Interview With The LIB Writers

Elle Strange (March 11, 2015)

 

Date: March 11, 2014

Codename: Elle Strange, Other secret account

1.      Introduce/describe yourself…

-          Night owl. Mercurial. Rebel and opinionated. I can be in bitch mode if necessary and not be sorry about it. I am the type of person that usually gets misunderstood. I like learning new things. One of my dreams is to travel and explore places. In writing, I always go with the saying “write what you want to read” and I think I could never go wrong in that.

2.      When did you start writing?

-          I started writing fan fiction scripts when I was just in elementary school. When I watch teledramas and I can’t wait for the next day’s episode, I tend to create the script of what I imagine the next scenes/episode would be. I started writing stories officially when I was just a freshman in High School. I write at notebooks and my classmates would read it.

3.      Nakakapagod pala mag-English. Kaya… saang tadyang mo hinugot ang penname mo? Ano ang problema mo?

-          Some people call me Elle from my real name Hazel. Strange because I think it describe me in some ways.

4.      Ano ang naramdaman mo noong kinontak ka ng LIB o noong nalaman mong na-approve ang story mo? Alam kong masaya, pero ano ang kuwento?

-          Just like some of the writers, I was contacted at wattpad first. I entertained the offer. I wasn’t really expecting so much in it. My mind was only thinking the fact that my story would be a book and I can see it in the bookstores soon. I feel so damn blessed not just by it, but for the fact that I gained more supporters and friends being a published writer.

5.      Sino ang nagtulak, nanadyak, bumugaw sa 'yo na magsulat? Sino ang mga inspirasyon mo sa pagsusulat?

-          My Aunt, I guess. She’s my mother’s sister. She’s been caring for me, my siblings and cousins when we were young. She’s been into pocketbooks and I got hooked with it too. Reading them since I was young opened my eyes into the possibilities and my potential. And here I am now.

6.      Ano ang routine mo o writing process mo o ritwal mo bago magsulat? Paki-describe, briefly.

-          Well, my motivation comes at different times. I would usually read comments of my readers from the last update I made in that certain stories, then I would start typing if I feel like I can really write something. I don’t force myself to write for the sake of just having an update. I take my story to the heart, so I needed to write something I thought that would suit the story itself. I am also a diverse reader, I am observant. I get inspiration from different things. I would usually drink cold coffee when I am typing before the dawn. Sometimes, chocolates are also essential.

7.      Paano mo tini-take ang mga negative comments/feedbacks sa mga story mo—kung meron man? (Sumagot ng nobela, at least 10 chapters. Joke lang.)

-          Funny thing is, if there’s someone or some people who hate me for something, it’s definitely because of my work. I haven’t read or knew yet any negative feedback regarding my stories. Hindi ko alam kung hindi ko pa lang nababasa or what, but negative feedbacks with my works are the least NEGATIVE thing they’d be hating me with. Lol.

8.      Bukod sa pagiging writer, ano pa ang isa mga pangarap mo?

-          Whenever someone would ask me this, I would always answer “to be a successful businesswoman someday.” I thought that was the easiest answer I can give, but later on, I realized it’s actually really what I wanted to be in the future.

9.      Meron ka bang paboriting libro na minsan ay naisip mong ikaw na lang ang nagsulat? Ano 'yon at bakit?

-          Hindi naman sa “sana ako na lang ang nagsulat” but more on like, I wish I could have write something similar or like it. Or they way they had written it. For one, The Knight In Shining Suit [The Knight In Shining Armani] by Jerilee Kaye. Martha Cecilia’s Sweetheart Series number 4, My Knight In Shining Armour (Alright, they are different stories and plot, the title just happened to have a little similar title lol) The Invisible Girl by Alexisse Rose. And more.

10.  Sino ang mga hinahangaan mong Filipino writers? At ano ang impluwensiya nila sa pagsusulat mo ngayon?

-          I like Bob Ong’s take on things. Hindi ko pa nababasa ibang libro nya, but whenever I do, my mind tend to be blown away by his books. On wattpad writers, I like Beeyotch’s way of narrating her stories. Jhing Bautista’s Karmic Hearts blew my mind too. Yui Chizuru’s You won’t like him when he’s mad and Anny Syvil’s Wicked Ways inspired me to do my first ever mature story. Akane is my current favorite. Her Consunji series, which I stopped, reading because I find it so good that I might accidentally write a very similar story in some ways, are just good. It’s awesome.

11.  Saan ka kumukuha ng mga inspirasyon sa mga plot mo? (Hindi ko ito ipagkakalat, pramis.)

-          It just pops up, or whenever I read a story that I wanted the similar plot, I would do my take in it. Usually, sa mga English stories sa wattpad ako nakaka kuha ng plot na napapa “shit, I want something like this too.” And since, one of my motto in writing is “write what you want to read” well, I would push in writing something like it.

12.  Titles of your published and to be published book…

-Published: I Married The Ice King, Faking It and Seducing Bad Boys.

Soon to be published: Muli Book 1 and 2, Kidnapped Love. One more from my secret account.

13.  Ano ang side mo doon sa mga nagsasabing dahil sa wattpad ay marami na ang nabubuntis at nag-aasawa ng maaga?

-          Para na rin nilang sinabi na tanga at walang sariling pag iisip lahat ng kabataan na nagpadikta sila sa mga story na nababasa nila. They can be influenced, but dang it, they know what’s right or wrong. Besides, bago pa magka wattpad, lumalala na ang teenage pregnancy so blaming wattpad stories or writers for it is just plain stupid. They just needed someone or something to blame for a problem that’s already been there even before the existence of the platform they blame for it.

 

14.   If you will be given a chance (alam kong may chance naman talaga) to step out from your comfort zone, anong klaseng istorya ang isusulat mo?

-          I would really love to write a supernatural themed fantasy story and a book about women empowerment. I’m all about being fair with men and women, but I think there are just too damn many women who don’t know their potential that they just settle for what they think is the only thing they can do. And I am prepping myself when the time comes that I can already write these.

15.  Payo mo sa mga aspiring writers?

-          Don’t stop reading, don’t stop learning. Write something that you, yourself would want to read. Or even your grandchildren would want to read. Write what you want; don’t just write what you know.