Of The Week

Author of the Week | lydiarse

Congratulations to our newest author of the week, lydiarse.

Lydia has been a member of Wattpad since March of last year, and has received quite a bit of support, with 4,000 fans. The reasons she has been chosen as author of the week range from her talent to her presence on Wattpad, which makes her the perfect package for this award. Her novels are insightful and genuine, quite unique in Wattpad.

Chasing Lacey North, the first story in a series of three, is about a guy, Drew, who chases the girl of his dreams around the country, following her by her Twitter tweets. What makes this story a must read is the narration: it's funny, clear, and adorable, making the reader wish that it was them who was being chased by Drew. The language is very unique and sophisticated, and this novel not only shows Lydia's immense talent but a refreshing look on love and adventure.

Quote: "Drew always thought that to chase somebody was to unwantedly pursue them with malicious intent." (CLN Chapter One)

A Word of Thanks: I am honestly so overwhelmed to have been chosen as the author of the week: this is a project that I follow religiously and I always check out and follow the authors of the week, so to be one of them is incredible. My first reaction was to go ‘holy crap, Mum and Dad, look at this oh my goodness’ and then proceed to give them the entire history of Wattpad and Of the Week. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be recognised in this kind of way, and such a fabulous project. I can’t thank you all enough, those of you who have read and enjoyed my works. I am in a constant state of amazement at the support I receive and this is just the delicious cherry on top of a fab year on Wattpad.

Some Tips: I know for a lot of people, this is really hard, but you have to be proud of what you write: if you don’t deem it worthy, why should anybody else? I legitimately love everything I write at the time of writing. While I may look back on it and cringe, I love what I write and I love reading back on it – I am proud of myself and I am proud of my writing, and I can’t imagine how it must be to not have that. You may not be the best, but you can damned well try. But that can’t happen if you don’t believe in yourself. Lastly, watch people. Learn people. Breathe people. What do they wear? Why? What are they doing? Pick up on habits and make note of conversations.

I am constantly sneaking notes into my phone when I pick up on an interesting snippet of dialogue – working in a primary school at the moment as well as being a frequent public bus traveller, I get a ton. It is one of my favourite parts of writing and life: noticing people and the little ticks. Learn to love waiting in queues and sitting squashed up on public transport. There is always something to glean from that sort of situation. While it may not ever end up in your writing, it builds character. Actually, linked to that is the actual last bit of advice: please, please, please love your characters. They can be evil as hell but if you love writing them, people will love reading them. Know them inside out. My planning is filled with little details that will probably never see the light of day but they give me a full idea of who my characters are. It is so important to get right down to the nitty gritty.

I’m so sorry if this was more like a lecture – I guess I had more to say than I thought! I’ll stop here to keep you from sleeping. Once again, thank you ever so much to Anne and to everyone who has ever contributed to this incredible project, and I am mind-bogglingly honoured to join the ranks of authors of the week.

Congrats to Lydia again!