Introducing... Stariszentha

What is your Wattpad username?

Stariszentha

what is the title of your winning book(s)?

Zentha

When did you get the idea to write your winning book?

I got the idea when I was really young actually. I was always really into the animation and art medium. I always loved the effort put into things made from animation and storybooks, and i loved complex stories.

It mostly started when I was 12. Please excuse me for the long story, I tend to talk very often.

I created this young girl for roleplaying online. At the time, I was very into Homestuck and mspaintadventures. I was engrossed in the story and characters, and since I was very young, I wanted to become a part of that story. So, I created a young troll. However, I was indecisive. I would always change her up and modify her every now and again. First, she was a sea dweller, then she was a juggalo, then she was a rare lime blood, or a part of the zahhak or pyrope line.
With all these changes, I thought I would hit a ground where I was happy with this character, but I never was. I would even change up her horns. But, nothing seemed to stick.

After years of roleplaying, I quit when i was 14. Before I quit, I would continue to roleplay mashups like fairy tail and naruto, because i was a cringy kid who just wanted to be immersed in a story.

Now that that's out of the way, I can quickly explain the character that came out of all of this, staris zentha.
I made her because I used to really be into something else when I was younger, something so cringy, so intangible horrible that if you were to look it up and watch all of it you would be in shock.
It was called: Icicle the Glaceon.
(For reference I was 8 when I watched this abomination)

Despite how cringy it is, it still holds a place in my childhood, and it still gives me inspirations from what i used to like from its simplicities.

This character I made would be a goddess, the star goddess. But I didnt know how to convey that without being cliche. She hadmany problems, and she was still grey!
So, I gave her a new design, into what she is now! She had a little star marking on her stomach to show she held some sort of secret.

Eventually, however, i threw away this goddess idea, and settled for just a simple girl who had powers just like everyone else, but i hadn't done any world building yet or story writing.

I split this girl into two characters later, jude and star. Staris used to talk, surprisingly, but that was given to jude, and judes last name ended up changing to differentiate the two. Star would not talk at all and would keep the name star for awhile.

Until Star vs the forces of Evil premiered.

This show was fairly popular, even a favorite of mine. But, I didnt want to seem like I was copying a now popular idea, so I scrapped her name. I needed a new one, and fast. But what?

Long story short, I was playing skyrim a lot and my favorite follower was the vampire serana so I gave star that name, and her permanent name became Serana I. Zentha.

I had continued to develop characters from there into what they are now, but i wont explain them unless I'm asked to reduce length in this.

Lastly, I needed a setting and all those other important things. My theme would be centered around human nature and multicultural conflicts. My setting would be in a galaxy of 5 planets: Glacialis X, Tinporee, Crystalfei, Mistfall, and Ingenium.
The story would focus on the zentha and their mysteries, but it would also focus on the Dremaura and Vigilants.

The story soon came together and I had an idea, when I reached the near end of being 13, I began to plan it all out. It took me a total of 3-4 years plus planning to get this far, starting at 12.

What are your inspirations for writing this book?

Icicle the Glaceon for the childhood weirdness, JoJo's Bizarre adventure and Araki's guide to manga in theory and practice for providing insights on the way to convey and create a proper manga.

Are there any special dedications for your book?

I would like to dedicate this to my mentor, my family, and to all my fans in the near future.

How old were you when you began writing this book?

12 when I had the idea and 14 when the writing began

What do you believe the strongest and weakest part of your writing is, in general?

My weakest point is overthinking dialogue and continuously revising things already set in the art, that I later decided to remove. I also have trouble with paneling often, but its minor and I'm working on it.

How many drafts of this story do you have? If applicable, will you continue to rewrite? If applicable, do you think you will do a rewrite if you haven't already?

I actually have many drafts floating on different accounts on wattpad, I used to be into game grumps, too. I think you know where this is going.
My most recent draft is on my account; Shiver and Twilight. It was going to be a written story instead of a manga. I'm glad i didnt settle for that, otherwise I wouldnt have been able to convey what i wanted properly.
The chapters arent up, in fact, they're stored away right now for future references.

What is one reason why you believe everybody should check out your book?

I believe people should check out my book if they want a fresh idea and story. It's not completely fresh, but some of its ideas are new to the world of manga, and i think it would be a good fit for people to enjoy if they're interested on my take of culture and conflicts.

If someone were to offer you a publishing deal tomorrow, would you take it? Would you still leave your work for us to admire on wattpad?

It depends. Are they taking the rights to my work? Then no.
My story will always be on wattpad or on a personal site for free in the future. I would encourage donations on my patreon, considering I want to continue to keep it free while i work so I can sustain a life. It would be much appreciated, you can find it on my wattpad page.

When writing, do you have a plot in mind, or do you write it on the fly, as you come up with it?

I have a plot in mind, of course. But, every good writer writes on the fly even with a plot in mind. It's what makes the idea fresh, non forced and natural.

What, if anything, do you do to help yourself concentrate when writing?

I take my focalin. Either that, or I have to skip around because I cant sit still for 20 minutes.

What is the best piece of advice that you can give other writers?

The best advice I can give is to have a map. If you dont, your story will fall apartand eventually fade into time. Reach for new heights and ideas, and dont settle for anything less.

This could get very weird very fast, be honest, what, exactly, were you doing when you learned you won first place?

Finishing an argument over someone calling you homophobic, lol. Also, I had just woken up at the time.

What was your reaction when you read that you won?

In all honesty, I was confident I could win. If I didnt, I would've been okay with it. That just meant that I had stuff to work on and that my story wasnt good yet.
I was confident I'd win because I had heart in my writing, and it was unique and different to the basic word format story and added to stories that words couldnt through art and expression.
I knew that was enough to catch the attention of the judges.
I wont win every competition, my story isnt the best.
But i know its sure to win the hearts of most, and that it's a story with mistakes that I want to improve.

Do you have anything to say to your fellow genre competitors?

Offer something unique to your story. Dont just use words or pictures. Offer a new perspective to story writing to catch the attention of your readers, and touch untouched soil for ideas

Is there anything else about yourself or your writing that you would like to add?

I am anonymous and would like to stay like that way. My age is undefined and my gender is a secret to the public. I am a writer with a story, all I want is for you to enjoy my story. So, give it a chance. You'll find yourself somewhere wonderful.