The Bootcamp Mentors are proud to present a spotlight interview with MilaForLife, author of The Lethal Encounter | ONC2024 Longlister. Check out this writer's works and give them a shout out in the comments.
BCM: What prompted you to start writing on Wattpad and what do you like most about the platform as a writer?
MilaForLife: What prompted me to start writing on Wattpad was my desire to achieve my childhood dreams. I haven't had the time or opportunity to do so for years, probably for about 12 years or so. I was homeschooled during that time, and writing was considered "a waste of time", even as a hobby. So, I was unconfident and unprepared when I published my first short story on Wattpad. The criticism I received was horrendous, and it almost made me want to quit, but instead I somewhat rose up from the hit and continued with the intent to improve and regain my skills.
What I like most about the platform as a writer is the great opportunity to meet other writers who write similar stories and support one another. The amount of advice, tips, and support that I've received from other fellow writers have helped me immensely in my own journey as a writer, especially during ONC. And along the way, I've also discovered some amazing stories that have inspired me or I've simply enjoyed for their creativity and awesomeness.
BCM: How did you discover the Bootcamp Mentors and what have you found most valuable about this Wattpad community program?
MilaForLife: I think I actually discovered Bootcamp Mentors through DomiSotto. I follow her, and she posted the announcement on her profile so I went over to look and I was immediately interested in the opportunity to be mentored for 6 weeks by an experienced writer on Wattpad. I've found this community program to be a very nice place to be a part of, and I've discovered new writing processes that I believe are helping me a lot to create a story I can be proud of.
BCM: What motivated you to write the story you're working on with your mentor?
MilaForLife: I've had this idea for a vampire romance for quite some time, probably a few years. I loved watching movies like The Underworld, the Blade Trilogy, Queen of the Damned, Bloodrayne, and so on, and I used to write down ideas for a story but they were all lost when we moved from one State to another. It wasn't until I watched 'First Kill', the canceled Netflix tv series, that the idea was brought back to my mind. I was furious at the ending, lol, and I was determined to avenge it. I think that was 2 years ago? The final thing that actually motivated me to start writing it was the ONC prompt 'Your greatest fear is monsters in the dark. The last thing you expect is to become the Monster in the dark.' After passing Round 2, I decided to pull it out of the contest and instead focus on using the general idea and applying it into my longtime dream of creating the right vampire romance novel.
BCM: If you had to describe your story in three words, what would they be?
MilaForLife: Vampires, Betrayal, Gay
BCM: Tell us one thing about your writing process that has helped you the most.
MilaForLife: I used to set deadlines for myself, and even though it has helped me achieve certain writing goals such as writing 30k in a month or writing multiple short stories for small contests every single month along with my big projects, it reached a point where I completely burnt myself out earlier this year. I could barely write anything for the next month because my brain was completely stuck. So, I've learned that I need to balance everything out and make sure that I'm not overwhelming myself and that I'm taking care of myself as well. It's okay to take a break once in a while, otherwise you'll end up breaking down with no point of return. After all, we're not machines.
BCM: Share two Wattpad story recommendations.
MilaForLife: I absolutely LOVED reading Nobody Like You by AziaElga. The book was full of humor and real life situations that I greatly enjoyed, and it has definitely inspired me! Another one would be Ultima Ratio by laurendoubleu. I love reading stories where I can relate to one of the characters xD
Thank you, MilaForLife. We wish you all the best in your writing endeavors.
More BCM spotlight interviews are on the way!
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