The Wattys are Wattpad’s writing equivalent of the Oscars or Baftas. The categories it features are Original Fiction, PopFic and FanFic. I had a chat with a Wattys hopeful as voting officially gets underway…
My Art and Self-Publishing Adventure: Chapter 6:The Wattpad Oscars
K: First of all I just want to say you have an exceedingly awesome name and if that’s a pseudonym then my goodness you took your time. Put me out of my misery; is it your name or a pseudonym of epic proportions?
PS her name is (Katherine DeWitt Bukater)
KDB: Well thank you for complimenting my name, first of all the things I will be answering. Both my username and my actual name on the file is, yes, a pseudonym but I wouldn’t really admit that just to anyone. But since this is an interview, curiosity is the way to knowledge.
K: Your book is part of the books ‘long listed’ for submission in the Wattpad awards. What are the Wattpad awards and why enter?
KDB: I have submitted my second novel for the second time in the Watty Awards and since I didn’t win anything last year, I know that I should improve and get the attention of more audience. I’m entering now because I want to keep trying. If I’m good enough, then I’ll know with this. And if I should work more heart into my works, then it’s the same, I’ll know through this contest. I’m not really after the title of being a great book. But I merely want to be read.
K: When did you join Wattpad, why, and has it lived up to your expectations in comparison to social networking for writers generally?
KDB: I joined Wattpad, if I remember correctly, April last year. A friend recommended it to me because we’re both very fond of books. I think that Wattpad has the widest set of writers that could actually be read and it is brilliant how they execute the novels to be published, giving a chance to everyone. I’m happy that I’m finally out there, being read, so yes. It has lived up to my expectations.
K: When I get writer’s block, I read, eat, or slam my head on a desk till something pops up. How do you deal with writer’s block?
KDB: Oh. Writer’s block. It’s a bit more complex, isn’t it? What I do though is very odd for some people. I usually lie back in bed, rest a bit, and listen to instruments or classical music or movie scores (i.e. Christophe Beck, Hans Zimmer, etc) and if I don’t get the feel of my novel, I search the type of music that goes through the scenes and just stare outside my window. And usually I tap my pen loudly.
K: I wrote an article on adaptations a while back and it got me thinking, what do you think of adaptations of books into movies?
KDB: About adaptations, I really think that people usually misjudge them, the movies. I mean sometimes it is better to be faithful to the book yet sometimes, you have to do what is really good to watch. Readers are never supposed to be watchers of the movie adaptations of the books they’ve read, unless they have an open mind.
Producers, productions, companies make these movies for the mass to know the story. But if the readers tend to always judge how it’s not right and whatever blabber they produce, then simply don’t watch the movie. The film is for those who want to know the concept of the book without having to read it.
In short, even though I am very much in love with motion pictures, movies are for lazy readers. And they really give a concrete image of what the book is. This ideal took me time to realize when I watched Twilight and of all the books in the saga, the first one was the last one I read. I was very disappointed but then again, I watched that film a whole lot to see the scenery of what the book can’t provide you unless you have a very wild imagination. Yet I am a reader, and readers are very imaginative, but you get my point. I will just point out to those who aren’t readers that would like to start; never judge a book by its movie.
This was something I saw in Google and something I would like to spread in the world of written word.
K: What do you do when you aren’t writing? (I’m usually listening to the Man of steel Soundtrack because it’s epic and inspiring, and I’m a shameless geek)
KDB: When I don’t write … well there’s nothing more in my life than writing. But I do read more classics, like Jane Austen, and watch more movies that seem to be out of place in the society. And I practice with my piano and learn a bit of French and Italian. I also spend my days creating short memorandums of videos I’ve gathered when I was younger.
K: You ever get the impression some books should be judged by their covers? I usually give books the 3 page test … hooks me in and I’m your fish, bore me and I’m lost. What woos you into parting with your precious pennies and buying a book?
KDB: Covers sometimes help me pick a good book and I mostly hate a ‘sort-of in-need-of-improvement’ book. I’ve bought “My Name is Memory” by Ann Brashares, if I got the name correctly. And it was similar to Fallen.
I bought it because of the cover and didn’t realize that I’ve read the story before but in another book. I researched the book covers for ‘My Name Is Memory’ and saw another cover consisting of a girl in a forest, much like the scenery played out in the Fallen (by Lauren Kate) book and when I scanned the pages, it was a lot like Ms. Kate’s series, the lead roles being Luce and Daniel as well. And with a character named Sophia, I knew that I wouldn’t like to read the book further because, this will sound very corny, I am faithful to the ‘Fallen’ series.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that, it helps that you fancy the cover but always, always, check the synopsis to know what you’re getting yourself into.
One last thing – I think the major push for me to buy a book is when my curiosity blooms from the synopsis. If I get the feeling that it’s not cliche or if it isn’t like most books, I would spend a good lot to get it.
To read all of Katherine’s books follow the link below!
www.wattpad.com/user/JohnGreenLover
Goodbye At Mid-September
Watch the trailer of Kathrine’s book ‘Goodbye At Mid-September’
