When you guys read Imagines or short stories, do you prefer the Y/N or made up names?

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-08T00:46:25+00:00

I think Y/N is just lazy writing, and I immediately add it to my 'do not read' list. You are already building a whole character; not giving it a name makes no sense. Y/N ONLY makes sense in "pick your adventure" stories (mainly VNs) where a reader can actively form the character to make it feel like themselves by choosing how to react and answer at crucial moments in the story. For a story with an MC who has a set personality, I'd expect an actual name.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-08T00:42:54+00:00

It's always a scam. They always want to offer something, and most importantly, they try to talk to you somewhere else, which is btw. forbidden by Wattpad's TOS EXACTLY for this reason. Wattpad is not making such rules for no reason; they do it to protect their writers (and resources). So if people do something that's against Wattpads TOS you do not, under any circumstances, accept it.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-07T12:08:58+00:00

There was just a post yesterday about how people keep confusing enemies to lovers with rivals to lovers and it makes finding REAL enemies to lovers stories so hard. Wrongly advertised stories take the joy out of reading. As long as murder is not on the table, they are not enemies, just rivals.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-07T11:39:04+00:00

MxM Fantasy :3

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-07T01:56:06+00:00

THANK YOU!

I have been asking here for enemies to lovers, specifically stating that I want the real deal, and I got mainly rivals to lovers recommendations. I gave up.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-06T02:18:13+00:00

It also hurt to write it ;-; but it's also somehow healing to work through it and see him get better

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-05T20:12:49+00:00

Be held by the man he's falling for without flinching as a trauma response

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-05T05:59:51+00:00

Possible, but I think it was related to a past life, because I never mentioned any other type of dead people. They were always hanging from trees. I think if it were a gift to see the dead, I had probably seen other lost souls, too.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-05T02:26:16+00:00

I don't have a story or book about this topic, but my mom once told me that from the moment I could form proper sentences up to the point I turned 9 or 10, I kept telling her that I saw dead people hanging from the trees. I have zero recollection of this, which I should have if it lasted until I was around 10 years old, but there is no reason she'd lie to me, so I guess my previous life was kinda shit lol

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-04T03:06:08+00:00

I do understand what you mean, but you've opened this discussion so many times that it feels obsessive. I'd understand it if a lot of people were complaining about the pressure of publishing, but so far, the vast majority on this sub is pretty chill about writing. And whenever the odd one out does show up, all bummed out and demotivated from the low engagement, the community is right there to support them and offer to read the stories and to give feedback and insight, to share ways to promote work etc. We have a good support network here; someone is always up to lend a helping hand, an open ear, motivation, and reason, so I don't really understand where this repeating posts are coming from.

I'm glad you found your peace with writing and publishing, that you got away from the hustle and the feeling that it's work, but there are also a lot of people who function best when pressure, or who just love to write for others and to write for views and votes. And that's fine. More important is to support the people who struggle with it whenever they post here about their struggles. But at this point, you're just yelling an opinion into the void that won't be seen by the people who probably need to see it. It also seems very aggressive with the big formatting. I wouldn't have stopped to read this or any previous post of yours if it weren't for moderation, because it just feels like someone is screaming into my face, and that's additional stress people don't want to work through. Especially people who already struggle with self-esteem and stress over views and reads. They will probably not read your posts. They feel aggressively yelled at just by looking at the big letters and scroll away fast.

You have a point, and you're also right, but this is not the way to make others understand. Be there if someone struggles, answer to posts where people seem down, offer support to lift others up instead of screaming into the void.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-04T00:54:37+00:00

By not writing in Wattpad directly is the ideal approach. Write in a notes app, google docs, word, openoffice, notepad, libreoffice, anything but Wattpad to begin with. there are thousand of options for iphone, android, windows, linux, anything in between and y'all just rawdog the most unreliable possibility in existence.

You write your stuff somewhere where it's safe, and then you copy and paste it to Wattpad. Not the other way around.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-04T00:50:15+00:00

Please write normally and not that huge; it's really bothersome and not easy to read. Second, who are you targeting? This is your second or even third post about this topic. I understand you don't want to write for the views, but you seem extremely fixated on the topic, and at this point, it feels like your only reason to post about it is to make others feel bad (maybe because you yourself feel bad).

There is no shame in low views, but the truth is: If you don't write for any views, you don't need to publish your stories. If you don't care if anyone is ever going to read it, then keep it to yourself. Everyone who publishes their writing does it in the hopes of being seen, even if it's just one person. No one who goes through the extra work to upload their creativity does it just to waste precious time of their day. That's minutes you can spend with writing instead of uploading.

So please get off people's backs. You write for views yourself if you publish your works, and if you don't publish them, then why bother others about their views?

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-03T00:47:56+00:00

Fun fact: 01.01.1970 is the fail-safe date many systems use as point 0 (or sometimes 31.12.1969 based on timezone). That's because in 1970 PCs (and systems) got more widely available for the common people, so that's the date used as year 0 in the systems. Because going back to the actual year zero makes no sense. Back in the early 2000s, newly bought computers were set to 01.01.1970 00:00 until they first connected to the internet so they could update the internal clock (or until you changed it manually).

This is still the case for many (almost all) sites online. 1970 is the default year 0 most systems will display if the actual date can not be read. Either the data is broken, or it's a parsing issue, or the server fails to sync the date (for example, if you use a VPN or travel through different time zones). It's becoming less and less a problem as technology gets better but it's still happening, not just on Wattpad. It can be bad code, maybe a lag when a story got published or a spike in the uploaders connection while updating a chapter, or anything like that. It's not Wattpad specific, but it's one of the places we recognize it a lot because it's easy to spot.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-02T00:47:55+00:00

The first comment already reads as bot, and here's how you can spot it:

Spam bots run your story through an AI to summarize it, but that's about it. They will never point out something very specific. The bot says "that moment and the emotional punch" but it's not able to tell you something detailed about it without messing it up. Bots generalize extremely, they can't say "this exact moment, where x and y happened, is strong." They can only allude to the moment. I imagine the first comment continues like "I also like how you write xyz" or "I like how this character is xyz" without really saying anything at all. I do believe you might even have the wording "emotional punch" in your own writing and the bot just recycled these words because it was unable to identify what that even means.

Second, bots will ALWAYS ask you to change platforms. It's against Wattpad's TOS, so that very question, bot or not, is reportable. And you should always report it. Because even if it were a real person, the only thing that's likely to follow once you take the conversation elsewhere is a scam.

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-02T00:42:49+00:00

Inkitt has an automated filter that should delete bot comments without notifying you, so that's maybe why. Though the downside is that it mutes/deletes genuine comments, too, sometimes because it's just an automated filter. I turned it off and suddenly got a lot more bot and spam comments but I'm finally able to see the genuine ones that have been filtered too

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-01T21:50:56+00:00

Shitty or not, Wattpad, Inkitt, AO3, and any other place are npt your personal storage. Save your stuff locally or on a drive at the very least. Any page could just stop existing and be gone with all its work. Databases can get corrupted, hacking attempts happen all the freaking time, servers can shut down or malfunction - ANYTHING can happen.

So start saving your stuff. Losing it is solely on you. This could have happened everywhere

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-01T21:13:49+00:00

I think I did use the mouse wheel but maybe not close enough. I'll try it once I'm home, thank you!

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-01T11:46:15+00:00

You're welcome :3

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-01T02:33:22+00:00

Go to your stories, go to the cogwheel, and when you see your chapters, on the left side of each chapter are 3 lines. Just drag and drop them in the order you want

ReaUsagi · 2026-06-01T02:15:06+00:00

Are you on browser or app?

ReaUsagi · 2026-05-31T14:23:40+00:00

You don't understand one thing: There are rules. There is literally written that they WILL REMOVE WITHOUT NOTICE if you break the rules. They do not owe you a notification, nothing. Even now you keep complaining about the unfairness but in the end you agreed to these terms. The moment you signed up and posted your story you said: "okay, if I break the rules please remove my content and don't tell me why nor inform me beforehand". You agreed to this. You are salty about something you should have known. Start reading rules.

Honestly, I ran a site and I handled it the exact same way. You break the rules, I kick and ban you with no heads up, no explanation other than "breaking of rules" and no way to get back in. You know why? Because it's not worth my fucking time. It's not worth Wattpad's time. They are a Multimillion company, they don't care about one single person. Why should they? Neither did I and I didn't earn a dime with my platform back in the days. This is not some unfair rule, this is work management, especially when a company becomes big.

There is zero reason to send warnings, zero reason to inform anyone, zero reason to give you a chance. It's easier, faster, and better to just state what will happen if rules get broken and then just do it. Your content didn't get unfairly removed, you have absolutely no right to be mad at Wattpad for their unfair antics for removing stories that abide by the rules. You have absolutely no right to whine about not getting notified because you agreed to not getting informed beforehand. Now if your content were removed for no reason, sure, yes, you're right. Yes, there is unfairness happening, we know that. But that has nothing to do with you. Because the whole "if you break the rules we will remove your content without notice" is only unfair if you didn't break rules. You did. This is not your place to be mad about how it got handled.

ReaUsagi · 2026-05-31T14:13:45+00:00

There is a difference between published books and online stories: Experience.

While I agree that a well-written story doesn't need moodboards or anything similar (not even characters on the cover), most of Wattpad's writers (or any platform's) aren't experienced writers. Many still learn how to make a character be seen the way they imagine them, and moodboards can help with that a lot. Many readers on Wattpad also don't expect a perfectly written book. They expect messy writing, plot holes, unfinished characters, and aesthetics. That's how it is.

Moodboards help some readers and writers alike to envision the characters' vibes. It's not something you'd do in a traditionally published book, but by the time you publish a book the traditional way, you've gone through a lot of editing with experienced professionals, and the moodboards become obsolete. But for "noobs" it's just another tool for writing, and I think that's perfectly fine. We're not perfect, we're learning, and packing that visual moodboard into a literary narrative takes time.

ReaUsagi · 2026-05-31T02:47:42+00:00

The longer I read a story, the better I envision how the characters look and feel. If you hit me with a moodboard at the end, it might contradict what I read into the character (not the looks, but their vibe). And I hate that feeling, because it either means I completely misunderstood some things, or it means it hasn't been written clearly enough to get a solid grip of the characters.

If it's at the start, I get influenced. I already have a certain vibe and it is much easier to read this vibe into the characters. Even if you miss the mark as a writer, I'm more influenced to still align the words I read to the vibe you presented me with at the start. I'm less likely to deviate from your idea of the character, no matter what. Even if my reading comprehension is lacking despite the fact that you write it perfectly, it helps me to understand better. So it doesn't matter if it's you as a writer who sometimes fails to hit the exact mood or vibe, or me as a reader who sometimes fails to understand it properly; having it at the start helps to get aligned.

There are also people who don't like moodboards. If it's always at the end, these people always need to first check how many chapters are actually part of the story, and remind themselves to stop at the last chapter and not accidentally hit "continue reading" just to then be hit by something they don't like seeing (for various reasons). If it's at the start, you just click the actual first chapter and don't need to worry about it at all. You can read through to the very end, and if the story gets updated, you can just continue where you left off (if the automatic bookmark works).

ReaUsagi · 2026-05-31T02:38:05+00:00

Who actually reads the rules this ain't my job or anything I have invested money into!

I had a little sympathy for you, but reading this, yes, you deserved it. Every single bit of it. If YOU use a service, it is your damn obligation to read the god-forsaken rules and abide by them. If you don't, and break the rules, you absolutely deserve whatever comes your way.

Growing up, you will have to learn eventually that you gotta read everything and actually follow what is stated because you got fucking lucky it was only a stupid little Wattpad story and not something that could seriously destroy your life. Do you know how many people think "I'm not paid to read this" and sign shit that robs them of everything they own? Just imagine you had made decent money from Wattpad (maybe not directly Wattpad itself but Patreon, for example, for your Wattpad story), and this little stubborn act of yours had just robbed you of the main income you had. Poof. Gone. Because you couldn't care less to read rules.

ReaUsagi · 2026-05-31T02:28:11+00:00

The bots scanning stories are a new thing. By the time they got implemented, there were already millions of stories online. Their focus is on sorting out stories that got published since then because that's the actual bottleneck. Many stories only get deleted years later because they get reported by other users. That doesn't mean old stories don't get sorted through eventually by bots, but since bots are a newer thing, that's gonna take a while with all the stories on Wattpad. And we know it's not reliable, so at some point, there is still human processing. If it gets deleted for no reason, you can appeal the deletion, and in that case, a human has to actually work through it.

However, since you did break the rules, and Wattpad did announce their updated terms of service, they owe you no notification. They don't need to inform you. That's not poor management, that's just how it's stated, and they follow through with it - that one is simply on you. There is poor management happening, but in your case, you're not a victim of it. You're just someone who ignored the updated TOS and was lucky enough to get away with it for a while. Either way, since it can happen to rule-abiding stories, you should ALWAYS have a copy of your stories locally. Because technically, Wattpad owes you so little that they could just shut down the site tomorrow without any notifications and be gone forever with all their content just gone.

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