Dy had a very special opportunity to sit down with two of CLN's founders, Tori and Zaid.  They share a  joint account on Wattpad, FirstNailInTheCoffin and are the authors of Scripted in Blood and Pursuit For Perfection.

Hello, I'm Dayeon from Crazy Late nighters. You've been nominated by Karen to do an interview. Thank you so much for taking the time to do it.

Before we kick off, what name or pen names would you like to go by and what are your respective pronouns?

Tori: I go by Tori, and my pronouns are she/her.

Zaid: Nice to meet you Dayeon. You can call me Zaid and my pronoun is he/his.

Great to meet you Tori and Zaid! Let's get started.

If you could describe each other in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

Zaid: A stubborn and ambitious woman who is apparently fueled by the darkest of humor.

Tori: Oh wow, this could easily get messy xD

I'd have to say Zaid is a five year old locked inside the body of a 25 year old; cute and not very bright.

Hahah yes it could, but amazingly it hasn't.

You both seem to have pretty distinct personalities (or at least distinct opinions on each other). How did you come to the arrangement of writing together?

Zaid: You see? Both of us had plans of doing many things together but writing together was never one of them. However, we both enjoyed writing characters and then one day we were bored enough to write characters and surprise surprise, we fell in love with the characters and couldn't help but write their story. And now here we are, writing together and bickering about it all the time.

So you wrote the characters and both fell in love with them and went from there? That's pretty cool. Amazing characters certainly need stories of their own!

Speaking of co-writing, Karen would like to know what it's like to co-write everything together and do you ever argue over the plot?

Zaid: All the time. But Tori will explain the rest. Hahaha

Hahah I can imagine that you wouldn't agree on everything all the time!

Tori: Co-writing is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you get to go through the writing journey with the other person, and that really is an amazing experience. I can't imagine doing this alone anymore xD On the other hand though, since we're two very different people, it isn't often easy to come to an agreement and, yes, we argue all the damn time. It's usually small little things that have no real significance. Other times, it will be something bigger. We once had to cut out an entire section of the original plot because I didn't agree with it and refused to keep it in!

Wow! That sounds like a real mission, but it's amazing that you both manage to pull it off so well you'd never guess reading Scripted in Blood that two people are writing it—everything is so consistent.

Speaking of consistency, do you have any tips on keeping a plot consistent?

Zaid: I don't think we should be the one to be asked this question. Like to be honest, even a lot of prominent authors struggle with this because people often change which changes the way they want the story.

However, if you are anything like us, I would say never hold back from reading your own book. Again and again. And again a few more times. The more you read it, the clearer it becomes and you find out where your plot isn't consistent and fix that. And if you want to prevent it, just make sure you remember what happened before in the story; maybe keep notes or tattoo it all over your body but remember stuff.

Those are some really good tips, it's definitely a good idea to read your own story—you'll never know if you don't read it that bits don't fit! Tattooing your notes would be some serious dedication though!

Zaid mentioned earlier that you got bored and wrote some characters. Tori, where did the inspiration to write and design them come from?

Tori: Well, my biggest source of inspiration is this almost nonexistent object called Zaid's brain. I wish I could say I was kidding.

But I guess we just kinda sat down and brainstormed together. We knew we wanted to avoid clichés like the plague, so we worked around that. Coming up with new and unique characters can be really exhausting and time consuming, but I really think we did a good job out there. If I can say so myself, of course.

Nonexistent? Surely not!

You both have done an amazing job on your characters. They're all unique and have their own quirks and flaws, which adds to their depth.

On the note of clichés, how do you avoid them?

Zaid: Simple, I avoid what Tori has to say about characters. Okay, I am just kidding. I think our biggest advantage is Tori as she's well rounded in fiction of all sorts unlike me. I can just see it in her face if we are going towards cliché and we retract. Also, you can just tell if things are cliché because they are super overused but it does help to read and review other wattpad books to get a clearer picture.

Good save there! It's definitely helpful to have that experience so that you can recognise and pick out the things that are overused.

Clichés are kind of interesting in the sense that they still get used so much. Do you think there are any clichés that might be important to your genre of choice?

Tori: I don't think there are any clichés that I'd say are important to the crime genre. The most common ones I can think of are the badass female, strong man with oversized muscles, or the person who just can't stop smoking. I can't see a crime book without such characters, but there needs to be more layers to them. You can't just have a female who's nothing but a badass. She needs to have her own flaws. Things that make her realistic, just like the rest of us lousy humans.

Interesting. And I'd have to agree with you there. Crime is a really flexible genre and there's no need to fall into those clichés. It's important to have characters with their flaws, because like you said, it makes them realistic.

Zaid, what drew you to the crime genre?

Zaid: More like who drew me to crime genre. I actually wanted to explore fantasy genre first but Tori had her mind set on the crime genre. And as we said, we only planned to write characters and I thought we would move on but as you can see that didn't happen.

However, a lot of my drive came from my favorite movie which is the Godfather. I loved how complex and layered the story in crime can be and I couldn't resist at all.

Wow, so you actually took a completely different path to the one you intended to with genre then? Godfather—that sounds like a movie to watch! Crime is certainly very versatile and can be deep and layered.

Zaid mentioned he wanted to explore fantasy. Tori, do you think that would be a possibility for the future? Why or why not?

Tori: Yes, it would definitely be a possibility for the future. High/epic fantasy is my absolute favourite book genre to read. I couldn't count the amount of times I fell asleep with a Tolkien or Sanderson book pressed against my chest. I would love to dip my own toes in it, just to see if I'd ever be as good as all of those authors I looked up to.

In fact, if all goes well, I was hoping the next book we write would be a high fantasy novel!

That's so cool! I love Tolkien and Sanderson too; they're both such talented authors.

High Fantasy is such a rewarding genre to both read and write and I'm sure the two of you could do something amazing with it.

Time for a bit of a fun question: if you each could have a meal with an author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Tori: That is a great question! If I had to choose one, it would be the man himself, Stephen King. There are many authors who I would consider favourites, but that man is on a whole new tier. Ever since I read 'The Shining' at the ripe ole age of 11, I had fallen in love with his writing style and story telling. It always seemed to me like there was this big dumpster inside his head, where he kept all of the ideas for his books. Because seriously, you have to run out of ideas eventually, right?

Zaid: Well, I do have an author in my mind but I don't know if you've heard of him. He's an author from Bangladesh called late Humayun Ahmed who wrote some of my favorite books and series.

He was a rather misfit and often made fun of because he married his daughter's friend or supposed friend. However, he continued to live life to the fullest. I want to know how he could do that and how did he not crumbled down at that low point of his life. Plus, I want to know how intoxicated he must have been to write some of the weirdest books I've ever read.

Great choice, Tori! Stephen King has certainly got some talent and he'd probably have a lot to say.

Ideas are funny things, they seem to come and go and who knows, maybe they do run out eventually!

I haven't actually heard of Humayun Ahmed, but it's admirable that he made the most of what he had and kept going.

Zaid, aside from Ahmed, are there any other authors you admire?

Zaid: Ah, this one would sound repetitive but Stephen King as well. The man really knows how to write stories that are compelling and keeps you at the edge of your seat. Other than that, I won't be able to tell you much.

He most certainly does. It's amazing what he can do with words!

Since you're both writing together, do you tend to plan or do you just let the story go wherever it goes?

Tori: We actually first started writing the story for fun, more as a joke than anything. We wrote chapter by chapter, without really planning too far ahead. Those drafts are all incredibly short and, if I'm being honest, plain terrible. Which is why, when we first became serious about this, we did thorough edits of everything to make sure it's actually up to some standard. So technically, we have the whole story planned out now in these random first drafts.

That's an interesting mix. In a way you've planned and in a way you haven't.

Zaid, have you ever faced writers' block? If so, how did you overcome it?

Zaid: Writers block, nope. I always have been very imaginative and I picture everything I write in my head. I will always know where I want the story to go and at least for now, I don't struggle writing. However and Tori will agree with this, I get very lazy. There could be days where I just don't want to write because I don't want to use my brain.

Wow, you really do have an amazing imagination! Ah yes. . .the laziness. That gets to me too.

Tori, have there been any challenges that we haven't already discussed that you've faced while writing? If so, how do/are you dealing with them?

Tori: I'm quite the perfectionist. Even though most people wouldn't believe that because I tend to be quite messy, when I write, or do anything I care about, I really want it to be perfect. The problem is, there's no such thing as perfect when it comes to writing. I might edit a chapter today to the best of my abilities and think that it's great, nothing else is needed. Then, three months from now, I'll go back to re-edit, and I'll find so many more ways to improve. I often find it very difficult to accept the fact that no matter what, I won't ever be fully satisfied with my creations, since I'll always be striving for perfection.

Zaid: pursuit for perfection

That could be a pretty big challenge and one I also face. It can be pretty tough as well, but that drive to make things the best they can be is also a gift.

While we're on the topic of editing, is there any advice you can give about how to edit a story well?

Tori: I guess I'm going to have to take this question as well!

On a surface level, editing always seems like quite an easy thing to do. You sit down, put on your thinking cap and 10 minutes later, you have the perfect chapter. I really wish it was like this. There really aren't any tips and tricks that will make your life easier, you just have to be determined.

Teach yourself the rules of grammar to perfect the mechanics, learn about imagery to better describe your settings and characters. I guess what I'm saying is that the key to editing, like with most things, is learning. You need to teach yourself the art, so you can confidently fix any mistakes you may have made while writing.

That makes a lot of sense. You really have to know your stuff if you want to be able to pick out the mistakes.

Since you work as a team, how do you divide your work?

Zaid: We don't really divide our work. Of course, we both have things that we are better at. For example, Tori is amazing at writing description and I am at dialogues but that doesn't mean we can't do the opposite. Sometimes I write better description and she writes better dialogues. So, we don't divide and conquer; we jump in together and struggle for a while before we conquer. We have each other's back all the time and at least I know, if I am to ever not finish this book, she can write it well without me.

Wow so when you write together, you really mean you write together. That's pretty cool and I admire how you manage to pull it off so well!

This is a question you both might like to answer: would you say writing has changed your view on the world? If so, how?

Zaid: No, not really. My view of the world changes the way I write.

Tori: I really wish I could give you a long, philosophical answer about how much writing changed my life, and the way I see the world. But if I'm being honest, nothing has change that significantly, or at all.

I can certainly see how the world would impact your writing and it's really cool that you let it.

Haha sometimes (like now) there isn't a need for a long answer. It's interesting that nothing much, if anything at all, has changed.

Your characters have their flaws and their strengths and your writing is very in-depth and well layered. Are there any messages that you have written into your story that you'd like the readers to be able to take away?

Zaid: It's not like we have any revolutionary or new message in our book but there's one thing I would like people to take away from it. People are not good or bad- this is not how we label people. People do things that are good or bad even that's subjective. Things will always be grey but it's up to you which shade of grey, you will be.

That's a great message to have, because it's so true. People are people and I totally agree about the subjectivity of "good" and "bad"—everyone has their own version of what fits into those categories.

Tori, if you could go back to when you first started writing, what would you tell yourself?

Tori: If I could go back to the beginning, the first thing I would do is smack myself.

Right across the head.

Then, eventually, I guess I'd tell her that there are these things called descriptions, which she should be using to make future Tori's life easier. I can't even count the amount of time I spent trying to add descriptions into places, just because the original text had none whatsoever.

Hahaha! Descriptions are definitely important and really do bring out the best in a book. The ones you have now are mint!

And just to wrap up, is there anything either of you would like to say to your readers and followers?

Zaid: Are you really reading this book? It's sort of unbelievable for me to think that people are actually reading our book. but if you are, you have no idea how happy you make me and I hope you continue enjoying the story.

I'm sure your readers are really happy to be reading your books and will be glad to hear that! Honestly, your books are a joy to read!

Tori, is there anything you'd like to add before we finish up?

Tori: Not really, I also find it impossible to believe that there are people that read the mess of a book we wrote. But I'm extremely grateful that they do. Authors are nothing without their readers.

Very true and I bet your readers will be very pleased to hear how appreciated and valued they are!

Right, so that's us! Thank you both so much for your time and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day or evening.

Zaid: Now

We yeet Dy.