14 | KAZBREKKERS

144 10 1
                                    

After weeks of silence, I'm finally back to share with you my interview with kazbrekkers. I'm a big fan of Mare's works and so it was a lot of fun to talk about her writing process and the travels she's gone on!

Bolded text are mine. Italicized text belong to the interviewee. Regular text are notes added by me!

* * *

Hi! Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. To start off, please introduce yourself to our lovely readers.

hi there, lovely readers!! my name is mare and I'm 18. (legal adult, woop woop!) I'm going to be a freshman in college in just a few days, and I intend to double major in biology and psychology with a focus on animal behavior. I hope to be an expedition leader for National Geographic in the future!!

Let's get right into it. How long have you been writing? When and how did you get your start? Was there a specific moment when you realized you wanted to tell stories?

I've been writing since I could hold a pencil. my first real story was about a knight at a hotel that clogged the toilet and drank out of a coconut, and it was quite a first-grade crowd pleaser. I got in trouble for being inappropriate though, so I just started writing about my dog instead, sending him on all the adventures little mare couldn't take quite yet. I think I knew I wanted to tell stories then. my head got stuck in the far-off reaches of the universe, kicking alien ass with my pup at my side, and I never wanted to come down.

Walk us through what the writing process is like for you. Do you have any traditions or a specific set of steps that you follow, for example: do you start with the plot idea, then move to characters, or the other way around? Additionally: how long does the planning process take for you before you start writing and how long does it take to finish a story?

my writing definitely revolves around my characters! I could spend hours just fleshing them out, giving them layers. I want them to be real, and they usually end up having lots of similarities to people that I know. after that I move onto the plot, but it's never set in stone. it changes a lot. I like to just go with whatever feels right, plan be damned. I usually take a couple of days to plan everything out, and once I get rocking-and-rolling I'm finished in about a year.

Do you have a favorite work of yours that you hold dear to your heart? Tell us about it!

my favorite work is definitely "the soul stitcher" because it has so many magical elements that little mare would've been all over! west and cal are two of my favorite characters of all time, and I actually (somewhat) modeled henry after my best friend. a lot of it will focus on being comfortable in your own skin, forgiveness, and self love played out over a modern magical backdrop. I have huge plans for it!!

Are there any common themes predominant in your writing? And, by way of extension, do you write based off of experience or prefer not to or does it depend?

there's definitely a lot of magical elements and adventures in everything I write! I've always believed in a connectedness of all things and felt that if we look deep within nature and ourselves, we can find whatever answers we seek. these 'hippie vibes' bleed into everything I do! I love to write based on experience. I've been traveling the globe since I was 8, and I really enjoy sticking little lessons I've learned along the way into my work.

Let's talk about writing style! Do you have any specific preferences, such as 1st person POV vs 3rd person? Present or past tense? Flowery language or straight-forward writing? Is there a reason/s for your preference/s?

style-wise, I prefer to write in 3rd person, usually past tense. in 1st person I always include waaaay too many 'I's for it to be worth anything. I definitely champion flowery writing!! like, yes! let me info dump on how amazing this sunset is, or how gorgeous these mountains are for three paragraphs! I've seen so many wonderful things, and I want everyone to see the beauty that I do. we are truly blessed to live on this planet. that's why I fixate so much on the details.

How do you handle writer's block?

writer's block is the bane of my existence. but I find it's pretty easy to get over if I read what others have written or if I just pour my mind into some random, completely unrelated prompt to get the juice flowing! any source of inspiration can spark some words in me, and I love to just run with it!

Where do you commonly get your ideas?

I get most of my ideas from inside my big ol head! (it's still stuck in the clouds.) there are so many adventures up there waiting to be told, most of them my own and some of them inspired by my favorite films or novels, or a particularly good poem! inspiration is out there!

Do you have any favorite book/s that impacted your writing? Why? Would you recommend it to us?

oh gosh. a book that has impacted my writing would have have have to be the secret history by donna tartt. like... WOW. hands down my favorite book. the words paint so many stunning pictures, and the characters have so many layers they're like onions. it's paradise. it's real, and I love that. it's magical, yet it's truly mundane. the imagery of it is a model of how I someday hope to write! 164825/10, I definitely recommend it!!

You mentioned that you've traveled the globe a lot since you were a kid; was there a specific place that inspired you more than others, or a place you still frequent—even if it's just in your mind—that helps with writing or inspiration?

iceland, for sure!! what an amazing country! everything is so raw and natural, hardly touched by man. I like to take myself back there mentally, mainly when I need to breathe, and clearing my head helps me focus. all the snow and ice, the rainbows over the waterfalls, everything was just magical! super inspiring!! I like to imagine some of my work taking place in that rugged landscape.

What is one thing you learned through writing that you would tell any other beginner or seasoned writer such as yourself?

one thing that writing has taught me is that it's important to be true to yourself. to write about what really interests you. passion makes your words glow (and your skin!) and that beauty is one of a kind! passion fuels purpose!!! why waste time writing about something you don't love?

* * *

If you liked this interview, go on and check out kazbrekkers to see more of her work!

The Write Way | ✔︎Where stories live. Discover now