Wattpad is about stories, right?

Wrong.

OK. Wattpad is about words, then. Right?

Nope.

Readers?

No.

Writers!

Not even close.

Well, that's not true. Wattpad is about all of the above, but not just one of them. One of the biggest, greatest things about Wattpad is its community. So, what's that? It's the readers who read the words and the writers who, gasp, write the stories! And more! It's the interaction. The friendships created. The comments and votes and support.

It has its trolls, too, unfortunately, but those undesirables are banished under the Billy Goats' bridge faster than you can say Thesaurus.

But, for the vast majority of the time, the Wattpad community is a wonderful thing. If I tried to count the number of people I have made friends with, and feel they're genuine friends rather than just internet pals, I'd run out of fingers, have to take my shoes and socks off and still not have enough digits. Every day, I open the app on my smartphone and thank people for their fab comments or for voting or following. Throughout the day, members of this Wattpad community put a smile on my face.

But it's not simply a bunch of people from all over the world, wrapped up in a bright orange W. The community extends and breaks out. It spreads its wings and flies, lifting spirits as it goes.

And, as a prime example, I'd like to announce that #ImShaunAllan.

Now, for many of you, that might not mean anything. For others, you might say "Of course you're Shaun Allan." But for others, you might stand up and say "I'm Shaun Allan!"

Make sense? Didn't think so. I'll explain.

Back in May, I was lucky enough to be invited to Wattpad HQ in Toronto. It was a life changing experience and I met some people whom I would never be able to properly tell you just how amazing they are. Staff and other Wattpad writers alike, every single one was a genuinely fabulous person. One person who I struck up an instant bond with was GregCarrico, author of the brilliant Children of the Plague. He and I became firm friends over the course of the 5 days we were there. After we went to the Blue Jays vs the Red Sox game, my first, Ashleigh (who works for Wattpad and had the pain of being sat next to me for the duration of the game) asked if I followed it. I said sure - the throwy guy chucks it to the sticky guy who hits it and has to run around the bumps.

I've seen Field of Dreams and A League of Their Own. I know the deal.

Anyway (or anywho, as Sin would say), during the live AMA (Ask Me Anything) we were asked what we thought of our first baseball game. Greg took it upon himself to grab the mic and, in his perfect (!) English accent - he's from South Carolina - he proceeded to give my explanation, as if he were me. Unfortunately, on the Youtube video, there were sound issues so you just see us laughing as I try to say I don't sound like that and everyone else says I do. Hmmm...

So. I mentioned this to Greg recently as I was talking about it to my daughter, who's just joined Wattpad. The next thing I knew, Greg messaged me to say how much he liked the new video I'd posted to the Wattpad's Squad Facebook Group. He said I had got better looking.

For information, Wattpad's Squad is a Facebook group (yes, I just said that) where Wattpaders can chat, rant, moan and have a laugh.

When I looked, he had recorded a new video of him giving the 'bumps' baseball explanation, saying he was Shaun Allan! It was, quite frankly, hilarious and so unexpected. I had to jump in and record it done properly, in a real English accent rather than Greg's pretend one. Job done, you'd think.

You'd be wrong.

Next, the joker that is TharronSkylor followed up with a video explaining how he was the real Shaun Allan and xxx. I recorded another to get back at him, then my friend Wayne_Sharpe threw in one of his - with him being Shaun Allan. Sin tried his hand (I'm not sure how he managed it from the asylum) and the ball started rolling (or, if you're Sanyukta readincloset, the cheese).

Before I knew it, the list of Wattpaders saying they were the real Shaun Allan grew to almost 30! There were explanations about golf being like pool, where you win by scoring a foul, Black Friday shopping, Nascar and so much more. People were even getting their children and work mates involved, and you could tell from their bemused faces they had no idea what was going on. Or who Shaun Allan was.

I'm now no longer sure myself!

rdiamond89 even changed her profile to call herself The 'Actual' Shaun Allan, going as far as using my profile picture. I was floored by that one! Coming soon could well be an original story, written chapter by chapter (shout if you'd like to take part) about what #ImShaunAllan is really about. Is it a subversive government conspiracy? Cloning? Aliens? Who knows?

The videos can be seen on YouTube, here. If you fancy giving it a go, get in touch and I'll add it to the playlist!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjT51rYgbptZl93AzbUSvB3UyfSVcfKHF

https://youtu.be/SAROi4SQIgM

Visit the Wattpad's Squad Facebook group to see the videos and to meet other Wattpaders (and maybe take part!). It's a great place where self-promotion is put aside in favour of chat, fun, advice, and ranting - but not at each other (the ranting, not the fun and chat bit).

Community. Its kinship, unity and cooperation and, in the main, Wattpad excels at these things. The staff do their best to promote this too, huddled away in Wattpad Towers (which isn't a tower but is definitely the sort of place every office should look and feel like). Your happiness is their happiness. It was never just about free books. From voting to conversations to conferences to campaigns and competitions and inline comments, we are encouraged to interact.

And, talking about conferences, the London Wattpad Conference (LonCon) is 3rd December! Are you going? If you are, say hi. Where else do you get the opportunity, or the encouragement, to do so? There's a huge number of people I can't wait to meet, though they might start running when they see me running towards them!

The Wattpad Community. It ain't a bad place to hang out, that's for sure.