Yes, the title is a bit weird, I know.

1+ represents the time I've been on Wattpad (which is almost 2 years now)
Featured because guess who just got the message from Wattpad?! ME!! I know right, I can't believe it as well.

Do you think I'm being pranked?

Here is some background story about Entwined. I wrote Entwined about a year ago (around July) because I had this amazing dream one night and was afraid that I would forget about it if I didn't write it down, so I did. That time (believe it or not), I don't have any pen or paper with me. I only had my phone and since my iCloud memory was low, I couldn't write on Notes so I wrote it down on Wattpad. Five chapters later, I wanted to publish it, mainly just so I could see the final product (and to know how it felt to publish a book). I knew no one would read my book (since I didn't follow anyone and didn't have followers either) so I published five chapters in a day, feeling so accomplished.

The first week after it was published, I could count the number of reads with one hand. But did I stop writing? No. I continued to write and write (and updated the book daily) because I love the euphoric feeling and the excitement of doing something that I enjoyed (Entwined was completed in 37 days with 55 chapters because of my extreme writing). When Entwined started to get votes and comments, I thanked everyone for the support given (honestly, I never thought anyone would want to read a book written by me) and replied to every comment. They called me 'author' and that was when I knew I could never stop writing so I picked up my pen (pen = phone = Wattpad) and never put it down since.

Phew~! Now that all caught up, I want to continue by saying that,

I honestly considered myself as a noob. I make lots of grammar mistakes and spelling errors, I don't write as good as other writers.

So when I opened my account yesterday and saw 2K notifications, I thought it must be because of the on-going #Wattys2018 season.

As usual, I thanked all of the people who voted or commented or added my book to their reading list. And then I scrolled down to reply comments. That was when I saw someone saying that my first book ever on Wattpad called "Entwined" was being featured.

I thought there must be some mistakes so I continued replying to comments. Once I'd done that, I went to check my inbox. This message below was there:

(Yep, my battery was critical at that time)

I was so shocked.

"Maybe they sent this to the wrong person. Maybe they got me mistaken for someone else."

I went to the Wattpad Featured List and tadaaa~! ♥

(IKR the notification bombs are shocking but I'm loving it!! Like I closed the app for 10 minutes and I got 500 notifications when I reopened like OMG?! THIS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!! I MEAN, I'M A NOOB FOR MENDES' SAKE!! 😱😱

Anyway I want to tell everyone here (especially my lovely angels),
BE PATIENT AND HAVE A FAITH!! ♥
It will happen eventually, you have to believe in yourself and your work.

I'm a huge believer. I know I'm not that good but I know if I'm so passionate about something, someday somehow it will work out! ♥
And I want all of you to have the same faith!

I know I've said this before on Twitter but I'm going to say it again,

To Wattpad writers out there,
Focus on writing and less on how many readers or reads you get. Write cos writing is your passion, something that feels as normal as breathing. Don't feel down by the number of reads. You should be proud that you have the courage to publish your book.

Believe in yourself and believe in your work. When you're so passionate about something, somehow it will work out eventually. You need to be patient and have faith. In the meantime, enjoy writing because writing gives you the pure joy that other stuff won't be able to give ❤️

In my opinion, the writers who succeed are those who were stubborn enough not to let the number of reads or votes bring them down. So don't worry about that first, focus on your writing and doing something that you love and enjoy.