This interview is with therapysession37. She's a very talented young writer who, despite not hanging around Wattpad much, is posting her story Punctual here for us all to enjoy. It's already found its way onto Project Fiction's Good Fiction list and it is a very fascinating, character-driven story of a young girl making her way through the highly competitive world of a Japanese high school. If you haven't checked it out, you're missing out.
Her interview is really interesting and some of her answers really got me thinking; I hope they do the same for you.
Enjoy!
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1. Where are you from and what are the best and worst things about where you live?
I live in Pennsylvania, right outside Philadelphia. The people in my township are rather well known for being rich (which is true for a good amount of the people in my school district) and their personalities can often reflect that. Dealing with those sorts of people in high school is always unpleasant, but even more so when their parents act the same way! The good part, however, is the fact that since the majority of kids at my school have their own cars, I can always get a ride when I need it, hahaha.
2. If I asked everybody who knows you to describe your personality, what would I hear the most and why?
Most people would say that I'm very quiet, which I am with those who I don't know as well. Those with whom I'm close would most likely say that I'm extremely sarcastic and that I also have a great deal of pride - I don't like asking for help unless I really need it. Also, I dress like a forty-year-old British man, so maybe that says something about my personality as well.
3. Who has been the biggest role model to you in your life and how have they influenced you?
My two older sisters have had a great deal of influence on my life. They grew up together, two years apart, but there's a pretty large age gap between them and me, so I've always unconsciously used them as my role models. They were essentially another pair of adults to me as I was growing up. I've learned way too many things from them to count, skills like choosing decent clothes to wear and what kind of music to listen to, but also how to always keep my dignity and not let my temper make me do or say things that I might regret.
4. What do you like to do when you're not writing or at school?
I've played the violin since I was three. I love to draw and paint, read, and I'm also part of my school's science olympiad club. Other than that, I unfortunately spend much of my time doing schoolwork or studying.
5. What do you plan to do when you finish studying?
I had always thought that I would pursue a career in medicine and become a doctor, although lately I've been reevaluating my options. I love science, biology and chemistry especially, so I'll definitely be searching for something in those fields. I do, however, have several back-up plans, one of which is to drop out of high school and make a lucrative career in tattoo artistry/cake decorating. I'm not kidding.
6. What is your favorite song?
This is a completely unfair and impossible question for me to answer, so I'll evade it and just list the songs that I've been hooked on recently: Dream City (Free Energy), I'm in Disgrace (The Kinks), She's Losing It (Belle and Sebastian), Never is Enough (Barenaked Ladies), and City of the Dead (The Clash).
7. Do you write in other languages besides English? What is your favorite language in which to write?
Nah, English is the only language I can really formulate my thoughts in, unfortunately.
8. How did you come up with the idea for Punctual? Is Sayako based on someone you know?
The idea for Punctual came from my own observations of the pressure-cooker environment that seems to encapsulate high school students in this day and age. I think the mounting stress and tension that students face has escalated to such a degree that many students (and their parents) have begun to put an almost idiotic amount of value on acquiring the resume to attain entrance to a prestigious university.
Sayako, the main character of my story, is a compilation of my emotions, fears, and struggles as I trek though my own four years of high school, which is why writing her character can be extremely easy yet difficult at the same time. Sayako's personality however, is a lot more disciplined than my own; her almost OCD tendencies are loosely based off one of my classmates. I'm just going to assume that she will never see this.
9. Do you think it's more important to concentrate on characters or plot while you're writing and why?
I'll take the easy way out and say that both the characters and the plot are important in a successful story, although I have a tendency of focusing quite a bit more on character development. Part of the reason why I sometimes struggle to get through a chapter is because the plot of the story itself is rather mundane; it's really the characters that drive the story forward. And especially because Sayako is based and fueled by many of my own thoughts and feelings, I tend to take my time translating those things into my writing.
10. What is your writing style; carefully planned out or make it up as you go? Do you think that it's effective?
Most of the time I try to have a basic idea of what my purpose is in writing a particular scene or chapter, but most of the time it's a bit touch-and-go when it comes to this story. I know how it's going to end, I just need to figure out how to get there first, hahaha.
11. What is the last book you read and what made you choose it?
The last book that I read was one that I had first picked up in my middle school library while in the seventh grade - it's called Indigo's Star, by Hilary McKay. It's definitely geared towards younger kids, but for some reason, it affected me in such a way that I knew I had to get my own copy (I made my sister order it for me online just this past year. I hunted through so many bookstores but could never find a copy in stock). I read it when I need to feel like a little kid again; it's one of those books that's really precious to me. With those kinds of books, I only reread them every once in a while so that each reading feels special, as lame as that sounds.
12. What is the one book you would recommend to others and why?
I would recommend that everyone read Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, if they haven't already. The first time I got through it, I didn't understand some of the heavier stuff (I was maybe in my first years of middle school), but the feeling of being able to identify with the main character at a time when I felt pretty isolated both at school and at home makes it one of my favorite books (even if I can't say the same for the rest of the books in the series, unfortunately). I tend to take it out when I feel as if I need some encouragement, for whatever reason.
13. Punctual is on Project Fiction's Good Fiction list. How did you feel when it got accepted and are you planning to try and get it published when it's finished?
I was pretty surprised once I had gotten the message. When I first started writing the story, it was more of a collection of imaginings and thoughts extrapolated from what I had experienced myself; it's weird knowing that other people are reading what I'm putting out. I probably won't delve into any sort of publication stuff. I'm kind of lazy.
14. What do you like the most about publishing your story one chapter at a time on Wattpad?
I like that I can plan for each chapter to accomplish a particular "goal," whether it's to introduce a new character or develop a specific plot point. The trouble is when I don't know what I want my goal for a chapter to be - that's when I tend to get stuck.
15. What advice would you give other young writers?
Just stick with it. Also, keep records. I try to do the same thing with my art - it's a great feeling and so much more satisfying flipping back to old pieces and seeing how far you've come in comparison. I used to throw away my old sketchbooks because I felt as if they just showed how horrible my artistic skills were. Don't do that. No matter how much you may think that your art, your writing, your whatever sucks, remember that you put time and effort into it, and that makes it beautiful.
