Interview logo

Wattpad Interviews

Getting to know Wattpad authors

By Chloe GilholyPublished 4 years ago 15 min read
1

1. What made you become a writer?

KariRakitan: I got tired of reading stories that presented monogamy as the only option in romance and decided to break the mold by writing stories based on my experiences with polyamory.

cuteiatts: Passion

TheRealDesastr: That's a very good question, and quite the hard one too. I think looking at other people's worlds and wanting to create my own is what caused me to get into writing. I enjoyed reading books as a child, like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. I am a HUGE fantasy fan, in fact, it's the only genre I'll read. I wanted to become a creator too and make my own characters, my own creatures, and my own world. It's an amazing feeling to be able to craft a new idea and bring it to life via writing.

AlexaHollen2: I think my creative mindset had something to do with it. Even when I was little and didn't know how to write I had a story to tell. So I started out drawing and painting all the time but then I feel out of the habit of doing so. Personally. My drawing sucks now that I'm older so I had to find another way to tell my stories.

MistickMage: I've always loved reading books, especially fantasy, and from about the age of eight or so I. would make up my own worlds and characters and I could talk about them for hours on end.

Sakumira-Agashi: I actually started my writing journey with fanfiction. At that time I was still very young, about eight or so, and I loved the fandom and its fanfiction so much that I had an urge to write my own. I posted my first work when I was thirteen, which was when I was old enough to join FanFiction.Net. From then, I've been continuously writing non-stop for many years straight.

2. What brought you to Wattpad?

KariRakitan: Someone on fanfiction.net must have mentioned it to me. I joined several years ago and went inactive for a while, so I was somewhat surprised to find that I already had a Wattpad account when I got back into it.

cuteiatts: My thirst for reading.

TheRealDesastr: I was just a teen then, and I probably looked up the best place to start writing and such. I don't remember too many of the details to be honest, I think I decided one day that I'd love to share my ideas.

AlexaHollen2: Even before I joined this year I always heard other people talking about Wattpad. Rather readers or writers and how much fun the site is and the exposer you get for your writings on here. So I decided to give it a shot and see if I liked it.

MistickMage: I was on another website, where I did a lot of role-playing, and a couple of the people I often role-played with did Wattpad. I thought it could be fun and a good way to get feedback on my work.

Sakumira-Agashi: I discovered Wattpad about two or three years ago, and even though I enjoy reading stories there, I didn't really plan on joining it because at that time, I was still a fanfiction writer while Wattpad leans toward orginal work, for as far as I know.

A few months ago, I posted my first original story with multiple chapters on FictionPress, so I started to think about joining another writing site to get more exposure for that story. And after a short while, I finally decided to give Wattpad a shot.

3. What is the latest project you’re working on?

KariRakitan: Although I write fanfiction, I’m making efforts with my latest piece to make it enjoyable for non-fans. Despite the provocative title and mature rating, I keep the graphic details in “Kaiba’s Prostitute” to a minimum. The story involves complex issues revolving around social acceptance of alternative relationship styles.

cuteiatts: Motivational Ignorance

TheRealDesastr: Right now I'm working on the sequel to my novel, "Red Viper and the Vampire Wars". I think I'll make that into an entire series. That first book is gigantic at 223,000 words, roughly, and I'm quite proud of it. The sequel, which will world build even more, is a project that I'm excited to move forward on as well.

AlexaHollen2: What is the latest project you’re working on? Oh my. I have so many projects I'm working on it's sometimes hard to keep track of everything. However, my latest project is His Tale to Tell and 108 Problems. Totally different things. His Tale to Tell is a YA horror, that I'm still in the starting stages of. While 108 Problems is a Non fiction about everything that's going on in the world today.

MistickMage: Right now I've been working on finishing up my poetry collection, Stardust, and writing a couple of short stories for my short story collection, Northward.

Sakumira-Agashi: The lastest project I'm working on is Latte Love, a boylove romance book. I've been receiving positive feedbacks, and even though there aren't many yet, it really motivates me to see people supporting me.

4. Have you ever been published outside of Wattpad?

KariRakitan: Publishing is a rather broad term these days. Anyone can self-publish, but earning the stamp of approval from an established publisher increases a work’s market value.

Several years ago, I wrote some articles for an internship and also did some freelance ghostwriting. It was arduous work and I don’t miss it. By that measure, I have been published.

These days, I’m the lead editor for a small press. I created this pen name after losing a job for coming out to my coworkers as polyamorous. Though that particular job was not related to publishing, I bring that experience into my protagonist’s backstory in “Kaiba’s Prostitute.”

I need to express myself, but I also need to maintain a certain level of privacy in case I decide to switch careers. I’m lucky enough to have a supportive managing director, but experience has taught me caution.

On that note, should I ever complete an original fiction novel, I’m basically guaranteed that stamp of approval.

cuteiatts: Yes

TheRealDesastr: Technically yes, but I'm not proud of the book. I wrote it many years ago and don't think it's all that good. I went through Amazon's KDP. It didn't go anywhere. There's some good ideas there, supposedly, but well. I'm happy with how I write not, not how I wrote back then.

AlexaHollen2: If you mean professionally or self published. Then no. I'd love to be. I'm actually doing a cook book as well right now that I'm hoping to self publish within the next couple of months to a year depending on things go.

MistickMage: Officially? No. But one time I had one of my books pirated and sold on amazon for two bucks. It was a pretty terrible experience, but at the same time It was kinda cool that someone chose to pirate my story!

Sakumira-Agashi: I haven't yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

5. What’s your greatest achievement as a writer?

KariRakitan: It’s always my latest piece.

cuteiatts: Emotional Open up

TheRealDesastr: I'd have to say as of right now, finishing my book "Red Viper and the Vampire Wars". It's only here on Wattpad and doesn't have a crazy amount of traction, but I might go to try and traditionally publish someday. It's a bit daunting though.

AlexaHollen2: What’s your greatest achievement as a writer? My greatest achievement... this is hard. I have so many different achievements that others may not consider achievements at all. But I guess, my greatest achievement would be not being afraid to put my work out there for others to read and to get feed back from. It may not seem like much of an achievement but right now in the current moment I look at it as one.

MistickMage: I'm not sure. Most of my stories are still pretty obscure on Wattpad. I've won a couple of (non-official) awards on here, but nothing really notable.

Sakumira-Agashi: I think my greatest achievement as a writer is when one of my stories on FanFiction.Net hit 29K views and receives lots of positive feedbacks. I think it's one of my best stories so far.

6. What are your writing goals?

KariRakitan: It’s not about how many reads I get but the impact I have on people. While I will probably never hear from most of the people who were impacted by my stories, the biggest compliment I could receive would be, “You saved my marriage,” or something along those lines. I like seeing love flourish.

cuteiatts: to use good vocabulary.

TheRealDesastr: I'm what's called a 'pantser', so I kinda just...write. My goals therefore would be to just let my characters carry my story and hope that the story they and I tell are a good one! Finishing my series would be a solid goal, though, as well.

AlexaHollen2: To finish a manuscript and send it in to a publishing house or to self publish when the time is right. And to always improve on my writing in one way or another.

MistickMage: I have a story I want to get good enough to write. Its this beautiful story about this incredible island and the challenges the people face on it that I've been thinking of for years, but I don't feel as though I have the talent to write it quite yet.

Sakumira-Agashi: I have quite a lot of goals when it comes to writing, but one of the biggest one is to make a career out of writing, which means I'm able to make money from doing writing commissions. Aside from it, I'm looking foward to winning an award on Wattpad and being recognized for it.

7. What’s your favourite thing about writing for Wattpad?

KariRakitan: I commission (buy) illustrations for my fanfiction from various artists. Wattpad allows me to post an image with every chapter, so all the beautiful artwork gets the attention it deserves.

cuteiatts: the feedback and pointing out mistakes.

TheRealDesastr: I can get feedback and see what people think about my writing, I think that's the biggest plus. Also, I can update per chapter and don't have to wait to show people the progress of my book until it's finished.

AlexaHollen2: While I'm not a paid author on here or have any paid stories. My favourite thing about writing for the site is getting feed back on what I do have up. Sometimes it's not what I want to hear but that's part of writing. Good friends and people that help you wont lie to you and tell you what you want to hear. They'll give you honest feed back on how to make something better.

MistickMage: I really love that I can get feedback chapter-by-chapter from my readers, and that I can connect with other writers about struggles and get advice from them.

Sakumira-Agashi: Wattpad really has a lot of features that doesn't make me regret joining it. I love that Wattpad offers a lot of chances for writer to become famous and potentially make money through their work (like the Watty Awards, the Paid Stories program, etc...). Also, I love how the people here are so friendly, supportive and helpful most of the times, as well as how you're able to upload images, videos, etc... to make the chapters look more interesting.

8. What’s your pet peeves about writing for Wattpad?

KariRakitan: It adds a space between every paragraph whether I want one or not. It makes lists look ugly in my opinion.

cuteiatts: none.

TheRealDesastr: Some people can be extremely judgmental, especially on the forums. I've seen some nasty stuff said. They say you should post on the forums to gain more of an audience, but I'm not a big fan of that prospect and continue to struggle connecting to people there. It's not my crowd.

AlexaHollen2: What’s your pet peeves about writing for Wattpad? Oh gosh... it would have to be the added read whenever you go in to edit something in your stories. Seeing as I don't count that as a read seeing as it's me fixing or adding something.

MistickMage: The writing editor. It has no grammar check, no different fonts and is completely illogical. I'd really like it if I could also have notes that I could see while writing a chapter.

Sakumira-Agashi: I don't have a lot of pet peeves with Wattpad, but if I have to name one, it would be the fact that it's pretty difficult for new writers to gain attention due to the huge amount of stories here.

9. Aside from Wattpad, are there any other sites you’ve written for?

KariRakitan: Fanfiction.net, Writing.com, MediaMiner.org, AO3, DeviantArt, asianfanfics.com . . . I get around.

cuteiatts: inkitt

TheRealDesastr: Technically Inkitt, but I really don't take that website seriously. I like Wattpad much better, as I can post media, and the format here is superior.

AlexaHollen2: Oh gosh... it would have to be the added read whenever you go in to edit something in your stories. Seeing as I don't count that as a read seeing as it's me fixing or adding something.

MistickMage: Nope! Not yet!

Sakumira-Agashi: Well, like I've mentioned, I post my fanfiction on FanFiction.Net. But for original works, I post them on FictionPress.

10. Where do you see your writing journey in five years?

KariRakitan: Possibly too busy with kids to write. Possibly making up bedtime stories for them. My husband and I are trying, but my body keeps giving me a big red “error, baby not found” message.

cuteiatts: as my passion only

TheRealDesastr: Hopefully I'll have five or more books completed by that point. A book a year should be a solid goal, and by book I mean another sizeable one like Red Viper.

AlexaHollen2: Finishing one of my major projects and sending it in to be published.

MistickMage: I'd really love to have a book published. My writing skills are to the point where I'm thinking of working on a good, full length novel and trying to get it published.

Sakumira-Agashi: I'm quite positive about my writing journey in the next five years. I may not be very popular yet, but my stories may get more attention as times goes by, and more people will know me.

11. How would you feel about someone making fanwork based on your stories?

KariRakitan: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in my opinion. The more, the merrier! I’d be upset if someone broke up my ships, but otherwise I’d love to see a sequel.

I’m not possessive over my plot either. If someone out there wants to grab it and rewrite the story with different characters, great! Just toss my name into the acknowledgements. If you’re going to make money on it, just give me a little gift. Mail me a signed copy of your book once it’s published or whatever.

As for visual art, I have a strict monthly budget on what I can commission but drool over certain artists outside my price range. If someone did some fanart on my story for free, I’d greatly appreciate it.

cuteiatts: happy and shocked

TheRealDesastr: I'd be honored so long as they credited me as the original creator for my world! I'm iffy on my characters being used, but as long as someone isn't benefiting financially from my personal ideas, I'd be alright with it. I hold my characters dearly, and would much rather have people write their own characters in my world in regards to fanfiction. But, if they love a character so much that they have to write about them, I'd be alright, I suppose. I'm extremely picky with how my characters are depicted, though, so I might not like the piece :P

AlexaHollen2: I honestly haven't considered this before. I'd guess I'd feel proud that I've made someone want to dedicate a fanwork based something or other to one of my works.

MistickMage: I love it when people make fan work. It makes me feel like they really appreciate my writing and took this time and skill to make this all based on things that I wrote. It also shows that they actually like what I'm writing and they aren't just reading it to be nice.

Sakumira-Agashi: I'd be absolutely delighted if someone makes fanwork based on my stories! Because if they've decided to make fanwork for me, then that means they like my stories very much and that I'm able to give them inspiration to make it. It's a positive feedback in a way, and I'm always happy to receive them!

12. Which Wattpad books, that you’ve written do you feel best displays your writing talents?

KariRakitan: Again, it’s always my latest piece.

cuteiatts: Motivational Ignorance

TheRealDesastr: Definitely "Red Viper and the Vampire Wars". I've gone through that book quite a bit and edited it. I've also added quite a bit of depth to the story. It was the first original work I wrote on here, but then I abandoned it. I returned many years later and pretty much took it apart and put it back together again.

AlexaHollen2: So far I'd have say either 108 Problems or His Tale to Tell. Seeing as The Problems Between Us (a werewolf story) I'm also working on.. is having some issues. While I'm not that far into His Tale to Tell either I feel that it displays it the best right next to 108 Problems. Seeing as it's my first crack at non fiction and I didn't expect it to go this smooth but I'm having a lot of fun doing it.

MistickMage: Probably my most recent short-story fantasy adventure, Dragon Blood. Its not the longest I've ever written, but it definitely has the best quality writing and story structure. I also wrote it on word so I could get it all nice and grammar-checked.

Sakumira-Agashi: It'd be Latte Love, because at this point of time, I'm very pleased with my writing style, and Latte Love is my most recent work.

Thank you for this interview. I enjoy it a lot!

Creators
1

About the Creator

Chloe Gilholy

Former healthcare worker and lab worker from Oxfordshire. Author of ten books including Drinking Poetry and Game of Mass Destruction. Travelled to over 20 countries.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.