The sunrise awards summer2019 | ✔️completed✔️

Interview with @Blush-And-Books

Introducing... blush-and-books

What is your Wattpad username?
blush-and-books .

what is the title of your winning book(s)?
The title of my book is Achieving Unbroken!

When did you get the idea to write your winning book?
Hmmm, about last summer. I wanted to write something that felt hard-hitting and important, and that could be worthy of entering in the Watty Awards (it didn't make it very far last year lol). I had this vision stuck in my head of a teenage guy with a complicated family situation finding himself disconnected from his brother, and then before he can change that it's too late.

What are your inspirations for writing this book?
Inspirations definitely came from certain Wattpad books I had read in the past, the more romantic ones. While this is a story about grief, it is humorous and sweet! Inspo for the characters definitely came from all of the people that I have around me in my life. Most characters in the story parallel to someone in my life. I was also inspired by a more recent loss that I had experienced to write about loss.

Are there any special dedications for your book?
Like I mentioned in the last question, some inspiration for Achieving Unbroken came from a death in my family. I had had a hard time coping with it for awhile, and still do a little to this day---so my biggest dedication was to people who have lost a person in their lives, whether this loss was prolonged or extreme or sudden, and still are helping themselves cope with it. Everyone grieves in different ways, Jason (the male lead) grieves in a sort of emotional ditch in his brain; I grieved in silence and frustration while people told me I was being melodramatic.

How old were you when you began writing this book?
I think 14. I hope it doesn't show, aahhhh

What do you believe the strongest and weakest part of your writing is, in general?
Strongest? Dialogue. Also plot. I prefer dialogue to description in my writing because I enjoy how much conversation moves things along, develops characters and relationships, and can be more entertaining tp readers.
Weakest? Descriptions, in certain situations. Like with dialogue, I love to cut from line to line because it's more fast paced and flows better---but in my head I know my characters are moving around during this conversation, and have emotion in their voices, and I have to find some sort of place to include those details in as well.

How many drafts of this story do you have? If applicable, will you continue to rewrite? If applicable, do you think you will do a rewrite if you haven't already?
This edition of the story is the main draft, which I will pick through and edit from time to time. I would definitely consider doing a rewrite/mass edit, but still when I read it I think "I like how I wrote this and am not sure I want to change it".

What is one reason why you believe everybody should check out your book?
Well, this isn't a huge reason but it's probably my best writing. Or at least some of my best writing. A lot was put into it and I'm very, very proud of the result.
Beyond that, IT'S GOT A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING! Its emotional, and sad at times, but theres romance and humor and a little drama. POV's alternate, flashbacks occur often, and it keeps a very steady balance of everything. I cried when I wrote certain chapters, I laughed really hard when I wrote certain chapters, and my stomach buzzed while writing certain chapters. ITS ALL THERE, FOLKS!

If someone were to offer you a publishing deal tomorrow, would you take it? Would you still leave your work for us to admire on wattpad?
Yes I definitely would. A publishing deal would be huge, and would give me a big opportunity for more feedback and the ability to thoroughly edit to make it the best it can be.
And of course I would leave it on Wattpad! I would leave the unedited one as is and then publish the edited, book deal version on Wattpad as well.

When writing, do you have a plot in mind, or do you write it on the fly, as you come up with it?
For this story, I had some sort of plot. The idea was there. While I will plan out or have an idea in my head for the big moments, the rest comes out while I write. That's basically the same for all of my stories.

What, if anything, do you do to help yourself concentrate when writing?
My writing, most especially Achieving Unbroken, is pumped out on very late nights over my summers. Achieving Unbroken influenced many 1am nights. I will listen to music, sit in my bed alone, and type it up.

What is the best piece of advice that you can give other writers?
Just... I don't know. !!!If you have an idea, write it down!!! Who cares who reads it or doesn't read it or likes it or doesn't. It's yours and it's new and it deserves to be on paper.
Adding onto that: IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY IDEAS OR MOTIVATION TO WRITE, THAT IS O.K. That's a big hurdle to jump over but the truth is you won't always feel it and if you don't for awhile that's alright.

This could get very weird very fast, be honest, what, exactly, were you doing when you learned you won first place?
I was on my couch watching The Office with my mom and religiously checking my Wattpad notifications for your update. When I saw the notification that I was tagged in the chapter titled "Genre Winners", I knew!

What was your reaction when you read that you won?
I smiled really huge and felt an overwhelming sense of pride for myself and the story. Instantly I told my mom, who freaked out. I was freaking out but on the inside because I was still kind of "oh my God".

Do you have anything to say to your fellow genre competitors?
Entering an awards is stressful sometimes!!! It not only takes a hot minute for everything to be finalized but you're putting your work out there which is super brave. Keep entering your stories, keep writing and hit me up if you want a friend!!!

Is there anything else about yourself or your writing that you would like to add?
I'm so beyond proud of my story! Achieving Unbroken is filled with my passion and love and I'm so glad that it was noticable. I really hope that some of you guys can check out the story if you're interested, especially when its hard to get your stuff out there with few reads. Thank you to @HillbillieNolan and love to my other participants!
Go Achieving Unbroken!!!