365 Interviews

Interview 16: thatcrazybookworm

1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Well, my name is Emily and I'm from the smallest of towns in the Mid West. I actually live on a farm. I'm one of the nerdiest girls around because I just love a lot of things. Also, I'm smart and am a senior in high school this year. 

2. What inspired you to write? 
I think it was my love of books that inspired me to write. I think after loving to read for so long, a person naturally wants to try their hand at writing. I wrote my first story in fifth grade during English class because I was bored, and my love for Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls Series inspired me to write My Classified Life.

3.Do you have a specific writing style? 
I've always done first person POV. My style is very dramatic and my characters have purposeful thoughts. I use a lot of dramatic sentences in my books, that grammatically aren't sentences at all. 
Like this. 
This is me. 
I do that a lot. ^^^

4. How did you come up with the titles of your stories? 
The titles usually come to me before most of the plot does. They can be simple or long and witty, but always are something I've never seen before. I like to have original titles. 

5. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? 
I always try to put a message in my books and I hope they grasp them. With I Write Romances, Not Live Them, it was to take chances, fall easily, and be yourself. I also wanted readers to understand that screwing up is part of life and part of discovering who you are and who you wish to be. And doing things you regret later is sometimes worth it anyway. :)

7. Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? 
I put my own experiences and lessons into all my stories and also bits and pieces from real people. And so far, the big realization that my characters go through in the end of my books, has been something I've come to realize in my life. I think it makes my stories more relatable.

8. What is your main goal with writing books?
To tell a story. 
I say that a lot, but I think the stories in my head deserve to be told and shared and characters experiences written down. That's where I come in. 

9. What job did you want to be as a kid? 
I was set on being an artist because for years, painting and drawing was my big talent. It still is what I'm more known for around my school.

10. What is your main goal with writing books?
I've had my entire life changed by books, so that's what I want to do. I will continue to write more because with each story I get better. And someday, I hope I can change someone's life for the better, too. 

11.Do you ever experience writer’s block?
ALL THE TIME. Right now, actually. I'm very busy and it gets really hard to write when I'm stressed all the time. 

12. Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I've tried to outline a story before writing it, but tend to give up and take it chapter by chapter. My ideas tend to skip around and I sometimes know exactly how I want to climax scene written when I'm writing the first chapter. It's all very spontaneous. 

13. Imagine your main character dies on page one. Everything else remains the same. Describe the new plot to your book.
Oh, wow. That's hard. I guess in IWRNLT I would center the story then around Addy's dad and his path through grief. And maybe go back to the earlier years of Addy's life when... Uh... Lots of things were happening. (Spoilers removed) But do it from her father's point of view. 

14. What do you do when you are not writing? 
Homework. Friends. Reading. And more homework. I'm involved in volleyball, one act play, quiz bowl, a spring musical, speech/forensics, jazz choir, track and field, and more in school. So I keep busy.

15. Do you see writing as a career or a hobby?
It's my biggest dream to turn it into a career. This fall I'll be starting college as an English major and Spanish minor, working on a career as an English teacher, but also on being a writer. 

16. Will you have a new story coming out soon? If so can you tell us about it? 
YES I WILL AS SOON AS I WRITE IT.  I'm so very excited for my next story. It is Teen Fiction/Humor/Romance story about a girl in her junior year of high school who takes some very.... revolutionary decisions. 

17. What was the hardest part of writing your book? 
Writing the book. Books are hard. Writer's block is my worst enemy. All the little chapters in between the beginning and the climax are hard for me. So basically everything. But I enjoy the challenge. 

18.Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
It sounds funny to say, but every time I write a book, I learn how to write a book. Practice and experience make perfect. And I always learn an extra something about myself  

19.Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 
Only that I love them and they make me smile so much. And even if I don't reply to your comment, I still read it and appreciate it. 

20. Do you have any advice for other writers?
1) Write what you know. It will have a ring a honesty to it that cannot be replaced or forgotten. 
2) Read. You can learn so much about writing by analyzing your favorite books. 
Look at them backwards, and you can see how writers use foreshadowing and add character development. It will teach you more than you can imagine. 
Thank you so much for the interview!!