Author Interviews

Interview with @floriations

1. What first inspired you to start writing and at what age did you start?
The first time I decided to start writing was when I was eleven years old after being inspired from Sarah Dessen's Just Listen and This Lullaby, and how she was able to express such powerful messages through words.

2. What challenges do you face as a writer?
I think the biggest challenge is writer's block and having no motivation to write. It's such a terrible feeling, because I really want to finish a novel and I have all these ideas storming in my head, but I don't know how to put it into a proper chapter.

3. What do you think makes a good story? Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
I think what makes a good story is one that is able to take a simple idea and transform it into something else. Also, I think a story that conveys a message is good as well. I don't have many tips, because I'm really an aspiring writer as well, but I would just say to keep practicing and practicing. Reading books also helps because as you begin to take notice of how the writing is structured, you start to pick up on the little details that can help improve your writing.

4. How has writing affected your life?
Writing has affected my life A LOT. Ever since I started writing seriously, I found that most of my free time would be thinking about my story and what I can do with it. I also feel like it has improved my creativity a lot when it comes to writing for school, which is always a plus.

5. How did you discover wattpad?
In the summer of 2012, I really wanted to look for good One Direction fanfiction, so I typed in "fanfiction" into the App Store and Wattpad was the first thing that popped up.

6. What activities other than writing do you enjoy taking part in during your free time?
I love to read, but I also love watching T.V. (especially reruns), listening to music, procrastinating on homework, and I make things out of polymer clay.

7. How important do you think cover art is for a story here on wattpad?
It's important, because it helps attract the readers to read the story. But it's not important because sometimes, people spend too much time fussing about the cover when it's the writing that matters.

8. How emotionally invested are you in your work? Do you take parts of yourself and include them into characters or scenes?
I am very, very emotionally invested in my story. When I look at my characters, I find a little part of me in their personality. I do like to take little details of things that have happened in my life and around me and incorprate them into my story. Especially in 101 Ways; I've incorprated a lot of things that have happened in my life and it makes it so much more personal to me.

9.Do you read and answer comments? In what ways do they affect you if at all?
Yes, I absolutely love reading/answering comments! Reading comments always seem to make my day, and it makes me extremely warm on the inside when people take time to comment on how they relate to a certain paragraph or to compliment my writing (and a lot of them are very witty and funny and it makes me smile).

10. Who is the character you've most enjoyed creating and why?
I don't think I can choose, because I'm indecisive and I love something about each of my characters. For example, I love Sydney from Birdcages/Speed Dial and Cora from Game Over because of their confidence, which is something I really admire and wish I possessed, and the reason why I love to write their bold personalities. But I also love Ellie from 101 Ways and Genevieve from His Striped Princess because I see myself in their personalities the most, and it's really fun to feel like I'm in their shoes while I write.

11. Do you have a favorite quote or saying regarding writing/reading? If not, describe your feelings towards it in one word.
My favourite quote is "Proofread carefully to see if you any words out" by some anonymous writer. Being the lame person I am, this quote always makes me laugh for some strange reason.

12. Are there any implicit messages in your work that you would like your readers to get?
I want people to know that being happy is mainly about embracing who you are and becoming stronger because of it. You don't always need a guy or a girl to come and "save" you. You can learn to do it all on your own.

13. How do you cope with your up and coming popularity?
To be honest, I try and pretend that I have only like ten followers and no reads/votes because thinking about it makes me doubt myself even more. I still have it stuck in my mind that people only fan or vote or comment because they pity me or something along those lines.

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Finally, do you have anything else you would like to say to your supporters?
I LOVE YOU ALL LOTS AND LOTS AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU SUPPORT ME AND MY WRITING BECAUSE THAT'S SO INCREDIBLY AMAZING, SO THANK YOU SO SO MUCH (^O^)

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A big thanks to floriations for taking her time to answer our questions! Check her out.