**Update as of 2020: I'm no longer on Wattpad but so much has happened since this original post--books published, thousands of subscribers, growth in my own writing abilities, and so much more! The principles I was just discovering in this post still hold true. Keep being a tortoise... it works!**
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I’ve been on Wattpad 6 months now, and I can hardly believe how much has happened in those 6 months. From my summer resolution to write every day – and the decision to join Wattpad on a whim as part of that – has grown something AMAZING.
Am I super-successful and making a living as a full-time writer? No. (Not yet!)
But here’s what I AM:
*Part of an amazing community of writers and readers who give me insightful feedback and tons of encouragement on my writing
*A Watty’s Award winner! I’m still not sure how that happened, but I’m so, so grateful!
*Writing regularly again. Finally! After college, life went crazy for a while and I scarcely wrote anything for a full decade. 10 YEARS! For someone who majored in writing and who has written stories my whole life, this was a big deal. But for a season, the urge to write just… fizzled. Now that I’m writing again, I feel so energized by it! Since my daily writing resolution 6 months ago, I’ve added 8 stories to Wattpad (6 which were revamped from stories written years ago, and 2 that are brand new), and I completed NaNoWriMo (I’m working on editing that novel now).
*Gaining reads slowly but steadily. Recently, I started to feel like my Wattpad readership was trailing off and that sinking feeling of failure began to creep in, so I started keeping statistics… and I was blown away! Sure, it’s slowed down some from the initial buzz, but every day the reads go up a bit more. Seeing it this way has surely put things into perspective for me.
*Resolved to KEEP GOING, no matter what. I am writing because I love it, and I am working hard at it, and I believe that my hard work will eventually bear results. It’s already brought me some! I have come to be at peace with the pace of things, whatever they are, because I know that I am writing because IT MAKES ME BETTER – more peaceful, more centered, more energized. I am writing because I NEED TO, because something in me drives it. And I am writing because I WANT TO MAKE AN IMPACT. I used to think that was measured in numbers, but I have already received so many comments from people who connected with my stories on Wattpad, and I just continue to pray for God to use me in whatever way He chooses to bring beauty and hope into others’ lives, even if in just a small way.
I might not have shot to the heights of success in these last few months, but I am farther than I was when I started. And next month, I’ll be a little farther. That seems like success to me, if maybe a little different than I envisioned.
I am trying to walk in my gift, to use the talents I was given, to go for my dreams and to do some good in the process. It’s not happening all at once, but it’s happening. I am the tortoise, not the hare. And I’m okay with that.
(The tortoise wins, anyway. 🙂 )
To those who have been part of my journey so far, as Beta Readers, Wattpad readers, blog readers, Twitter followers, or just supportive family and friends — THANK YOU! You all mean SO MUCH to me… everything that’s happened in the past few months is because of your support and encouragement.
If I’m the tortoise, you guys are … what keeps the tortoise going. You are like the group of other animals on the sidelines, saying “You got this, Tortoise! You’re almost there!” Or the lettuce the tortoise dreams of eating when he gets to the end of the race. Not that I would eat you… just… nevermind; that was a bad comparison. Anyway, I love you guys! 🙂
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