<This post may sound like a rant. If you are in a bad mood, you may want to steer clear of this.>

What is Detox?

Detox is short form of Detoxification. According to Dictionary.com, it is the process of removing toxic substances. The word is mainly used in the biological context. If you are passionate about health and fitness, you would have heard and said 'detox' plenty of times.

Types of Popular Detox

1) Body Detox: choosing healthy ways such as diet, exercise, meditation, etc., to eliminate toxic substances from the body.

2) Digital Detox: a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world.

3) Wardrobe Detox: Overhauling your closet to keep only those clothes that you fit in.

Why am I thinking of Detox?

I am thinking of Wattpad Detox. I joined WP in January. The reason was because my fandom friends were making the move and I swam in the same current. After coming here, I noticed the need to promote a story. It felt challenging and gave me the idea of writing my first fiction story.

It was very difficult to get readers for a fiction that didn't belong to a fandom. The book contests came as an option. I entered into as many as I could. I also volunteered as a judge for some. There were some real gems I got to read. I was enjoying the process.

However, unknowingly I had booked myself as a judge for some contests. Just my luck, all of them went into judging phase in June-July. I was suddenly trying to read 8 - 10 books in a day. I had my eyes plastered to my phone screen, reading as I walked, as I met my friends, as I travelled, many times even missing a step. The stress even took a toll on my health. I didn't back out as the contests were reaching the deadline and I would feel eternally guilty of pulling out at the last minute.

This chaotic July made me question why I was pushing myself to such extent. Because someone else was doing it for my book in another genre. Just reading and scoring a book is not same as being the reader, I realised. At the end of the process, as a writer, I get a sticker to place on my book and a load of followers who probably never even open my profile, let alone my books.

I'm grateful to everyone who read my books and followed me genuinely because of the content I write. However, the follows from the contests did nothing more than increase the count on my profile. My book is currently at 850 reads with 20 published chapters, despite 350 followers. It's because half of them don't care. I too as a participant fall in that other half who only follow them because it is a requirement.

As I recover from my sickness, I have decided to do a WP contest detox. I want to turn to reading stories I want to read, from the start to end and follow those writers whose books I love to read.

Three ways I am detoxifying

1) Pull out of the contests. It is only fair that I don't participate in those of which I can't fulfil the requirements. Also, I will take down the stickers or any awards my stories have won so far.

2) Unfollow the users whose books I don't read. I have hardly interacted with them, so it shouldn't be an issue.

3) Read the books I like. Finally, I can get the to-read list that's lying in my WP library.

Ending Note

The opinions stated above are made with good intentions, not to offend or hurt anyone. It is from what I have experienced. It is my decision to step back from the contests.

If you are new to Wattpad, contests are still a good place to start, as some of the winning stories deserve your reading time. Just take note to not sign up for something you can't deliver. The organisers work really hard and tend to lose their temper due to the amount of work on their end. As a participant, please do your best to keep your calm and try to embrace the competition.

Let me know your thoughts regarding contests. Rants are welcome but no bashing please.