Author of the Week | Week 11
Reading fantasy fiction is a rewarding experience with all the emotions the story brings out while you know the plot is far from reality. The upcoming theme is the most different from the past weeks, it is a completely different art form.
This Week’s author is a creative and intelligent individual who likes to spend time with their words, pillow, or their labrador. An introvert who likes to be in their own world and writes amazingly well, they’re the first person to have joined 52 Weeks of Reading for the Author of the Week series. They go by their pen name: apocalyptysm which also happens to be their Wattpad username and Instagram handle.
- So, what was the first book you ever read? How old were you then?
The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton! I was ten.
2. How many Books/Short Stories/Poems have you written? Which is your favorite?
A full-length novel, around ten short stories, and a bit over a hundred poems. My favorite out of all of them so far has been the set of poems I did under the theme‘TheSeven Deadly Sins’!
3. Are there any that ended up getting shelved for the time being?
Two, actually. And one of them, I believe, will never see the light of the day again. And the other, I truly doubt I’ll ever get back to. Only time will tell.
4. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
A lot, as of late! I’ve been fortunate enough to write for the sweetest bunch of readers for the past two years, and they’re very interactive. There are times when they simply talk about how they were able to relate to my writing and my characters’ emotions, how and why it made them feel comforted/understood, and then there are times when they are kind enough to leave long-length appreciative paragraphs about the writing style.
5. When did you write your first Book/Short Story/Poem and how old were you?
I was fifteen when I first tried writing, and of course, made a rookie mistake and started directly with a novel. And a fantasy one, at that (we can safely assume that I believed a bit too much in myself). I never finished it. I finished my first book at the age of seventeen, the same time I started writing a bunch of poems here and there.
6. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Writing, for me, had been an activity of leisure when I first started. It took me a few years to get more into it, and it was around the time when I was eighteen that I finally came to the conclusion that writing is what I wanted to pursue professionally.
7. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Most days, I can physically not bring myself to work on any of my books/poems unless there’s music playing on repeat around me, one that matches the setting/ emotion of what I’m trying to write.
8. Where do you get your information or ideas for your Books/Short Stories/Poems?
For information, I’ve mostly relied on what comes directly from the type of people I’m writing about, which means Reddit has been my best friend for a long time when it comes to research. After all, what’s better than asking a Pilot how they feel about flying? The rest of my information comes from several (to put it lightly) Google searches.
The ideas come from anywhere and everywhere; the books I read, a word I accidentally come across, a picture I find on Pinterest, random bursts of inspiration, etc.
9. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your Books/Short Stories/Poems?
That it’s pretty much impossible to not put your personal feelings across when you write.
I’d always believed that I could have an unbiased opinion or at least stay neutral about certain things for the sake of my characters, but there’s pretty much no way for a bit of your private mind to not seep into what you write.
10. What does your process of writing look like? What is the hardest part?
My writing process consists of three (sometimes more) drafts. I develop the story as I go, which means every chapter has multiple drafts. The first one is a jumble of ideas and random lines/dialogues/scenes that I’m looking forward to writing, the second one a more developed version of the first one with more description, and the third one the most refined with the final edits.
11. What do your family and friends feel about your work?
When it comes to my family, my insecurity has always gotten the best of me, which means the most they have seen are my essays from school-days. But they’re aware that this is what I plan to do with my life and have thankfully never stood in the way of it. I do have friends, though, who actively read and support my writing.
12. What is your advice for aspiring writers?
Write For Yourself. Write like you are hungry for your own words and would starve without them. And when there are days when you feel like you can’t write, write still. Even if it’s gibberish and doesn’t make any sense later. Just never stop. A document full of strikethroughs is still better than an empty one.
And don’t be afraid to put your work out there. There’s always someone in the world who wants to read what you write.
13. Who is your inspiration in the field of writing?
Although I have never had my eyes fixated on someone long enough to idolize them, I’ve instead ended up unintentionally taking in specific qualities of a few writers here and there around the years and formed my own style (A few good examples I believe, would be the way Jennifer Niven writes emotions, the way John Green writes humor, the way Atticus always has an air of mystery around his poems, and the way LaurieFrankel always manages to describe the simplest of things in the most beautiful ways).
14. Has your writing style changed since you first started writing? If yes, in what ways has it changed?
There’s an entire cliff of space between how I used to write back when I was fifteen, and how I do now that I’m twenty. While before I was obsessed with the idea of impressing people, over the years, I’ve instead worked on breathing air of honesty around everything I write. And in technical ways, I’ve tried working on a more descriptive style of writing, and it has worked wonderfully in my favor.
15. What attracted you to the genre(s) you write in?
My main genre is Young Adult, and what attracted me to it has been the bare minimum restrictions. As someone who loves working on pieces that have something or the other to do with Coming Of Age stories, I can mix in as much humor/suspense/romance in my writing as my heart desires and still not stray from the message I’m trying to send to my audience in the end.
16. Would you consider yourself a planner or a pantser? Or both? Is your current system working for you?
A pantser through and through. Planning has never worked for me in life, and I doubt it would work for me in writing. Spontaneity has always been something that works wonderfully in my favor, and it has followed me in my writing habits.
17. What do you love the most about your writing process?
The final editing! All the way from the omitting out stuff that once seemed relevant to the story and now doesn’t, to making last-minute additions, the last edits are definitely something I enjoy doing with all of my heart. Finally getting the opportunity to polish what you worked on so early is a wonderful feeling.
18. Does music help or halt your writing process?
That depends on the type of day I’m having. There are times when I can’t work unless there’s utter silence around me, and then there are days when I can’t stand the very same silence. And music helps me change that. Plus, pinning down the exact music to fit the setting of what I write is another part of writing that I really enjoy.
19. Are your characters often inspired by real people?
Most of the time, yes. It’s easier to work on a character when you already have a few of their traits pinned down, anyway.
20. Are there any specific ways that help you out of your reader’s/writer’s block?
Reading what other people write has always been a good way to get out of writing slumps for me. And then there are times when I give myself real breaks or start working on something new before going back to what threw me into the block in the first place.
21. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Read more. Always. Don’t miss out on any opportunities to brush up on your writing skills. Read anything and everything, and never stick to one genre. As long as improvement is concerned, you’re never in your life going to be good enough. Take criticism like a champ. And as long as you stay hungry for more to learn without letting your ego get in your way, you’ll keep leveling up. Believe in yourself a bit more, and know that soon enough, there are going to be people who would look forward to reading what you write.
