The Odds

Interview With FragileBeast (On Air Victor)

Another competition over and done with, another victor to interview! The day after his first Author_Games victory, we caught up with serial competitor and all-around sporting gent FragileBeast (otherwise known as Ben) to ask him some questions about the result...

Hi there! You're certainly one of our most prolific competitors and nobody can deny that your writing is absolute quality. In fact, prior to this competition we've heard you described as the best writer never to win an AG Games! How does it feel to have finally won?

For starters, I'm thrilled to have made it! There were so many tough competitors, and I'm flattered to have somehow sneaked past them. More than anything though, I'm relieved that my third final didn't end the way the others did. This is what I imagine Andy Murray felt like when he finally won Wimbledon. Which I guess makes you Sue Barker...

I'm not sure how to feel about that...anyway! Right from the start Jeremy was one of the standout personalities - I can't tell you how thrilled we were when we got his form in - so where did your inspiration for him come from?

I didn't even bother to change the first name, so let's not pretend it was a particularly vague inspiration. For the non-Brits, Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of Top Gear [L's note: a show that pretends to be about cars when it's actually just a chance for three grumpy older men to muck about as if they were schoolboys...now back on with the interview!]. He's simultaneously quite funny, and abhorrently offensive. However, I didn't want to simply write him into the competition, so I decided to make quite a few changes.

Now that you mention it, it seems obvious! With a character like that, you must have had a clear idea of how he'd react to certain challenges. Which of the tasks was your favourite to write?

I don't know if you've noticed, but I love irony and self-referential humour, so the semi-final was great fun. I mean, there was all the stuff about him not being a written character, and just the general irony of pushing how far I could write the cheesy "changing" narrative before dropping my twist. In fact, I've been doing quite a lot of interviews lately! Can I have Jeremy ask me some questions instead?

Nope! Unfortunately you're stuck with me. Now, as previously mentioned, you're one of our most regular faces. You've probably been in the finals more than almost anybody on the current Games circuit, so you must have some advice for potential competitors...

Just keep trying, really. I know that it's not particularly helpful advice, but if you want to write better, there are many authorities on the subject who are much better than me, so go and read their tips. All I can say is that no matter how well you write, you can always get better, and you do that through practice and perseverance.

Wise words indeed! And of course, with a lot of competitions come a lot of characters. Who was your favourite and why?

It has to be Father Milne. After him, my next two characters were a little more realistic, and it was nice to let loose with the ridiculous concept of a zombie slaying priest. Linking lines of The Lord's Prayer to specific aspects of the post-apocalyptic world was especially fun.

And it was great fun to read, too! You must be sick of talking about AG by now, so let's move away from the world of Panem altogether. We know you're a good writer, but it's no understatement to say that you're also well-read. What's your preference: read or write?

A tough one. I prefer the idea of writing, but the execution of reading. If only I could write as well as my favourite authors, I think I'd go for writing all the way.

And speaking of those favourite authors, what's your ever favourite book or book series?

Another tricky one; I hate picking favourites! Nonetheless, I think I have to go for the universe(s) of His Dark Materials. Those books are amazing, and reading (some of) Paradise Lost recently has given me another layer of understanding. I might have to revisit them now.

A very good call! Has anybody ever told you you have excellent taste? If anybody out there hasn't read the His Dark Materials trilogy, stop what you're doing and read it. Now.

Anyway. Back on topic: how did you find Wattpad? And what brought you to us?

I think I found it through this other website that has a lot of writing hints and tips, reddit.com/r/writing. Someone there recommended Wattpad, I took a look, and soon I was hooked. I believe I met Ty first and he took me here, and I've never looked back.

I'm sure we're not the only ones who are glad of it, put it that way! We're a little pressed for time right now, so here's one final question for you. Obviously we love your writing and the public loves your writing, but how would you describe your own style?

Hmmm... A little flowery at times, though in my defense I write a lot of fantasy, which calls for flowery writing. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure. Out of all the aspects of my writing, I enjoy doing dialogue the most, writing witty back-and-forth between my characters, building up relationships, that sort of thing. So I guess you could characterise it as being quite dialogue heavy, and with a fair amount of humour and irony.

Brilliant! Thanks for taking the time out of your day to talk to us and congratulations once again on your impressive victory. We hope it won't stop you from competing with us in the future!

That really is all from On Air! Keep your eyes on The Odds for the details on our latest competition as soon as they're released, and we hope that you all have a wonderful festive season.

Best wishes!

~ The AG Team

(Lizzie - RobotsWillCry, Megan - _justcloseyoureyes_ and Emily - Oh_Nostalgia)