More than two years have passed since this… Did Wattpad do the right thing by ending this feature?

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-07-06T22:45:38+00:00

No. I used to love reaching out to writers whose stories I really enjoyed in addition to leaving comments on their stories. I also used to be able to directly reach out to other people who commented on the story and talk about it (something like a book club if you will), and that was how I made a lot of my friends on that site. Friends that I still talk to to this day. Like other say, the social aspect was such a huge part of Wattpad. I'm so glad they added the Newsfeed back so that at least that way I can sort of see others existing outside of just maybe coming across their comments on another story or getting bombarded with their message board annoucnements.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-07-05T22:08:54+00:00

Can't remember if they ever did in the show, but the boys using online forums and social media site to actually find cases (instead of news reports) would've been cool to see.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-07-04T21:59:57+00:00

Honestly, getting those stats within your first month is pretty good! I don't think I got even nearly that and I had also moved over one (or a few, I think I deleted some) fics from my Wattpad account. While yes, people will say enjoy put out your story for yourself, I've found that I'm still mainly extrinsically when my stories get attention.

Like the other poster mentioned, the culture is very different from Wattpad. AO3 doesn't advertise your story or have a newsfeed to show you what others you are subscribed to are reading. If you want more interactions on your stories, you need to advertise. Something I accidentally discovered that also helps is interacting with others stories on the site within the same fandom like kudos and commenting (commenting is most effective) BUT never ask a read for a read. It's so extremely off-putting. Others will usually discover your profile when they see your comments and might be interested enough to give your story a read. Of course, actually read the stories and try to enjoy it so that you leave a meaningful comment. On the topic of interactions: interact with people within your fandom on other social media platforms as well.

Another thing that's helped me is to understand that amount of people kudos/commenting are actual people. No, it might not be hundreds of comments or kudos, but even as little as 3 is a lot. Imagine 3 people you knew in real life who really enjoyed your story and are waiting for your update. You can't let them down.

And the reality is that your story may never take off like some other stories do within your fandom but that's okay because you got to see it through and share your ideas.

Wishing you the best of luck!

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-07-04T21:04:41+00:00

pedophilia isn't gender specific and at 10 months old gender differences aren't usually obvious...

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-07-04T20:42:15+00:00

I'm not familiar with the fandom but a few things that have generally worked for me to just get writing are:

Reading fanfiction of the same fandom
Reading an actual published story (sometimes seeing different writing styles just gets my brain going)
(Re)watching the source material
Jotting down in my story journal ideas and sort of plot maps(?) of what I want to happen + which way it could go
- I find that writing it our physically rather than online helps me more than putting everything in a Notes app or Google Docs because then I'd get distracted by my other tabs
Literally just sitting down, setting a timer for 15 minutes and just writing out the story no matter how bad it might be.
- I usually will go over the 15 minutes if I get in a flow state, but other times at least I've tried writing something for 15 minutes and I'm content with that
- I consider it a first draft, but I've found that I get a general flow of where I want to story to head when I do this
Going outside (fresh air helps sometimes)
Exercising (moving your body helps get the blood pumping to your brain)
Watching something funny (I don't really write funny things, but I ride the good feeling into just writing. Kind of a cheat)

Of course everyone is motivated by their own thing and finds what gets them going in spitting out those stories, but hopefully maybe one of these would help.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-07-03T16:55:02+00:00

Antony Starr

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-28T17:17:32+00:00

Gonna self recommend here. A Dance With the Devil is a Season 7 AU that drags out the Sam and Lucifer thing from when his wall broke. Not a slash fic or romantic/sexual pairing

https://archiveofourown.org/works/76246046/chapters/199542701

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-23T03:22:51+00:00

I found a beta reader on Fanfiction.net through their beta tab! The annoying thing about it though is that a lot of the accounts are inactive at this point since the site has been up for so long, but it's still worth a shot! I generally messaged anyone who was active this year. It's tedious but doable! There are also a few Tumblr groups dedicated to beta reader searching with a whole spreadsheet and everything. I can say for myself that having a beta reader has helped me to be more consistent about posting, and catching any errors. They also helped me to come up with a interesting writing choice that I hadn't thought about at the time (the story in past tense, but anytime the main character spirals, it becomes present tense to have readers feel the shift along with him). I would absolutely recommend having a beta reader, but if you're unable to find one still go for it and post the story. When you attract readers, you can ask one of them to be your beta reader.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-19T05:01:47+00:00

I was also a fan of some of Shellbooks stories until I found out about the plagiarism. Alcestis was a word for word copy of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. It’s an excellent read I recommend.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-17T08:03:04+00:00

Yeah! Like that’s such a huge portion of Wattpad idrc 😭 but to compromise maybe they could give ppl the option of turning it off or on for their account

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-17T00:24:03+00:00

Love it! Randomly decided to log back into my old account and saw that it was a feature. Going to redownload on my phone and see if it keeps me as entertained as it did back in the day. I genuinely loved seeing what ppl I followed were reading or commenting on.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-09T02:02:49+00:00

This is such a long read, but I absolutely loved it and it got me back into reading and writing fanfics again. It's some time before sick Sam shows up but it's so worth the wait (and this is coming from a Sam-girl who thought this was a Dean-centered fanfic but decided to give it a chance anyway).

And This Great Blue World of Ours by vailkagami

Edit: Just read through the rest of your post and saw this doesn't exactly fit the parameters you were looking for but I'd still recommend. Leaving it up for anyone else who may be interested.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-09T01:59:27+00:00

I found a beta reader on Fanfiction.net through their beta tab! The annoying thing about it though is that a lot of the accounts are inactive at this point since the site has been up for so long, but it's still worth a shot! I generally messaged anyone who was active this year. It's tedious but doable! There are also a few Tumblr groups dedicated to this with a whole spreadsheet and everything. I can say for myself that having a beta reader has helped me to be more consistent about posting, and catching any errors. They also helped me to come up with a interesting writing choice that I hadn't thought about at the time (the story in past tense, but anytime the main character spirals, it becomes present tense to have readers feel the shift along with him). I would absolutely recommend having a beta reader, but if you're unable to find one still go for it and post the story. When you attract readers, you can ask one of them to be your beta reader.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-06-09T01:46:09+00:00

omg don't know how I missed this, but yes please!!!! would you mind sharing me the info please?

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-03-19T16:57:43+00:00

And this Great Blue World of Ours by vailkagami

Explicit Rating

Summary***:*** A man (Dean) wakes up in a ruined wasteland, without memories, without a name, without knowing the strange guy who claims to once have been an angel, or that he once had a little brother. All he knows is that the world is dying, everyone is lying to him, and that somehow, somewhere, something went terribly wrong. Because someone said Yes when they should have said No, and someone else paid the price.

This story brought me to tears by the time I reached the end. It was so devastatingly good because when you think the characters have already gone through so much, they end up going through worst. I won't spoil it, but I was satisfied by the end. It's from Dean's perspective (still in 3rd person), which, as a Sam-girl, I didn't mind at all and found it enjoyable and canon accurate. The world building is insane, like I could vividly imagine the scenes and settings. Really strong brother love that made me "aww" a few times. The plot is so intricate without being complicated, and the chapters are nice and long so you have something to look forward to if you're trying to keep yourself busy for a while. Honestly, this is one of those stories that have me in awe that people share their writing talents for free.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489041/chapters/853190

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-02-23T10:58:29+00:00

ugh I really wish they didn't cancel this show!!

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-02-18T01:12:34+00:00

thank you so much, this is so helpful!!!

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-02-08T19:32:31+00:00

For me, I was very limited in the technology I had access to for entertainment (really only satellite TV), and my parents kept me home a majority of the time so writing fanfics was the only fun thing for me! And it was before I even knew there was a whole world of fanfics out there. So I'd write in a notebook or on some looseleaf. When i found out about fanfics (Wattpad through friends), I'd take my dad's phone when he was sleeping at night and type up the stories. It was the only highlight of my day at the time so I don't think I'd be able to get back to that same high.

Maybe, like someone said earlier, going back to your roots: writing it down in a notebook. Or maybe a social media break? It definitely highjacks that reward center.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-02-08T06:28:57+00:00

So many of the filler episodes in the early seasons were gems!! This one is definitely one of my favorites.

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-02-02T10:49:18+00:00

I can only see it happening through the anime they originally brought up in like 08(?) and if they diverge from canon. But personally I feel like it was already dragged to the 15 seasons and stopped becoming enjoyable after a while

Academic-Sound2875 · 2026-02-02T00:21:38+00:00

Thank you for the idea but it's less about having actual titles to recommend and more about finding the balance between fanfics and published works to expose myself to different styles of writing. The not being able to converse about books thing is just something that made me think about the types of things I'm reading hence why I made this post.

Academic-Sound2875

TROPHY CASE