Intervīews

@shevvie

Well-known for 'The Lonely King'.

When did you join Wattpad and why?

I joined Wattpad back in 2013 because it was really popular and everyone was using the app to read, which was what I initially downloaded the app for. I'm a student and I'm pretty broke, so I couldn't afford to buy physical copies and thought that Wattpad would be a great solution to that.

How did it feel like when you posted your first story on Wattpad?

My first completed book on Wattpad is The Lonely King, which is also my most popular book. However, it wasn't the first book I posted on Wattpad! I started out posting a few teen fiction books but deleted them after a few chapters because they weren't very good. I definitely felt very nervous about posting my work online because I was afraid to receive criticism, and eventually deleted my first books because they weren't getting any reads or votes. When I started The Lonely King, I decided that I wasn't going to let the lack of reads or votes affect my writing, and lo and behold, after about thirty chapters, I began to gain a lot of attention and began to rise up the Teen Fiction charts.

Who/What influenced your writing?

If you've read TLK, I dedicated the book to my best friend Angeline in the first chapter. She has always been a great inspiration to me with her care-free attitude and positive outlook on life. She's always been my number one fan and supporter and never stops encouraging me to continue to pursue my dream!

Your inspiration?

I'm quite the hopeless romantic and always dreamed of finding someone that would love me wholeheartedly! And also, handsome and rich boys seem like faraway fantasies that I'll never get to meet, so writing about them really made me feel a little less sad about my low chances, hahaha!

Your reaction when your book became successful?

Honestly, I was speechless, and pretty emotional too. I didn't shed any tears (thankfully, since I found out on the way to school), but there was a kind of lightness that followed me around for weeks. Like I was floating on a cloud of happiness and awe!

Your advice to the younger generation of writers?

I started The Lonely King when I was 13 before taking it down because I wasn't confident in it. I decided to try again when I was fifteen and made a few big changes to it (like the addition of Siobhan, and changing the male protagonist from Asher to Robin). I'm sixteen now, and still have a really long way to go. I'd just like to say that young writers, you guys are capable of creating and achieving great things. Age doesn't matter. Strive to improve your work and take constructive criticism people give you. Develop your plot and your characters, take note of your grammar, and learn a little photoshop and photo editing skills so you can create pretty covers that'll draw attention to your book. If you aren't that great with tech, reach out to users on Wattpad that offer to make book covers. Finally, don't ever give up! If I haven't re-published The Lonely King last year, I would've never known the true extent my work was capable of achieving.

Finally, thank all of you amazing readers that have always encouraged me and pushed me to continue writing. Y'all are phenomenal!

By the courtesy of shevvie.