Wattpad Author Interviews (Requests Taken)

INTERVIEW ONE. _AHNA_ AUTHOR OF 'THE FATES'

Dear Wattpadders,

I'm sure most of you know what Greek Mythology is. Well, here on Wattpad we have a GREAT novel inspired by it. Today we have in the Studio: _Ahna_ author of 'The Fates'. If you haven't read that yet, I strongly advise you to do so, because it's... in one word... spectacular. 

So, all of you Wattpadders, please give a big applause and welcome in the Studio... _Ahna_ !!

(...DRUMROLL...)

Me: So, let’s start with a general question. What’s your favourite book on Wattpad?

_Ahna_: Ah, no way I could choose just one favourite book on Wattpad! ;) I’m on the site mostly just as writer rather than reader, since I rarely ever have free time to read for pleasure/fun these days. But I am a proud member of the Wattpad Class of 2014, along with some of my best buddies on the site who also happen to be fantastic writers! I’ve read books by each of them and enjoyed every one, so for this question, I’ll just include a link to a ‘party book’ celebrating the stories of the entire Wattpad Class of 2014 :) http://www.wattpad.com/story/20595241

Me: Thank you! We’ll be sure to check that out! Now, I know this might be a hard choice (I know it it for me) who is your favourite author?

_Ahna_: If I had to choose one favourite author, it would probably be Homer! I absolutely adore Greek mythology, and it’s been such a significant source of inspiration for my own writing :) Of course, Homer didn’t write all the Greek myths from which I’ve drawn enjoyment and inspiration – not even close!! But his epics are pretty… epic ;)

Me: Wow! Interesting choice! I don’t think I’ve ever read any of Homer’s books, but I’ll definitely google them:) Now for the next question: What exactly inspired you to write ‘The Fates’?

_Ahna_: The idea for The Fates started out as something a little simpler: a girl discovers that she can ‘write the future.’ As in, she can write something down, and it will come true in real life. This idea just spontaneously popped into my head one day- I have no clue where it came from, but I’m so glad that it did! I thought that it would be incredibly interesting to explore the implications of this sort of power, for this one girl and for the world. I’ve always been deeply fascinated with the general theme of free will vs. destiny, and I was excited to explore that theme against the backdrop of a fun fantasy story. From these origins, the idea developed further as I decided that it would be more interesting to have multiple main characters with different powers over human destiny- this might provide more opportunities for different readers to relate to the heroines in different ways. And with that, it just sort of clicked: my love for Greek mythology made it clear to me that a story about the three Fates, living as mortals in the modern day and discovering their powers over destiny, would be a perfect fit! :)

Me: We can definitely see here the passion this incredibly talented writer has for her story. I’m so glad you decided to share this with us, the way you have with words… well, we can all learn from it! So was your book a big hit straightaway, or did it’s huge success come gradually?

_Ahna_: The Fates was most definitely not a big hit on Wattpad straightaway! To be honest, I have no idea how any book ever is on this site, unless the writer gets a grand stroke of random luck and/or caters to certain audiences by writing about particularly popular subjects. In order to initially gain readers for The Fates, I first invested a lot of time in the Wattpad community, actively befriending others and supporting their stories with thoughtful comments and votes. They were often kind enough to return the favour, thanks to the spirit of reciprocity and mutual support on this site. This process helped to bring the story up to several thousand reads, but it took a LOT of time and hard work. The bigger boost in numbers didn’t come until after I applied for the story to be featured on Wattpad. Happily enough, I was accepted, and The Fates began featuring in August. Thereafter, it became much more discoverable on the site (as all featured stories do), which helped me gain new readers on a daily basis. It’s been such a fun ride and really a great blessing :)

Me:  Take note, beginning writers! You might be feeling disappointed because you so did your best on the chapter, because you were hoping for ONE more comment when you checked up on your profile, but even books that are a huge success on this site started with a low number of votes, reads and comments. So maybe you might feel that your book is insignificant, but maybe one day it’ll be among the most read books on Wattpad! Now for the next question: How did you react when The Fates first hit 1K reads?

_Ahna_: I honestly don’t remember how I reacted when The Fates hit 1K reads! Haha… but every milestone has been a stepping stone for me and I’ve been incredibly happy and grateful for each one. I still have a long way to go till 1M, but I am hoping it will happen someday :)

Me: I’m sure it will! We all enjoyed Book I so! I read you are going to write Book II… have you already started?

_Ahna_: As of now, I’ve only written the first scene of Book II, which was posted as a ‘’sneak peek’’ at the end of the first book :) Sadly, I haven’t had much time to work on it beyond that. I’m focusing first on trying to get Book I published, while being a law student in the meanwhile and also balancing various other commitments and demands on my time. It’s a real struggle. Plus, I never just dive headfirst into writing a story- I always engage in many hours of planning, plotting and pre-writing. This helps to ensure that the story is as high-quality as it can be. So there’s a lot that goes into the process of writing a book, for me, and I just wish I had all the time in the world so I could write Book II more quickly and share it with my readers sooner :(

Me: That’s really sweet of you Ahna, but don’t stress yourself. Seriously, don’t push yourself into writing JUST for us, we’ll wait until you’re ready. We don’t want you ending up overworked or anything! The Fates each have really unique characters, which one’s your favourite?

_Ahna_: If I had to choose a favourite Fate, it would have to be Cloe/Clotho :) She is the protagonist among the three, after all! What endears me to her character so much is the fact that she’s basically a storybook-worthy version of myself: a smarter, stronger, braver, more virtuous, more beautiful, and overall better envisioning of me! She still does have some of my flaws, though, to keep her character relatable and human, of course ;)

Me: I like Cloe best too, but Lacey’s the most like me… What am I doing, talking about myself! This interview’s about you! So on with the next question: Do you have any tips for writers who just started writing?

_Ahna_: Hm, it’s so hard to know where to start, giving tips for beginning writers! There’s so much I could say, just drawing from my own experience, given that I’ve been writing since the age of four ;) (I didn’t have the motor skills to write at that point, but I had stories spinning in my head, which I would dictate to my dear angel of a mother, who actually sat down and transcribed them for me!) No matter how long I’ve been writing, though, I don’t know to what extent I’m ‘succesful’ enough to offer valuable advice to beginning writers out there… but I’ll just share the one principle that has always been a guidepost in my own writing journey :) And that’s this: the more thought and passion you pour into your writing, the more it becomes like a piece of your soul, to be shared with the world. And that can be terrifying. But it’s also what makes it so worth it :)

Me: Awww… first of all, your mother sounds like an absolute darling to me:) Then second, I think that’s an excellent piece of sound advice. I’m sure we could all learn a lot from you and your writing. The way you write, you can definitely see the passion you have for it and the characters, to me, actually LIVE. You have the feeling it’s real, it’s happening around you when you’re reading it. Thank you for sharing it with us, Ahna. Would you like to say anything to your fans out there?

_Ahna_: Would I like to say anything to my fans? Well, I guess I can truly never say thank you enough, to all of my dear Fatefuls. So there’s that. A great, big, heartfelt THANK YOU!!! The Fates and I would be nowhere near where we are now without all of you. Your support and love for the story has seriously blown me away and really means the world to me. So thanks again, a thousand times, and I hope you’ll all continue to enjoy following the Fates and me on this journey! :D

Me: Well, we thank you to Ahna, without you, we would never have been able to read such a great story as The Fates. You created them and their lives and we’re thankful for that, a LOT. Well, this kind of concludes this interview. Thank you so much for letting me interview it and sharing with us!