AN INTERVIEW WITH THE FIRST PLACE WINNER - ViniShah2

Q - Why did you start writing?

A - I started writing during the COVID-19 period when I had this dream of me visiting South Korea and somehow, my paths crossed with BTS. I was preparing for government exams and since exams were postponed for more than 6 months, I decided to pen down my dream.

Q - What inspired you to write this story?

A - As I mentioned before, my dream. It's funny how 2-3 books of mine are inspired from my dream (the dream that we see while we are asleep).

Q - Why was Taehyung chosen as the lead?

A - Taehyung was chosen because-
a. Taehyung is my bias
b. He was the lead in my dream
c. Taehyung is really expressive. Dream or not, we can imagine different expressions on his face while reading the book with him as a lead character.

Also the reason why the majority of my books have Taehyung as the lead.

Q - What were you inspired by when you created your characters?

A - Mostly different books and dramas. Also, my imagination. Overall, everything helps together and that's how I make and portray my characters.

Q - How did you feel after publishing the first chapter?

A - To be honest, I was nervous. I wrote the story in the same order as I saw it in my dream. However, I noticed that the storyline was getting predictable. So I rewrote again, keeping the previous chapters for flashbacks as and when required.

I'm a perfectionist, like Jungkook. So I always feel like I can do better and my work isn't up to the mark.

Q - What roles did the other members have and why they were given them?

A - I feel after Taehyung, Yoongi's role was important. He was shown the brother of the female lead and somehow, his real life persona gives the same vibe- brotherly and protective.

The other important role was of Jimin, who was shown as Taehyung's best friend. He was such a best friend that he decided to breakup with his girlfriend because she hated Taehyung. (To know the reason why she hated him, you'll have to read the story.) Choosing Jimin for this role does justice because in real life he's a great friend too.

Jungkook was chosen as the second lead and there was a love triangle between Taehyung, the female lead, and Jungkook. Female lead's brother (Yoongi) wanted her to get married to Jungkook since he loved her a lot and the girl agreed because of her not-so-impressive past. Choosing Jungkook adds spice to the story because of his competitive nature in real life.

All the BTS members had their roles- small or large. But I feel, these three were the most important ones.

Q - What would you say to someone who's just started writing?

A - Writing is something that I look forward to. It's an escape from reality for me. So, if someone loves writing and if they can write, I feel they are lucky because they are gifted with this talent.
Just like a coin has two sides, the same goes for writing. It's not like someone can write every day. There are days when we want to write, but we can't because our mind is a mess. At times, we are able to write but we are not satisfied and so, that chapter remains saved as a draft. And at times, writer's block hits us hard.
In any case, don't forget that patience is what you need. I often say this to my writer friends, "For being a good writer, you need to be a good reader first." And trust me, this helps. If you can't write or you aren't getting ideas, try reading. It will surely help.

Continue writing and I'm sure, gradually we all can become great authors.

Q - Do you have any future stories planned?

A - Currently, no. I'm rewriting my second book- UNDISCLOSED SECRETS. The book is a romance mystery and I'm proud of the plot. When I began writing that book, I wasn't that experienced as a writer (which I'm still not, but we grow with time). Also, the book wasn't a fanfiction but an original one, which is why, not many people showed their interest in that book.

Since I wanted to rewrite it, I decided to make that as a fanfiction as well as an original version. As most of my readers like reading fanfiction, I would love to give them the characters of their choice. And the original book will help me in taking part in Wattys.

Q - How do you feel about winning this award?

A - To be honest, winning the award feels overwhelming. It took me 6 months to finish writing this book. Just imagine how close I would be with the characters that I made! I spent such a long time making the characters of this book, thinking about the storyline, writing and editing the book. Winning awards with this book brings back all the happy memories that are related to the whole process that it took me in while writing the book.

Q - Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add?

A - To the host- thanks a lot for hosting the award.
To the judges- thank you for taking out time from your busy schedule and judging my book. Also, thank you for giving such wonderful reviews and scores.
To my readers- I'm nothing without your love and support. Just because of your support, my book has received more than 70K reads, and I'm looking forward to more.

To my future readers- thank you for choosing my book(s). I assure you that you will enjoy reading them, will learn something from the storyline, and I promise to continue growing and become a better writer.