Carolyn Hill

Take care of you, Carolyn. Rest is so important! 

@Carolyn_Hill No worries, we aren't going anywhere. Do one thing at one time and make sure to get rest as well. 

@Carolyn_Hill you are doing the right thing.

@Carolyn_Hill Ah, Carolyn! PIXELATED will be always alive in the figments of your imagination as long as you're here, we are here.

@seven_hues I'm not sure if the right answer is empathy or sympathy, but at this point I could do both and it would be sincere and genuine. I understand completely and it totally blows. I'm not exactly sure what you're struggling with at the moment, but just know that it's natural to feel sad or angry or confused or any number of emotions. I have a problem with "you'll be okay". It sounds a lot like, "C'mon, repress your emotions, and you'll be good." Nah, man. Feel them. Don't drown in them, but feel and acknowledge them. And I speak from experience. Hell, that was what PIXELATED was going to be all about.

@Carolyn_Hill i feel you. i think nowadays we're all so tired of fighting to exist. it's like we're drowning in air. alive, but barely. and honestly, i don't need another "you'll be okay." i just need life to stop chewing me up.

@Nyhterides Happy to do so!

@carolannewrites No worries.

@Carolyn_Hill How did I miss this wonderful shout-out? Thank you, my friend. X

@Carolyn_Hill I just started this and I love it!

@Carolyn_Hill I'm very touched and grateful! ❤️❤️

@MarCafeWrites You're very welcome. I'm enjoying it immensely, as you know. So I just had to share!

@Carolyn_Hill Oh, wow! I didn't know you posted this! Thank you so much! ❤️

@meroceank8921 Thank you, my friend. And the best of luck to you with your story too.

@Carolyn_Hill I’m sorry to hear that, but I wish you the best of luck with them.

@meroceank8921 Right now I have had a huge influx of projects, and I can't really commit to anything. It wouldn't be fair to you. I don't like making promises I can't keep, and I am flat-out busy for the foreseeable future (at least the next two months).

@NyxSoup Regarding better writing, I really love the book that @Zoe_Blessing has written called "How to Write a Story People Will Love". It's in my Reference Book reading list. She addresses lots of common pitfalls and practical solutions. She was also my impromptu mentor when I first started here, so I trust and value her insights greatly. 
            
            When it comes to succeeding on the platform, I guess that depends on what success looks like to you. That's not the copout answer it first appears. 
            
            1. "I want to write a wonderful book people will love." = Practice, practice, practice. Heck, I'm still learning how to write after almost ten years.
            
            2. "I want to be chosen by Wattpad for the Originals program or a prize." = Make sure you write in one of their chosen verticals. There's a reason all these books have similar themes. They've chosen six tropes/genres they want to focus on. If you want to be chosen, you need to write in one of those categories.
            
            3. "I want to have an army of loyal followers." = This is trickier since all of the means of communication (forums, DMs and the like) have disappeared, but I'd say be chatty when reading. And not necessarily on the books everyone reads, but the kind of books YOU want to read and write. Yes, little authors or medium-sized authors too because the likelihood someone will notice you among the crowd is better. You may disagree, but it's better to have 50 loyal followers who read than 50K followers who don't give a dang. 
            
            5. "I want to be happy." = Write whatever you love. Seriously. Ditch the worries about verticals. Ditch the worries about how many people are following you. 
            
            Read and write because you dang well love it. 
            
            And to heck with other's expectations. 
            
            Don't compare yourself. Don't give yourself a hard time. Write for the pure joy of it. I swear, every day I think I'll start a new account from zero just to reclaim that feeling and not have the pressure anymore.

@Carolyn_Hill Thank you so much for your kind words! I truly appreciate your support. I’d love any advice on how to connect with a wider audience and grow my readership as I develop as a writer. Any insights you could share about succeeding on this platform and improving as a writer overall would mean a lot to me!

@NyxSoup Thank you for your support, and that's awesome that you're taking your first steps toward becoming a writer. I'll do all I can to help. What kind of advice specifically would you like?