With warm wishes, let's welcome axgirl13 here, who is the winner of Esthetíque Grand Awards 2022-23, from Fantasy (group 2) genre, with their awesome story Till death do us part. Let's head over to hear what the winner has to say about their success journey.

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I: Interviewer
K: Winner

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I

: Hello again, I'm Ria, your interviewer for today. I hope to make today's interview session interactive. Can we begin by getting a short introduction of you?

K: Sure! My name is Kamila. I'm Polish, but live in UK. I've been active on Wattpad for around 3 years now and in this time wrote a few novels. I'm a huge nerd and love all things fantasy and sci-fi. My favourite things to do are writing, reading, gaming and listening to music.

I: Kamila, a pleasure meeting you! Well, then, let's move to our next question. My first question to you is, Are you a Panster or a Plotter?

K: A bit of both to be honest. I do make a rough plan before I start writing. I write a bit about most characters and then do the skeletal outline, like around 10 main points that need to happen. But as I write that outline often goes out of the window, as concepts change and new ideas come up while I write

I: Oh, that's an interesting fact to know about you! Most of the time, writing a book in the fantasy genre requires deep as well as wide research, which I can get from being a fantasy author myself. How do you approach this process?

K: I watch a lot of youtube videos. But in all seriousness, I've been an avid reader of fantasy my whole life and I've seen hundreds of different worlds and magic systems and so on, so I think that gave me a bit of general knowledge of how the made up worlds function and which aspects make them more believable and immersing for readers. Basically I'm mostly write the stories I enjoy reading, so I don't focus too much on building complex worlds with 500 years of history, that nobody is really that interested in (I sadly never manage to read Silmarillion even though I love Tolkien's books). I'd rather focus on characters and their stories and the world around them is more like a background. But I do go to youtube and wikipedia every time I need some details about some weaponry, or fighting styles etc

I:Woah, I'm amazed truly. As you mentioned you watch YouTube Videos, do you follow any Authortubes or writing videos that provide tips and tricks for writing?

K: I don't follow any particular channels. It's more like if I stumble at something that look interesting then I watch it. Or if I look for a specific topic, like how to write believable characters death or something then I watch a few to see how other people approach the topic. When I was writing my first novel I got a pass for Master Class  videos for my birthday so I watched a couple of authors like Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood talking about the writing. That was very helpful.

I: Do you take inspiration from classics or published books while writing your stories?

K: I think a lot of things affects our own writing. For me it's a mixture of all those things. For example I come up with the general idea for Till Death Do Us part while reading another book published by an indie author. It was a very small side plot, with arranged marriage and I though: I would approach that theme in completely different way. And that's when the first idea of the story popped into my mind. Another time I saw a very interesting character in some TV show I was watching. Again, it wasn't a main character, but a side one, not too important, but a whole idea with a very charismatic person thinking they are doing a good thing, when in fact they are going completely different path making whole lot of trouble. And I filed that as a type of character I want to use in one of my stories. I also get loads of inspiration from music. For example when I do chores or walk with headphones in my ears, or do anything that don't need much brain power, my mind just spin the tales that come up with specific music. My story Justice for the Fallen was wholly inspired by an album Beth out of Hell by the Murder of My Sweet band. I listened to it and thought: Dang, this is such a great story potential, I want to use that.

I: Who inspired you to write fantasy the most? Whether they are from Wattpad or not.

K: I think it wasn't just one person. As I said, fantasy was always my favourite genre. When I was a kid I lived and breathed Forgotten Realms books, with Drizzt Do'Urden, Liriel Beaenre etc. Those all were heroic fantasy with badass characters and full of adventures, and that's what I love in books the most. Then came Tolkien with first huge fantasy movies with epic battles and amazing worldbuilding. And then Harry Potter with its amazing fandom that completely filled my life for a few good years. And the more different books I read the more different influences I get, and I think my writing is a mixture of all of those. I came to Wattpad very late (I'm in my 30ies now) so didn't get much influence from here.

I: How do you build your world? Are there a few questions that you answer from a template? Or do you brainstorm the questions yourself?

K: I don't have any templates. I tried once, but filling those feels too much like a chore for me. Basically I just sit down and brainstorm. For example, in one of my novels, The Light in the Dark, I have a world where the sun was damaged by magic and in results it's not shining as bright as it should. So, knowing that fact I just listed down the areas of life that this would affect - from agriculture, where the crops don't get enough sunlight to grow, through average temperatures becoming lower and everywhere becoming colder than usual, and to people blaming certain group of people for this calamity that get ostracized and outlawed, being rejected from society. So, every time I want to add something different to the world, I think of ways it affects the people who live there. And this way from one detail you start getting a whole lot of worldbuilding done.

I: I just read another interview of yours on "Fantasy Author Interviews" and I'm in complete awe about you. You've surely become an inspiration for many! Here are a few other questions that I would like to ask you about your writing journey.

• Can you share your writing process in brief with us? Generally, what does your writing process look like? How much time do you take to world-build and then, plot your stories? And when do you start to write the first draft of your story? - What are your favorite sub-genres of fantasy and Why do you like them so much?

K: Aww, thank you. So, about my writing process. Usually my stories are starting with an idea. It can be an idea for a character, or some specific powers or specific scenes. I have a file where I basically dump all my ideas, because those alone are not enough to be a story. I often look into them if I look for inspiration or for things that could fit into my current project. For example with Till Death Do Us Part, I decided to take it up, because I saw some advert on some other writing site for stories with the Royal Romance theme. Because I had a contract marriage theme on my mind for a while I decided to give it a shot. So first I sit down to write everything I knew about main characters: what kind of people they were, what their motivation were, their likes and dislikes etc. I don't have any template for that. I just free write whatever comes to my mind to make the characters feel like real people. Then I brainstorm what sort of circumstances would be best to put them together what could make them change their firstly very antagonistic attitudes. Then I wrote a small simple outline with a main plot pints, like start, middle point and ending. And then I free write whatever I know about the world. What sort of political situation is there, if it has magic or not, if there are any magical creatures or monsters etc. And once I have a couple of pages of such notes I start writing.

My favourite subgenres were always epic and heroic fantasy. I love epic battles and stakes larger than life. But I also enjoy all sorts of magical schools or academies, and those featuring magical creatures.

I: Are you writing under a "pseudonym"? Is there a story behind this username of yours on Wattpad?

K: The story of my username is rather simple. I made wattpad account some years ago before I even published any of my works there, just for reading fanfiction, so I didn't necessary wanted my name on account. When I started publishing my own stories I didn't have an issue with putting my name on them, but sort of didn't want to go through changing username and such. So for most of my stories I still put axgirl13 on the cover. The only exception is on Till Death Do Us Part, because when it was put into Paid program Wattpad suggested putting my name on it would be more appropriate 🙂
and axgirl13 is just a username I came up with maaaany years ago as a username for all sorts of platforms I didn't want to put my name on

I: Your answers to the questions were amazing, Kamila.
- Do you prefer combining a bit of action and thrills to your story?

K: Yes, definitely. That’s why I probably could never write contemporary or general fiction. The action and thrill bits are actually those parts of the story I like writing the most. Most of my stories are fast paced, so there is a lot of action and dangers and less time for thinking and contemplating things. It’s just the sort of stories I enjoy reading myself.

I: According to you, what makes a story magical?

K: I think to make story magical you don’t necessary need complex magic system and huge world building (though those stories are awesome too). The trick is to make the characters in the story (and readers with them) feel a sense of wonder when they encounter things they didn’t expect. It can be a hidden place that no one has seen in ages, it can be a little creature that is unnaturally smart and caring, or family memento that holds and reveal the story of people we cared about. So anything that works on readers imagination.

I: That's what I fairly agree with too.
What do you think makes a book successful?

K: For me it’s mainly if the story and it’s characters are relatable. I know that people often think that fantasy or sci-fi stories can’t be relatable, as the setting is far off the real world. But that’s not true. Every story, no matter the genre is about people (or any other creatures or races that are in principal similar to humans). Readers likes to read about characters that felt familiar: flawed, sometimes helpless and little silly and naive, but also courageous, determined and prevailing against all odds. They love, they hate and they make a little found families. That’s I think what pulls readers in. If they can see a character that feels real for them, they will keep reading and rooting for them.

I: Do you prefer writing at the same time of the day or any time of the day?

K: I don’t have a preferred writing time, because I have a very busy schedule. I’m working full time and have a family to take care of so I write whenever I have a spare moment to sit down and have some (fairly) uninterrupted time. It’s usually on weekend. But it can be any time, morning, afternoon or late evening.

I: What do you think makes a good plot twist for stories?

K: Oh that's a good question. I think it has to be unexpected, but also, once it happens it needs to leave readers thinking: Right! I remember seeing all those signs but I never thought they were important! But now it all make so much sense! It's not easy to do, because you have to plant all those little things along the way but make sure they are not too suspicious, so the readers will figure out everything right away. I think it's hard to do well in your first draft. It's easier when you have all your story down, with your twist already added, and then you can get back and add all those little clues before it happens.

I: So, you're telling writers to add "foreshadowing" in their book, which I guess is a fair point to add. I'm sure the last tip of yours regarding the first draft will help a lot of writers. This is what I also struggle with being a writer.

K: I struggle with that too. But first draft it's just that. A base for you to change and improve.

I: Yes, that's what many writers don't understand, and get disheartened at seeing others' works and being insecure about themselves.
The next question I've is about your favorite tropes, like what trope(s) you'll see and you will go to buy that book?

K: I have a few favourite ones. I like enemies-to-lovers, a hero journey, the waiting evil, found family, and unlikely heroes

I: Hmm... All those tropes revolve around conflict and tension which most readers love to see in books, including me.

K: yep, I'm call of adventure kind of gal

I: Like other writers out there (including me) use Pinterest to make mood boards or find a suitable pic for our characters and also listen to Spotify playlists. Do you also use Spotify and Pinterest as inspiration too?

K: Yes, I absolutely do! I love making playlists to my stories and I also often listen to them while writing, or when I want to get in mood for writing. And Pinterest is just a mine of ideas for visuals. I especially depend on it when I try to describe characters clothes

I: Yes, I also absolutely love making them, when I'm bored with writing, planning, and plotting, I do make them and they work as filling my creativity cup!
One of the questions that I always want to ask every writer is, how do you relax after a long, hectic work day?

K: As I'm introvert to wind down I need to do something that involves me time. So read a book, play video game, or listen to music and do some jigsaw puzzle. or watch a TV show. And when I feel more social I play board games with my family

I: I just have one last question now, I hope I'm not overwhelming you with the questions.

K: it's fine

I: Lastly, what has been the most challenging aspect of joining any Award?

K: I think with any awards the main challenge is putting your story out there for other to assess and critique. It is especially stressful for new writers, as we often think we are ready for feedback, but when we received it, it still hurts a bit, because we loved stories we write. And it might feel discouraging if we enter awards after awards and never score any high places. It's important to keep in mind that judge are people and they have often their subjective opinions, so usually no two people score the same story the same points. Also, I think no matter how harsh feedback seems at first, it always gives us something to consider and possible ways to make our stories better which is always helpful.

I: Thank you for your time, Kamila.

🌻🌻

Thank you for this amazing interview, axgirl13, we wish you abundance of success.