Interview with the Queens of the Infamous Rebel Town
If you’re a Wattpad veteran, you’ve heard of Rebel Town. We all know that some book clubs/critique groups are solid and some are a joke. Rebel Town has built itself a reputation as one of the more solid critique groups on Wattpad. It’s right up there with Next Big Recognition.
All over Wattpad, you’ll find comments that start with #Rebelbc. This group has a book club with a super organized schedule and strict member requirements. But in addition to this critique exchange for members, they also coordinate reviews and beta reads for members and non-members alike.
They have a graphics shop, a magazine curating all the hottest news in Rebel Town, a hall of fame, and have done anthologies and contests. Rebel Town is awesome!
Imagine my shock when I found out that a writer I’m friendly with mentioned that SHE is the one who runs Rebel Town. I said, “WHAT? That’s you?! Rebel Town is awesome and it looks like so much work!”
She agreed to give me an interview, along with her partner, and the two of them told me all about the ins and outs of Rebel Town.
Who are the leaders of Rebel Town?@Pfunzo18 is a very popular wattpad author with over 7k followers. She writes romance and BWWM among other genres.
@Rasha007, also known as Dee Rasha. Dee writes romance, erotica, and fanfiction. She is a cofounder of The Dead Room, a wattpad profile for Walking Dead fanfiction and a cofounder of Tales of the Slayer a profile for Buffy fanfiction.
Dee also has stories in two anthologies launching on November 19th.
She has a very sexy erotic short in the anthology Secrets
And she has a sci-fi alien romance in the romance anthology Love at First Sip.
Both books are available for preorder now! Secrets preorder | Love at First Sip |
Without further ado, my interview with Diana and Pfunzo!
So you guys have been running the Rebels critique group on Wattpad for quite some time. How did you get the idea for that group?
What has the experience of growing the Rebels community been like?
Diana: I am not actually the original founder of the @Rebel_Town community. The very first round of the Rebel book club was posted July 18th, 2017, the same year I joined Wattpad. As many new Wattpad users, I was rather lost on the site, couldn’t find anything and so I joined forums and found me a group of adult users. I chatted with them and they were just talking about creating their own book club because the ones they found on the site were full of kids and they wanted an adult opinion on their work. At the time, I had one fanfiction written and was very insecure about it, but then I thought “Well, how will I ever get better if I won’t hear any critiques?” And so I joined. That book club was amazing but the person who managed it got busy with life and never handed it to anyone and so it fell apart rather quickly. I really loved the feedback I received there though and so I went searching for another book club to join. That’s when I found Rebels. The club was led by two girls Jeanette & Gisselle and was only in its beginning. The round I joined was the 10th (just to give an idea, we are now on round 160) and they asked me right away, if I wanted to join them in the ‘leadership’, first as an enforcer and then to manage the club with them. Not being a trusting person by nature and not really used to online interactions at the time, I was hesitant but after several conversation accepted. I soon realized I was asked to join not only to help figuring how to better the book club but also to solve their disputes as the third voice… not long after I joined them Gisselle left.
Save for that initial storm, the beginning of the Rebel club journey was an amazing experience. Back then Rebels worked as a really tight group. I used to know everybody’s username and, in many cases, real name. We had a group on Slack where we chatted about anything and everything. On Wattpad we followed each other journey, supported each other in contest, and had fun on ambassadors’ profile events.
This more than friendly atmosphere was what made Rebels such a special group. While we read each other’s books and helped each other improve, we got to know each other, support each other in personal and/or professional lives. It was amazing.
During the four years journey, we created a tight set of rules and suggestions for our members. We have very thorough records of everybody who went though the club and their participation. Though it is true that through covid, everybody got super busy. Pfunzo and I are leading the club just the two of us for quite some time now and I must say that it’s no longer the chatty, everybody knows everybody community it used to be. But people still seem to find value in the critiques they receive there and that’s what matters.
Pfunzo: Some much of what Diana said rings true. If there is a book club out there, I am sure I have been a put of it. Well the old ones anyway. I just don’t have the time these days to participate in book clubs. I started the same way as Diana but I had been on Wattpad for years before I considered joining a book club.
Each one I joined seemed inconsistent and say may people who know will tell you, I hate inconsistency. If you have a rule, I want it to apply to everyone and not only a specific group, which is why I left all those other clubs. One thing, they either didn’t post on time, the feedback you got was generic and people seemed to be copying whatever the last person said although it read like the person did not actually read your book. Have you ever had it that someone asks you a question about the story and when you look back the answer is written right there on the page? Well, I found it frustrating.
It was pure luck that I found Rebels. Like Diana, I was not the founding member. I joined in Round 17. I was apprehensive about people online so for a while I was just cruising along in the background, doing my assignments and getting feedback for my books. I didn’t take part in Slack until I became an enforcer and then I got to really know everyone. What’s special about Rebels was that there were so many people from all kinds of walks of life and you could tell from the feedback that you would get. I joined the leadership (we sound like dictators) when Emily and Diana needed help and from there, the rest was history.
As Diana said, it is an ever-changing environment. Rebels of the Old were a chatty bunch. Sometimes I wonder if this new community is not as chatty because we are not as chatty. Granted, the world has changed a lot in the last few years and people come and go. They also come back, so maybe we are not doing everything wrong. I love being part of the community, I have learned a lot about myself, so that’s always a bonus. We have played mediators. It’s a real balance between diplomatic and showing that we can’t be stumped on at times. New people are always interesting, especially when they have been part of other communities and write their reviews as though they are Michelin Star world renowned Critics. Then, we have to guide them into being a part of our loving community- We are honest but we want everyone to use language that is encouraging and doesn’t take away the love of writing from others.
What have you learned from running Rebels?
Diana: I think the most valuable lesson I learned from running Rebels is to get all my facts straight and get the most information possible before talking to people about any issue at hand. Since not everybody can take critiques like an adult person, we used to have a lot of arguments over what was okay to say and what not. Or people deleting comments they didn’t like and we then couldn’t check their participation… I used to jump into conversation right away, but over the years, I learned to talk to each person, get as many facts possible and only then, if needed, make a group chat to solve whatever there was to solve. Though Pfunzo is still way better at it.
I also learned that solid records are everything 
Pfunzo: She says I am better but in all honesty we are a team. I think Diana and I do things very differently, but somehow our personalities compliment each other. Diana is very good with facts. For me, sometimes it’s not always what you know when dealing with people. When a person is having a bad reaction, at times it’s not at all to do with us. I try to bring the human factor into it and be compassionate. Diana is also very good at difficult conversations than I am and is very organized. If not for her and her spreadsheets, then I am not sure where we would be. So, what’s the biggest take away that I have learned from being a Rebel? Rules are necessary and stick to them all the time. We are also very transparent with everyone. I found that, it keeps us from having clashes with each other. I have also learned to be patient and to control my feelings. I was a different person before starting this. I am not saying I was the Hulk but I certainly have a better handle on my emotions. It’s probably from years calming down Diana lol (I hope she doesn’t kill me for that one).
What advice do you have for people who want to give great critiques?
Diana: In my opinion, the most important thing while giving a critique is to not tell the author how ‘you’ would write the story, tell them how to make ‘their’ writing better. Meaning, if you know your grammar, of course you can help another person with that without thinking too hard about it. But if you go deeper and comment on the plot, pacing, character arcs etc. many reviewers slip into “what would I do” mindset. Though that’s problematic because every author has their own style and voice and once you start to suggest things ‘you’ would do, it stops being critiques to help but critiques to make the story your own. It’s something that sounds easy at first but is actually really hard to follow through.
Pfunzo: I agree with Diana ( I think I am beginning to sound like a parrot). So many of us come from different backgrounds, education systems and different life experiences. Personally, I am not a fan of commenting on someone’s style. Write flashbacks this way, or insert a memory like this. That’s mainly because I change my writing style all the time. Sometimes I do it to see if something would work. I am ever-changing how I write depending on the story. There are the obvious things to comment on: Character development, pacing, grammar etc. You might suggest changing sentences to make them more impactful- As writers sometimes we do like longwinded sentences. While we focus so much on what’s going wrong, I think it is as just important to tell a writer what you like and how it makes you feel. I am a huge fan of inline comments. I live to see the comment section of anything of any of my books. Are the characters affecting your emotions in anyway? Do those emotions translate from paper to the reader? All those things are just as important.
What advice do you have for people receiving critiques?
Diana: I believe that to receive critiques well means balancing seriously considering changing your story based on suggestions the reviewers give you and taking the suggestions with a grain of salt. Most importantly, don’t take it personally. The kind person who agreed to review your story doesn’t critic you as a person or you as a writer. They review your characters and your story. They are not trying to make you feel bad, they are trying to help you make them stronger. Don’t look at the critique as an attack on your persona, look at it as a rare opportunity to see your baby through another person’s eyes.
Pfunzo: A critique is an opinion and not a fact. Well, except if its grammar. Be very honest with yourself as you are reading the reviews that you are receiving. It’s easy to assume someone just doesn’t like what I am writing about and therefore I won’t listen to them. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes while reading it. Could you see where they are coming from? Usually, you know if there is some truth to the comments. Do not be prideful. It is so easy to take everything as an attack but if you are humble and truly have the desire to be better, you will take it on the chin. It’s not about you, it about the story.
What are some common mistakes you see newbie writers make?
Diana: Well, since our group operates on Wattpad, I only have a little window to the world of Wattpad newbies. So, here’s what I saw most often in our group when a new writer joined:
Dialogue tags – nearly any new writer knows what those are and how they work.
Show and tell war – I noticed that new writers often ether tell everything or show everything. It seems to me that when a new writer starts to hone their writing skills, they tell you everything that happens; It was cold and Marc was tired of being in this creepy house. He could tell his friend was scared so he tried to distract him with great stories. His friend always loved listening to his stories… and so on. Then, somebody tells them, “You need to show what’s happening not tell. It will make it more enjoyable to the readers”. The writer looks into it, falls in love with the concept and then shows absolutely everything. People, don’t show everything, it’s a trap!
These were two things we kept hitting in the club, I can’t think of anything else of the top of my head.
Pfunzo: I 1000000% agree with that. Show/Not-Tell is a never-ending trap or add more descriptions. Then its endless descriptions about drying paint. Yes, I am exaggerating. Descriptions about something that’s not important only takes away from the tension of the story. That really does take me out of the scene. There is also the long paragraphs debate. I will be a little controversial and say I have a short attention span and long paragraphs really bore. Unless you are a master of words, do not do it. Whenever I have come across long paragraphs it has never been about anything interesting so naturally I get bored. Maybe I have some growing up to do, who knows?
How has the wattpad community changed over the years that you’ve been on the site?
Diana: Very… I feel like the camaraderie of the community is slowly fading away. I cannot imagine how I would meet anybody or make any friends if I joined Wattpad now. Without forums and other social aspects of the app, one is dependent on algorithms to suggests best reads, and there is no way to just talk to the users as we could before. People also stopped commenting on stories, at least on mine, I haven’t received any comment in ages. It’s just different. I am really glad I joined back in 2017.
Pfunzo: Wattpad definitely has changed since I have joined in 2011. It has changed multiple of times and currently I am questioning what I want from the community and my hopes for the future. That is yet to be decided. I am not sure if it’s the people who have changed or if it is the site itself. I feel like we can’t interact as we used to but that maybe just me. I not on there as much as I was in the past so that could be the reason.
Have you ever had any drama break out in the Rebels community due to feedback of a story?
Diana: Oh boy, we used to have plenty. We still have an issue here and there now, but back during the first year or so people run to us constantly about somebody being mean or not fair or deleting comments or arguing about their comments. It was then when our Super important, not to be ignored, life or death type of notice! was created, because we were fed up with the childish behavior of some of the members. Solving these issues used to be really time consuming.
Pfunzo: At times it really did feel like we were parents stopping our kids from fighting. Then there would be the occasional rant and you would want to pull your hair out. Some people can be really entitled at times but you know what, we managed. It is a learning experience for us all. Sometimes it used to feel like we were working for them and rendering some form of service with the kind of abuse we would get. Like hello, you are not paying me! I am doing this in my free time! People are certainly kinder.
Right now you guys are both working on an anthology run by Emily Hurricane. What can you tell us about the stories you’re writing for that?
Diana: I ended up being in both anthologies. For the romance antho, I did a sci-fi, inter-species romance. I wanted to create a story where the lovebirds would overcome differences on all counts. What a better way to do that than thrusting a young woman into an alien planet and have her fall in love with somebody entirely different than her.
I finished the first draft of the romance story a couple of days before the deadline and so I thought I’d try to think of something for the erotica anthology as well. I didn’t count on being part of it so I didn’t give it any thought prior that night. I was sitting on my bed, listening to my favorite soundtracks and the Lullaby Of Woe from The Witcher came on. Inspiration hit me and I spit out a very short witchy horror tale. It was the fastest I have ever written anything. When I finished, I looked at it and thought, no way this one will make the cut for the anthology. But I was wrong. It was very well received and so everybody who will get their hands on our anthology will be able to enjoy the creepiness.
Pfunzo: My story was related to one of the ones I have been writing on my profile. Unfortunately, I had to pull out as I am just not mentally okay right now. I lost my love for writing. Perhaps, it was the stress of life getting to me but I had to take a step back and decided that I will not take part at this time. It’s a little sad as I wrote the story and everything but I could tell that I was disconnected from it. I write with passion and if I do not go through the emotions with my characters, then it feels empty. I felt empty this time around and had to bow out. Hopefully, I will join in next time. Good luck to everyone participating!
Goodreads | Preorder link | And to check out Rebel Town for yourself, click over to Wattpad. You can get some great feedback and become part of an established and thriving community.
Keep up with Dee Rasha by checking out her socials: Wattpad | The Dead Room | Tales of the Slayer | Goodreads | Instagram |
