Potterwizbiz - Book of The Month

April 2022 | Captain by @Alpacalypse

About the Author

Under the pseudonym Alpacalypse, Hanne, a 21-year-old Belgian wannabe-writer who was a massive Harry Potter fan a couple years back has now combined her love for writing and the Harry Potter world in a few Wattpad fan fictions! 

About the Story: Captain - An Oliver Wood Fanfiction

Premise

"What? No, of course not. You're joking right?" That's was Oliver Wood told Erin Evans when she had finally gathered the courage to ask him out on a date last year. He had stepped on her heart and didn't even seem to notice it. This year, Oliver Wood was going to be the last thing on her mind as she was going for Hufflepuff team captain. But nothing quidditch-related gets past the Gryffindor captain. When the two cross paths far more than Erin would have liked, indifference seems to become a thing of the past.

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What makes you start writing on Wattpad, and Harry Potter fanfic specifically? What is the thing you love the most about writing on Wattpad? 

 I've always been into writing, ever since I learned how to write. I discovered Wattpad when I was thirteen as a reader. I mainly read stories back then, but I always felt like something was missing. The stories never completely satisfied me. So I decided to write my own, exactly how I wanted things to go, how I imagined the characters etc. I published them to Wattpad because I absolutely loved (and still do) the interaction with readers. At first there were only a few comments, giving me feedback and helping me improve, and soon some compliments and suggestions rolled in. I gradually gathered a larger audience and now whenever I feel down, I just scroll through my comments, seeing the effect that my little creative outburst can have on other people. Knowing that I'm able to pull emotions from other people through writing just makes my day. 

In your story Captain, you've chosen Oliver Wood as the male lead. What makes you pay attention to this character in the original franchise? What is the inspiration for this fanfic? 

 I've had quite a few Harry-Potter-Universe-crushes, you can say, but I never noticed Oliver Wood much until one day I was scrolling through TikTok. I came across this gorgeous girl who made POV videos about the guy. I kept watching the videos because of Erin at first, but she slowly pulled me into the Oliver fandom. I mean, the man is VERY hot, and the accent, oh god. Anyway, I combined my two newfound crushes in Captain: it's about Oliver Wood, but the main character is inspired by Erin (I asked for her consent of course :D)

Your story revolves around the love between two Quidditch Captains, which means you have to include many Quidditch scenes and knowledge, did you face any trouble? Besides, according to you, what makes an intriguing romance fanfiction? 

 I always do tons and tons of research when I write fanfictions. Mainly because it interests me, but also because faults against the canon are a bit of a pet peeve of mine. So I reread most Quidditch scenes in the books, re-watched some scenes from the films and then read about everything about it on Wizarding World. I enjoy doing so, but it did take up quite a bit of time. I've learned over the years of writing fanfiction that the most important thing when writing romance is the in-between-phase. Readers are most hooked on your book in that phase where it's clear that the two characters have some attraction to each other, but they're not dating yet, when they're still in that what-if phase. Readers are cruel, they lose focus when the characters are happily dating. So most of my fics are slow-burns, with tons of troubles and drama to keep everyone on their toes. If you can mix that with writing a relationship that is not toxic and still mostly realistic, you have a good fanfic. I try to find that balance, but it's not always easy.

Every story is priceless to their authors. In that context what are your favorite scenes in Captain? 

 There are quite a few scenes in Captain I really enjoy. These are mostly scenes I thought of before even starting on the fanfic. There's this scene where the main character spies on the Gryffindor quidditch team with a pair of binoculars which I love. That TikTokker I mentioned, Erin, recreated that scene and I almost died when I saw it. Some other scenes I like are the "cloak-incident" (my readers will know what that means haha) and the scene where Erin talks to her dad. That scene still makes me tear up every time I read it because it's very emotional en very painful, but it carries a special place in my heart. 

 So if you were a Quidditch player, which position would you choose? And Why? 

 Oh God I think I'd be a terrible Quidditch player. I have zero coordination and even less balance so I think I'd end up in the hospital wing right away. If I did have any abilities though, I'd want to be a Chaser. That seems the most exciting position to me.

We often see new writers joining the fandom. What is your advice for new writers who want to try writing Harry Potter fanfiction? 

 I often get this question via DM and I always give two very contradictive tips, but it is true: 

i) Focus on your main couple. You can have a few important side characters and a side plot here and there, but if you start with four years of background and history of your MC before they even interact with the love interest, your readers will lose interest. 

ii) Don't rush into the romance. Focus on your two characters, yes, but don't jump into the relationship too quickly. Let it develop slowly. This is related to my earlier answer, where I said that I noticed that readers love the in-between phase. Focus on your couple, but take it slow. Let them become friends, then flirt a little, let something bad happen which they have to recover from again ... a relationship after 5 chapters is not the best idea. 

Still, I'm not even close to being a professional writer, so take this advice with a grain of salt. I just write because I really do love it and I've learned bits and pieces along the way, but it's a never-ending learning curve, especially on Wattpad, where there is feedback and critique behind every corner :) So just write what you want to write and do it because you love it. At the end of the day, it's your creative outlet and it shouldn't be anything stressful.

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