Hey, Everyone! I'm very excited to be participating in the Wattpad Block Party again! The experience was so much fun that I couldn't turn down the opportunity to hang out with all these awesome writers and of course you guys. I appreciate all the love and support you guys continue to show me. It always humbling to know people out there are reading and enjoying (hopefully) the stories and characters that I am pouring myself into. So, yeah, I just really love and appreciate you guys and this community...but I'm going to stop myself before I carry on to long because I have a lot to talk about in my post.

Also, to celebrate the Block party I will be giving away. So, make sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to win! I hope you enjoy my post!

Ashley Michelle

I did my best to condense things that I feel will be the most helpful and important. If you have any questions or want to know more feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me here on Wattpad or on twitter.

Without further ado—Writing voice...

how do you create yours?

This is crucial for being a good writer and discovering your voice.

Read...read a whole bunch.

Read all the books and read them now.

Some good advice I was given is to try to read things that diverge from the genre you usually write in. It's good to see what other are writing about and how they are writing about it. It's easy to end up regurgitating the same plot concepts and voice if you only read one style and genre.

You probably want to be more of an originator. So, just branch out and try new things. I guarantee you'll find books that you hate and don't want to finish. I also guarantee you'll find some books that will surprise you and inspire you.

So, take a chance and read.

Focus on what you want to convey emotionally, word choices, tone.

Think about when you need to sit down and have a serious conversation with someone. You will probably have thought about what you're going to say. Maybe even practiced saying it aloud so that you can make sure that it comes across the way you want and won't be misinterpreted.

Consider your writing to be the same way. You are having a conversation with an audience – there is a message you want them to grasp or understand. So, make sure every moment is as intentional and clear that it can be in the emotions, words, and tone.

Practice both first and third person.

I personally am more of a first-person writer, but I do have several books that are told from third person perspective. Switching between the two is challenging but it has taught me that every story is unique and has it unique way of being told. I think that its important to experiment with this because it'll help to figure out how to convey your characters thoughts, feelings, and world in different ways and not keep you locked in a box.

You're not going to get it right the first time.

Please, know that the stories you buy have been be gone over and over – most people have critique partners, beta readers, editors and so on. There stories have gone through revisions and rewrites. So, don't be hard on yourself. These people had to work as hard as you are.

Editing is a great way to find your voice. You're not focused on getting the story on the paper. That part is done. Now you get to dive deeper into the structure of your sentences, word choices, tone...etc. This can be daunting but I assure that as you go through the editing process you will watch as your story takes on a new shape.

Think of it like working out. You spend time tightening it up and trimming the parts you no longer need or want and get to watch the transformation. It's a rewarding, though, tiring experience.

It takes time to develop this.

I don't even feel confident in my voice as a writer yet. There are some stories where I start to see it coming through – but its still something I am working on getting down myself. Its okay if you don't feel you have a voice yet as a writer...the best way to develop it is to keep writing.

Every story will help you develop your craft.

As the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect."

Moving on to the next topic...one of my favorite topics.

How to develop your characters.

The most important thing to remember when developing complex characters is that they need to be like real people. You want people to feel like they could meet this person on the street and touch them, talk to them, understand them. *I don't advise just going around touching strangers*

So, what makes characters feel real, Ashley?

Let me share some of myself with you. I promise it'll make sense in a moment so bear with me.

My parents got divorced when I was a very young girl. Three years old to be exact. I don't remember them ever being together. I spent my early years living with my grandparents, sister, and mother in a small trailer until she was making enough money to support us on her own. I have a solid relationship with my mother. I've only just begun to build a relationship with my father.

Do I feel more real to you now? Am I jumping off the page at you? Does knowing my past change the way you relate and look at me?

OF COURSE, IT DOES! (Told you It'd make sense).

Those are defining moments and experiences. And they are so important. They will build motivations for why a person behaves a certain way or looks at the world the way they do or determine their relationships with other people.

So, knowing and building your characters past is crucial for developing a strong character. I'm not saying you need to build years of backstory that you will never use. But your character needs to have a past just like a real person – just like you. Even if you only use some of the past information in your actual story, I promise it will help you to connect and write the character with ease.

If you don't know where to begin...characterize yourself or someone you know. Get a feel for people's experiences and real-life backstories.

Note: I don't just mean bad experiences or moments. I mean the good ones too. Try to think of your own experiences, not all of them are bad, not all of them are good.

Do not create Mary Sue/Marty Stu characters.

Mary Sue/Marty Stu are characters who can do no wrong and are virtually perfect. They will be able to do things and perform astonishing feats without the training or experience needed, and they'll probably do it better than a character that they shouldn't be able to outshine.

These types of characters are unrealistic and are impossible to relate to. You want people to connect to your character – you really, really do.

How do you accomplish this? Simple.

Real people are messy. They have flaws – things that get in the way of them accomplishing tasks or growing as people at times.

Let me list some of my flaws:

I'm quite stubborn.

I have hearing problems *Please note that flaws can be physical.

I suffer from anxiety *Or they can be more mental.

It would be even better if you gave your character flaws that related to their past. Let's us my hearing problem as a flaw for a character – maybe they were born with this flaw. perhaps they got really sick. Maybe they were listening to music too loud and messed them up. Whatever the reason, tying it to the backstory creates more validity to the flaw that character has. It's not just there because it would help some aspect of the story later on.

So, if I was a character, these are flaws that might affect my actions and reactions to specific things, and to the other characters in the story. This is actually what creates a strong, relatable character. It will add dimension to your actual story because you'll be mixing all your messy characters into one big pot, which can lead to exciting interactions and dynamics.

Don't be afraid of the mess.

Embrace it.

And allow your characters the chance to grow and become better people through the obstacles and conflicts that it creates.

Wait...I almost forgot...Contradictions!

People are full of them.

Say you have a bully character who is a total jerk face, just tripping people left and right, saying awful things, and overall making someone's life miserable. Remember that this bully is still a person who has a back story and flaws – and there is most likely still a good part to them (buried deep under all the nasty). Perhaps, your character sees them caring for a wounded animal they found on the side of the road. It's a huge contradiction, but it makes that bully more human and relatable, it makes people consider what might be going on behind the scene in that person's life.

That is what you want.

Nobody is wholly good or bad.

You want us to relate to your protagonist and your antagonist. Make it hard for us to hate/love them, make us melt, makes us rage...make us feel all the feels.

Okay, first – know how your character looks. Simple. What is their ethnicity? Do they have any defining or distinguishing physical features? Are they young or old? What color are their eyes? How do they dress? This isn't something I am going to spend loads of time on because I feel like this part is one of the easiest. I will follow that up by saying that books aren't like movies or television. Your characters are made up of words, not images.

What does that mean?

Of course, books have imagery – and you can certainly help us picture places, people, and things. But no one person is going to picture the same thing. For instance, when you first read Harry Potter...I doubt you were picturing Daniel Radcliffe as Harry. You might now because you saw the movies, but the point is initially you had a different mental image of this character.

This character was brought to life by the words Rowling used. Sure, you got a brief description, but Harry was more than an image in your mind. A plain boy with dark hair, glasses, and a lightning scar. He was so much more than that – he was curious, brave, loyal to his friends...Those are what distinguished him not his actual appearance.

So, what this means is it's more important to create a distinct voice for your character. How your character might describe themselves or see themselves is going to be different than how the other character in your story will. So, the words they use will be particular – as will be there speech patterns.

Do they use big words and speak formally?

Or do they stick to slang words?

These may not be things you've considered before, but I assure they are a big part of developing a character that jumps off the page. Consider the way you speak and think about things. Are their words you use a lot? Maybe phrases?

If you really want to add more complexity to your characters think about these things.

Now, that you have your character it's time for you to insert them into the world and story you've created for them.

This is where character growth comes into play. It's the idea that a character is going to have a problem (The premise or goal for your entire book) that they are (hopefully) going to triumph over by the end of the story. Throughout their journey this character will be challenged and given opportunities to overcome these obstacles and in doing so become a more realized person.

So, this means you should make your stakes high and your obstacles challenging.

Most readers like to see people they connect with struggle and suffer. The reason for this is because they draw emotional connection in that. *refer back to that relatability factor and creating flawed characters* Likewise, people want to know your character has something of value at stake if they fail in overcoming these struggles.

Maybe, your character has selective mutism after a traumatic event and they grow a crush on someone who is more social than them – this character has the obstacle of their struggle to communicate with others and the fact that this person is constantly surrounded by people that might swallow up their ability to communicate properly.

Your readers will want to see the struggle, to feel it. They will ride the rollercoaster with the confidence that you'll lead them into some kind of triumphant resolution at the end.

: be aware that every action your character makes or other characters make there should be a reaction in their world. This will keep the story moving along and help you from having plot holes or things that readers will feel unresolved about it.

: Be empathetic, understand why the character is making their choices and the value of them for the character even if you don't agree or even like the character you've created. Learn what is like to be your character and you'll go far with them.

There's not much to this one...simply put...

Don't compromise your character for your story.

There are going to be moments when you want to write certain scenes or have your characters react a certain way but it's important to always remember who your character is. If they wouldn't do this thing or react that way – then don't write it.

You want your character to remain strong and to do that you need to keep them authentically the way you built them to be. Sure, they can grow but they shouldn't do something entirely against their nature.

I hope that you found some of my ramblings helpful toward your writing journey. If I could really impart any kind of advice it would just be to find joy in the process of learning and growing as a writer. We're all at different places but we all want to see each other succeed. That's the best thing about Wattpad community. We are readers and writers coming together to celebrate the art of great storytelling. So go forth and celebrate, uplift, and love one another.

Hey, Everyone! I'm very excited to be participating in the Wattpad Block Party with some of my favorite Wattpad authors who have inspired me in my own writing. It's almost too much for me. It's was a big #ICANTBREATHE moments when I found. It's hard to believe that I started out on Wattpad only four years ago, but what an adventure it has been. I originally had planned to have this post be a sneak peek into some of the new content I'll be posting this coming year, but I changed my mind at the last minute. I decided I wanted to share what I think is good advice for those looking to write or have started write on Wattpad. Some encouraging words from me to you--hopefully they will be insightful.

Also, to celebrate the Block party I will be giving a . So, make sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to win! I hope you enjoy my post!

--Ashley Michelle

Why You Should Ignore the Hotlist (and create better content)

I know what you're thinking, and no I'm not crazy.

But your books have been on the hotlist, Ashley.

Yes, they have, and I used to get very excited to see that ranking number on my content. So, trust me—I get it.

But here's the thing people won't tell you:

Don't get discouraged if you don't see your book up there. The hotlist is generated by an algorithm, which is something that wattpad doesn't say. So, it's not just the votes and reads anymore. It used to be back when I first joined but now it's not. This is why you see it change so often and it's also why if you want to keep your spot on the hotlist you have to regularly post content. The extra stuff they have in there rotates the 10 top stories within each other. Its basically created an echo chamber where unless someone in the top 10 stops writing completely, their story stays up there and it makes it harder for others to breech, not to mention that if a previous top 10er starts updating again, their story will jump back to top 10 regardless of who is reading or voting.

I also feel strongly that it kills creativity in new writers and is discouraging to writers who are working hard to be seen. All they see all the time is what is hot and it's the same story with a different title and new face (cover). They come to believe that is the only thing that sells (which is not true at all).

Another problem with the Hotlist is it might not get you the followers you want.

What do you mean, Ashley?

While Wattpad is a beautiful community and I've personally been lucky to make great friends with many writers, it does have its down side (like any social media site). One of my books, His to Claim, hit the hotlist hard (and rather unexpectedly) back in 2015. It grew my following rapidly (and I must say I love my little potatoes very much). That being said I have had followers who haven't been the kindest or most upstanding people, who I've had to handle in ways no content creator here on Wattpad wants to.

These are people who I and some fellow Wattpader's refer to as mindless consumers. They are the readers that make demands and take without care, and if you don't listen to them they can be quite cruel. In the beginning it was hard to deal with. I just wanted to share my words and suddenly I had someone saying mean things to me because they didn't like that I hadn't updated or they didn't like that I didn't write the book the way they saw it. Now, I mostly ignore these comments but I know what it feels like in the beginning and I don't want others to feel that way.

These mindless consumers stay around the hotlist because that's all they look at. They aren't diligent in looking for good content by searching through their favorite Wattpader's reading lists, perusing forums, featured lists, and what have you.

Now, don't get me wrong—the hotlist is helpful in getting more people to see your content but I just don't think it's safe to completely rely on it or to think it's the end all, be all (because it's not).