I’m at that awkward age. I’d probably be considered
wise and worth respect in Japan but in the U.S., by the American teenager, not
so much. Still, I have to hand it to my
granddaughter. She’s always willing to
bring the old lady up to date.
This week, she introduced me to Wattpad, an on-line
or phone ap that allows you to download books for free. While the original version—started in Canada
in 2006—began with the list of titles available from Project Gutenberg, it has
evolved into a place where amateur writers (age 13 and up) can upload their own
stories to be read and reviewed by thousands of readers.
I did a little research before I started writing
this post and rather than repeat a bunch of already-published comments, I’ll
send you to this link:
Professional David Gaughran does a nice job of
introducing the uninitiated to the site and explain what he hopes to get out of
posting some of his work for free: recognition.
I checked him out and found that he joined Wattpad
about 7 months ago and has accumulated 235 fans. Not bad, I think. Then I check out the “What’s Hot” section and
find this:
One
of the Boys
Samantha Evans. A 17-year old girl in her Senior Year
of High School. Stereotype says that she should be worrying about what outfit
she's going to wear and what boy she's going to date, but Samantha has a
different plan. For Samantha, her Senior Year is all about proving that she
deserves to be the Quarterback for Westview High School just as much as the
next guy. But as the season continues, Blake Jameson moves to town with one
idea on his mind. To lead the Westview High School football team to another
state victory, as Quarterback.
2,291,243 reads
8112
fans!
And “KnightsRachel” the author, has only been a
member for a year. She looks to be about 15 and has already impressed that many people!
The fact that anyone can upload anything gets you
things like this which are either written by someone very young, or someone with no typing skills, or someone who has no idea what grammar is:
Titanic
christy
is a 16 year old girl who loves exploring. when her mother decides to take the
titanic christy knows she will have the time of her life. when she meets a
second class boy just as wild as her she knows she came on titanic for a
reason. based on the true story of titanic. a heart breaking tragedy.(the
characters are made up though)
But, so what? The point is, kids are reading, kids are
writing, kids are commenting. (And so are grownups) That’s where it all starts, right?
I know for my granddaughter,
these books are discussed, recommended, and new authors who put up a chapter at
a time are encouraged to continue as their “fans” ask for more. Maybe it’s not the best writing in the world
but no one starts that way. My
granddaughter reads a lot. She’s in AP
English and has had as much to say about Jane
Eyre as she has about some of her Wattpad writers.
This isn’t a place to try out
your latest picture book, easy reader, or middle grade novel, but if you’re
into YA, it just might be the place to get a fan base and have readers asking
for more.
2 comments:
Love it!
You think 2 million is enough. There's a story on Wattpad with 20 million... and a sequel with 10. A Proscriptive Relationship
The author has over 50,000 fans too.
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