Something I have done in my free time since middle school is write. It's probably not a surprising hobby given the family of great readers and writers I come from, but it’s a hobby I don’t talk about much.
Originally, I started writing Harry Potter fan fiction (embarrassing and dorky I know), then I evolved into a series of half-finished drafts of various ideas typically inspired by whatever genre I was into reading myself at the time. This year I got super invested in Korean and Chinese dramas and loved how they built their stories and was inspired to write a story set in South Korea with an American woman moving there and writing for a Kdrama and her misadventures along the way.
Unlike in the past, this story didn’t drop into obscurity and hide in my drafts folder but snowballed into a three-book series. I submitted the first book in the series, In Between the Lines, into the annual Wattpad Watty writing awards and was shocked to find out it has been selected for the shortlist.
68 other incredible writers were chosen along with myself to compete and have the chance to win the opportunity to win a Watty and the opportunity to be published.
There are grammar and spelling mistakes undoubtably as there will be in any amateur writer’s work, but I am proud to have written this book (in less than 2 months time as well) and have the opportunity to share it with thousands of other people.
Thank you for my amazing husband’s support as I stayed up late nights to write and kept him from sleeping and for everyone (especially my parents) who has ever read or supported my writing hobby.
If you have time, I highly recommend checking out all of the stories on the Wattpad shortlist and reading my book, voting on it if you feel so inclined. And as my grandmother always said when she signed her own books, I hope you enjoy my stories.