Chasing Wattpad

Your Writing Future

Today I got notification that one of my books was put on a list called "Books I have completed". Being the cynical person I am my first thoughts were "Really, I didn't see a single vote of comment from you on it".  That is always my go to response for things like that. But then I looked at the other books on that person's list and saw that every other book on their had at least 10 million reads. Mine is nowhere near that. So how does relatively unread book (compared the rest of the list) get read by a person who apparently only reads the popular books on Wattpad? I have no earthly idea.

You can't really make any good predictions on Wattpad. There is no rhyme or reason to what happens here.  The moment you think you have figured out how Wattpad really works they change things on you. You really can't predict the writers or readers on here either. Well, you can predict me. I'm predictable. Or at least I'm letting you think I am.

There is more to the interaction that we have here than meets the eye. More than Wattpad itself. Remember, Wattpad is just a program. There is nothing magical about it. It is just code in matrix somewhere making decisions designed to keep the program running and you engaged in it. It speaks the same language as any other program out there.

The magic of Wattpad, if it has any at all, is the people that read and write in it. The program only offers the chance for us to connect. We have to take that chance and make it into something special. Imagine what Wattpad would be if people really didn't want to read or write in it. It would be useless without us.

The people who run Wattpad have a very important responsibility. They are poised on the precipice (yep first time using that word, saw it in a movie once, the one with Keanu Reeves, something about him being an alien coming to kill our planet before we do it, sounds kind of dumb now that I think about it, stupid alien Keanu) of making an impact on how young people read and write. This is not something that should be taken lightly.

I recently read something that one of the creators(of Wattpad, not the universe) said in an article about the future of writing. He (I don't remember his name) said that Wattpad and the millions of writers and reader on Wattpad are the future of writing. They will be the ones that take writing into a new era of the written word. I nearly threw up in my mouth.

No offense Wattpad creator guy, but, you know, you wrote a program. You're in the business of business. You are not a writer (that I know of).  And the great majority of the writers on Wattpad are prepubescent girls who are still contemplating  first base. They, we, us, shouldn't be messing with the future of the written word. Yeah, you got a nice program here and a bunch of people are playing with words on it but that has nothing to do with the future of writing. You're getting way ahead of yourself. This program will evolve in it's capacity to make you money. It's not the center of the writing world.

Leave the future of writing and reading to the libraries. They at least try to be inclusive and fair about what they put out. Never leave stuff like that up to chance. It's too important to be at the mercy of an app.

Of course writing is a business. But we can't forget that we can't always go with what is popular and what sells. We have to seek out what's good. We have to look for quality and depth. Wattpad is not designed to do that. I wish it would stop trying to pretend it does.

That is not to say that there is not good writing on Wattpad. There is a lot of good writing on it. It's just not in the majority and never will be. We have to take a good look at Wattpad for what it is. It's a place for people to go try out their words. Most of those people are not serious writers nor do they want to be. How can a place like that be the "future of writing"? It can't.

Wattpad is a good place for writers. It's good place to try out their words. It's a good place to meet other writers and readers and enjoy yourself. But it isn't the be all and end all of the writing world. It's just the beginning. If you write as a hobby or just for fun then this is a good place for you. But don't stuck here. There are other writing sites on the web and some of them might be exactly what you are looking for.

Serious writers must eventually go beyond Wattpad. They have to leave and take their writing to new heights in new places so they can grow as writers. Don't leave all your writing soul here on Wattpad. You need to save some of it for your next level of writing. Wattpad should be a step in your writing life, not the end of it. The trick is knowing when to move on.

I hope all you writers are having a great writing day.