The Odds

Interview with ScrapbookLove (MoT victor)

Hi there! It's Nox here, and I'm bringing you an exclusive interview with ScrapbookLove, who won our most recent Games Memoranda of Terror with her wonderful tribute Coral Beaudelaire. Coral, sponsored by Khave VeCorekler, absolutely stormed through the final to take first place, and I took the first chance I could to spring some questions on our surprised victor.

Scrapbook - can I call you Scrapbook? - hello there! We'll start with the obvious question: how does it feel to have won? Did you ever think you'd get this far?

I still cannot believe I won! I woke up this morning squealing because I remembered! I went into the competition expecting to be voted out in one of the earlier rounds, so making it to the finals was an amazing feeling. And then to win? It felt like the biggest honor of all times. And between luck and the Gamermaker's love of Coral, I never went up for votes, and basically walked into the finals! Plus, even when I got to the finals, I was assuming I would get dead last (it's true! I told that to at least three people, who all told me I'd do fine. Guess I should have listened!) Honestly, I don't know how to explain how amazingly amazing winning something as amazing as an Author_Games competition.

Well, that's great to hear! Now, the Gamemakers absolutely adored Coral, so you're going to have to tell us where your inspiration came from!

I still find it extremely weird that people like Coral! In the beginning, I just randomly picked a Career district because I was nervous about getting stuck with a lower district. The only reason she hated her sister was because of my own dislike of original district tokens. I decided that I was sick of the token I always try to throw on my tributes; a watch/necklace from a dead parent. So I picked something different! There wasn't much inspiration, but I was in a bad mood while I was writing the interviews so I threw a sob-story in with her, and she morphed into it!

You've been a fairly regular participant in our Games, and we happen to know that you also write and make tributes for fanfics, so tell us; which of the tributes that you've made have been your favourites?

Oh boy, this question is so hard. It is like asking someone to pick their favorite child. There was my first ever tribute, Lydia Phillips, who fought off zombies with her loudmouth, who I adored. But then there was Jack O. Lantern, from the Halloween District, who was my dream man (and had the best name ever)! But of course, there was Coral Beaudelaire, who ended up betting the odds and winning! That is such a hard question!

Coral didn't exactly have an easy time in the arena, thanks to the Gamemakers. Which task was your favourite and why?

Oh, this one is easy! Task Five- The Danger Inside! It was the ultimate, heart-breaking task! The mist transforming into your biggest fear was genius! I think it really showed a more vulnerable side of even the toughest tributes, which was nice to see so far into the games!

I'll be sure to pass that on to Pandora! Now, you're our newest victor, so do you have any advice for other potential participants? Notebooks ready, folks!

I'm not the best at advice, which is why most of my tributes aren't very compassionate, but I'll try! Don't be afraid to enter! I know it was super intimidating for me to enter my first games, but if I hadn't do it, then I wouldn't have won! You also need to take chances with your writing, even in the final entries that you write! And if you get voted out, don't worry about it! Each of my tributes have made it farther than the last, and they aren't kidding when they say you need to keep trying! Finally, just think of it as fun, not a big, scary competition!

Excellent advice! I hope you all got that out there! You must be getting sick of talking about your Games now, so here's the last question about it! Can you describe your experience in three words? And has it changed you as a writer?

Heart-breaking (I think I cried when I killed Vixen..). Nerve-wracking (did I move on? did I win?!). Exciting. I think these Games changed me as a writer more than any others that I have participated in! I realized that to get places when writing, you actually have to challenge yourself and take risks, no matter how scary it is.

Read or write?

Oh it depends on my mood! If I am feeling lazy, I will stick with reading. I mean, all the thoughts, all the feeling are already out on paper in my hands. The most I have to do is turn the page! When I want to challenge myself, I like to write. It is a lot harder, but it feels a lot better when you are finished writing a story than when you are just reading it.

And finally, because we're running short on time, what's your favourite book outside the world of Panem, and who is your favourite character in it?

Are we talking classic or modern? Classic would be Alice in Wonderland! A girl falls down a rabbit hole into an alternate universe with Dodo birds and talking rabbits. It is genius! I love Alice (I know, how cliche to like the protagonist the best..) If we are talking modern, then I have to go with, yes, The Fault in Our Stars! I bawled my eyes out about ten times reading it! Again, I am going to have to be cliche and say Augustus was my favorite! No matter what happened to him, with death on his doorstep, he never gave up.

Wow! Well, I'm afraid that's all we've got time for! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions; now go and enjoy your well-deserved victory! Ladies and gentlemen, this was your Memoranda of Terror winning author; ScrapbookLove!