The Wattpad Filipino Block Party 2019

April_Avery's Author Interview

WATTPAD FILIPINO BLOCK PARTY 2019

#TWFBP2019      #TWFBPTimeTravel

Codename: Witch

1. What is your username means? What is the story behind it?

My username is april_avery and a lot of readers might thought that there's a hidden meaning or something special behind it, but there's no such thing, really. I chose it as my username sometime around college when I was introduced to wattpad and chose it out of convenience. I didn't thought it would mean anything other than a username to read stories. I didn't imagine I could be a writer and the username would be known by many.

2. Can you still recall the first time you've wrote your first story? Share your experiences in the process.

I love to read stories and I was a hoarder of english novels since grade school days like Judy Blume's, Babysitters Club etc. English novels were influence to the way I write and speak my thoughts.

It was around college I learned that one can write a full story in taglish or sometimes, mixed languages like korean expressions and informal typing and using of emojis. It was a thing in early Wattpad days.

I was surprised, but I love it, and I said wow I can do that too. I was already writing cringy short stories in notebooks back then, but it was nothing serious. Wattpad made me realized that I, too, can write stories. Wattpad was every bookworms' dream. To read unlimited stories and a chance to write your own, freely, with instant feedback and a community to improve.

Around third year in college I posted the first few chapters of Charm Academy, after searching for specific fantasy story plot but couldn't find anything that suits my taste, so I created what I wanted to read. It's more of a selfish reason really, why I started writing, and even until now, I write what I want to read.

And a lot of people want to read it too! And telling it all made me realized how far I've really come haha! From the kid who read books using a flashlight at the dead of the night because she didn't want her parents know she's staying up late, to an author who published two of her own stories.

Dream big. Dream so big it would scare you. Then slowly conquer that fear and one day, you will realize you're already there.

3. If you're going back to the past, what would you change in your own author career or stories?

I won't change anything. I have a love-hate relationship with writing and Wattpad. I love writing and I always do for the rest of my life. But sometimes, my head or my thoughts won't go easy on me. My health is a priority too, and dedicating myself to april_avery is something that's really hard for me to do.

I have a very scattered writing career. I go on and off, I rarely make plans, I generally have no discipline in my schedules and projects and things I want to do. I have a lot of things I want to do. Lots and lots of stories going on in my head. But my head is a scattered place and to organize takes time, long time. And I wonder if I'm done fixing the mess, would the stories still be here?

There's nothing I want to change. The things I've went through in this part of my life, largely contribute to who I am today. More than changing the past, I wish to be well in the future. To fix myself up and have the courage to dream again, bigger than what I've already conquered. I want to dedicate my writing career to holding my readers hand and reassuring them they're not alone.

4. Who's your favourite character among all the stories you've written? Why?

I think it's Isabelle Dizon of Something Spectacular. She isn't a favorite, but she speaks to me more than any other characters would. She was me during my school days. I pulled out the me I used to be and put it in a story, hoping that somehow I could make sense of the things she's gone through. I wrote thoughts I couldn't say out loud in her perspective, she was my emotional outlet, and completing Isabelle's story is like freeing myself from the me I used to be. Isabelle is not my favorite character, but she'll always be the closest to me.

5. If you're going to create an alternate ending in one of your stories, what story would that be? Why? What ending will it be, if ever?

I won't create one. I might edit some, improve some, rewrite or reconstruct, but the endings are all the same to me no matter how much words of it change. I won't make alternate endings to comfort my reader's aching heart or suit their taste. If my story is supposed to break their hearts, then I would teach them to accept a lost rather than comfort them. My stories weren't perfect, but it's what they're supposed to be.

On final note, hi I'm April, the girl behind the username april_avery and I just want you to know that if you fear your dreams because they're too big for you, you're on the right track. Sometimes, our dreams are bigger than who we are, because it's waiting for us to be as big as our dreams. Don't make your dreams wait too long!

Always braver,

April