These are the voices of our mentors and mentees from past and present. They've provided their insight about the program, their processes, the Wattys, and have shared their favorite Wattpad stories. Grab a cuppa and sit down with us as we get to know...
The Bootcamp Mentors are proud to present a spotlight interview with galarussauthor author of Love Strings. Check out this writer's works and give them a shout out in the comments.
BCM: How did you discover the Bootcamp Mentors and what have you found most valuable about the program?
galarussauthor: I discovered the Bootcamp Mentors in 2021 through one of my Wattpad friends. I joined it that year and didn't get selected but rejoined it this year and got a mentor of my dreams!
Both times the help with the blurb, summary, logline, cover were huge. In 2021, I updated the covers for all my books as a result of the help and advice I received. Now I actually like my blurbs. Having those items done in May helps with having them ready for the submission to the Wattys as well, as they only need some revision. No need to start from scratch.
BCM: What prompted you to start writing on Wattpad and what do you like most about the platform as a writer?
galarussauthor:Three things happened for me in a span of several months. I joined Toastmasters, which is an oral storytelling club; I joined my first in-person book club, and my friends were telling me I should try to write books; and I was going through my mom's old writing notes and translating her poetry.
Everything collided in October 2019, and I sat down and wrote three chapters of my first story Love Novice, which had been in my head for months. To keep going I needed accountability. I'm a social person, like to chat, and love having a community, so I looked for an online space where I could share what I wrote yet remain anonymous. Because I've been on Wattpad as a reader before, following Colleen Hoover writing one of her books on Wattpad real-time, the name Wattpad was familiar. I joined Wattpad in November 2019.
In addition to the community, I love that the readers are waiting for the next installment of the story, which motivates me to at least write one chapter a week. Not writing in a void and getting comments from the readers are my favorite things about being a platform writer on Wattpad.
BCM: What motivated you to write the story you're submitting to the 2022 Wattys?
galarussauthor:Love Strings is the second book I started writing, but the third one I finished. The leads are side characters from my first Wattpad book, Love Novice, and the readers were curious about what happened to them. So was I. Love Strings became the catalyst for the Love in Chicago Series.
Love Strings started as a combination of challenges. I write slow burn, but this couple with their lust-to-love relationship was talking to me, and I wanted to see if I can do their story justice. Love Strings was also my first dual POV narration, and I wanted to see if I can master this format, as I enjoy reading dual POV stories.
During the year-and-a-half of on-and-off writing Love Strings, I was working through my personal thoughts on career change. The question "Is this what you really want?" was a big theme in my life. It became one of the key themes of Love Strings as well. Plus, writing about how composing music and creating lyrics feels was an amazing undertaking and a reward, as I love that aspect of music.
BCM: If you had to describe your story in three words, what would they be?
galarussauthor: Self-discovery, music, future
BCM: Tell us one thing about your writing process that has helped you the most.
galarussauthor:Feeling what the characters feel, instead of observing the emotions from the outside only. I write in the 1st person present tense POV, and its special bonus is the intensity of personal feelings the writer and then reader can experience through the story.
When I write the scenes that are emotional or part of the internal world of the character, I make sure to feel what those evoke in my body. How crying tenses the muscles in my chest, so that every breath has to get through the tightness or remain uninhaled, or how anxiety makes my head run in a thousand different directions, uncontrollable, and spinning.
The next stage is finding the corresponding words for those feelings, exploring similes and metaphors. When I get the right ones, it's like locating a stick long enough to scratch the itch under a cast that's been driving me up the wall. Ahh. So satisfying.
Sometimes I think of writing as a special translation exercise, where instead of changing the story from one language to another, I translate the story in my head into the words that will make the readers feel.
BCM: Share two Wattpad story recommendations.
galarussauthor: I'm reading my mentor Taylor's moonraess Watty 2020 win Relative Fiction, and the emotional intensity is so on point. If you like impactful prose, new adult stories, themes of addiction, male narrators, and first-person POV, you'll love this gem of a story.
My Wattpad BFF and a fellow bootcamper dlcroisette is editing her contemporary romance True Blue for Wattys 2022. Although I loved reading the original version when she wrote it, I can't wait to see where she takes it with her edits. If you are into a second-chance, slow-burn, military-themed romance with a twist, this might be a perfect story for you.
Thank you, galarussauthor. We wish you all the best in your writing endeavors.
Stay tuned for more great spotlight interviews.
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