Wattpad Interviews

@imagine-avengers

imagine-avengers is an amazing writer who has written books such as 'Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers' which has 1.4 million reads, and they have over 4k followers. It was great to interview them!

Why did you start writing on Wattpad?

I began posting my writing on Tumblr, and before I knew it my masterlist was a beast and full of a ridiculous amount of one-shots, ficlets, etc. One of my amazing followers there suggested that I open up a Wattpad account so that I could organize my works into books, but also because it gives a greater ease of accessibility to readers than Tumblr does.

Which book has been the most fun to write?

I don't know if I'd call it fun, but the series of I Thought You Were Different began as a simple one-shot on Tumblr, then morphed into a several chapter fic, and then it somehow turned into a 36-chapter book. I was humbled that readers kept asking for another chapter, and when the first book finished, I was asked to continue into book two. I just recently finished the story line at the end of book four, which amazing when I looked back on the process, but also a little sad because it had been a part of my daily thoughts for so long; I would write in my head as my days went on. I think the most fun about the story was weaving it around the current MCU films and integrating the newer characters in too, and having pretty much free will to add a deeper humanity to their personalities. I love to make superheroes have those moments when they really aren't too far from us little mortals.

What's best part about writing on Wattpad?

Writing on Wattpad has allowed me to find readers that I might not have otherwise found, encouraging me to consider looking at publishing on other sites as well, though I haven't taken that step yet. I also really enjoy (for the most part) when I can see the comments in my stories that readers leave; there's been several times when their questions or their own headcanons have led me to sway a story one way or another. Wattpad has really given me a way to write that makes the story feel alive to me, and allows me to cultivate it freely.

Are you planning on writing anymore books?

I just finished a shorter book, Not All Wounds Heal, which was another short fic that morphed into more. Planning on writing books never really happens for me; I start with a chapter or two, and then all of the sudden it just evolves. I would love to formally publish one day, but as my life within fanfiction has grown, I find myself awestruck by that process and commitment. It sounds strange to say, given the number of stories that I've already written, and when I have four novel-sized books, but actually publishing in a different kind of animal.

What's the hardest part about writing on Wattpad?

As much as I love the reader comments, there have been days when I want to shut the commenting option off. I welcome and encourage criticism, because it's how a writer can grow and become better at the craft; sometimes, however, the feedback treads into dangerous territory of being too harsh. I'm incredibly fortunate that on both Wattpad and Tumblr, that feedback is rare for me and my readers are so very considerate.

Another challenge is that the format I write in currently is Reader-Insert. This makes it really hard to write a story so that it's so ambiguous that any reader could see themselves in it. I get a lot of requests from Tumblr and Wattpad, many of which ask for specific things, so I am challenged frequently to try to keep the details of the reader vague while writing a detailed story.

What's been your proudest moment on Wattpad?

I've had several proud moments here, including every single time that I see that another reader has followed me or has added one of my books to their reading lists. That's all I can ever really ask for, right? Beyond that, I've been nominated in a few fanfiction contests, and won the Best Imagines/Preferences/One Shots in the 2016 Marvel Fanfiction Awards for my very first book. That was crazy to me, and had no idea that what I was writing was that important to people that they would nominate and vote for it. I'm still incredibly honored by that.

And finally, what advice would you give to a new writer on Wattpad?

My best advice to give is to WRITE. Write anything and everything. Write the stories that are swirling around in your head, even if you decide to never publish them for the public to see. Even if you write only for yourself, just WRITE. I've only been writing for just under two years, but the stories have been growing in my mind for years. Writing often is the best way to get better. We all start somewhere, and we have all worked to make our works the best we can. Using beta readers will help to sharpen dialogue, action, format, and storylines, so use them. Just keep going.

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That was my lovely interview with imagine-avengers !

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