Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #2 (2 of 3)

A new showcase with @artsylivia, author of The Differents

1. what inspired the idea of your story?

Not really one thing in particular. It's funny, actually, that I don't actually remember how it started. I just randomly wrote down the entire prologue in a little notebook I had lying around one day because I was like, "Hey, this seems like an interesting plot. Why don't I write it down and see where it goes?" Although I have to admit, parts of my story were definitely inspired by The Giver by Lois Lowry. The idea of a perfect society is something I think can be viewed by people in so many ways, and I wanted to write about it.

2. what was something you struggled with for your story?

This is my first serious story that I've written, so I think it's fitting that I struggled quite a lot with it. I had to do lots of research on even the tiniest of things and went through a lot of writer's block. I found I often had the most writer's block when I ended writing in a slow scene. I would be unmotivated to continue because the scene never felt like it was going to move forward. Now, I stop writing right in the middle of an action scene because I know when I come back to it, the ideas will start flowing right away.

3. what has been the overall response to your story from your readers?

I think the overall response has been good. There's been lots of support although less as the chapters get longer (not surprising). I've had quite a few people tell me it reminded them of the Divergent movies and even got points taken off for some awards because of that, but if you're a consistent reader, you'll see that once you get past the opening chapters, it's a whole different story.

4. what did you enjoy writing most of your story?

I enjoy writing all of it, honestly. I love to write and tell stories and knowing people read them makes me enjoy it more. I especially like writing the action scenes and the scenes in which lots is happening, because they feel so alive. I also really like writing simple moments between the characters, and letting them lead the story.

5. is your story a stand-alone novel or a piece of a series?

I'm still debating this. Right now, it's about halfway done and I've already passed 60k words, so I'm contemplating giving it a sequel so that it doesn't become too long. I think I'm just going to give it time and hopefully with a bit of editing, it can be just one book.

6. what would you like your readers to take away from your story?

I want my readers to finish the story contemplating society, honestly. The whole idea of the book is that society is divided in half: those who are perfect and those who aren't. And I want my readers to come away asking themselves why those who aren't perfect are viewed as such. I want them to come away asking why we've come so far as a society and still can't accept each other for things we were born with.

7. what's a piece of advice you would provide to another writer when it comes to focusing on their story?

I would say write at a good pace. If you don't feel like writing, don't guilt yourself for not doing it, but don't stop writing simply because you're lazy. Set up a schedule you can easily stick to. For me, I publish a new chapter every Monday. This allows me to stay motivated to write and the schedule keeps me on track every week. I usually write more than a Wattpad-length chapter anyway, so the schedule basically just keeps me at a good pace.

8. does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

Oh yeah. I make my characters so close to my actual life that I start to simple for them. My main character has both physical and mental similarities to myself, but I tried to not make her too similar, so that she can still be her own person.

9. what's something you believe would draw in new readers?

I think that books like mine are often very underrated, especially since they don't have their own Wattpad genre. We see so much romance and fanfiction on this app that other stories often get their voices talked over. And I mean those genres are great and have some amazingly talented authors, but there are also so many other books here. As for mine, my story is a dystopian/action sort of thing with a story arc different to what most books have. I also just think it's something new and refreshing that you don't see on Wattpad very often.

10. do you have any future projects?

Not at the moment. I have multiple books that I started a few years ago and that I want to see if I can rewrite, but I just want to finish this current one since I am really invested in it so far. I still have quite a lot more writing of this book to finish, but I'm really comfortable with the pace I'm at and I have a good idea of where it's going so far. I'm excited to finish it!