Snailords takes us behind the scenes of his WEBTOON Freaking Romance!
This article is brought to you by Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group.
In Snailordss popular WEBTOONFreaking Romance,heroine Zylith decides to rent a haunted apartment.
But when she meets the ghost who lives there, hes not really what she expected.
For one, hes gorgeous, and if she ever makes skin contact, he disappears.
If she can see himcan he see her, too?
(Nevermind that Zylith doesnt even believe in love!)
Ad content continues below
Congratulations on bringingFreaking Romancefrom digital to print!
What was it like to transition the story to the new format?
Super happy to see readers holding the books.
WWS [Wattpad WEBTOON Studios] converted the format for me.
I didnt do anything.
Since WEBTOON is a vertical scroll format, converting to print means following the horizontal layout.
Theyre the opposite of each other.
I tried to do it myself for 10 pages.
It was fun but a lot of work.
The wonderful WWS team took over and thankfully so.
The book came out beautifully.
The series concluded online at the end of 2020!
Whats it like to revisit the characters now?
The book sits on my shelves as a reminder that dreams do come true.
Its nice seeing a physical version of the characters.
Im glad that these characters resonated with the audience.
To this day, it still feels surreal.
Like a random stroke of luck.
Im still confused by it.
Freaking Romanceunlocked doors to different opportunities for me.
If it werent forFreaking Romance, I wouldnt be where I am.
Ill always be grateful when I see these characters being loved by readers.
Volume 1 of the print edition ends just as the stakes have changed for Zylith and Zelan.
Given that new readers will come into the series here, is it hard to leave them hanging?
There will be 3 books [Vol.
2 is scheduled for 6/4/2024, with Unscrolled still exploring the possibility of volumes after that].
I love leaving readers on cliffhangers.
There are so many stories out there.
Its very easy to forget what youre reading.
I hope the need to know the ending will drive these new readers mad with curiosity.
I hope they lie in bed, awake, wondering, What happens next?
so theyll come back for the next book.
Both of them have ruled out ghosts!
Odds are looking good for some sort of parallel realitywhich makes their romance more than starcrossed.
I used to like paranormal/ghost stories.
Recently, I started to likesci-fi.Freaking Romanceis a marriage of both interests.
I knew the beginning, rough plot points to hit, and the ending, before starting the series.
There were a few variations on which events should take place, to play off the crossed-world events.
The stalker waited for Zylith behind a washing machine, knife in hand, a smile upon his face.
Zelan saw the stalker.
His attempts to help Zylith became the first time they could interact.
Chasing the intruder out.
However, this version leaned way toohorror/thriller.
It was watered down to Zelans stalker ex breaking in, sparking Zelan and Zyliths interaction.
Had to adhere to the romance genre.
I would know plot points to hit.
Then figure out the events to hit those plot points as I went.
What comes first for you: art or scripting?
Figuring out the story first, for sure.
The scripting is the structure of a house and art is how I decorate the house.
I need to know the story structure before I can decorate.
For a WEBTOON, the art is the looks and the story is the personality.
I want the art to be attractive enough to lure the readers in.
But without an interesting personality (story), its hard making them stay.
I personally like reading well-written stories with good art.
Theyre both equally essential to me as a reader.
As a writer, I have a go at create webcomics with both looks and personality.
take a stab at.
Zyliths kitty ears headband is super cute.
Where did that part of her character design come from?
I probably saw someone wearing that and thought it was super cute.
Maybe Halloween costumes or something.
That ghost-story vibe continues, even after ghosts are ruled out.
How did you see that horror element informing the story?
I wish I could play more into that mystery element, to be honest.
But I wasnt sure how far into the horror/mystery I could take things in a romance series.
I wanted to briefly touch on who/how that girl went missing.
Never found the right time to explore it.
Here are some incoming spoilers, or if there ever were a next part ofFreaking Romance, SPOILER alert…
The missing girl fell in love with a tenant from another dimension.
She crossed worlds to be with her lover.
Except the lover she fell for was a monster disguised as a human.
She was trapped in a different dimension.
Her world is collapsing in 30 days.
The only way to rescue her is for Aushi to pretend to fall in love with her.
Id never draw this though.
What made you think to include those sorts of nods?
I thought it would be funny.
Honestly, its also to avoid copyright issues.
I cant sue myself when I use my own name.
WEBTOON probably wont sue me if I hint about a contest in a series hosted on their platform.
It was also easier to borrow from real life.
Zelan and Zylith interactions were confined to the apartment.
I just needed a goal for Zylith to pursue that would highlight her love aversion.
Something to give the two a reason to interact romantically.
Zelan is there to help show a different perspective of love that Zylith hasnt seen before.
(Were you, like Zylith, trying to write about love because it was a prompt somewhere?)
I wrote a romance because its a popular genre on WEBTOON.
Honestly, its purely a commercial choice to get noticed by the audience.
Hoping to reel them into other stories that I write.
I like writing thriller/horror.
And I like challenges.
I still prefer other genres.
But Ive met readers who said that readingFreaking Romancebrought them comfort and hope during their tough times.
Despite preferring horror/thriller, I have learned to appreciate how the romance genre positively impacts other people.
Like Zylith, writingFreaking Romancemade me realize my disdain for love requires therapy.
Where can readers find your current work, and whats next for you?
hey find me on my social media: Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter @Snailords.
My current series isDeath: Rescheduledon WEBTOON.
Its doing its best to survive.
(Cute, comedic, romance/fantasy.)
How Did I Die: To save all of humanity, people have to kill one person.
This one person, the main character, refuses to die for humanity.
One of his killers falls in love with him.
Im not sure where these stories will be hosted yet.
But I do plan on creating them.
c’mon follow me on social media for updates.
Im looking forward to luring my audience into these whimsical worlds!
