Interviews With Wattpad Authors

Interview With CrayonChomper

I interviewed CrayonChomper next because I fell in love with her story Not All Blondes Do Backflips, which has over 8 million reads as of this interview. Just like all of the other authors I have interviewed, CrayonChomper is especially talented when it comes to writing, so without further ado, here it the interview:

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What inspired you to write not all Blondes Do Backflips?
There wasn't any one specific thing, actually. I wanted to write a story about a girl who'd just moved to a new town and I had a rough draft penned. Then while I was riding a car, I heard a Beatles song and realized they would be a good band to be obsessed with and name your kids after. I also had the idea of how funny it would be if two people named Barbie and Ken had a daughter that wasn't very ... Barbie-like. But the real kicker, I guess, was when I was writing the breakfast scene. When Lennon threw the spoon at Paul's head, that sort of cemented her character for me.

Who is your favorite author?
I don't have one favorite author (or favorite book) because that choice changes depending on my mood and what I want to read. I do like a very wide range of authors (but all of them very good), a few of whom are Jane Austen, Chuck Palahniuk, Stephen King.

What was your reaction when you hit over a million reads? How did you feel?
I think I was just mentally chanting "this is really happening, isn't it?" I just couldn't believe it. I don't really remember my reaction that much to when I hit one million reads because what I remember most was when NAB was just starting out, when it only had the first chapter up. It was getting so much attention in so little time and I didn't know how it was happening and I can still remember going "What the heck is going on?"

Is there anything specific you did to have your story(s) become so popular? If not, why do you think you did so well?
I'd like to say that my stories are well-written and entertaining and that I made my characters likeable and relatable but I'm not the only one on Wattpad who has books that are well-written, entertaining and with relatable characters. At the beginning, I did try to advertise NAB (also UITA) when I was starting out. I posted on people's message boards asking them (politely) if they could check out my book and I also advertised them in the Humor and Teen Fiction clubs. But as much as popularity is about skill, it's also about luck. Because, to be honest, I don't know how NAB got so popular. To this day, it's still a question I can only shrug at.

Are there any writers who influenced your style of writing?
Every writer's style is influenced by all the things they read, hear and even see so I'm not sure if I can name one specific writer. But I think my actual writing is actually more influenced by sitcom writers. I enjoy sarcasm and satire a looooot and there's no better way to know how to write comedy than to watch actual comedy TV shows or movies (and parents say nothing good comes from watching TV pfft).

Can you relate to any of the characters in your stories? If so, who and in what ways?
I can relate to all of my main characters simply because I try to live in their shows in that small time frame that I'm writing their story. I can relate to Sara of UITA because I'm oblivious, I can relate to Lennon of NAB because I sometimes feel like I'm nothing more than just a bitchy and mean person (plus I'm kind of sarcastic too haha) and Joe from AAB because I feel too much and I think too much. I can relate to Addie of BLBB (even though I haven't written her story much yet) because I know how it feels like to know someone so irritating you want to just swat them with a fly swatter (or the flat side of a shovel) and I can relate to Taylor of Stylized because I too live in loose tops and leggings and am in desperate need of a change, fashion- and lifestyle-wise. As you can see, I may or may not have a personality disorder.

Before your stories became so popular, could you ever imagine yourself to be in a such a position?
No. I was honestly just too giddy to actually have living breathing people reading my books to care about being popular. What I cared (and still care) about was that my work was being read. If anything, I just hoped there would be a good number of people reading my book but I never imagined it would be at the level it is now.

How did you find out about Wattpad?
I was in my local bookstore, saw Beth Reekles' book The Kissing Booth and it said something about Wattpad. I decided to check it out and I've been addicted ever since.

Do you have any advice for up and coming Wattpad Writers?
Write. Read. Repeat. The more you write - and the more you read - the better you get. Write the kind of story that you, yourself, would fall in love with and trust me, you'll have people falling in love with it as well. Wattpad is about making friends with people who enjoy reading and writing just as much as you do! So say hi to people and don't be afraid to be yourself and be as wacky and weird as you possibly can be.

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Thank you so much to CrayonChomper for answering the questions I asked her! Go check her out, and make sure you follow her. I definitely recommend you check out her works.