2020 may have taken a hatchet to my travel plans and mental health, but creatively, it could not have been kinder.
I never imagined that my oldest WIP would garner this much attention, let alone receive an esteemed Watty Award! BREEDER was up against some absolutely phenomenal fantasy stories this year, and I'm flattered to place among such skillful writers.
Thank you, Wattpad, for this incredible honor. Your platform has exposed my story to so many fresh eyes, and I am beyond grateful for this online community. I also want to thank everyone who's read the book, commented, or provided feedback over the last year. Some of you have accompanied me on this journey since the very first update, and your support means the world to me.
Finally, I have a message to other aspiring authors and any new members of the writing community:
For most of my life, storytelling has been a personal and private affair, despite my dreams of publishing a body of work. And of course, writing for yourself is paramount, but my hesitancy stemmed from fear of failure. I didn't think my writing was good enough to share with anyone. I didn't want the criticism, constructive or otherwise.
Then in 2019, I'd grown tired of editing the same manuscript over and over again, and I finally built up the courage to share my original story on Wattpad.
And that single choice changed everything.
So if you're debating whether or not to share your story on this platform, or to send in that query letter, or if your perfectionism is preventing you from even putting a pen to paper, remember that you'll never know what opportunities are awaiting you without a leap of courage. You'll never know what friendships could manifest, what fun you could have, or what expertise you could acquire.
So I dare you to take a leap.
I dare you to create, learn, and recreate.
And who knows? Soon your "impossible" might just become your next milestone.
You can read Breeder for free on Wattpad!