Hello! Please introduce yourself SuperheroesAndSprite

I'm Lia (she/her). I'm twenty-five and from Toronto, Canada. I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted "to do" with my life, because I always felt this power struggle between my creative and analytical sides, and I deeply appreciate them both, but I think I finally have it figured out! My academic/work background is in game development and computer science, although I'm not a big gamer myself (aside from the occasional Sims session). I love writing stories and poetry, but my primary form of art is actually music! I sing and play piano, guitar and ukulele. I have massively failed my graduating highschool class who voted me most likely to win a Grammy, but I'm happy just performing for my senior dog, Goose.

1. Congratulations on your massive online following! Your stories have captivated millions of readers. How did you transition from a background in game development to becoming such a successful writer?

Thank you so much! I am not sure that I would label myself a successful writer, but it does mean a lot to me that people stop in and read my stories and relate to my characters.The writing actually started long before the game development! I started Blaze in 2014 when I was fifteen. Writing has always felt very cut off from the rest of my life, as I don't share it with many people in my personal life, so it's almost an alter-ego! I never considered it as a full-time career, and it wasn't on my radar at all when I was applying to universities. It was always just a fun hobby and creative outlet.
I originally went to university to study Linguistics, and ended up transferring into Computer Science, and through there I found a love for game development because of the fusion of problem solving (code) and creativity (animation, graphics, etc.). I've since had the opportunity to work on some pretty amazing games, but the writing was always going on in the background. I'm hoping that in my next story you will get to see more of the computer programming side of me.

2. You mentioned your love for music and playing instruments. Do any musical themes or rhythms influence your writing style?

I definitely find inspiration in specific songs. It's never so much the plot or the specific characters, just the general mood or vibe of the tune. Usually when I write, I will play background music that reflects the tone of what I'm writing.In music, I like syncopation and dissonance. Syncopation with its off-beat rhythm I think reflects the unexpected twists and turns in my narratives. While dissonance with the clashing notes can create a sense of unease, but also a richness, like the rawness of emotion.

3. Looking back, is there any advice you'd give your younger self who "massively failed" that graduating class yet was voted most likely to win a Grammy?

Don't do your back-up plan first. It's okay to have a back-up plan, but it's meant to be just that - the plan when what you want to do doesn't work out. We carry these ideas of what we should do versus what we want to do, and are often told what we want to do is selfish or irresponsible, so we stick to what we should do. So if you want to sing jazz, don't study engineering first because someone tells you that you will never find a job. Try singing jazz first. School will always be there later.
You also don't need to study something at a school to learn it. We are so lucky to have knowledge under our fingertips with a quick Google search. I worked with self-taught programmers and musicians. What you do for your job is not who you are. I am a musician, a writer, and I work in gaming.

4. You juggle creative and analytical sides. How do you balance those opposing forces during your writing process?

I feel like the writing in essence is my creative side, and the analytic gets woven into it. Like for example, Asymptote. Asymptote is a math term that then inspired the entire book. An asymptote is a curve that approaches a line towards infinity, but it never reaches that point. For example, if the line is at x = 3, the curve can reach an x value of 2.99999999, so negligible that it is basically 3, but it will never be 3.I've also been consistently told that I "really think things over" and I think that's my logical/analytical side, and it really comes out in my characters when you reach the large passages of just inward thoughts. My creative side imagines the scene and places the background details. Although, I'm not very imaginative! I can never picture a scene or a room in my mind, so they are always based off of places I already know. For example, Nate from Mismatched lives in my house (in my head!), but as my upstairs neighbour.

5. With such a large and engaged audience, do you feel pressure to maintain a certain genre or writing style, or do you have complete creative freedom?

I am aware of what my audience seems to enjoy, and the direction that they hope plotlines will go, and I definitely feel an internal pressure to match that expectation and not disappoint people. At the end of the day, my readers are what give my writing power. Their support is what pushes me forward through my writing process. It is extremely difficult for me to find internal validation in my writing. Even if it's just one comment telling me that they liked the chapter, or showing emotional investment in my character, that tells me that I'm doing something right.
I do try to take risks and stay true to the type of story I want to tell, but it was something I felt more passionately about when I was younger. Somewhere in Blaze there is a chapter which is just a mini-rant of me being upset, because readers were expressing such strong opinions of how the story should go, and it didn't align with my vision. The point of the rant was to inform the readers that the story ending was pre-decided, and nothing they could do/say would change it in any way.Now, I try to work a balance. I like to write really dark, sad, contemplative pieces, with lots of internal dialogue and background details. But sometimes people just want something snappy, upbeat, and happy. That's why I started Asymptote and Band Camp at the same time. Asymptote was my emotional piece, while Band Camp was silly and light. It was also good for me to write this way, as you can become really submerged and take on the emotions of your writing, and that can weigh you down at times.

6. Where do you find inspiration for your stories? Do your real-life experiences or interests ever play a role in your characters or plotlines?

100%! Everything I've ever written has been inspired by my life experiences and the people around me. In fact, one of the reasons I won't talk about my writing in my personal life is because I'm sure if my friends went to read my stories, they would instantly recognize themselves. My main character names typically don't have personal significance to me, but all the side characters and any names of locations are the real names of people around me. I typically create characters with interests similar to mine because I want to do them justice. I don't want to make a character who loves marine biology but then it never gets mentioned because I don't have a depth of knowledge on marine biology (though, when I do this, I do try to do my best to educate myself on the topic).
The conception of Blaze was entirely inspired by events in my life. At the time I wrote it, my best friend (who I also had a massive crush on) had been expelled from school for selling prescription narcotics. In real life, I hadn't even known that my friend was involved in that, they had kept it completely hidden from me. I was Elliot, the good student who never broke the rules. But, I imagined a life where I had gotten involved, because I probably would have done anything they asked me to. And that became Blaze.

7. Millions have been touched by your writing. Have you ever received particularly moving fan reactions that have stayed with you?

Obviously now the messaging feature is gone from Wattpad, but you would be surprised how incredibly dry my inbox always was, and how lonely and isolating it could feel. I could log on to find hundreds of notifications of votes and comments, but not one message to me. So, anyone who has ever taken the time to message me or write something on my profile I have endless appreciation for, and I always try to respond. It takes effort to take that extra step out of the story. I've also been absolutely honoured to receive character art, which I adore. I have one reader that will always give me a thoughtful breakdown of how they felt about a chapter, and I've always loved to read those. Back in the day I became offline friends with some people that I had found through them reading my stories.

8. What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a writer with such a large following?

I think mainly I just fear disappointing my readers. Whether that be through the content I write, or through my lack of writing altogether. Also just this feeling that nothing will ever be as great as Blaze. Starting off so strong has made everything a little comparative in my head, and as I get older and my writing style evolves, I wonder if people will still like it, or if I was better when I was fifteen. And no matter how hard I try, I can't return to the way I wrote before. It's the nature of growing and changing, and I just hope that my readers still appreciate my works.

9. What's next for Lia? Are there any new genres or writing styles you'd like to explore in the future?

I really want to finish up / rejig some of the ideas I have kicking around unfinished on my profile right now (like North & Mixtape). Of course, after finishing Asymptote and Band Camp, which is far overdue. But, after all that, I would like to explore some sort of suspense novel. I also want to do a collection of short stories, and just publish more of my musings and thoughts out there into the world. I've also stuck exclusively to first-person narratives, and want to try my hand at a third-person story, or perhaps switching POV which I've steered completely clear of until now.