Tevun-Krus #80 - WattPunk 2.0

@Nablai's Nebula

Welcome to this month's Nablai's Nebula, brought to you by Nablai!

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"There was a light and from the light, a pen was formed. And so Wattpad was born..."

Wattpad. Wattpad. Wattpad.

July has spread its hues, bringing life to everything new. The colour we portray unites us in ways we can't even comprehend--the colour we now know as orange. Yes, orange. Our very own world of orange.

Now you ask "What does orange have to do with any of us?"

Well, orange is the colour of Wattpad and this issue we bring you the shades and tones of a world known as Wattpunk. Bring out your ipads, androids, not to forget iphones as we nagivate this genre brought to life by our very own mother trooper named Vera elveloy. It might interest you to know the word Wattpunk was suggested by her in a comment on the Tevun-Krus #13. The original Wattpadpunk was then improvised to Wattpunk when it was published in Tevun-Krus #20.

Life in the writing universe drastically changed when Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen introduced Wattpad to the world on November 6, 2006 in Toronto, Canada.

Needless to say, their decision shaped to the word and the worlds of millions of people world wide. It gave them an impetus to write-- a community of their own, a home to create their fantasies and make them happy. Who ever said Orange is the new Black could have never said it better.

So here we are with a word for the word. Literally. The word spread like virus--infecting everyone with its creativity. It grew into a frenzy with the people clamouring for a role of a reader, writer or both. Unleashing its imagination, the written word induced a high, a feeling of happiness without using drugs--something people had never felt before. This new, drug free environment was conducive to inspiration, giving writers the freedom to happily tap away at their mobiles, iphones, laptops, computers. The written word now, was just a tap on the keyboard away. Suddenly writing didn't seem so hard. It was easy-peasy.

Slowly and steadily, Wattpad made a place in the hearts of its people, we know as the Wattpad community. Unique and diverse--with a heart of orange. United through a common bond of story telling, they grew closer, sharing and swapping their stories with each other. The feedback spurred their writing to new levels, which got excellent with time. A few taps here, a couple of clicks there and viola! you have a story.

In the words of Terry Prachett: "The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."

Legend has that fuelled by the humble goat sacrifices to the Supreme God of Writing, Wattpad with the help of a mighty ape stumbled upon the dark recesses of the Wattpadverse--a hidden universe where writing, editing and procrastinating were considered real. To the fallible human brain, this galaxy of Wattpadians is concealed. You can only enter if you have permission from the Word itself. This is the theme of Wattpad:

"By the power of Wattpad. The world will rise. To infiltrate the human mind. Gnawing away at the nerves, until the only thing left is a verse. A story is overshadowing my needs. Hunger and thirst look foreign to me. Yet, I feel complete."

Not wanting to dim the power of the light, Wattpad decided to make profiles for its community--one for each genre. Of all the profiles that were formed on Wattpad, one particularly stood out with its team of passionate mothertroopers. Any guesses? No? It's the Ooorah!

Initially helmed by Angus AngusEcrivain, who did a grand job of it, he propelled his commanders namely TheOrangutan, elveloy, krazydiamond, MadMikeMarsbergen, LeighWStuart, and nosleneillor into manning the mothership and writing science fiction articles. His successor Mike, MadMikeMarsbergen, took his mantle forward, soaring across the orange skies of Wattpad, conquering new heights and hearts with Wattpunk such as Epic Tales of a Beautiful Minds anthology, the Theological SF issue and more recently: Smackdown: MadMike's Revenge.

Satisfied with the troopers and the profiles, the orange world expanded their reach with the Wattys—their first competition. The success of the Wattys encouraged Wattpad and opened a world of possibilities. It was a world domination by the word. And so, the Wattys continued and flourished. The forums(formerly clubs) were introduced giving the community a common place to chat and interact.

Got an idea? Just write it down. You never know what story might come off it. The secret to write is to write. It's that simple! And with Wattpad going to be around for a long long time, we can be sure to paint the skies with the colours of the rainbow.

As always, we have a Wattpunk story recommended by swag_gerism: The Secret Society of Wattpad by Alicia23M. Tell us what you think of it. Feel free to post your Wattpunk stories in the comments below.

Like all stories, this article has come to its end. I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below. This is Nab signing off. See you soon.

Stay safe and happy! :)