World Building of Mearth & of Earth

An OPEN LETTER TO WATTPAD HQ:

PLEASE protect the 'safe place' fragile hearts have always had here!

Dear Beloved Wattpad Creators,

For so many months I've wanted to send this letter. Now with Covid, I can't put it off.

The way that I see it, the most vital role Wattpad can play in the world right now is to keep giving 'place' to a voice for youth and marginalized people--to lend SAFE space for all to pour out our hearts, angst, fantasies, visions and whatever unity we see for ourselves as we process our own global and home-grown solutions!

That's what Wattpad IS, historically, and why it drew me as an activist and community organizer to our platform. I came here to be 'fearless', and not to worry about how my work might appear.

I came here because having a platform for youth and beginners to write stories and share feelings, without worrying about all of that more serious stuff (as it was from the start) was so important and just so terribly cool that it had to be, well—Canadian, eh?

So, I commend you, and I just wanted to share, I think now's the time to do so much more of it!

I've become a little--no, a lot—concerned of late, that the additional measures and singular focus put on professional works is taking away from all that's been great in the way of providing 'safe place' for our youngsters, who never before in their or previous generations have ever needed such a thing SO terribly much!

I urge and I beg you to do something like split up the platform to give homes to both:

- those just finding their voices, who have no need yet to mind their Ps and Qs, nor watch out for grammar or such trivialities as spelling, structure and polish. (...such a HUGELY silencing thing—if the attitude spreads and scares one person off!)

- and those who wish to pursue more professional works and possible paid outcomes. Yahoo! (But they would be years down the road from the bulk of casual writers.)

And at the same time keep us united!

I feel placing 'too much' focus on recent additions and changes has been fostering an atmosphere of hesitancy and self-criticism that I never expected to see develop on Wattpad itself—all over spelling and the enthusiasm of grammar in pursuing careers. (How many of us would that really be?)

Of course, I too feel the benefits of working towards having lovely professional grammar, but let's encourage that where the individual need really is. Should we diminish heartfelt, spontaneous outpouring of spirit and creative expression because everywhere we look the message has fast become one of dotted I's and fully crossed T's? I don't want to ever forget how much I truly DON'T care about all of that! I find expression and insight far more important. I love all beautiful minds here on Wattpad.

I don't want to see unspoken pressure facing our children and second language writers or less-resourced folks in their attempts to connect--not by way of critique, nor pressure of unwanted pacing. We just don't need more perfectionism to have to defeat in our lives.

Grammar is just so terribly unimportant when the cost to our youth might be increased self-consciousness, reluctance to share, and worry for careers so far in the future. Let's not diminish the rougher heartfelt storytellers among us.

Unconsciously, in our enthusiasm for paid opportunities, I think 'silencing' the shy and hopeful has been an unintended result? And this is no longer that time!

We're early yet in the Covid game, but every day, every moment, every action will count. I can't say strongly enough, how much our kids have to NEED Wattpad now to 'feel' safe and to open up, again—to have a positive, personal space, and not more grammatical competitiveness, however well-meaning. And who cares how we spell, "I'm scared and I don't know what to do?"

PLEASE protect the safe place fragile hearts have always had here!

Please encourage all people to voice in the ways that we need to "express" right now--what's going on at this time in our minds and our creative selves, given that protecting of kindness is the only true rule we should ever have.

I pray you already share how strongly I believe all of this and are able to take more brilliant measures to assure such leadership on the Wattpad platform for the sake of the world and our future—together, in voice.

Sincerely, from my heart to yours, please re-invent potentially damaging implications of "professional" where it might present barriers to 'the safety of place' as our collective leadership vision, for the sake of us all.

Thanks for hearing what I feel I must say!

:) Please be safe, all of you out there,

I welcome, as always, your thoughts and your kindness,

Wez