So tonight was the launch of the Corner Booth. Natsaninja has been making quite a splash in the Wattpad community, and this looks like it will be a fantastic panel this evening. You don’t have to take my word for it, of course. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYgFMXdmQ-0 . The #tcbwatt looks like the official hashtag for this project.
Overall Setup
So what’s in this? They started off introductions. This evening, the Booth held Mary L Tabor, Brittanie Charmintine, Jason Howell, Michelle Hayes, and Nat Bradford. Rita Kovach was supposed to be on tonight, but I think something happened (I missed the first few minutes, so that might have been mentioned; also the links will take you to their Wattpad pages where you can follow them and read their amazing books).
Then they had Cream and Sugar, where Nat let everyone give shout outs to the writers and readers on Wattpad they love. (I’m biased, but I absolutely agree with the shout outs for bnlfan’s Flawed and Redbank3k Sand. Such amazing people, good writers, and engaging stories! I’m sure that the other shoutouts will lead to good authors and stories as well, but these are the ones I have read. J)
Next came the Entrée. A great discussion called Start, Stop, and Continue. First, they discussed what they would do differently if they were starting again. Then they talked about pet peeves. The final bit of the entrée is what they will continue to do on the site.
After that came Pass the Salt, which is intended to discuss room for improvement on Wattpad, and then Check Please which is intended for closing thoughts.
Highlights
There’s some great content on the program. First of all, each of the speakers did a lovely job answering the questions and sharing insights into their journey on Wattpad and as writers. What’s even better is that their personalities shine through, plus you get some fun insight into who they are beyond the page. If you’ve read their stories (and I strongly recommend you do), you’ll certainly see that their personalities reflect just what you expected. Mary L. Tabor is elegant and articulate, Brittanie Charmintine is mischievous and delightful, Jason Howell is sincere and charming, Michelle is kind and thoughtful, and Nat is enthusiastic, engaging, and the perfect host. Oftentimes, people you know online don’t line up with what you expect from their writing, but that wasn’t the case here.
There were bits of wisdom from each panel member. In various forms, everyone on the panel encouraged generosity and graciousness. They also had plenty of tips, which I don’t want to spoil for you. One of the best points came from Mary when she said that people tend to look at their interaction on Wattpad as a zero sum game when that isn’t the case at all, and it shouldn’t be the case. Everybody can win. (Plus she gave a beautiful explanation of the importance of literacy, art, and heart and what emerges from Wattpad. If you only check out one bit, start at minute 49.)
Overall
The program has a great idea for the setup. The writers were fun to listen to. As a fellow writer and a voracious reader, I loved getting to hear some of the authors whose work I have so enjoyed sharing their experiences and interacting with one another.
I’ve seen a number of startup presentations, conferences, and talk shows on YouTube and in person. This was one of the smoothest I’ve seen. There’s good chemistry, good advice, and good flow. It lasted just about an hour, and time flew by. If this is where it’s starting, I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, particularly since the debut episodes are generally the roughest.
Wattpad is one of my all time favorite writing groups. I’ve met some splendid people, and the Corner Booth showcases why it is a great place. Not perfect but wonderful. So check it out! I hope you’ll enjoy it. The program was hosted live and will be running at 6:30 PM EST. It will be held on the Corner Booth for rewatching later.