Title alone, I bet you can already tell what I'm going to talk about because we're smart like that, right?

   Jokes aside (even though I'll be using gifs to not make this sound too harsh), I've been meaning to write about this for about two weeks now.

   I have all these mixed feelings regarding WWE AWARD BOOKS, and I keep putting it off because a) I get lazy, b) how do I express my feelings in a c) coherent but d) not too serious manner?

   Also, how do I not hurt people's feelings? That's the biggest thing for me. I never intend to hurt anyone. I never make a comment to put someone down.

   Yet, that's hard to do sometimes because I feel like the WWE fandom here is infested with quite the young souls. Now, that's not a bad thing. I celebrate writers and encourage writing. 

   The thing is, maturity can be quite low when dealing with a bunch of kids. I'm not here to say, hail me, I am here, the mature adult.

   No.

   I know that often times, I can be wrong. I have gone out of my way to apologize for some of the things I've done in the past that I'm not too proud of. I've made amends with anyone that once ticked me off during a weird phase here on Wattpad about a year or so ago.

   All of that said, I would like to go the extra mile and disclaim that I am not trying to put these award books down, nor the people that run them.

   This is not a direct jab at anyone, it's just a census of what I've seen, my thoughts about it, and an in-depth analysis of my pros and cons about award books.

   I can be a of a very black + white mindset, which means that naturally, I see the good and bad to everything.

   Right when these award books started, I thought it was a great idea. I really did think it was a cool and innovative concept because no one had done it up until that point.

    The first time I noticed one was maybe Summer of 2016? And that's the thing, in 2016, I only saw maybe two (at most) pop up.

   Now, specifically during this summer, a shit ton of award books have sprung up and it's getting quite tragic considering they're all the same ...which brings me to the first negative / con.

 CON # 1: [ CATEGORIES ]

    Same categories, 

same people voting, 

same winners.

-mychemicalrollins said it best in her book { Rants & Things Pt.2 } when she nailed down the what could be the solution to these books— ❝if you're going to create yet another award book, why not already look at the existing ones?❞

   I am genuinely curious if the people who create these books look at other books. And not just to 'copy' but to actually include categories that have been left behind.

   Not only that, but to maybe hopefully wheedle out people that keep winning solely to promote underrated books.

   As Monica mentioned, there should be more categories like best book under 1-5k, most creative plot, best use of a supporting character, etc.

   Basically, more diversity because I know there is more creative categories to the #1 Fan of whomever.

   ( NOT GONNA LIE, WINNING THAT #1 CM PUNK FAN AWARD WAS PRETTY COOL BECAUSE I KNOW I GUSH ABOUT HIM NONSTOP, BUT I NEVER KNEW PEOPLE REALIZED IT, YA KNOW?)

   That aside, these categories need to be more thought out. What about giving more attention to a specific moment in stories? Some of you people out here are amazing at writing comedic WWE stuff.

   Why not highlight something like "funniest moment in a wwe fanfic" or "funniest dialogue / quote in a wwe fanfic"

   Going through those is not only fun, but it can force people to *gasp* write as opposed of the sometimes shitty nominations I see where they don't even spell the book title or author's name right. 

   If you're going to vote, don't be half assed about it. Half assed voting gets you a piece of shit like Donald Trump, okay?

Okay.

CON # 2: [ MOTIVATION KILLER ]

   Welp, okay. 

   So about say two-three weeks ago (I'm terrible with time), I saw this post that made me quite upset. 

    Not upset at the person, but you know, just a little iffy. I gave my insight only to try to perk the person up, but I guess I failed and I should have known that would happen because I'm not particularly great at giving advice / lightening the mood up.

   Sorry, Violet here is more of a curmudgeon. 

   I try, tried.

   Anyways, to sum it up for you, this person attributed not being voted into these award books as the reason for un- publishing their works.

   This wasn't the first time I read about something like that. I've since seen people delete their books because they weren't ❝good enough❞ to be voted for.

   Now, I get that it can be discouraging ... but the more I think about this, the more I find a counter argument for it.

   And before I do that, let me preface this — Yes, I've won plenty of awards. No, I'm not bragging. Did it feel good? The first time around, hell yeah! Some of these awards even surprised me.

   WITH THAT SAID, can we all realize that these books didn't start springing up till Summer of 2016? I may be wrong, but that's the first time I noticed them / got voted in for it.

   Now, this is all through my perspective, but bear with me. I've been here since April of 2015, April first to be exact (only a jackass like me would join on April's fool).

   I wrote and wrote for a whole fucking year before these award books sprung up, and never once did I think, ❝gee, an award book nomination would really fucking motivate me.❞

   This said, I can totally see how an award or nomination alone can bring some motivation to a person ... but it's only temporary, no?

   I mean, I fucking love to write and no amount of award losses / wins will change that. Maybe it's just me and that's how I'm wired, but never once have I sat down to write anything that's been nominated + a winner and thought, ❝ah yes, this is the book that won this and that award.❞

   FUCK NO!

   Hell, if we're being frank, I have forgotten what books even won what / what I've been nominated for. 

   Okay, not entirely. About a month ago I got nominated as most Inspirational / Kind / Creative (NOT BRAGGING), and that meant a whole lot to me because it's what I aspire to be.

   I'm no special pony because I know plenty of people who fit that category, but it what a nice change from the whole "aye you got the best saige fanfic that has won multiple awards."

   Back to the whole being here since 2015 thing, falling out of love / losing motivation for books happens. It's a real thing, and I've been through the rut of it.

   That said, is it really fair to blame an award book for it? If you've lost interest in something, own up to it. Leave it be and then go back to it. Maybe then you'll find some new found love for the project again.

   CON #3: [ POPULARITY VOTE ]

    Here's another factor that makes people think these books are rigged (which some are, but then again, what isn't?).

   Three days ago I read a rather nasty post here on Wattpad where someone started out by saying, ❝RIPPING BLOODSEN + , + , + A NEW ONE❞

   This person called me out along with a few other writers about how she's sick and tired of us winning and that we are only winning because of our large audiences, and that we don't know how hard it is to get views for a book.

   Aiy. So this person shut their account down. It was a troll account— the one with a few followers, the kind that is only made to spread hate and then cowardly shuts it down.

   I couldn't respond, not that I was super bothered to because I've taken to just ignoring / muting anyone that sparks me as petty.

   So I've thought about it since then, and I see her point. So dear person behind that now shut down hateful account, if you're reading this, please read this thoroughly.

   Yes, a large number of following in one person does add to the voting numbers. Apparently, a large following means popularity.

   But, just to address the things that person had to say, let me begin by saying that:

JUST KIDDING!

   I felt vomit rise in my throat at trying to say that a la Gretchen Weiners style. In all seriousness though, It's really not up to me if I'm voted or not.

   It's not like I'm telling people to vote for any of my books. I realize that a few chapters back I said vote for me if there's ever  #1 Bray Wyatt fan etc, but I hope you all know I was being sarcastic.

   I mean, I do love Bray Wyatt more than JoJo, but you don't have to ... just putting it out there, ya know?

   I cannot control people who choose to vote for me. The only thing I can do is thank them, because even if these awards don't instill motivation or inspiration in me, It's just really fucking nice that someone took the time to do so.

   Fuck, I may not like my works but if they do, I can't hold it against them.

   If I was so concerned about my popularity like this person said, I would still have my shittiest works ever, published. My shittiest works ever? My Ambraige trilogy. 

   Dear god. The stuff I wrote in it still makes me cringe. Don't you think it pains me a little to know that my WORST works have the MOST views?

   Darkness has 87k reads, Unbroken 70k, and Genesis ranked up 33k before I un-published. I'm aware that somehow people like them, but I do not. 

   I write to please myself, thank you very much. 

   My second point here is that to ANYONE who has a large following ... so you know that when you make an account, you start with ZERO fucking followers?

   That means that yes, we know how hard it was to get views for a book. Now, I know that some people hit the jackpot and somehow get thousands of views for a book when they only have like, 30 followers, but I was not one of those.

   Sometimes that happens to people who genuinely, great stories, but most of the time ... it's just hitting the jackpot.

   I'm not being salty. I've been the happiest since unpublishing my most viewed stories. 

   Yes, I get it. I have 1.4k followers. Apparently people think that makes me real popular or something. But like, sometimes ... a chapter in my story only gets 50 views and yeah, it kinda kills me, but fuck it. 

   I like the story enough to keep writing it.

   When I was just starting out, I had quite the bad experience talking to people who had 500+ or 1K followers. Legit, I'd ask for advice and they'd treat me like shit.

   That's not the case with me. Yeah, so I have a lot of followers. And? No, I don't think I'm popular. No, I'm not stuck up. If you ask me for advice, chances are that I'll help.

   If you've ever sent me a message saying hi and I respond, ❝hi, what's up? what's your name?❞ and you respond with, ❝good ha ha❞

    and I did not respond ... I am so sorry but I don't know what to make of ❝good ha ha❞

   If I've ever not made a cover for you, chances are I genuinely forgot. That or, you requested something like, ❝Hey can I get Kevin Owens eating some Taco Bell? But he's on a mule, and oh! Chris Jericho is behind him and don't forget to put them in a tundra.❞

   ... how do I even? 

    Or, you just didn't follow the outline that I've provided for requesting. If you need a cover, read the guidelines, please!!

   Mine are quite simple. I don't make you follow me and my thousand of accounts, I don't make you vote for my stories or any of that bullshit that I've seen. I just ask for clear details.

   ANOTHER point I want to get to is book views. So it's another theory that only popular books are voted in for in these award fanfics.

   By popular, I mean books with 10k or lots of views. Now, this is probably true. But, don't go shitting on other people's works to make yours look better.

Like, it's okay to admit that sometimes, these books with 100k are actually fucking terrible, cheesy, and infested with grammar / spelling errors.

   That is no fucking secret.

   What's not okay is to bash A GOOD book because of it's views. Although some really bad books strangely get a ton of views, there's also REALLY GOOD books that get the viewing they deserve.

   ALSO, take into consideration that views stack up over time. For example, my Saige book (Skyscraper) had 5k-7k when I finished it up. It's been a year since I finished it and now it had 20+ k. 

    It hasn't gotten better since (lol). Time = viewership. At least in literature / writing / books.

CON # 4: GODLY TREATMENT

   It is okay to be proud of winning an award, so long as you don't let it inflate your ego. I literally saw the most petty conversation a few days ago:

   PERSON 1: Can you help me with my Sasha & Finn book?
   PERSON 2: No, but my Sasha and Finn book just won the best Sasha + Finn book, so if you check it out, you can learn from it. But don't copy me or I'll sue you.

   I am not kidding, I wish I could show the screen shot, but I am not that level of petty.

   IF SOMEONE WINS AWARDS AND HAS A LARGE AUDIENCE, DON'T FUCKING KISS THEIR ASSES! IN A WORLD OF JOHN CENA'S KISSING VINCE MCMAHON'S ASS, BE THE CM PUNK AND KEEP YOUR LIPS AWAY FROM POWERFUL PEOPLE'S ARSES, OKAY?

   Especially don't do it when you're only trying to get something out of someone. I shit you not, I had someone do that to me a few days ago and to an extent when someone congratulates me, It's like thank youuu, but then when you keep reminding you it's like ❝hahaha pls stop now.❞

   I've seen some people let these awards get to their heads, and in turn, become assholes. Listen up suckers, don't let these assholes get to you.

   I am not better than anyone. I am not better than you, yes you, reading this because I have 

"x" amount of awards. 

   I DON'T CARE!

   I appreciate the nominations and yes, sometimes I do feel good about it, but like I said, it is temporary! 

   I realize that I'm probably just repeating shit by now, but It really does make my blood boil when people use these award books as a way to play the victim card.

[ AESTHETICS ]

   Here's a random point, but I've seen people shit on others for this too. ❝So and so only won because her books have nice covers.❞

   Have you never heard of, ❝never judge a book by it's cover?❞ Granted, some people still do it. But, I'm here to defend this whole aesthetics thing.

   Do I personally care if all my covers match? Nope. Would I like them to? It be nice. Do I like having an aesthetic to my profile? Yeah, I try, but then It doesn't ever come out the way I want and halfway through making a shit ton of covers, I find myself not happy with it all and give up.

   Some of you out here are fucking phenomenal at doing that, and I applaud you. Seriously, I do. It's tough work aligning all your covers to fit a theme  / your profile, etc.

   THAT SAID, IF YOU REFRAIN FROM POSTING A STORY BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATCH YOUR AESTHETIC ... GIRL / BOY I AM JUDGING YOU. I AM GIVING YOU "YIKES, JUDGING YOU"  KENNY OMEGA LOOK:

To brush off all of this ❝popularity❞ shit that might come with my username because my books have significant amount of views, or my following ......

   Know that you can talk to me. I am not some god. Somehow people are intimidated by me and and I don't fucking know why. Maybe it's because I curse a lot, I'm sorry. Not really, I just curse a lot but I'm not a mean / bad person by any means.

   I am just a girl that loves to write. I am just doing my thing.

  To quote my favorite:

   Even if others might not think so, I feel like I'm doing okay. Regardless of numbers, I like what I'm doing right now and that's enough for me to feel good about it.

   You should feel that way too. If you like your book and know it's an improvement from your last, fuck the rest. 

Holy fuck, I'm 2927 words deep into this. Well, I just want to close this off by saying this: I love writing. 

   I love writing, and if you do too— please give it a try! Nevermind that your book doesn't get the views you want or whatever. 

   You got a ship you love? Fall in love with characters and a plot so much that you're writing for yourself. If you have these things, please consider joining another brilliant movement / project 
-MammaMia- started.

   Go follow wrestlingweek 

If you need to be sold on the idea, here's the concept of it straight from the page: 

❝Welcome to the page for all things Wrestling Week 2017! This is a week where our fandom can come together by writing for a wrestling ship we love. Be it from WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling, the independent circuit. You name it!

The week will take place June 25th - July 1st, and it involves writing your ship in certain scenarios based on the prompt of the day.❞

   The prompts are in the account page itself, so you'll have to give it a follow and check it out if you want to know them.

   I encourage everyone to try it out because I know so many who have wanted to start a fanfic but are too scared to commit to anything too long. This is literally only seven days, seven chapters.

   If you've been itching to give this a go, here's your chance! ^.^

   I will be participating in it myself, and I'll be publishing my works on my second account, summerofpunk .

   If you're participating, please let me know! Tag me in your stories and I will gladly read them.

Instead of focusing so much on the highs and lows of award books, let's focus on actual writing, aye? Let's make a project out of this summer and do something for Wrestling Week, aye? 

   People coming together to write for a week? 

   [ I AM ENDING THIS BY SAYING THAT YES, I'M AWARE THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO LIST SOME PROS TO WWE AWARD BOOKS BUT FUCK IT! I GOT LOST IN MY OWN SALTINESS. IF YOU HAVE PRO'S, LIST THEM DOWN. BETTER YET, YOU KNOW THEM. I AM NOT HERE TO CHANGE MINDS, I AM JUST STATING MY THOUGHTS AND OFFERING FOOD FOR THOUGHT / MAYBE A HELPING HAND TO BETTER THESE AWARD BOOKS ]

   Much Love, 
  a blabbering,
incoherent,
Vi.