The Trailer!

https://youtu.be/MMKFMGc14yo

How has writing for the ONC been so far?   @elveloy

Slow... but I'm happy with what I've got so far... just have to work out the rest of the story!!

How did you come by the particular prompt (s) you are using this year? Was it a love-at-first-sight affair or you had to go through a series of prompts to settle on one?

(LOL!) Prompt 76 was the one that appealed to me most on the first read, though I did go back and read them all again several times. At first, I decided this prompt was too similar to the one I used last year, but nothing else grabbed my interest so I decided to run with it. I'm trying hard to include enough differences so that it doesn't read too much like last year's story. There is a second prompt I'm considering but I haven't decided whether I'll use it yet... or not!

Awesome! So let's talk about the genre you write in. Tell me a bit about it.

Thinking about it, I suppose I write principally in the genres of science fiction and romance, often together. I love the imaginative freedom of science fiction and a good romance always spices up the plot.

Great point! Was your love for this infusion of genres from the beginning or you had to navigate your way through other genres before arriving where you are today?

From the beginning, I think. I read a lot of science fiction when I was growing up, lots of the classics like Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury etc and then I branched out into the ones with more relationships such as Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMasters Bujold and MZB. I found those with romance were more interesting to read as I grew older. I do have another profile, however, where I experimented with a Regency Romance novel, however, science fiction has managed to creep into that profile too, with some of my short stories.

This is great! Looks like you will be remaining faithful to Science Fiction for a while. What is your writing process like?

Most writers call themselves either a "plotter" - where you plan out the structure of your story before you begin to write it or a "pantser" where you basically make up the story as you go along. I am definitely in the second group. I'm never quite sure what is going to happen in the chapter until I sit down and begin to write. I still don't know how the story will end. What will happen to Rik? Will he end up with Aron or Ned? Or neither? Will Shadow strike again or will Rik stop him, and how? So many possibilities! However, now I'm halfway through my ONC, I might have to start plotting out the rest...

I am a pantser too! And with Rik, I have my own biases on whom he should end up with. But let's move on...Let's talk about your achievements, especially with the ONC. You are notorious for getting to the finals and making wins since the inception of the ONC. Congratulations on that. Now, what do you think is about your stories that make them 'that' good? Any secrets to share?

Thank you! I'm not sure, to be honest. Although I'm a "pantser," I do write every chapter in a Word doc first, and then will often tweak and polish before posting. Attention to SPG (Spelling, grammar and punctuation) may sound unimportant but errors are often the first thing to catch a reader's attention (and not in a good way) so that is something worth spending a bit of time on. As for the rest, I try and have some action, conflict and emotion threaded through my stories. Also, I've been writing for a long time! I think I have over 100 stories up on Wattpad, (although most of them are in short story collections). Practice, practice, practice!

Practice, practice, practice! We can't emphasize that enough! Thank you very much!Any final words? To readers and writers alike?

One of the best things about the ONC is the community spirit it encourages. Writers in this contest tend to be very mutually supportive and if you can gather a group of like-minded people together, you can have a lot of fun, above and beyond the actual writing. If you weren't involved this year, I highly recommend having a go next year!

||Don't forget to check her entry out!||