Anna Todd, One Direction Fanfiction and Why Some People just Suck.

I’ve been watching 50 shades of Grey drama all month, and now, a new cause just popped up on my screen. And it is without a doubt the most stupid thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

I'm legit sitting here, unable to believe my own eyes.

It's been a while since I posted anything on here—actually; it’s been a while since I posted anything except random chitchat and my stories.

And while I was gone, something AMAZING happened.

Amazing, I promise.




You see, a wattpadder not only got a publishing deal (Woot! Woot) they also sold the movie rights to their Wattpad book.




And of course, I’m absolutely thrilled, excited—maybe feeling a bit bloated even—about this magnificent offer that one of our own has broken through to the outside in such a beautiful way. And surely, I think, every other wattpadder must be just as excited as me for this kind of news that changes a lot not just for the author, but also for the whole Wattpad community, right?





What I found, is that apparently it’s not enough to be happy for another being. No, you have to make sure you can approve of this work because your opinion is the only one that matter.

And because Anna Todd’s story, “After," happened to be a one direction fan fiction, then all hell breaks loose. Fans of the band and people who hate the band is all yapping about how horrible this deal is. How Anna’s story not only depicts Harry Styles as a bad person, but also how Anna’s story portrays reading, writing and wattpad as a bad thing…

That is a lot of claims.

And now they’ve all taken to twitter. Now, I’m not an avid twitter user. In all honesty, I feel like the character limit is simply too hard for me, but yeah. I’m on there. And what do I see? Stupid ass hashtags demanding Anna Todd’s head for the atrocity of accepting a pretty nice deal that ANYONE would have taken if they were in her shoes.



If you don’t believe me? Check #SuspendAnnaTodd and #SueAnnaTodd on twitter.

Basically, they’re demanding that:

1. Anna Todd doesn’t publish her fanfiction.


2. One Direction sues her.


3. Twitter suspend her.

Just like with 50 Shades, I refuse to go into a debate about the literary merit of the books. I have my preferences, and they’re probably different from everyone of you who reads this blog.





I also refuse to address the fact that it’s apparently “glorifying abusive relationships." Because, Abusive relationships is a thing—seriously, it is. Look it up on Amazon—and some people enjoy reading those for a variety of reasons. Just like they enjoy reading about taboo subjects or even dinosaur porn. Maybe they’re trying to play “spot the warning signs” or simply to pass the time. It doesn’t matter. It’s a thing. If you want to do something about it, write a book to counter it. Or make sure you do yours to educate and warn the young people in your life.

But you know what you shouldn’t do? Bash an author simply because she got more popularity than the literally thousands of authors who writes the same thing.

However, what I will address is the following claims:

“After is making Harry Styles look bad.”

“After is making Wattpad look bad.”

“After is making directioners look bad.”

^All the things I’ve read today.

Let’s take the first:


“After is making Harry Styles and One Direction look bad.”
This one, I personally disagree with and there's a few reasons why:

1. Anna’s story—while featuring all the boys—is in another reality where “One Direction” doesn’t even exist. They’re just five completely random guys, who happen to be friends.

2. In the published book—as well as the movie—Harry’s name will be changed. And even if it wasn’t, a quick search on www.howmanyofme.com shows that there are 399,900 people in USA named “Harry” as their first name and 7,593 people with the last name “Styles.”

And a stunning amount of 10 people is literally named “Harry Styles" in the United States. 

Of course, that could be a lie—the internet always lies—but the point is: Anyone could go out and change their name to “Harry Styles” if they technically wanted to. Here in Denmark, I think it costs like 500 Danish Crowns. (I once met a guy named “Elvis”…. He had changed his name to that from his birth given name)

The point is, the Main Character in After, is based on Harry’s looks and name. The personality, earnings, talents, sayings, is completely of Anna’s own imagination and is, therefore, not a true representative of Harry Styles.

3. For those people, who claim they can’t think of Harry the same way after reading the book: It’s not the author’s fault. Anna hasn’t drilled it into her reader how they should feel. Instead, if you’re anxious about this, make sure to explain this to whoever claims After changed how they view Harry: They’re not the same person. At all.

“After is making Wattpad look bad.”

^No. Just no. You know what makes Wattpad look bad? Users who worry what others will think and therefore resorts to name-calling, personal insults and bullying to make a point. And that doesn’t just account for Wattpad—but for everywhere.

“After is making directioners look bad.”

^No, sweetie. You’re making yourself look bad. It’s top notch to stand up for what you believe in, and by all means, write a reply/comment/anything voicing your thoughts. But to resort to name-calling, personal insults to not only Anna Todd, but also her fans, family, friends AND husband? That’s what makes you look bad.





The most astonishing about all this, though? Is that it's literally YOU that makes all of this a success. If you don't like the book. Don't support it. Don't talk about it to let others know it exist, just go about your day and ignore it.

And if you want to do something else, to help get what you want on the shelves, then promote stuff you really like instead. Instead of wasting time bashing an author, and getting into fights with countless of fans, go read a book and tell all your friends about that one instead. That's the only way you can actually change anything here. Plus, it'll make my timeline look less cluttered. :)




Peace.

Also, #SupportAnnaTodd and support the #VerifyAnnaTodd tags instead. They're much better causes. 

A real life curse.

I’ve been working on a few things lately. Mostly trying to survive by cursed birthday week, but I’ve had other works laying around. I can’t disclose anything right now, but I’m looking forward to sharing it all with you.

First, let me tell you about a real life curse. I’m not particular superstitious—it’s not my thing. However, I have a curse, and it goes back to my twelfth birthday.

As mentioned in my last blog post, that day my grandfather—my mom’s dad—was buried. Most of my mom’s family was Jehovah’s Witnesses, so there wasn’t any particular reason to reschedule. We don’t celebrate birthdays, and never actually has. With that said, though. It wasn’t amusing to be bawling on my birthday.

I tried to be optimistic, though. At least I got cake... And my family was there. Some my aunts and uncles—who weren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses—even slipped me a coin or two as a birthday present. As sad as it may sound, my grandfather’s funeral was also the only birthday I’ve seen any of my relatives outside my closest family.

But it didn’t end there. Denmark has many crazy cultural differences from the rest of the world. One of the differences that aren’t so crazy was the tradition of sharing candy with your whole class on your birthday. I couldn’t do that—not because my family forbade me to, though. But because my birthday always landed in the Danish Autumn/Fall break.

When I was thirteen, I met a guy who happened to be my first actual boyfriend. His birthday was four days after mine, and I was psyched when he asked me to be his girlfriend, and then he proceeded to go on a vacation for the duration of the week.

I was excited and then put on hold for a week. My birthday were spent texting him from my computer because I didn’t have any credit on my phone. Later I found out that the texting actually cost over  100 dollars.

Then on my fourteenth birthday, I got into a huge fight with my roommate at the boarding school. We ended up insisting on moving apart. It was the first birthday spent at the school (because it was a Sunday, and I went back there) and I was busy fighting.

Fifteen, I was fighting with an ex-boyfriend, and had to break up with my at-that-time boyfriend. I also twisted my ankle.

Sixteen, I found out my parents had to be separated.

Seventeen, my best friend forgot it, and only barely saved it by buying me a jawbreaker candy. (I really like candy) I then proceeded to go to a LGBT club, which wouldn’t have been a problem, if it weren’t for the fact I was stranded in a foreign city with no way of getting home.

Eighteen, my dad found out I’d been smoking weed, and he wasn’t even angry—he was disappointed. This, to me, was even worse, because if he’d been angry and yelled at me, I could have pulled the “You just don’t get me” card. I spent my birthday party trying to suck up while my boyfriend at that time was high on coke and apparently was punching my dad’s tree. I also had a massive hangover the day after.

Nineteen, I’d earlier found my best friend—a girl—in bed with my boyfriend, and while I had lied and told everyone that it was “cool”—It wasn’t. So when I had to spend my birthday at her place because she shared my birthday and held a party, which all our friends were going to—it sucked.

Twenty was a hoot. Except for the fact that we’d spent this humongous amount of money on a party for 60 people were only 21 showed. My roommate at the time almost bailed because she didn’t have a ride, so my mom went to pick her up. It didn’t make it better that my older brother had been out drinking the day before—apparently it’s a big thing when the Christmas beer is released—so he couldn’t show.

Twenty-one, I was admitted into a hospital in Germany, with humongous pains.

Twenty-two, my two male rats died on the 16^th. My birthday was the 17^th.

Of course, this doesn’t always happen at the 17^th of October, but the week around it. And it’s a stressful time for me. So when I this year, decided to do absolutely nothing of importance—I was prepared for the worst. And it seemed to be eventless. I spent my whole birthday playing League of Legends with my brother who was here all week.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise when my curse continued on the 19^th this year. For the first time in my life, I was stuck in an elevator. Everything had gone somewhat smoothly, no disasters that were of the normal “life hates me” variety. At least, not until there. I was terrified, even though I was only stuck between the basement and the first floor, I was sure that I was going to die in there. It didn’t help when my mom decided to sing either.

So yes. The curse continues. But I’m still living. I have some incredible friends now, and even though I continuously try to avoid facing reality, I’m gonna live.

I know that I’m still waiting for the next disaster to happen, but—knock on wood—maybe the curse is losing its power. And who knows? Maybe the rest of this year has something surprising in store for me. It could happen.

Anyway, the above ramble is why I’ve been deliberately off the grid for the last week. I’m slowly getting back into my normal self. I’ve finally managed to make myself a writing place, I’ve wanted to do that for a long time—and here I am writing at this awesome desk, sitting in this awesome chair, and listening to some sweet tunes on the TV I finally managed to plug to my computer.

With that said, though. I can’t promise updates on everything. Nanowrimo is approaching, and I will be writing a completely new work for that. Well, at least, I’m writing the last book of my “The Lores of Lyra”, and I’m psyched!

I hope everybody else is well, and that your past week has been disaster free. Thank you for all the birthday wishes—it made me happy.

See you on Wattpad!

A Bag Full of Sunshine

I tend to shy away from conflicts. 

Ignoring negativity—or any variations thereof—has always been my preferred method of coping. I’ve spent the majority part of my life from when I was six years old and up until last year trying to be invisible in any situation where a conflict may arise. It’s not always easy—it takes a lot of practice. In fact, if not done correct, it can spur off even more conflicts which tend to be uglier than the original argument. Which is why to successfully ignoring a conflict, you need to be involved at first.

I’m also stubborn as hell. It’s courtesy of my two loving parents. My mom is the most achingly stubborn person I’ve ever encountered in my entire life. She’s the complete opposite of my dad who’ll run for the hills the moment there’s even the slightest hint of trouble. Over the years, their personalities have rubbed off on each other, but after over 20 years of cooperating while trying to raise six kids; it’s still easy to see who gets the last words—my mom.

Now, you may wonder why I’m telling you this, and honestly? I don’t know. Sometimes things just need to get out. This is one of those times, sadly.

In Denmark there’s a saying, which goes along the way of “I’ll agree with you, and you’ll leave me alone.” It’s a horrible translation, I know that, but it’s my dad’s attitude to plenty of things that my mom feels strongly about. She'll get it her way, and he gets peace. It’s beautiful how that works sometimes.

Unfortunately, with the mixture of my wonderful and loving parents’ genes, I’m around hundred different definitions of messed up. And while I’m being honest, I have to admit: It’s not always easy.

On one hand, I want to stand up and be vocal about the things I believe in, on the other hand, I really like my face and the permanent fake smile plastered upon it—I don’t want to jeopardize that smile. It’s what gives me the courage to be around people without cowering away in a corner, hugging myself while trying to get that smile back.

Back when I was a teenager, I met a woman who saw right through that smile. She called my bluff, and then she did the thing that shattered my very existence—she told me she knew. This woman was supposed to be a help, and for all I know, she intended to be. But she wasn’t around long enough to close that rapidly opening wound that suddenly spew doubt like it was a hot spring geyser.

So I had to start all over again. I had to learn how to be invisible again. Only problem was that I couldn’t. The foundation that I’d build my entire persona on was cracked, and it was just a matter of when it would fall to the ground and crumble. I made do by an occasional fake smile; this one not permanently plastered on my face, but instead short-term, and to compensate I had to accept the fact that sometimes I just didn’t feel like smiling.

For some reason, I managed to uphold it for an additional four years. It wasn’t until September 2011 that everything exploded around me. It was the most horrible time of my life. Only surpassed by October 12, 2001 where my grandfather died in front of me, and then buried five days later on my birthday.

However, I faced it head-on and sought help. In the span of six months, I lost everything that meant something to me while I gave up on a lot of stuff that could have meant the world to me. I didn’t want to live, but I was stubborn and refused to give in before trying for help. This meant that I had to wait, for the duration of these six months, to start what would prove to be a year of flat out personal hardships. In the time, I broke down many times. I found a way to get it out without hurting myself—the result is called “Rising Star” and can be read on wattpad.

I had a gazillion conversations, tests, surveys, and meetings with people who tried their best to figure out what was wrong with me. There were many ideas of what it could be, but it wasn’t until January 2013 that I got the result of the many tests. I was suffering from schizotypal personality disorder. In the times since then, I’ve been trying to work on this “ignoring negativity” attitude. Instead of ignoring it all together, I’ve been trying to embrace it, let it be for a moment, then try to move on to better things.

And it’s hard—it’s real fucking hard. (Pardon my French)

The internet is a big help, though. I can be in myself behind my little screen. I can turn it off if I need a breather, and then I can actually use an ignore function. It’s amazing like that. I could be safe, but open at the same time. And it led to me being more open than ever. I took a giant step and flew overseas to meet a boy that I like.

However, one thing I forgot is that the internet is the worst place for any kind of confrontation. Not only is there limited emotional connection because you can’t read body language, and misunderstanding happens every second because of a misplaced emoticon. Also, people can use the ignore function on you so you’ll never get a chance to talk it out.

I have many faults, and I’d be glad to list all of them at some point. I don’t fool myself to think I don’t have issues. I do. I have many of them. But even though I’m inadequate in plenty of ways, it’s not an excuse not to try. I will always try to be the best human I can. It’s how I was raised.

So this is me, trying to do just that. I’m trying to improve to become the version of Maja that I’d like to be. And I have a long way still. There’s going to be moments when I rant to a friend over something so unbelievable stupid that it’ll hurt to think of afterwards. There’ll be moments when I’m a broken record, clinging to my version of the truth and insist it’s the only one. There’ll be moments when I say something that’ll make me want to bury myself in a hole and never come out. And I’m not sorry for that. Because if these past years of endless emotional torture have taught me anything it’s that, at some point, it’ll be spring again, and I can come out of the deep pit I’ve hid in.

It’s not spring yet, though. And it sucks. So now I’m gonna do my thing and shy away from the confrontation because, to be honest, I don’t have it in me to be courageous right now, and without my fake smile plastered onto my face—I don’t see that happening anytime soon either. I'm not a bag full of sunshine right now. In the end, I can just hope that the people who surround me will try to understand me as I will try to understand them.

To all my readers

Hi all!

I sent out a fan broadcast yesterday about needing you guys help. After that, it was just:

I decide to pull and allnighter and get this awkward short chapter over with. I was happy in the end though.

Now, I just uploaded it. Keep refreshing to see if it works.

Luckily, I have the best readers in the world.

So if you're reading this:

You're the best!

Don't change, just...

Sincerely, Maja

Bad query letter Challenge.

Some of you might follow Erin Latimer from Wattpad. Others might not know who she is, but never the less she has recently posted some blogs and some youtube videoes about queries. You can check it out here: http://www.museslibrary.blogspot.com/

Now, her challenge was to make the worst query letter ever, and I took up the challenge. I've made a video if you want to watch, it can be found here: http://youtu.be/mog_csKcYrI 

If you don't want to watch me ramble (or if you simply can't follow my accent)  then you can read it here. I wrote it in a hurry, and it's not edited or anything. So. Enjoy, and hopefully none of you will ever do this:

"Dear Agent.

Wouldn’t it be cool if there were such a thing as vampire wasps? I would think so. Just a random thought to set the mood.

You’re like the first agent I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering, and I have to admit, that based on other books, this will freaking blow your mind. I mean, we all know that stuff like 50 shades of grey, and Twilight wouldn’t actually have gotten anywhere if you’d be in charge. Am I right? *winkyface*

On to my story. It’s just an idea right now, and I haven’t actually written it yet. But I figured that you should have the honor of getting the “first taste” of this masterpiece. Some people advised me not to be this bold, but I confided with God, who by the way, was a big inspiration in writing this, and he said I should go for it.

My family really supports me in this, and they tell me that this is the most original idea they’ve ever heard of.

Let me introduce you to the characters, well. There’s only one right now. Which would be me. HI!

I’m an avid reader, and I’ve seen many books become popular because of an element. Wattpad. Wattpad is the greatest hotspot for everyone with a dark and sometimes dirty secret. When I signed up, I did it mainly because I wanted to be cool like the other kids at school, because for some reason, even though I’m like totally gorgeous and stuff, they just couldn’t see it. But Wattpad changed my life. 

On there, I met the sweetest and most talented guy ever. And we fell in love. Needless to say, it was all happy and joyous, until the day I found out that he was a vampire. Dun dun dun. Now, I need to get in gear, and see if I can write myself away from being attacked by the bloodthirsty and vicious Vampire-overlord who craves my pulmonary vein.

My Wattpad Vampire is gonna be the first in a series of 28 books, which follows me until I finally gathers the skills necessary to write my nightmare away. With the help of one shitty laptop, I’m armed and ready to go. Will I be able to finish of the dark vampire overlord all alone? Or will I die a horrible death by pencils and red markers? There’s only one way to find out.

Bio:

My name is Maja, and I’m the second oldest of 6 kids. I don’t really have much to say about myself, because when I was a kid, I didn’t really know how to speak without adding a bunch of pointless words to the mix. So now I’m basically just trying to tone everything down to seem less extraordinary than I actually am.

I’m looking forward to making money with you. Let’s show these authors who’s the boss, shall we.

Let’s get this bitch!

Sincerely, Maja.

P.S. I’ve sent this to around 50 other agents, so if it takes a while to get back to you, I’m deeply sorry." 

Interview with Natasha Preston

Introducing Author Natasha Preston. This 25-year-old, English woman has been writing for three years now. Starting out on Wattpad.com, she has now reached over 37 thousand followers, and even more fans through self-publishing her stories.

She specializes mostly in the genres Romance, Young Adult and Thriller, and with nine finished novels, and three published, it’s just a matter of time before she hits a bookstore near you.

I was lucky enough to get her to sit down and answer my questions about how she started and what transpired after that.

The start:

What inspired you to write your very first story? What was it about?

- It's about a girl that loses her dad. He donates his organs and her family end up meeting the heart recipient and his family. She falls for the son, but is torn between him and her friend with benefits. I was inspired to write it when I saw a TV show about donating organs and wondered what would happen if the two families met - usually you're not told who it is.

How many stories did you write before taking the step to publishing?

- I'd written about six or seven before I published my first one.

Have you always aspired to be an author?

- Nope. I never even thought about writing a book before I found Wattpad!

Publishing:

 

The first book you published was ‘Silence. How was the feedback for that? What made the turning point in self-publishing it? What was the response for the sequel ‘Broken Silence’?  

- The feedback is awesome. I'm lucky that so many people bought the book, even after reading it for free! Broken Silence has better reviews but I think that's because 'the voice' is more mature. I went from a 16 year old to a 20 year old. I prefer it too. 

How did you come up with the title?

- I hate titles. Hate them. I eventually manage to come up with something but I usually write about a million down before I decide!

Is there a message in your works that you want your readers to grasp?  

- The message in the Silence books is that no matter what happens there is a way out. Things can get better.

How much of the book is based on real life events?

- Nope. The things I write are based on thoughts I've had or dreams and I've wondered 'what would happen if…?' My life is pretty boring so it wouldn't make good reading lol! 

How long did it take for you to edit the books? Does it get easier with time?  

- Ew. Editing. I hate it. Usually a couple weeks if that's all I concentrate on. It does get easier because with each book you write you improve so there's less to fix!

Tell me a bit about all your books: What’s the most glorious moment with them?  

- The most glorious moment is that final full stop! Haha. No what I really love is reading people's comments and see in what they think.

Who made your covers?  

- Most of my covers are made by Mollie Wilson - she's amazing. The Cellar was made by Kelly Ashten - also amazing!

 

Reading:

What were some of your favorite authors while you grew up? Who’s your current favorite Author?

- Growing up I didn't read all that much, I did like the Jacqueline Wilson books though. My favorite author is Kirsty Moseley. 

Have you ever met any of them? What was it like?

- I've met Kirsty. That was an awesome day!! 

Which genre do you prefer to read? And why?

- Romance. I love love. Haha.

Current work:

Do you have someone specific cheering you on? 

- My followers on Wattpad and my friends and family.

What are you focusing on now?

- Bleh. At the minute I'm almost at the end of one book (finally!) and working on another. And editing two more to publish.

Can we expect more published and/or free works on Wattpad?  

- Both. I love Wattpad - without it I wouldn't be here today. I'll publish and write some more Wattpad exclusives too.

Do you have anything-specific change in the future that you’d like to share?

- Hmm… now that would be telling. Something is coming this year but at the minute my lips are sealed ;)

A bit of goof:

What’s the most blatant lie you’ve ever told about your writing? 

- Um. I don't know really. I've never felt the need to lie about it. For a while I never told my family I wrote so I guess that one.

How do you deal with bad reviews of your work? Do you have any specific way to cope?  

- Oh bad reviews are a part of writing. If you can't deal with it, don't publish. 

What’s been the greatest joy during the process of writing and publishing? 

- Seeing something I've written up for sale, like a proper writer! 

What time of the day do you prefer to work on your books?

- When my son naps and in the evenings is the only time I can write. 

Have writers block ever struck you, and what did you do to come over it? 

- A lot! I can't push it or it's all crap. I usually take a few days off and then come back to it with a fresh mind.

Are the names of your characters important? How do you chose them?

- Names are whatever pops into my head usually, for main characters anyway. Once I have a name it's difficult for me to see them as anyone else. That's what happened with Oakley. It's not really a common or well known name but once I had it she couldn't be anything else.

What’s the best part of writing for a living? What is the hardest?  

- Writing for a living means I get to spend more time with my son. I can be home for him every day and I love that. The hardest is self-motivation. Sometimes you just want to relax and because no one is making you do it you have to make yourself! 

What are some of your greatest accomplishments?

- Being named one of The London Evening Standard's 'London's 1000 most influential people 2012: Generation Next, Rising Stars Under 25. That was amazing!

Why do you write?  

- I love it. 

What’s the strangest thing that has happened while writing?

- A man in an Indian prison contacted me thanking me for my stories. He had a smuggled mobile phone that he read from!

Have you ever killed off a character? Was it hard? 

- Yes and hell no! *evil laugh* although I've never killed off a character I like…yet!

Do you feel emotional connected with any or all of your characters? 

- Yes. You get in their heads so much it's hard not to. Editing fixes that. Editing makes you want to kill them all.

Do you have any tips for the aspiring writers who read this?

- Just write as much as you can and write what YOU love, not what you think other people will like.

Is there something you want to say to your readers?

- Thank you. Love you all.

---

Natasha Preston currently have Silence, Broken Silence and Covert for sale, you can buy them all on smashwords and amazon: 

Amazon.com 

smashwords.com

 

For further contact with Natasha, you can either like the Facebook page, follow her website, or connect with her on Wattpad.

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Natasha-Preston/497930476930728

Website - http://www.natashapreston.com

Wattpad - http://www.wattpad.com/user/natashapreston  

The thing about writing....

I consider writing to be a hobby.  

Big surprise, huh? But no, really. Writing is only a hobby to me, and even though I'd love to live off my hobby at some point, then I'm still hesitant.

What if I try and don't make the cut?

What if I do make the cut, and I then lose my touch? 

What if I'm really no good?

What if by waiting to do something about it, I'm really just harming myself?

What if I flop?

What if, what if, what if....

Do you recognize those two words from yourself? You should... It's that annoying little voice at the back of your head. It makes life hard, and not just with writing. The "What if" monster continuously attempts to bring you doubt on all aspects of your life.

So what can you do to fight it? In all honesty-- Not much. It'll always be there.

But I can tell you what I do, and more importantly, why it seems to work for me most of the time.

I say "most" because as with most things in the world, there's always that one exception to the rule. So take what you want from this, and apply it to yourself.

The way I see writing, and this is the writing I do on here, and on Wattpad, is that I am the God of all! 

I make the rules, I try things out, and when it doesn't work, I'm also the one responsible for changing it. IF I refuse, then I won't improve.

Personally, I can live with never amounting to anything with writing. As long as I at least manage to satisfy myself. The reason why I say so? It's because I am my own worst critic.

Nothing I do is perfect. Nothing I do will be perfect.

So I can either give up, or keep improving and moving on.

My choice? The latter. Definitely the latter.

But Maja, how do you manage that? When your mind keeps telling you that what you're doing is wrong, and you can't make it better?

Well, dear random interviewer in my head, I believe that sometimes there's things that doesn't need fixing. There's not one definite rule to writing. Well. There is one! And one only! It involves words.

The way you do it: typewriter, pen and paper, crayons on pavement, paint on canvas, speech to text or computer, force a friend to type it for you. It all works. 

The way you go about it: Outlining, writing from the top of your head, worldbuilding, edit later, word diarrhea, jumping in chapters. It all works.

The way you finish it: beta reader, self editing, reading out loud, oxford grammar, US english, UK english. It all works.

The way you make it available to others: Uploading on Wattpad, Email it to friends, make it a note on facebook, self-publishing, sending it to an agent, indie publishing, traditional publishing, e-book, paperback, printing it out, order one copy to have on the shelf. It all works.

Do you see a pattern here?

If not, then read it again and repeat doing that, until you realize that there's no right way of writing. What works for me, might not work for you. That doesn't make what I do wrong though. Doesn't make it right either. It makes it appliable to me, and that's what you should seek in writing.

Writing is a form of art, and it's always evolving. Language evolves, slang becomes more acceptable, time changes, and along with the constant battle against originality, you need to think outside the box.

Which is why it's important, especially on free writing website as Wattpad that you always consider whether the opinion given to you is something you agree with.

The thing about writing, is that you only manage to make it unique and original, if you make it special to you.

So this is my "Official Start" into blogging.

I've tried many times to make a website/blog, and each time I've found myself failing miserably.

Not because I haven't had the necessary skill, but more because I've forgotten my password or other silly stuff like that. In other cases it's been because I've had nothing to say, which is stupid since I often find it hard to shut up.

So here I am. I've just used a considerable amount of time setting up this blog. I've made sure that people who know me, already can find 'Lovers Gonna Love' and information about my works on here, and I've also made sure that it looks pretty -- to my standards at least.

The next part is this first part. And boy, do they suck or what?


-- I think they do.

But I'm happy that you're accompanying me on this awkward journey into the world of blogging, because like Bambi, I'm on slippery ice here. Please don't let me fall?

If you have any ideas on what I can write about, or if you have any comments at all, then feel free to drop me a message. It should be pretty easy from your Google profile.

Oh. And keep your head held high.

- Maja D Jørgensen