Wattpad Interviews [Closed]

teenagethought

How did you discover Wattpad?

I was an avid writer and was looking for someplace where people could publish their stories. I didn't have much confidence for finding a publisher and I was scared to death of actually asking for a personal opinion on my stories. I found Quotev, but it wasn't really the type of site I was looking for. A little too...grunge for my taste. So then, one day, when I was going through Barnes and Noble, I found a book that interested me. And it interested me because of the little "Also known as the Wattpad sensation" bit near the corner of the cover. I had heard of Wattpad from my friends who were reading PS I Love You (you know, just fangirls and their Harry Styles obsessions), and I thought, "Hey, if Wattpad stories are getting this much of an audience, might as well try it out!"

How long have you had Wattpad, and how often do you use it?

I got a Wattpad last year under a username that I will not disclose due to the fact that it was horribly lame, for the lack of a better word. If anyone finds out what my username and profile picture was I will probably have to change my name and move to Mexico in fear of being publicly embarrassed. At that time, I didn't do anything on Wattpad except read books and whisper to myself "when will I become a good writer" over and over again at 2:00 in the morning. Eventually, I started writing a story that I was really proud of and I decided to post it on Wattpad, so I promptly changed my username and began using it. I currently go on Wattpad for a mind boggling amount of time every day to be an active part of clubs and conversations. It's sort of like a guilty pleasure now, and I often find myself looking at my feed during the absurdly boring lectures in the school day. Who knows, maybe in the future I might have to join "Wattpad Addicts Anonymous" and hug weirdly smelling people while sobbing about fanfiction. It's possible.

Is there a meaning behind your username?

Well, I like to think of myself as a very thoughtful person, however many people I know call me an extrovert, an open book, a chatterbox, etc. The odd thing about my personality, though, is that nobody knows any real, solid, deep facts about me. They only know the loud, constantly active exterior. What does that exterior belie? Nobody knows and frankly, nobody really cares. So, I created @teenagethoughts as sort of an online persona where I can be thoughtful and open and revel in the anonymity of it all.

Why did you start writing? What age did you discover your love for it?

I started writing as soon as I could hold a pencil, and I think I was in kindergarten when I realized that I wanted to write. It was adorable for my parents, but it was the start of a life-long commitment for me.

Who are you favourite authors? What are your favourite books? (Books on Wattpad count too!) What is your favourite genre?

My favorite type of authors is the kind that can take an emotion in me and amplify it to an unimaginable extent. Stephen Hawking does that to me with fear, Agatha Christie with adrenaline and suspense, Edgar Allen Poe with intrigue, Kurt Vonnegut with surprise, Sylvia Plath with sadness, and the Bronte sisters with love. The list can go on and on. My favorite genre is actually poetry, because people crave what they can't have, and a poet I am not. I mean, I haven't really tried poetry but it isn't the kind of way I like to express myself. And poetry is an untapped resource for only the most creative of authors. It is interesting to feel the emotions of the author in the cryptic ways that are so often found in poems.

Do you want a career in writing?

I never really imagined writing as a career choice, because for me it has always been a hobby. I've always imagined myself being a doctor in the future, as per my mother's wishes. However, in the utopia of my mind where love is forever, social status means nothing, and passion prevails no matter what, I can't say I haven't thought about it. Multiple times.

Who supports you the most in your writing?

My sister, who never fails to critique my chapters in the most harsh and unforgiving manner possible.

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Choose one of your books:

What is your book called? What genre is it? What is it about (2/3 lines)?

My book is called "Adventures of a Confused Teenager" and it is Teen Fiction, however I do like to believe that it is a good candidate for Humor and Chicklit as well. It's about an sarcastic Indian teenage girl named Layla Kapoor. Her life seems to be going fine, until she agrees to volunteer with a "buddy" for the entirety of her sophomore year as an alternative to being suspended. Then, things get crazy as she she's forced to chase elderly people down the streets, build homes during blizzards, and even run for her life after a gang fight gone wrong, all while being accompanied by her mysterious and elusive "buddy". Little by little, her experiences start getting into her everyday life, and most of the things start changing for the better. Emphasis on most.

What inspired you to write it?

Well, I kind of relate to the main character being an American born Indian myself. I like to think I'm as hilariously sarcastic as her and it's like a different humorous way for me to look at life. When I'm sad, I like to write some more of the book just to humor myself. It's a weird kind of outlet for me.

How often do you update? When was it last updated?

I update whenever a chapter is up, so it's pretty irregular, but my hard rule is that 15 days should not pass without an update. It was last updated on March 5, 2015, so I've got 5 more days to go before I hit that deadline.

How long are your chapters? Do you think short or long chapters are better?

They're pretty long, with the shortest being 2 pages. I think the long ones are better because they're more expressive of the character's dilemmas and her sarcastic mindset.

Are you proud of how well your book has done? Are you happy with the amount of reads it has?

I'm proud with how far it has come, but I still believe that if I try harder, I can get a whole lot more views. I'm not necessarily ready to throw in the towel with attempting to get more reads and more readers because I think that my book has some potential. If more people were able to look at it, I'm sure it would be easy to get a lot of reads. But, like most things in life, this is growing slowly. So, I'm just going to wait until it gets some good recognition, and I guess I just won't stop writing till then.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Don't stop. Just don't stop writing. When I started writing, I was terrible. Awful, really. But, I continued and continued and continued. I have horrors of experimental fiction stowed into a mess of word documents, but I'm glad I did them. You have to find you're writing style, no matter how hard it takes to figure it out. Find what you're good at in writing, and go for it. Writing is an umbrella, so there's gonna be something there for you. Just get out there and find it.

This author's book is amazing and I really loved the story plan. The characters were realistic and so easy to relate to; it seemed that you were there. However, a few spacing and layout issues stop the book from being faultless, but once they're edited, it will be amazing!