An interview with MadKat65, conducted by glitterandasphalt. 

MadKat65 joined Wattpad in the spring of 2016 and is the author of the recently reviewed book Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis placed eighth in the adventure category in the 2017 Pokémon Watty Awards.

First question: How long have you been writing, and what made you decide to join Wattpad?

I've been writing technically since I was around 8, about 8 years ago. It was fanfiction based around Super Mario. My older sister pushed me away from it by being rude, though.

I eventually started writing again four years later, and I've been writing on Wattpad for two years.

I found Wattpad due to a best friend of mine, Pixel_Stix. She and I originally joined to work on a collaboration project, one she wrote, and I provided input and characters for.

That's pretty cool! Do you collaborate with others often?

I collaborate with my friends sometimes, we mostly just bounce lots of ideas off of each other. In fact, a lot of my one-shot ideas and even books like Metamorphosis were helped by bouncing ideas off my friends.

Friends do come in handy for that. Do you like to participate in any of the Pokémon writing contests and communities here on Wattpad?

Last year, I entered the Pokémon Watty Awards (PokemonWatties) for the first time with Metamorphosis, getting 8th place in the adventure category, but other than that I haven't entered any contests or been in any groups. I wish I could though, but school is very busy for me.

I have plans to enter another book in. the adventure category probably not this year, but in 2019. I'm most likely going to write a one-shot for this year, though.

Did you get any nominations for special awards in the 2017 Pokémon Watties? I feel like I remember seeing Metamorphosis on the list for a few them.

I actually ended up getting four nominations: Best Depiction of Setting, Best Beginning, Most Intrigue, and Most Tense Scenes. I felt that this was a pretty good accomplishment for a first year!

It is! That basically means you were in the top three or four in those areas out of all the entries according to the judges. I would call that an achievement! So, what gave you the idea to write Metamorphosis anyway?

Metamorphosis was a spur of the moment thing that I came up with when I was at a summer band rehearsal last summer, actually. (I'm a huge band nerd, whenever I'm not fantasizing my works, I'm thinking about band.) I had an idea of making something big that would leave a mark on people.

I had originally wanted to make a one shot out of my base idea, but it started developing bigger, and plans changed to make it a short story, but then it got so big I had to create a full story out of it.

Most people likely know that it's a crossover between SAO, and that's where the plot came from. I chose the SAO crossover because I had just recently reread a few of the books I had finally gotten the money to order for myself, and the idea was fresh in my head. As I read, I thought of how to cross it over with Pokémon. Everything just took off from there.

Oh! Well, now you have to tell me a little bit about you being a band nerd.

Yeah, I guess I do.

Band is my life. It's the only thing I love more than my writing and other artistic activities. I guess the biggest reason is the people I've met through band: My best friends who share just as much of a passion as I do. The ones who are younger than me but eager to show they want to grow. The Seniors who've taught me so well and shown me how to do things. My director who never gives up on me. My boyfriend who I'm so deeply in love with. All these people have taught me so much not only about band, but about the world, how to work with other people, and myself.

I play French Horn, but during the summer I play an instrument called the Mellophone, which is a French Horn but made so I can march with it. I've also tried to teach myself piano, trumpet, and trombone.

The school I attend has a band that's pretty serious and even a bit famous. Every summer, my school travels the country on trips. Last year, we went to St. Louis and marched in their 4th of July parade, and this upcoming summer, we're going to Canada, Rhode Island, New York City, and Washington DC. It's a chance to spend 14 days away from my house with the people I'm so happy around doing something I love with all my heart.

I'm actually even considering becoming a music teacher myself. Band and music push me so much, which is part of the reason why I'm such a nerd for band.

Woah! Okay, that's really cool. That upcoming trip sounds like it will be unforgettable. I just had to ask because I played percussion in high school (band kids are the coolest). You seem like a very artist person. Do you have any other creative/artist hobbies besides music and writing?

Oh, percussion is great! Most of my band friends are percussionists, they're absolutely great!

I do draw from time to time, although I'm not that good at it. If it counts, I'm also into Forensics and acting as well. Cooking, too.

A lot of creative hobbies, that's great! Do you have any weird writing quirks or things you do to get yourself in the mood to write stories?

Well, I have a two-year-old sister, and when I'm writing I sometimes like to sit with her and imagine the world through her eyes. She's got such a big imagination that when I'm with her, some of it feels like it rubs off on me.

I also listen to soundtracks from video games I've played that are chock full of a great story. NieR: Automata, Fire Emblem, and Undertale are my favorite three.

I stopped a while ago, but the best time for me to write used to be at the end of the day, I would write at least 15 minutes every night before I went to bed. Now that the ideas are slow, and I'm tired all the time, it's stopped. I do want to try and pick that habit again.

So, out of the works you have published on Wattpad, what would be your favorite and why?

I haven't really published that much, so it's gotta be Metamorphosis.

I wrote the story to get across a point: People come into our lives and go just as fast as they came in, and we have to make the most of this. That's why some things in the book happen as they did. I also have a lot of sentimental value, for the story that Metamorphosis was based on, the friends who encouraged me as I wrote, and a bit of the fact that I do love a lot of the Pokémon that were featured in the story.

I don't think this is my favorite book I've ever written though. If I can include a story that I unpublished a few months ago, it went by the title The Hidden Trainer, in which basically a girl on earth ends up coming into contact with the rebelling members of an apocalyptic Kanto, a Kanto in which the usage of Pokémon is forbidden. It had a great idea that I executed weakly, but now that I'm a better writer, I definitely want to bring it back.

That sounds intriguing to me, I haven't read a Pokéfic that sounds anything like The Hidden Trainer yet. Do you have any goals you are working towards as a writer?

I'm just working towards a lot of the things that were mentioned in my reviews, specifically more character and world building. I love world building as well as character building, but the characters and worlds I try to portray have a lot of depth in my head that I kinda assume the reader has all this prior knowledge that they don't really have. Part of that is probably due to laziness on my part.

I also need to get better at descriptions. I'm still fairly new at being an "official" writer, so I know I have a long way to go.

How about one last bonus question: If had to live out the rest of your life as a Pokémon, what species would you pick and why?

Oh, that's an interesting one. One of the starter Pokémon, specifically Cyndaquil or Turtwig, would be a fun choice, everybody loves the starters, right?

I would probably be a Dragonite at the end of the day, though. One, it's a mailman. That's a decent job. Plus, it pays. Two, Dragonite is freaking adorable! It was also one of the first Pokémon I ever knew, so that's a plus. Dragonite is also pretty able to defend itself.

Lol, all good reasons to be a Dragonite! Well, thank you so much for letting me interview you, and thanks for letting our critics review your book.

Thanks so much for giving me the offer!