"The jostling of the wagon woke Fynn up."

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[Italics are me (the interviewer), and bold is My_Eternal_World (the interviewee)]

I N T E R V I E W    T O O K    P L A C E :  J U N E    2 0 1 8

I'm about to go to sleep, but would we be able to do this sometime soon, or should I send the questions to you? xx

Send me the questions and I'll send you the answers. I just woke up lol

Haha, that's all good XD 

What inspired you to write your story? xx

GET READY FOLKS FOR AN INCREDIBLE STORY...

Nah, I'm kidding 😂

Let's see... I originally set a goal for myself last year to write a one-page short-story every day. I only made it to about 15 days before I realized I needed more pages to tell my stories. In one of those pages was a short story about Amach and Gemini 😄. That's where it took off. My cousin introduced me to this site and I decided to take a shot at writing a story by using this short-story I created months before. I planned it all out, fleshed out my beginning and end points of the characters, and just went for it 😂 

(Well I'm glad your cousin introduced you to Wattpad or else I would never have had the opportunity to read your book! xx)

What do you want readers to get out of your book? xx

UHHHHH... I don't know. I just want my readers to enjoy my story by laughing at the humour of Alistair, fall in love with the mysteriousness of Wren and Amach, and... I just really want them to feel like they have an escape from our world by entering mine.

(Yes, exactly! One of the many great things about books is the escape from reality xx)

Where were you and what were you doing when you found out you were part of the few selected as "TPPA-Approved"? xx

You want me to be honest here? I can't remember. (But) The places I was probably at are either my room, the car, or at school, and I was either scrolling through Instagram, or listening to music or trying not to die in my math class 😂

(I think everyone can understand the horrors of maths, but it was a long time ago so it's all good that you can't remember exactly xx)

What does this mean to you? xx

When I found out I wasn't ranked, I was disappointed because, honestly,  this was such a hard competition, you know? But when you listed out all the TPPA-Approved books, my heart literally soared. This was better than getting ranked. It showed the potential my story had. It may not have been as edited or perfect like the others, but it had a story that someone found worthy to place it up there with the ranked ones.

(Awww, so beautifully said! ❤️)

What are up to at the moment? What do we have to look forward to from you? Do you have anything written-wise for us to look forward to in the future? xx

Hmm, let's see....

I'm still writing "Secret of the Mask" right now haha. It's such a long story; I didn't expect it to be this long. I was originally planning around 20 chapters, but here we are at around 40+, and I'm not even halfway through 😂. (And) If you guys thought this story was great, just wait. I've learned so much about writing from Wattpad that my next book will be just as good, or even better! I'm still debating between an Urban-Fantasy Teen-Romance (like "Secret of the Mask", but this time a twist on the phrase "My Knight in Shining Armor"), a Supernatural-Comedy, or a Science-Fiction-Mystery; the possibilities are endless, but I'm sure you guys will enjoy them (after I plan them out lol).

(I can't wait for next book, those combinations of genres sound like a potentially amazing story in the making xx)

How do you juggle between writing and reading? xx

Let's be honest here, you're either writing all the way or reading till the dead of night. There's no in-between. I personally write more than I read, because when I was younger all I did was read, so I absorbed the generic plotlines, characters, and what-not. (But) It's important to read professional novels and stuff because there are techniques unique to each author and depending on your style, you can incorporate them into your stories. I read to find better ways to improve my writing, and then sometimes I just read to fangirl over my favourite characters 😂.

(Yasss, sometimes I do a bit of both and fangirl while trying to improve my writing XD)

What do you think is important for a Fantasy novel to do well? xx

WORLD. BUILDING.

That's the big thing. Fantasy is known for its distant lands and far off kingdoms because it's NOT supposed to take place in our world. It's supposed to be this other society, this other planet, that leads the readers to believe it's real. But you can't just dump a whole load of facts of this world to the reader on the first page. You have to sprinkle a little here, a little there, and have them figure it out (with help from the characters).

That makes so much sense, and what really makes Fantasy stand from amongst other genres. A regular book can capture a reader, but a fantasy world can capture the heart ❤️

Have you ever encountered Writer's Block, and if so how did you overcome it? xx

ALL. THE. TIME.

Sorry, I seem to be using caps all the time 😂. (But) I had a Creative Writing teacher that told us to keep writing because what we fear most is the criticism our writing will get when we have Writers Block. So try to just get your ideas on the page, not worrying about the details or plot holes, because that's what editing and revising is for.

Or if that doesn't work, write the worst thing that could happen to the characters. I usually use that tactic 😂

 (Sounds like an interesting tactic - I'll definitely keep it in mind if I have to face the dreaded Writer's Block again (which will probably be sooner than I want) xx)

What's your next goal for "Secret of the Mask"? xx

My next goal is to complete and completely edit the entire story. I'm planning on getting it officially published (I've filled out forms here on Wattpad to help me with that) because I believe it has the potential to be on a library shelf.

(Good luck on getting your story published! 😄)

Last question, how do you come up with the character's personalities for your stories? xx

PLAN. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!

I write out the plot first, using code names like MC1 (main character), SC3 (side character), antagonist, and so on. Then I build the "skeleton" of the characters: looks, name, common traits, both physical and habits. Then I "flesh" them out: motivation, fears, everything mental. Then I plot out a character arc of how they are in the beginning and how I want them to be at the end. Then I go off of that as I write the story.

And besides, if a story doesn't go your way, it's just the characters telling the story 😄. They're in control—you're just helping them tell it.

(Code names - now why haven't I thought of that? That sounds like some really useful tips! xx)

Thanks for letting me have this opportunity!

That's all good! Thank you so much for allowing this xx

Oh, thanks! I'm looking forward to it 😄

Did you want to give out any shoutouts before I wrap this up? xx

Ooh, hold on a sec...

(*sips tea*)

playingmyheart, Exiled_Introvert, rosycheeked, HalcyonTears, madamewritten, Midnight_Kaiulanis, And_on_and_on_and_on, Shadow-Dragon02, Theconns13, stardustsilver, and nolongermystical. 

Okay, sweet! Thanks so much for doing this. It's much appreciated! xx ❤️

Yup! I had fun writing these responses! Thanks again for giving me this opportunity 😄

That's all good! xx 😄

With the shoutouts, I'd like to just tell them that every single one of them made a difference when it came to my book, whether it was making me laugh so hard that I choked on cereal or that I regained confidence because of their comments. I love them all SOOO much!!

Awwwww. Thank so much again for allowing this interview xx ❤️

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[INTERVIEW WAS PUBLISHED: JUNE 2018]

- review yet to be released -