Meet the authors Edition #3 (Dec 2018 To April 2019)

interview #46 @authorsophiawhitte

1 what's one Wattpad goal?

My main Wattpad goal is, honestly, seeing if people enjoy my writing. It's an amazing platform to see if your writing is good for you while also being entertaining for others. It's also shaped my writing in a new way. Before, I used to spend literal pages describing scenery. Now, I write the action quickly and end on cliffhangers, which honestly has improved my writing dramatically. Now, I get excited to write, because even I want to see what happens next.

2 what's your favorite book?

Ouch, that's difficult. I always say "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman though. It's gritty while still maintaining a vast, complex web of mythology. It basically asks the question of what a world would look like if everybody brought their old gods and beliefs with them, and whether the old gods could fight against the coming of technology.

3 what's your schedule regarding your writing?

I'm currently a college student, so I write once a week during the term. However, on breaks, I write every day I can get because I know these stories need to get finished and I finally have the AMAZING time to do it!

4 how would you spend a rainy day?

I'd love to say curled up with a book and leaning my head dramatically against the window with tea. Honestly though? Playing a video game or watching a movie. OR making a trek to the arts building to study while at school. I get dizzy when trying to read in gray lighting.

5 if you could hang out with your favorite celeb for a day, who would you choose and what would you do?

Lady Gaga! I'd honestly just love to see her plan out the day to see what she does. A brilliant actress and singer, it'd be the coolest thing to see what she finds fun despite all the pressures of fame. Maybe wander around an interactive art exhibit? Her sense of style is an art already.

6 what's a song you enjoy? Who is the artist?

"High Hopes" by Panic! (Brendon Urie). If you've ever seen the music video, he climbs a building while speaking of his initial struggle to become a musician. It's a feeling every artist has, no matter your medium.

7 what's a good piece of advice for a newcomer?

Read every day. Write every day. Write even when you don't have paper. Write entire stories in your head, and even if they vanish when you get to where you're going, you'd still have written for the day. Read VORACIOUSLY; it'll honestly make you a better writer because you'll be exposed to different writing styles and see what works for you. Note: stories come from EVERYWHERE, even video games/movies/TV etc. Search for them in everything.

8 what's the best way to handle a bully?

When I was getting bullied, I was a younger, mousy kid with messed-up hair and teeth. I could hardly throw a dodgeball in a decent line and I often read books by myself because nobody would talk to me.

As you grow older, people don't bully the same way that kids do. They don't throw things at you or call you obnoxious names. It's a subtle form of bullying. Words on a screen or behind your back.

I try and forgive whenever possible. Forgiving is the quickest way to forget a slight and forgive YOURSELF, most importantly, for thinking that you could've done anything different to make a hateful person kind. Sometimes, people are just on a power trip. Sometimes, people just lash out. Sometimes people just won't like you, for the most INSANE of reasons. If you cannot forgive (it's difficult, I know), then say that the past is in the past. There's no changing it, so you can only move forwards and do what that bully would hate: be madly happy.

If you're in a toxic situation though, be honest with yourself and others that care around you. Even if you tell yourself nobody cares, they do. Please reach out. I know it's hard, but even doing so little as telling someone you trust a mere -fraction- of what you're feeling can put you on the path to recovery

9 Who is your favorite author?

Neil Gaiman. He writes magical realism and places fairy tales in modern settings, highlighting their surreal nature and their violence enchantment. He showed me "fantasy horror" is a very real thing and that one genre can't contain a good story.

10 what's your favorite holiday and why?

All Hallows' Eve. I love dressing up and putting on crazy makeup. Sure, people give me side-eye when I wear a crazy makeup look to class, but who cares? I love the idea of just being someone else for a day. Why else would I become a writer?

11 What's your favorite snack?

POPCORN! It immediately takes me to the movies, and I ADORE movies (or anything cinematic really, have you seen the Game of Thrones series? BEAUTIFULLY shot!) I also weirdly adore horror movies. I was really into "The Witch" recently for, of all things, its storyline. Sure, it's scary, but it also has a really cool dark fairytale element to it. (Only see if you're good with horror movies, NOT if you get freaked out).

Request time!

"A Priestess for the Blind God" is probably the perfect book to see if you like my writing style. It's also the first book where I was really coming into my own as a writer. I didn't try to be too flowery like a rip off of the classics, but I also wanted characters that felt real and had their own cultures and ways to believe and love. It's about a girl who, in her own words, doesn't want to wield her sexuality as a weapon because she IS one, no matter how many others try to beat her down as the villain because they're afraid of that strength. She's thrown, as a firstborn girl, into the contest of the gods, and basically has to fight for her life and her freedom.