Dayeon, from CLN, had the honor of interviewing very talented author, Potato_Man9001.  Potato is the author of several books on Wattpad including The Silver Fox's Guide: A Story of Uprising, The Fractured Empire: A Tale of Downfall and several more.

Anyway, I'm Dayeon from Crazy Late Nighters, feel free to call me DY, and I'll be holding your interview today.

What name or pen name would you like to go by and what pronouns do you use?

My pen name is potato_man9001, but you can simply refer to me as potato. My pronouns are he/him.

Sweet! Great to meet you! I'll get things started

Why and how did you get into writing in the first place?

Geez, that's a tricky question to answer. I enjoyed writing when I was a little kid, but I got serious with it when I was in seventh grade. (I think I was fifteen or so.) When I was a freshman in highschool, I canned this original series and started a completely different one. As for why I got into writing, I'm a sucker for science fiction and fantasy. I enjoy coming up with stories for people to read, so I wrote to my heart's content.

Hmm...the "how" of your question is also tricky. I read books like the Percy Jackson series and the Harry Potter series when I was younger, so I got inspired to the point where I picked up a pencil and started writing.

Haha, I guess it is. But that's really cool—fantasy and sci-fi are some of the best genres (I'm also very into them).

What inspired the Haze Trilogy?

Heh, ah yes. I have a feeling krippy told you about it. Honestly, I wanted to write a science fiction book with a main character who wasn't exactly "good." Since I was watching The Mandalorian around the time I started writing book one of the Haze Trilogy, "Dead Men Have No Legacies," I made my main character a bounty hunter. I grew up with movies like Star wars, so I loved the idea of exploring a vast galaxy.

Yes, Krippy did. That's actually quite an interesting concept. Not many main characters aren't the "good guy" in their stories. And Star Wars is amazing—so iconic!

Did you plan out the trilogy or are you more the kind to just jump in and see where the writing takes you?

Um, yes 🤣

In all seriousness, I did both: I jumped into book one when I wrote up the prologue, and I planned out important scenes while improvising along the way.

I wanted to keep this series small, so I decided on writing a trilogy early on. Everything else followed

Best of both worlds! It's good to have some fluidity, but it's also important to know where the story is going.

What about the genres of fantasy and sci-fi appealed to you?

I think the main detail about both genres that appealed to me the most was the wonder you could capture with your story. With words, you can paint a mythical forest with faeries fluttering though the dense foliage or a booming city in the sky with ships flying around it. With worlds like these, you can create such awe-inspiring worlds. For me, that makes all the planning and moments of writer's block worth it.

I definitely agree with you there. There's something about creating a world and a culture so different from our own that really satisfies the imagination.

You mentioned writers' block—how do you overcome it?

I step away from my writing. Sometimes, we as writers become so entangled in our work that we lose where we're going. Rather than trying to power through the writer's block, I take a break-it doesn't matter if I work on another book or play animal crossing, I allow myself to calm down and sort through my thoughts. After that, I go back to the book I was working on and see if I can continue.

If I'm still bogged down by writer's block, that's when I resort to planning out my novel more. I try to focus on the important events and why they happen.

That's a really good method. I often find myself so entangled that I feel I have to just push through, so I'll certainly be taking this advice!

Are there any other challenges that you face while writing and how do you get around them?

Hmm...names. definitely names.

Oh yes... names!

With sci-fi in particular, you have to name everything: the planets, the cities, the species that inhabit said planets, everything.

How do you create your names?

So what I try to do is come up with a name that suits a purpose. Do I want an evil, ominous sounding planet? Bam, Xerxus X. (I was thinking of Xerxes the great when I came up with the name) do I want a peaceful, pastoral planet? Boom, Vernalis. (Vernal equinox 😅).

In short, I try to have a reason for coming up with the name of a planet. As for cities and species, I wing it 😅 I wish I could describe my method, but I simply type down what sounds cool.

One example being the Darka'ash, a species I introduce in my second book.

Intriguing! It's quite good giving names meaning or conveying meaning through names. They're quite important when it comes to developing a world.

Another question from Krippy93: do you write with music for specific scenes? You wrote about having been inspired by music tracks.

Yeah 😅 I'm heavily inspired by music. For scenes, I use it to set the mood. If I'm writing a fast-paced combat scene, I usually listen to a genre like metal. If I'm trying to write something more somber, I try to listen to something calmer and melancholic.

As for characters, that's where things get a little more ambiguous. It's usually after I create a character that I find music that inspired them. That begs the question "how can music inspire a character?" Aaaand that's where the ambiguity comes in. It just feels right when I listen to a certain song and realize it reminds me of a character. It's kind of like two puzzle pieces fitting together.

Listening to music while writing is not for everyone, but it's certainly helped me get a certain time across with more clarity.

Wow, that's really cool. Music can be so inspiring and emotive. I imagine it prompts some very intriguing scenes!

Do you think writing has changed your view on the world? If so, how?

I'd like to hope it has. If anything, writing's shown me how to look at the world in a different light. It may sound a bit corny, but focusing on the smaller things really helps. Things have been a bit...convoluted on the global stage as of late, so learning to look away from the broader picture helps

That doesn't sound corny at all! It's actually quite wise. Sometimes we need to just step back and notice the little things and the everyday wonders that go unseen.

For any book, character development is really important. Do you have any tips for how to develop solid characters?

Heheh. For any character, main or minor, less is more. What I mean by that is don't give the reader every tidbit of a character's backstory in a single chapter. Likewise, don't heavily develop a character through the span of a few chapters. For genuine development to happen, it has to start at the beginning and end at the final chapter. (Or epilogue) develop a character through the events in a book-if the antagonist kills someone important to the plot, it wouldn't be good development if the other characters don't show much of a response.

Now, stretching out the development of a character for too long could potentially bore readers, so we have to find a sort of middle ground where it's not too fast or too slow.

(personally, I give tidbits and hints until something major happens in my story)

That's very true. Characters should have genuine reactions and in real life, people are developed by their response to the events around them.

Tidbits and hints? That's quite interesting. Would you do the same thing for potential plot twists?

😇 not at all

No, I definitely would (I can't freaking English...)

I give hints of said plot twist, and I try to keep the reader guessing until the plot twist happens. It may be wrong that I find joy in doing this, but keeping the reader in the dark while giving them just enough to keep going onward has its uses.

Haha in was just about to ask you if it was really all out of the blue! It's really good to have something for the readers to work out and ponder over—it makes the story more engaging.

(Haha all good, I'm the same today!)

Are you the kind of writer to use symbolism and motifs?

Hmm...that's a good question. I've used a little bit of symbolism in my second book, but I don't think I've used a crazy amount of it. For an organization I came up with that opposed the main government in this series, I used the broken cog as a symbol. For the moment, at least, that's the only example my sleep-addled mind can recall.

Haha, fair enough. Sometimes it's quite difficult to work symbols into the narrative and sometimes you do it without realising! It's great to have them, but important not to go overboard.

What's your opinion on cliches?

(I don't know. Maybe the names of some planets I came up with have a symbolic meaning to them.)

Hmm...depends on the cliche. Personally, I'm not a fan of cliches like "the damsel in distress" or "the chosen one." This is merely my opinion, but these two cliches, among others, have been used far too many times. If a book is well written, then I guess it can still succeed, but I'd rather branch out and try different options. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you can take a cliche and turn it into something new, (ie, someone who's considered "the chosen one" who actually brings ruin to the other characters *cough* anakin *cough*) then it works perfectly

(Yeah, I think that counts)

That's an interesting opinion. I guess that begs the question: "if you make the cliche unique, is it still a cliche?"

Cliches are often cliche for a reason. Do you think there are any cliches that are actually important to your genre?

Oof...you're bringing in the good questions. Hate to go down the star wars route, but a plausible cliche could be the good guys blowing up the weapon the bad guys created and/or discovered. (I may or may not be guilty of doing this...) As for other cliches, I'm pulling a blank. You have "the chosen one" cliche, which I've already mentioned. I may have to see what other cliches there are in the sci-fi genre, but I'm coming up empty

(well. Thinking back to old-age sci-fi novels, you could have an evil government who controls their people and keeps them silent like in 1984 or brave New world. That's more dystopic, but I hope this makes sense)

Hmm, calling 1984 a sci-fi novel doesn't feel right..I have a feeling I was thinking of Fahrenheit 451 🤦🏻‍♂️

Yep, I have a feeling my thought process careened off a cliff. I apologise 😅

Hahah I've been trying to think of ones that aren't generic. It just seems like there might be some cliches that are elements of the genre or that are good because they develop the action.

(I think it does come under sci-fi, but also political fiction and dystopia...? And no worries, I've just finished a round of exams so my mind is also doing dumb things xD)

Wattpad has millions of books. What's one way you work to gain exposure?

(yeah that's a good point. Honestly, I don't think cliches fall under any one genre. They just come and go as they please.)

Hmm...one way I try to gain exposure on this crazy platform called Wattpad is being active on it. It's easier said than done, but building up a network of friends really pays off down the line. I was active on a forum on Wattpad for a fair bit, and it earned me a good amount of follows and reads. In the end, silently reading a book doesn't help if you want to be noticed. It's an effort for sure, but it certainly has a great return attached to it.

Yeah, I agree with you there. People won't interact with people that aren't active or won't interact with them.

On that note, are there particular ways you like to interact with your readers?

I've tried to keep things light-hearted and humorous when I respond to comments and post announcements. On that topic, I don't exactly have the best luck with announcements: I don't exactly know how useful they can be, so I typically don't bother with them. Considering the fact I'm trying to get ready for college, that's made things a bit... interesting for me

That seems like a good method. Lighthearted interactions are a great way to start. I agree with you about the announcements, they don't really bring up much for me either.

Editing can be a struggle and quite frankly, boring. What advice would you give regarding editing a book?

Yeah...I feel that. Editing is honestly a necessary evil: you may not enjoy it, but you will improve your story through editing. As for advice, don't fall into the mindset that you're editing your work. Rather, try to put yourself in the shoes of a reader who had never seen this book before. While, yes, it's not easy to pull this off, you'll be able to spot plot holes and anything else you may not notice. Also, don't beat yourself up over typos. Everyone has to deal with them, so fix them when they pop up.

That's really good advice and having good editing makes the story that much better!

Do you prefer writing in the first or third person and why do you have this preference?

Oof. Dang it, why must I choose...? Both points of view have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. First person allows you to learn the thoughts and feelings of the main character while third person omniscient allows you to understand how every character is feeling. (Third person limited is kind of like first person, but without "I, me, my") If I were to choose, I'd go with first person. I enjoy working with one character and showing the various interactions they undergo throughout the story. However, sticking to just one character gives a very skewed view of the plot at large-if you read the story through the eyes of a murderer, it wouldn't be the same if you switched the point of view to the sister of the murderer's latest victim. My suggestion for this problem is offering up different points of view in the first person. Not too many to the point the reader's confused, bit enough to where a clear idea of the plot at large can be painted.

Yeah, it can be a hard choice! It's also very interesting to be able to get in someone else's head in the way that you can through first person.

If you could go back to when you first began writing, what tips would you give yourself?

Heh, one time comes to mind: "show, don't tell." For as much as I have written, I've tried to show the reader an image instead of merely telling them. An example would be describing a landscape in detail and having a character comment on how there's so many trees around them. It kind of goes back to focusing on the smaller details: instead of trying to establish a grand stage, show the reader a rotten stump the main character stubs their tie on, or the trees that stir with birds singing their songs. If you try to describe this forest scene in a detached way, it comes off as rather info dumpy

In short, use your characters as a spy glass to view your world and the details that make it up

Ah yes, that's a very good one! Showing a story rather than telling it is a richer, more engaging form of writing.

In your stories, is there a message or moral that you want your readers to be able to take away?

Heh, I try to share a message with my readers. Even if my story takes place in a fictitious world, I try to make my characters as believable as possible. One such message I try to share is "it's okay to rely on others." The main character in "Dead Men Have No Legacies" is fairly reserved, and he keeps to himself more often than not. However, he learns to open up more throughout the story and realize that the friends he's made care for him. I know this is a different spin on the "bad guy bounty hunter" idea, but I wanted to show that this character is still human

That's a really nice message to take away, especially when it can be a difficult thing to do. I bet it's something the readers have and will appreciate.

For the final question: is there anything you'd like to say to your readers?

I think the only thing I can say to my readers right now is I love you all. May be a strange thing to say, but you honestly gave my stories a chance. It means everything to me, so I thank you

Thank you again and I hope the rest of your evening goes well.