Wattpad & How I Use It

Wattpad is a website I had heard about a few years ago, and even have an account through them. I wasn't sure about it for a long time and never really explored until a few months ago. I wanted to read something but couldn't afford to buy any new books at the time. I had the Wattpad app on my Kindle and decided to give it a try.

I discovered a lot of good reads on there and thought I would look into it more on my computer. There is a rather large writing community on there, and with further exploration, I realized that I could use it to my advantage.


How I use Wattpad:

• To get over my fear of showcasing my work. This is a big one. I plan on publishing a novel soon and if I can't share my work, then I don't think I'll be able to handle it as a writer.

• To get feedback. Feedback is important. I'm not the best writer and I know I have room for improvement so why not get feedback from readers to help me improve my writing.

• To find Beta Readers. This one is a little iffy. I noticed a lot of people on Wattpad flake after a certain point in time. It's annoying, but there are a few people who really stick with you.

• To make writing buddies. There are a ton of people who will gladly be your friend. Frankly, I find that the ones I find randomly are the ones that stick with me the longest. 

• To explore the writing community. In general. There is a massive writing community. As there should be, considering it's a writing website. It's a good place to get tips and ideas from other people. There will always be an occasional asshole but there are some really nice people on there.

• To post stories that I want to share but not publish. This one might sound a bit weird. I have a huge stack of novels that need to be edited and another stack of stories that I won't consider publishing. I know that sounds weird but these are just novels and stories that I don't want to publish. Why? I don't know. I don't think I got really excited about these novels in particular. One was a challenge from the WriYe forums while my District Pluto Novellas were just for fun. I wanted to try something new. They were stories out of my comfort zone. While I don't want to publish them, it doesn't mean  that I don't want to share them.  

There are various other ways you can use Wattpad to benefit you as a writer. It's good to take advantage of what you can especially if you are like me and have certain stories that you have no intention of publishing. Maybe one day, I'll consider taking them off Wattpad and get them professionally edited for self-publishing, but that's not on my to do list.

Why I Do National Novel Writing Month

Since it's the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I thought I'd write a post on why I participate in it. There are a lot of people who don't really like NaNoWriMo because they don't do well with word count goals, or don't do well with deadlines, or they don't think they can write well enough, etc. The list goes on.

I love NaNoWriMo. I love the pace, I love the community, and I've learned to make the most of it. 2016 marks my 13th year participating in NaNoWriMo and I found that over the years, it has become too easy to reach the 50k mark before the end of November, in some cases, before the end of the first week. I've come up with ways to change the challenge to have it suit me more than anything.

Over the years, I've discovered that I could use NaNoWriMo to my advantage.

• Complete a Lot of Novels. It's one way to get things done. I managed to finish a trilogy, a stand alone and a 5 novella series all in November because I had time to do so. 

• Issue Bigger Challenges. 50k have become too easy. So I've decided to issue bigger challenges to myself. It can be just to finish a novel or to finish a series of novels or even extend my word count goal. In 2014, I managed to reach over 300k because that was my goal.

• Meeting New Writers. It's fun meeting other writers and NaNoWriMo has a wonderful community of writers. It's fun to talk to them and make a new writing buddy.

• Finding New Resources. With NaNoWriMo I can find new resources for my writing. Map making sites, graphics sites, etcs. There are a ton of them that other people share on the forums

Writing a good novel in a short amount of time definitely had to be because of NaNoWriMo. It took time but I'm finally able to write a full novel in 3 days. I might need a lot of work but it was still done. No rewrites needed, just some revision. Since I've been issuing my own challenges, I now have a stack of novels that I need to edit and possibly publish - even completed series.

Now, NaNoWriMo isn't for everyone but if you are finding that you hare having a hard time getting that first draft written, it's a good challenge. Also, don't be afraid to fail. It happens. You'll be surprised at how much you can actually accomplish in a month after you've set a goal. Just give it a try.

If you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo or just want to check it out: Click Here.

If you want to find my account: Click Here.