AlleyB255

Heyy! I really love your story and I’d love to give it a little shoutout on my profile so that others can get to read this masterpiece 🫶🏻 I don’t have a huge following, but I’d still love to recommend your story to the people who do see my posts. Would that be okay with you? 💗

After nearly crawling through half of September, I've finally finished ONE chapter of The Last Alliance of the Hundred Tribes: https://www.wattpad.com/1656835936 .  😂 Historical voices and literary vibes are so hard to pull off, but I've been obsessed with them lately, so bear with this sluggish pace, my dears. I'll try to speed things up and return to the reading I've missed for so long.

"Reflected in Shards" won second place in The Unhinged Awards for Most Unforgettable Plot Twist! https://www.wattpad.com/1655200721
           A hauntingly massive thank-you to the host and judge. I'm dying knowing the plot twist actually stuck with them, with evidence. 😉
          My new writing process takes a lot more time, so I haven't been able to keep up with reading and commenting. I'm definitely getting back to it as soon as I can.
          Let's keep going through this end-of-year rush season! 🏃‍♀️💨

I'm submitting my 8,000-word rewritten sci-fi, The Villain's Last Deal, to this year's Ambys, and maybe the Shortys if possible. The one-shot version received a lot of support, but I know it was just sweet fellow writers being too kind. Hopefully, this new version will do better. https://www.wattpad.com/story/399974239

The shortlist of ONC is out, and I’m not even sad. Just making the longlist was way beyond what I expected. The best part is that I now see what worked and what needs improving. 
          My readers have my word: my next stories are only going to get better. I’m definitely not releasing book two with the same flaws as the first. Some can launch 30+ books and love their work too much to see what needs to be fixed. That's totally fine. But that’s not me. 
          
          I’m working on "The Last Alliance of the Hundred Tribes", season 2 of the series. It can be read without going through season 1. I planned to submit it to this year's Ambys, but with my current pace, it may have to wait until next year. Well, better to go with one decent entry than two flops I guess. https://www.wattpad.com/story/414626788

Submitted for the Wattys. This year, the banner appeared without any issues. I didn't have to spend half of July clearing my cache to make it show up.
          Last year, the focus was on Immediate - Engaging - Commercial. This year, it's Hook - Goals - Motivation - Conflict. They made me think of my own goal and motivation in writing. Publication, fame, winning contests, praise?
          Not really, because I have none LOL. What keeps me hooked is the puzzles every contest gives us. Figuring out how to solve them is so much fun.

I used to be desperate for any comment on my books, so desperate that even when I knew certain comments were too well-formatted and posted too simultaneously to be from a human, I'd lie to myself and return the "kindness." I told myself I should just be grateful someone took the effort to copy and paste those comments. 
          But now, seeing the social feeds stuffed with those long, thoughtful, emdash-heavy comments, posted by the same account across a dozen books in under five minutes, I doubt they actually read those chapters. I can't type an emdash directly into a comment section from my phone or laptop, let alone fire them off in seconds. 
          I'm sorry to say that, while I still appreciate the "real" support, I'm not as eager to respond to it as I used to be. On the other hand, people who spend their time reading and typing out every letter of their thoughts are rare, true treasures. I'm grateful to them now more than ever.

A pity that the announcements aren't showing on notification like before. But if you happen to see this, It'd be wonderful. My very first interview with Ambassadors: https://www.wattpad.com/1618450675-interviews-alleyb255  Feel free to take a look. It's very short because I actually didn't expect it to be published, and I replied in a hurry while being busy with ONC.

Reflected in Shards made the ONC Longlist.
          I didn't dare expect this. I'm lucky just to be here, and this may be as far as I go.
          The list feels quieter and colder now. I miss the hustle and bustle. I miss seeing the familiar names of authors I genuinely believed would advance. Their stories have already proven their quality through their stats, readership, and the many achievements shining on their profiles.
          The only theory I can think of is they didn't have enough time and energy to invest in their entries before submission. But no contest result can change the value of those hard works.
          I hope we continue trusting ourselves. That's what joining contests is really about. To keep writing, keep reading, and have fun.

Balcony of Heaven Chapter 43 & 44 (End): https://www.wattpad.com/1640002099 
          
          "So I came to understand this. I wasn't brought into this world to suffer misfortune. I was brought here to discover what misfortune really meant."
          
          Thanks, Hope, for realizing why created you. 
          Thank you all for coming this far with me or even just stopping by. See you in my next writing cycle. (♥´∀｀)／