Pink Dandelion Quarterly_Winter 2019

16. | Wattpad Advice Column: How to Avoid Wattpad Creeps by Brittney Dennis

Hello ladies.

We are coming to that time of year where the holidays put pounds on our figures, and then we make New Years Resolutions to shed them back off. But are you making a New Year's resolution for your soul?

Mine is simply to shine. I have been in the shadows for so long, and Wattpad has given me the opportunity to engage in my creative expressions.

For the longest time, I kept a moon for my profile figure, and then somebody said on a forum that having your real face was better advertisement for your real work. A pirate or thief could copy your copyright, but if they took your tale and were so successful they had to meet with other people, they can't mimic your face.

I chose to put it out there.

On the one hand, it's a face. There is nothing provocative or revealing about it. But we as women know, that when you do things like this, it opens doors to people searching for something you don't want to give. And then they make comments that make you feel like they are taking your dignity away.

What's worse, is when it's other women that tell us "Any woman that puts her face on her profile image..." It's like they are saying "you asked for it."

Ladies, we are not. We have the right to shine in every way.

There are a couple of things that I have found that make it easier to avoid. For one thing, don't answer Messenger if it's not Wattpad related. Talk to me about my writing or somebody else's, but to"Hey cutie" I will not even respond.

They can fish all they want, but if the fish/woman won't even take the time to bite the bait,...nothing happens.

That's my advice for the single women. Don't even interact.

Another dear friend mentioned that when she gets bad vibes, she'll check the person's page, and "When there is no writing work, no reading list, and the only writers they've followed are women...." go ahead and block girls.

And then keep on shining. Keep writing, and never stop dreaming. Remember your worth.

Now grab on and fly.

Brittney Dennis aka BrittneyDennis is a married mother of three and a devoted bookworm and dreamer. Thanks to Wattpad, she's now a writer. Brittney was raised in south-east Arkansas, and her backdrop is Bayou Bartholomew, some of her old stomping grounds.