𝐵𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 (Featuring Many Great Authors)

Author [@AmberKingston]

Welcome, everyone. Today we have the lovely AmberKingston

A big thank you to her for taking the time to answer these questions.

If you haven't read her books then please do. They're amazing...

Without further ado...

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1. What inspired you to start writing?

 I've always loved to write, it's as simple as that. Since I was really young I remember everyone playing and messing about in our break at school and I would just sit at a desk and write. Literature and writing have always been huge parts of my life because my Mum is an English teacher. I've also surrounded myself with friends who are as passionate about literature as I am. I love to write, it's addictive, without it I feel like I don't have any sense of clarity and everything seems muddled. Writing is my life.

2. Did you have any writers' block along the way? how did you get past them?

I think every artist/creator gets mental blocks at some point, me included. I've always struggled with my mental health so I believe that has played some part in my motivation to write. I find that with writing I have to provide structure for myself (planning-wise), but I also don't put pressure on myself to stick to anything. I normally work on multiple projects at once, some for wattpad and some for not, so sometimes when I'm not overly-motivated I just work on what I most fancy, the story I'm 'craving' to write at that moment. That's the only way to get past a block, do what you enjoy because that's the point of writing. 

3. Do you see yourself in any characters and why?

 There's not one character that I think completely reflects me, but I believe all my protagonists (and some antagonists) that I write have hints of my own personality traits. For example, a character I'm working on right now - that until this moment has been completely secret - is called Caroline, and I see myself in her because she sometimes struggles in everyday life and gets overwhelmed, she's obsessive but logical, and is an intense perfectionist. These are all traits I find in myself, so I find I can write about them effectively.

4. How old are you?

 I am 17. 

5. How old were you when you started writing?

 I was 5 when I started writing, haven't stopped since! 

6. Can you remember what you felt when you first started writing? what did you feel?

When I first started writing I felt a sense of freedom I had never felt before. It had this way of helping me escape my life, and from then on it has really helped me to cope with all the things the universe has thrown my way in the real world. I will forever be grateful for that.

7. What's your outside life like?

My outside life is nice! It can be trying of course, but I keep myself busy. I'm always creating in my various outlets, I like to keep to myself mainly but the friends that I do have all think the same as me so it is normally a comfort to talk to them. 

8. Where do you get your ideas from?

My one aim when creating, devising new stories, and trying to just get new ideas is to find things that no one has done before. What's the point in writing something that readers will be used to and therefore almost desensitised from its themes and characters? I never get 'inspiration' necessarily, but my best ideas usually come when I'm asleep or late at night. Something will hit me and I'll scramble out of bed to write it down; my best ideas have come from this.

9. What do you like to do when you're not writing?

When I'm not writing I like to read, sing, dance, be with my family, and watch films. I've also become rather Netflix-obsessed! 

10. What does your family think about your writing?

As I said before, my Mum is an English teacher so of course, she loves the fact that I write. I feel I have big support from home, and I'm lucky with that.

11. What do you think makes a good story?

 I think a good story is an originality. It's humour, it's relatability, it's poignancy, and of course, it has to be entertaining. 

12. What's your favourite genre?

My favourite genres are probably fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopia. This is just because I love escapism! However, I have recently become invested in some more philosophical writers such as Camus.

13. Do you write on wattpad or do you use software (like Microsoft word)?

 I usually just write on Wattpad, but I sometimes make drafts on Word.

14. What's the hardest part for you to write, and why?

 The hardest thing for me to write is intensely emotional scenes because, although I've experienced my fair share of emotional pain and trauma, I struggle with portraying it accurately on the page. I feel that it is so important how you write these scenes. Everything should be perfect: the pace, the dialogue, the language, the imagery. It's normally a challenge for me to get it right, and so they take me a lot longer than usual scenes in my fics.

15. Do you work on an outline or just go with the flow?

 When I first began I completely just went with the flow which was great because I could just create these fun, candid scenes. But when my stories began to progress I realised how important it was to plan and ever since I've been planning every chapter I write, outlining the events and then writing accordingly.

16. Do you have anything specific you want to say to readers?

 To my readers, I'm just incredibly thankful. I remember when I first started my main story 'Unfortunate' I had maybe 70 reads and no comments and yes, it was disheartening, but I knew I just had to keep going. So I did. Now, look at me: 160k reads and 1.3k comments! I'm grateful for all the support I've gotten.

17. And lastly, Do you have any advice for new writers.

My main advice to new writers is to READ. Read anything and everything you can get your hands on. Enjoy it. Take in the language, the structure, the techniques and the way it makes you feel. Only when we appreciate true art in incredible writing can we make our own. 

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There you have it, don't forget to vote, comment and share. Also if you want a specific author to be interviewed then please let me know.