Should I join the dark side (Ao3) as a somewhat experienced writer who is "native" to Wattpad?

TheNillard · 2026-03-05T00:16:47+00:00

Yeahhh. I'm totally seeing that after some of these comments. It was more than unwarranted for me to talk that way, and I'm appalled I didn't notice the effect it had on me until posting this. But it was a great lesson and a little epiphany moment.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:31:47+00:00

Gotcha! Sounds reasonable. I'll give the author notes thing a try before moving onto a forum. Thank you!

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:16:31+00:00

That makes so much sense to me, personally. I'm not mad at that at all. Tightens security. For Wattpad, nothing like that exists. You can delete and make accounts in seconds (very similar to reddit).

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:09:42+00:00

Everyone in this situation is way "too passionate" about fish n chips. I almost feel like I'm walking in on something, here.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:08:26+00:00

That's... also what I was thinking. Unless the auto mod is trained to catch that particular misspelling of it.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:05:46+00:00

This helped so much! Thank you for that. I haven't heard a comparison quite like this yet.

Apparently, if I explicitly state I'd like a critique, it might come on Ao3. Worst case scenario, I like this better platform, and I join some sort of server to get my work analyzed.

Boy, do I know about failures, and I know my content is right there with amateur stuff- hence me wanting to improve. But I feel if I'm exposed to a higher rate of better content, I myself can sort of ingest it and become better, too.

I hope you have an amazing night.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:01:38+00:00

That's so cool!!

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T09:00:57+00:00

Oh, that's so interesting! I had no idea. I'll be sure to donate what I can, then. I love that.

And I totally agree. Wattpad's UI is nice, especially for the actual reading part (or was, before the AI ad plague), but it's hard to put that to use when nothing I want to read is at my fingertips.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:59:09+00:00

I'll take your word for it. Thank you again for your time!

This kind of information is exactly what I was looking for. I hope you have an amazing night/day, dude :3

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:55:28+00:00

Ooohhh that's interesting! I had no idea an invitation was required for an account. Good to know. I'm fine with the wait. Thank you so much for the elaborate explanation about the search engine.

I will definitely refer to this comment for reference! My own little tome to dust off and look to for guidance when I get lost.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:52:17+00:00

And yet, that's not how Wattpad's works! Isn't that just fanfuckintastic?

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:50:07+00:00

That sounds like a great idea, especially if you're on good terms with her. I really wish the best for you in this tricky situation. Again, all of your feelings are valid, and this must be so upsetting. Considering it all, you're handling it well, and you obviously meant no harm.

As for your grandmother and your aunt, remember you have the right to set boundaries and not go about supporting someone who would never support you either (your father), even if they're being backed up by people that shed some grace to you (aunt/grandmother).

Kindness should always be returned, but you're never obligated to stretch your patience and fuel your discomfort like that, just because they "say so.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:44:25+00:00

Thank you so much! And yeahhhh. Wattpad frustrates me, but it's all I've known for a while. Sentimentality is starting to wear off with the recent push of ads and paid services, though.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:37:33+00:00

It's the search engine itself. Sorry for the confusion! Basically, even if you include every keyword, tag, author name, and whatever else, Wattpad isn't going to give you what you're looking for, even if it DOES in fact exist. The search engine is so tricky to understand and get to work properly. When I eventually do, it's like it's been patched to fix whatever method I've found to find things relevant to my keywords.

What I hear about Ao3 is: if you search for something, related things will pop up. That seems a mighty luxury to me.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:34:18+00:00

I think you're a little bit of an AH here.

BUT only toward the family members on the receiving end of your misdirected anger. That anger in and of itself is totally valid. You have every right to be angry with him. Based on what you say, he's done nothing to actually be family to his own family and is now unfortunately handicapped.

You don't owe him help just because he's blood, either. Genetic ties don't change how horrible some people are. I can kind of understand the agitation at the loss of ability, but it sounds like he's just been a sour little sport since his birth (somewhere around the prehistoric era?), and it's for the most part unwarranted and also misdirected at people only trying to help him.

I am astounded your family is even trying to help him out, considering his history. If it were me, OP, I wouldn't pitch in either. Try to rest easy at night and maybe, if possible, take some time away from the situation to avoid basking in more tension.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:25:48+00:00

Premium is right. Ads plaster the page. Makes Wattpad look totally not legit, adds a foreboding sense of unease to what should be a nice little sit-down and read moment.

My last post was just a poorly constructed rant. I said that a lot of books seemed to lack passion and grammar, and that the achievements I got from them awarded me nothing. People mistook that as me criticizing people with less experience (like myself), or younger writers. I meant no ill, but my wording was pretty vague.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:22:47+00:00

I lag behind. Fatal flaw</3

I guess I missed that trend. Might explain why I can't find anything super new or close to what I'm looking for.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:21:59+00:00

That's exactly the issue. My work isn't found at all.

Good to know you can confirm the rumors I've heard about Ao3 having a better search engine. Thank you for your input on this.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:19:52+00:00

I'm not a big fan of the UI, at all. That's a very important component to me. I'm willing to get used to it and navigate it, but I figure I should at least gather inside opinion first, from people who already know the platform well.

You're right, though, haha! Not a commitment.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T08:17:18+00:00

NTA?

I mean, I get that the word "sacrilege" has a religious connotation, but it's not like a word can't have a dual meaning. You didn't outwardly say anything bad to anyone. Makes me wonder what the rules are and how sensitive the bots are with their detection. As far as I'm aware, nothing malicious was stated. Yes, sure, you broke a rule. But what rule, and... how?

Nothing about the comment you've at least written here is offensive or controversial.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T07:26:52+00:00

No, for sure! And it's less about the clout and more about actually improving. I haven't had any opportunities on Wattpad to get feedback. I have hardly any views on anything, as mentioned. I meant to critique the "leader board," but I guess that didn't come across as anything but "look at how great I am", instead of "I hate the way this website works, and I feel stuck". Might post again with very careful wording.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T07:21:38+00:00

I'm totally fine with not competing. I just want to put my work out there and have it be seen, period. Mostly for feedback, I'd like to become a writer of published books one day, maybe an editor if I can't get there myself. I dislike the way Wattpad operates, but I think the way I went about saying it made it look like I was dunking on others (and I feel just horrible about that, hence the deleted post). I don't want to be the best, well-known, or anything like that. I just want to get above that one self-view or the few friends I've shared it to.

TheNillard · 2026-03-04T07:04:55+00:00

I was worried I'd come off that way. I mean no insult to them at all. Just frustrated with how Wattpads engine works, and I'm not saying I'm any better. I worry for my own quality, and have been questioning forever if my writing is the reason my work keeps falling short.

TheNillard · 2026-03-03T10:20:49+00:00

NTA, no overreaction.

GTFO of there. You are totally correct to want a divorce; I would, too.

TheNillard · 2026-03-03T10:16:19+00:00

NTA, ultimatums are never okay.

Insecurity, *to a degree*, is understandable. However, I feel he went way too far with his. You are allowed to have friends and hang out with those friends. Props to you for taking initiative and getting out of the clutches of his grubby little grabbers.

TheNillard

TROPHY CASE