so I thought it'd be fun to tell y'all how I wrote Turned and what inspired me
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It all began on a summer day in June of 2015; I had just finished a Draco Malfoy fan fiction, and I had no idea what to read next.
"What could possibly top the sensual redemption of my favorite blond ferret boy?" I wondered aloud to my nearly empty house. Seeing that my mom was away on a work trip, the only one to hear my cry for new literature was my drowsy grandmother who was deep into an episode of Jeopardy downstairs.
I scrolled for ages, seeking to find a Draco Malfoy fanfic that I hadn't read, but then I saw it.
Could it be? I thought while my finger lingered over the beautifully designed cover on my screen. No, not possibly I continued mentally denying what I ultimately knew would become my new obsession.
I had never known that people liked young Tom Riddle, or even thought about how hot he was for that matter, but it was all there in front of me: Modification by EmilyTheHorcrux
By the dim light of my lamp, my middle school-aged self read through the poetry-like writing of a new kind of story.
Finishing the fan fiction with my jaw on the floor, the sun began to rise over my small suburban neighborhood. I was amazed at the depth of which this character I had previously thought minimal in comparison to the others had received. Tom Riddle had always been Voldemort to me, but I was now obsessed with the history of the boy who became the Dark Lord.
Months later, I was set to go on a road trip with said grandmother and my own mother. However, our departure was interrupted when my grandmother informed my mom that she had allowed "Apple Tech Support" to access her computer.
Spoiler alert: it was not actually Apple.
In the first of what would be many hours at my grandmother's house, the police station, and various computer stores, I twiddled my thumbs with the pressing anxiety of what I could possibly occupy myself with.
I could read another Tom Riddle fanfic, I pondered on the warm couch of my grandmother's living room, the frustrated tone of my mom's scolding voice telling me that I would be here much longer than anticipated.
But I didn't want to just read another story. I had loved every piece of writing about Tom Riddle that I had read over the past month, but I yearned for a different kind of story.
Truly jumping right into it, still on my grandmother's couch, I made the cover for what would turn into the beginning of my writing career.
Turned, I decided. A simple title with enough leeway to allow for multiple endings in case I changed my mind about the characters' fates.
Over the course of that day, I wrote two chapters: the first and the last. I knew what I wanted my ending to be, and I began obsessively planning and researching the meat that would connect my beginning to my finale.
Through the next couple years, I would finish the story with way more attention than I had ever intended. I was shocked when people wanted a sequel, but I was happy to write it.
Increased was my first poorly received work, but I knew it was all part of the job (if Wattpad can even be considered that.)
I was in high school at this point, and I was only updating the sequel every few months, much to my audience's dismay. I felt terrible that I had slacked so much with this story, but the trials and tribulations of high school were keeping my mind in a darker place.
Fast forwarding to a couple months ago, I decided to go on Tiktok, as per usual, and I began scrolling down my For You page.
As my eyes scanned the video that played in front of me, I thought no fucking way.
It was the first of many videos under #TomRiddleFanfic, and I was absolutely shocked that this niche of fan fiction harbored a community on Tiktok.
I scrolled for hours, seeing the dark cover of Turned on many recommendation videos. I couldn't believe that people were still reading this story that my middle school self had dreamt up on a random trip of boredom.
Opening up Wattpad for the first time in almost a year, I couldn't believe the sheer amount of notifications I had. There were comments as recently as minutes ago being left on Turned and its sequel Increased.
I couldn't even fathom that people still read my work, let alone enjoyed it enough to comment and recommend it. This was the moment when I decided to make a comeback to Wattpad, slowly but surely.
In college now, I never thought I would come back; I associated Wattpad with middle school and "cringey" writing, but the community of people made me want to return.
So here we are, back to the present with me writing this chapter on the bed of an entirely different side of the country than I began my journey here on.
Thank you to the Harry Potter and Tom Riddle community for reading my work, and I hope to continue to produce stories that you'll love.
