Mumblings of my mind

Rant No. 1: Wattpad

Wattpad is a great website and all, but there are some things about it which tick me off. This is just my opinon, you may disagree with  me, and that's okay. 

1) How realistic some people expect stories to be. Okay, I get it, it's not likely for buff high school jocks to fall in love with the school geek, but hey, that's the beauty of writing, you can alter reality to your choosing, just as long as it makes sense. 

2) How people complain if someone who has a lot of fans doesn't fan anyone. Some people like reading on wattpad, others like writing. That is the purpose of the website. Just because you write on the website doesn't mean you have to go fan everyone. Some people just prefer putting their work up here and getting feedback and not reading other's books, and that's ok. It doesn't make them selfish, it just means that they don't read on this website. 

3) Cliche: Originality.  I don't really mind cliches that much, because no matter how hard you try something in your story will be a cliche. But if there is no originality or any twists, and it is just one  entire cliche, the story really hits a dead end and it becomes utter dull and there's not really much point in reading. 

4) Cliche: Boys. In most love stories which there are on wattpad every single main male character has to have abs and a perfect figure. Just because a boy doesn't have an ab, it doesn't mean that they can't be cute or sexy or hot or appealing. Plus, why does the boy have to be all perfect and all?  It's the same as having a character consistently fall in love with a girl who has the figure of a model. If stories were like that, I know that many more people would complain about this. Also, whilst we're on the point, why does every story have to make a big deal of the boy's abs, and why do the girls always blush and act so nervous after seeing abs. Maybe it's a bit embarrasing seeing the body of a male, but seriously would you start blushing and stuttering after looking at the naked male torso? 

5) When people nag at a writer for not uploading their story frequently. Most authors on wattpad are teenagers, meaning that they are probably going through exams and won't be having much time to write and upload. Wattpad is supposed to be a hobby, not a lifestyle. I understand, I do, when you desperately want to read the next chapter, I've been through it. But put yourself in their shoes, if you were a writer you wouldn't be able to just come with chapters in a minute and then post it. It takes time. 

6) That opening cliche: Waking up to alarms. There are a billion different scenarios which could start of the story other than this. Unless if that opening is essential to your story, but in most cases it  isn't. Let me give you an example of how the passage flows after the mentioning of the alarm clock:

Riiiiing riiing riiiing buzzes from the alarm clock, waking me up for another day of torture at school. I hate alarms, little ticking time machines who always want to disturb your sleep. I wish I had a hammer to smash mine into pieces for ruining my lumber. Reluctantly, after stretching my arms and rolling out of bed, I head onto the bathroom, half asleep. I grab the hair brush and start brushing my silky soft chestnut brown hair which comes up to my waist, the only feature of my body which I don't mind. From the mirror, I can see my mud coloured eyes filled with disgust, which I quickly replace with blue coloured contacts. Much better.

When I'm finished with brushing my teeth, I head back to the room to put on my school uniform which consists of a white blouse, a blue skirt which comes up to my knee, and black netted tights. After slipping on my black converses, I head downstairs where a plate of toast is waiting for me. Whilst I'm munching on the toast, my mother enters the kitchen, her hazel eyes sparkling as if she had just won the lottery. With my mouth full, I say "What happened?", and accidentally spray a few crumbs on her. Usually, she would fuss about my table manners, but she seems so excited that she only quickly brushes them off, and replies "You wouldn't believe it." This time, I respond after making sure there is nothing in my mouth. 

"Believe what?"

"You remember Skylar, your old best friend? The one whose mother was my best friend? The one who had moved away?"

"Sure."

"Well she's moving back!" My mother exclaims. 

I gulp nervously. This is not good. There is a reason why she was my old best friend, and not current. Her moving back could be very very disastorous. 

- End of example of how alarm clock beginnings are useless. The alarm clock scene was completely useless for the story as it didn't have any significance to the plot and it didn't have any character development. In a story it would be better to start off with something that contributes to the plot or helps with character development. It's okay to start with it if you truly are stuck for ideas but do try and make it relevant for the story. 

Okay, so this is the end of the first rant for wattpad and just remember that this is my opinion, and it doesn't mean that authors who add these stuff to their stories aren't good authors. We all have different tastes and these are things which I tend to dislike about wattpad and certain stories.