your story and only you can hold the pen.
Well, keyboard for my situation. I made the huge mistake back then of letting my readers pressure me into creating an ending I didn’t want. I didn’t hate the story though, I still loved it because it became a learning experience for me. For me, that book was at the bottom of the list because that was my story to tell, not theirs. After that, I promised to only write for myself – having the public like it is just a bonus. Write to express, not to impress.
That’s basically it. Thank you @KellyAnneBlount for once again letting this girl join the Wattpad Block Party. Now let me ask you this question: What was one lesson you learned from your experience on Wattpad?
Thank you so much for reading, I hoped you like it. Some of you may relate, some may not. All I know is that I’m grateful that Wattpad has become part of my way through legality. Well, see you guys.
