Five Nights at Freddy's

One Year Later...

August 12th, 2014. Why is that date so important to me? Because it's the day I was introduced to a game that would forever change my life.

I'll never forget it. My mom was running errands and I was stuck going with her. She went into a friend's house to drop something off while I was in the car. I knew she was going to be a while, so I pulled out my phone and checked YouTube. That's when I saw Markiplier had released a new video.

WARNING: SCARIEST GAME IN YEARS!

I couldn't see the game title after that, but I decided to give it a shot. Man, am I glad I did.

When the game started and I heard what the guy on the phone said, I was immediately intrigued at this game! I mean, animatronics roaming around at night that would kill you because they thought you were an endoskeleton? Genius and unique, in my opinion.

Then there was the end of the video. Everything was calm (sorta) as Mark gazed at the screens. All of a sudden, a coyote-like thing is running down the hall! Next thing I know, he shows up in the doorway and screams! I won't deny I threw my phone a bit while breathing heavily.

It was that moment when I knew I was in love with Five Nights at Freddy's.

I kept waiting patiently yet crazily for the next part of the game to be released. With each part I got more and more amazed! I don't know why I found it so awesome, but I did.

Eventually, I started seeing fan art on iFunny. It was that moment when I realized I wasn't the only one who was this excited about a simple horror game.

I even started searching and watching other YouTubers to see their reactions. In fact, it's how I met one of my favorite smaller YouTubers, CoryxKenshin. Granted, I didn't subscribe and stay with him until FNAF 2, but still.

I began telling my friends about the game. A friend of mine who was crazy enough already got even crazier as she grabbed on to me when I showed her the video of Mark's playthrough. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who introduced her to Markiplier!

But despite my fanboy feelings towards this game about seemingly evil animatronics being possessed by children, I felt like I wasn't contributing to the fandom enough. But that changed when an idea came to my head at the end of August.

Sadly, I don't know the exact day this happened, but I remember sitting on my couch with the TV on and I was on Wattpad. I didn't use the app much, mainly because I wasn't getting very many views and votes. But at that moment, I began wondering if there were any FNAF stories people have written on the site. I had searched it up and found quite a few that actually looked (and were) good. But before I read one, a thought hit me: I already had an idea for what a FNAF movie could look like; why not make it a fanfic? With that, I went to the Create tab and started writing.

Looking back, I'm amazed at how much thought went into that first part/chapter. I recently decided to watch some YouTube videos for writing tips, and I had unknowingly followed a good majority of those tips, such as how to introduce the protagonist, how to indirectly reveal character details, and so much more!

More and more parts came out, and I soon realized I was actually getting views and votes and comments! And they were all very encouraging, to say the least. I pumped out more parts to that story faster than Scott Cawthon pumps out games! By the time I was finished, I was just amazed by so much.

What amazed me the most was that I soon searched "Five Nights at Freddy's" on Wattpad to read more stories...and I found mine at #2. And soon...it was #1! I realized that my simple, generic-titled, generic-descripted fan fiction was the #1 Five Nights at Freddy's story on Wattpad. I was speechless, physically and mentally.

At the time, I only had around 46K views, which, don't get me wrong, is a lot. But that's nothing compared to where it is now, on August 12th, 2015: 562K views!

To say this is my biggest and most successful story is certainly not a lie. I still don't know how I did it, but I managed to start my own little fanbase with one little book! I'm currently at 4.89K subscribers, and you can bet your butts I'll be waiting for the day I hit 5K! Which brings up the next point...

Sure, I wrote a few stories, but that alone, as I'm sure you know, isn't going to get them read. The only way to do that is to get people to read them! And if people didn't read my FNAF story...I can't guarantee it would've been finished. And that means the sequels probably wouldn't have been made, or at the very least have been in such good quality.

I get asked A LOT how I got people to read my story. I always reply with this honest answer: "I wrote a FNAF story. That's it." And it's true! I didn't advertise the story (Ok, maybe on Instagram, but it was already popular by then) and I didn't ask people to read or review it. It just...happened!

Yesterday, I reread my most successful work, and I kept smiling the whole time. I've come so far from where I started, not just on Wattpad, but as a writer. Whenever I feel like I'm writing something stupid, I look back at Five Nights at Freddy's and I realize I have the ability to make something great. But that still would be irrelevant if it wasn't for you guys.

My life on Wattpad has changed a lot in the last year. I've made great friends, I've read great stories written for me, and I've been treated like an idol to some. It's a really great feeling. But don't worry; with time and effort, I'm sure you could all get to that point one day :)

Finally, I just want to thank everyone who has supported me in the last year. I also want to thank Scott Cawthon for creating such an amazing game series that, yes, can be a bit repetitive, but it's about more than the gameplay; it's about the story and the fanbase.

With that, I'm done with my rambling. XP Thanks for reading this, guys. And I'm curious: what's your favorite book I've written on Wattpad and why?

Alright, my fellow Wattpaders; I'm out! And again, thank you for everything! I love you guys so much!

-Cole_Goodrich