How to Get One Million Reads on Wattpad (a novel)

10) Make Your Characters Relatable

Derek sat on his desk chair, one leg tucked under him, his other foot perched on the chair's base. He swiveled back and forth, trying to calm his anxiety.

When Stacy answered the phone, Derek's words caught in his throat, and for a moment, he couldn't speak.

"You there?" she said into his ear.

With a shaky breath, Derek squeezed the phone. "Yeah, sorry. I, um, have something to tell you."

God, he hated how he sounded like he was about to admit to being a serial killer.

"It's nothing bad," he added quickly, before Stacy could respond.

"Okay..." she drew out the final vowel. Waiting.

"I really like you," Derek said. Stretching it out. Procrastinating.

Why was this so hard?

He spoke about being trans to thousands and thousands of strangers on his TikTok channel every day. But somehow he couldn't cough up the words when talking to a girl he'd already kissed twice.

"Is that what you have to tell me?" Stacy's voice was tentative.

Derek let out a nervous chuckle. "No, but after how I left, I thought it was a good place to start."

"Yeah, you sorta left me hanging..." her voice trailed off.

He closed his eyes. "There's just something you need to know before we, um, take the next step. Like, physically."

"Okay, this sounds like the part where you're about to tell me you're secretly a werewolf. Just... no full moons tonight, right?"

Her joke softened the tension in Derek's shoulders, but his silence must have stretched just a second too long.

"Unless it's not a joke..." Stacy added, her voice losing its playfulness. "Derek, what's going on?"

"I'm trans," he said. Better to just be blunt, right? Rip off the bandaid?

"Wh–" she began a question.

But Derek didn't wait. The floodgates had opened, and now it all came pouring out. "I know. I should've told you before we kissed. That was wrong of me. Brody is always telling me I'm gonna get myself in trouble. But I wanted to make sure you liked me for me, and—well, the way we met I knew you didn't know—but previous girls have seen me as an experiment... Not to talk about other girls. Shit, sorry, forget I said that... But I also don't want you to think I'm a freak or..."

"Derek," Stacy interrupted. "Shut up, just give me a second."

"Okay." He let out a long exhale.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Derek swallowed, his heart thudding in his chest as he braced himself for her response.

Finally, Stacy spoke, her voice softer now, but steady. "Okay... thanks for telling me. I mean, that must've been hard to say."

Derek blinked, relief mixing with lingering nerves. "Yeah... it kinda was."

"I get it now," she continued, her tone thoughtful but calm. "Why you pulled back tonight. But, Derek, you don't have to be scared to tell me things like that."

He exhaled slowly, feeling the tension in his shoulders release just a fraction. "I just didn't want to make things... weird. Or different. Or mess it all up."

Stacy's voice warmed, a touch of humor creeping in. "I mean, the whole werewolf thing would've been a bit harder to explain. But this? It doesn't change how I feel about you."