Remember how I accidentally filled everyone with dread the other day when I posted my PWA19 tag and talked about my fears for our happy Pokémon community?

Sorry about that. I did not create that post with the intention of psyching people out. It never struck me how it could panic so many people so quickly 😅

Still, everybody seems to agree with me that this is a serious topic that holds an important question: How do we encourage people to begin writing freely and happily again? If we had an answer to that, so many problems we're currently facing could be fixed. And me being me, I became obsessed with finding a solution since the Pokémon fanfic community here on Wattpad means so much to me.

If you look at my last post, there are over 100 comments on that chapter. Reading through them, I found that almost everyone said they agreed with my little spiel. Writers are scared to write because they feel like their works won't live up to this invisible high standard believed to be set up by the community. They're intimidated by competition so much that their confidence in themselves crumbles and they lose their sense of self-love in their works.

I want this to change. I want people to be happy and write about what they want so they can have fun. The thing is that I can't force people to change their mindsets and instill them with the carefree ease I wish they would adopt. But I can think of a way of how to inspire writers to become more positive.

While talking to Jalactic about all of this, we came up with an idea.

What's something that everybody needs? Specifically, what do aspiring writers need? Microsoft Word? A comfy place to sit and write? Break snacks?

While these all are good ideas, Jay pointed out the best one: writers need support.

When you're down in the dumps and wallowing in a pit of despair you brought upon yourself, it seems like it's impossible to get up on your own. But what if there was someone there to give you a helping hand to get you back on your feet?

Today, I would like to proudly introduce the HeartSwapClub.

Jay, ImberLapis, an-tan_, and I have created this account with one purpose in mind: we want to bring people together in a friendly, wholesome environment to support and motivate one another and find joy in writing again.

Like,,, it's basically a support group for Pokémon fanfiction writers lol

Allow me to share my dream with you:

Imagine if Pokéfic writers of all kinds banded together to support one another. Rather than seeing each other as competitors, they see each other as allies, as friends. Smaller writers become less intimidated by the more experienced ones as they're kindly mentored on how to better their art. Writing is no longer an aggressive sport, but now it's a fun hobby that everyone enjoys.

Think about it. Who knows the pain of writing Pokéfics more than other Pokéfic writers?

The name of the game here is to spread positivity and strengthen the bonds of the community. We've definitely gone through some rough times here, but I think we can overcome them and grow stronger than we were before if writers are willing to work together.

The HSC can't fix everything, but it can make things better. We just have to go one step at a time, right? I'd rather try to make a peaceful, wholesome community and have it flop than to have sat back and done nothing at all.

Oh, and let me clarify this in case somebody gets the wrong idea: the HSC was not created out of spite for the PWA. If you think I would do something like that then I'm honestly hurt, and I don't think you know me well at all.

If anything, the HSC is here to support the PWA since we're trying to motivate writers to write again and gain enough confidence to enter competitions. Our intentions are pure, so please don't try to twist that. I seriously only want the best for our community. I can't emphasize that enough.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. I hope you consider joining the HSC 😊