Zephyr Interviews

• Award Interview With @BrynneWeaver

Brynneweaver's interview
                           
                                          -By LeeYuNa

Author : brynneweaver

1) May we know a few words about yourself?

Sure! I'm a Canadian author, I live on a farm near the sea on the East Coast with my husband, my son, and our crazy assortment of animals. I work in Clinical Research at a large pharmaceutical company where I specialize in Neuroscience R&D.

2) When did you start writing either on this platform or in normal way?

I started writing in general when I was very young. I remember writing on my grandma's typewriter on rainy days when I was five! I've written off and on ever since. In the autumn of 2020, I decided to commit to writing every day, and started uploading chapters for The Diviner on an ongoing basis to keep myself accountable to that goal. I finished writing that book in March of this year, and I am now working on both sequel books as well as an entirely new series called A Shadow In The Reaping.

3) What is your motivation to write?

I like to stay busy and use my brain - I get antsy and anxious if I'm not doing something that's either physically or mentally active. Reading and writing are like down-time for me. So I'm very lucky, because it doesn't take much will-power to sit down and write as that's my switch-off activity! I also take the approach of writing whenever and wherever I can, so I don't feel like it's a chore to sit down and write. Almost all of The Diviner was actually written on my phone, before I got my new laptop!

4) How did you feel when you got to know that you are the winner?

Super excited, honoured, and grateful, thank you!!!! I am always impressed by how much time the judges take out of their busy lives to read and judge so many works, so it truly is an honour. 

5) Did you ever face criticism? If yes how did you overcome it?

I've been pretty lucky so far, to be honest. Most of the critiques I've received of my work have been very fair and measured. I take any feedback I get and really think about it, and I always consider implementing changes. I try not to take it personally, it's not like anyone knows me anyway! There have been some bits of feedback that were sooooo helpful and enabled me to stay true to the characters.

6) When did you came across this genre?

I was reading some popular fantasy / romantasy series before I started writing The Diviner. I didn't find many books that were more skewed to adults without being too 'high fantasy', nor did I find many with a female lead who was truly strong, capable, and complex. They tended to be either 'too perfect' or 'too flawed', not a balanced mix in my mind. So that's what I tried to do - I wrote the book that I wanted to read.

7) What was your opinion about our awards and the way we hosted it?

Your awards were great! Very well organized with super friendly people. I also love that you do interviews, that's always a great prize. And you got the judging done so quickly, I was very impressed!

8)How do you handle writers block?

I usually jump to another scene in the book that I'm looking forward to writing. I don't pre-plot anything (I'm a pantser), so if I feel blocked I just write something I've been visualizing that might end up occurring much further along in the book. For example, I wrote Chapter 17 of The Diviner after I'd finished Chapter 3, and then I worked my way there. Sometimes, I also re-read the positive comments that readers have left me to remind myself that I can think my way out of it, and to not be too hard on myself if I feel blocked. If I need a little mental break to figure out some story details, I usually hop on my motorcycle or ride my horse!

9) Do you plan on taking writing as a profession?

No, not a full-time job, more like a side hustle :) I actually really enjoy my job in pharma, and that my work helps to develop new medicines for serious illnesses like Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's.

10)What was the response you got when you first published this book?

Very positive! I've had some wonderful supporters as I've gone along like  Willvote4u and  wdhenning and  spelunkadunk and HC_Leungand I'm so grateful for their positive comments. It really helps to not lose heart in the moments when you feel unsure about yourself.

11) Is there any advice you would like to give to teenagers out there?

Create opportunities for yourself. Network with other people, which is something that WP is great for! Be kind to yourself and to others, it will always open more doors than it closes. Think about how you can add value for someone, whether it's leaving a nice comment, giving someone a shout-out, or offering to help. When you add value to the world, it comes back to you. 

13) A few words about our community

It seems so friendly! You are all so responsive and supportive, and everyone I've met so far has been lovely.

14) Would you like to join this community?

Yes! As long as I'm not too old?!

15) How did you feel giving us the interview? Any suggestions would you like to give?

I'm very grateful for the opportunity, so THANK YOU very much. My only suggestion is to keep doing what you're doing, because this is what WattPad should be about :)