Interviews

April 2022 - Interview with Renee Racine-Kinnear

Good Morning everyone, Elveloy here with our Author of the Month, rdracine writer of the dystopian novella, The Trouble With Women our Book of the Month for April.

Elveloy: Firstly, Renee, can you tell us a little about your non-wattpad life?

Renee: I live with my family in a tiny little house in the Danforth neighbourhood of Toronto. Sadly or poetically, depending on your outlook, this house is just a few blocks from where I was born. I've tried living in other cities, but I came circling right back here like a homing pigeon. You'll find Toronto plays a starring role in every story I write because I love it. And I hate it. But mostly love.

I'm your standard grade writer/introvert who has been living her best life through the pandemic (sorry, not sorry!) and I'm truly nervous about the prospect of having to return to the office because I suppose they'll expect me to wear outside pants. Like most writers, I spend my free time reading (humour, feminist fiction, dystopian, thrillers) and watching ALL the Netflix (and Crave and Prime and Disney and Sundance).

I proudly continue to rep the B in LGBTQ+ and this year, I had the honour of taking part in a project with the Toronto ArQuives on the documentation of our community's history. I try to bring a little of the rainbow into each and every story I write as well.

Elveloy: What drew you to Wattpad?

Renee: In the aftermath of a regrettable career move, I found myself at home, burned out and considering my next step. Through the long, hot days of an entire summer, I sat in our backyard, wandered around the park, and observed people in the local coffee shops. I pushed myself to connect with some sense of purpose before looking for another job. I'd always been a writer, although never in long-form (the idea of producing a whole novel felt... unlikely, to say the least). But, in the quiet of all those park walks, an idea presented itself.

I went back home that afternoon, googled 'how to format a manuscript' and went from there. I went on to complete the first draft of my first novel that year. The question of whether what I'd written was any good or not needed answering and that's how I found Wattpad.

Since I joined in 2018, I've been so grateful for the warmth of the community here and the support I've received from Wattpad's team of editors and ambassadors. That first story is now in the Paid Program (All Good Things) and I've written 3 other long-form stories since. But the real magic of Wattpad has been the opportunity to meet and interact with other fierce, phenomenal, grassroots writers every day.

If it weren't for Wattpad, that first draft would probably still be idling on my hard drive. I doubt I would have written the other stories I did. Finding Wattpad reconnected me with that sense of purpose I'd been looking for.

Elveloy: Moving on to your writing, do you consider yourself a 'plotser' or a 'pantser'?

Renee: I start every project by writing out a story arc -- a page full of jumbled ideas, themes I want to hit, the central question I want to pose and answer. Sometimes, if I'm feeling very diligent, I'll even rough out the main plot points at 5k increments. But then I start writing... and the characters take over. I conjure them up and, I swear, they tell me where we're going next and how we're going to get there. I often look back at the original arc later and am surprised by where I ended up. So I guess that's pantsing my way through a plot. Sort of.

In The Trouble with Women, the character of Dolly appeared and really drove the story. Without spoiling it, Dolly has episodes that reach back into a childhood trauma. Her memories are ugly and brutal -- and they presented themselves to me fully formed. I conjured up this little girl, imagined her pink jelly shoes and braids into existence and she turned around and told me something terrible. Out of respect for her story, we went there. But it was hard. That probably sounds a bit unhinged but I think all writers are. At least a little.

Elveloy: I see your story, The Trouble with Women, made it to the Open Novella Contest Long List. How was that experience for you? Do you have an entry in this years competition?

Renee: Participating in the ONC last year was a great experience. The first months of the pandemic had thrown me into a writing funk. I didn't seem able to concentrate. Or the characters I was creating weren't speaking loudly enough for me to hear them. The ONC prompts gave me a much-needed seed and the milestone deadlines gave me a schedule. I recommend it to anyone who needs to be jolted out of a rut.

I wanted to do it again this year, but I'm just rounding the final corner on my current story (All That and Then Some, the sequel to All Good Things) and just couldn't do two things at once. I had a great idea for it though. I'll come back to it.

Elveloy: And what's next in the pipeline for you?

Renee: By the end of April, I'll have completed All That and Then Some. Typing THE END on something you've worked on for the better part of a year is always a big moment. I've been toying with the idea of creating a podcast version of The Trouble with Women to see if I can extend its reach.

I really feel like it's an important story -- a take on feminine power that you rarely see -- and one that our culture is ready for. My greatest hope is that it finds its way into Wattpad Studios' capable hands. I would love to see this turned into a series. Maybe that's a bit self-serving, but have I mentioned that I watched ALL the Netflix? We need new content :)

Elveloy: And that concludes our interview for today, thank you so much for coming in to talk to us, Renee.
And if the viewers would like to read more about The Trouble with Women, you can read our Book of the Month review here.