We interviewed ARLockhart, the winner of Horror / Paranormal with their book 'Persistence Silence'
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Hi, please tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to know about Wattpad──────
Hello! I'm Audrey, or A. R. Lockhart. I'm a twenty-five-year-old aspiring author who has been writing for about twelve years now. My dream is to be a traditionally published author, and I am slowly but surely working towards that goal to improve my craft and learn all that I can about storytelling.
I joined Wattpad back in 2012, thanks to my friend who introduced me to the site. Things have changed a lot since then, and I've taken several hiatuses, but I've been really enjoying my time on the site since coming back after I finished school.
What inspired you to start writing?──────
The books I wanted to read didn't exist! I've always been a very picky reader, but it got to the point when I was thirteen that the books I wanted to read flat out didn't exist, so I started trying to write the books I wanted to read.
What time of the day do you usually write, and why that time?──────
Evenings, always; I work 9-5 Mon-Fri, so after work is usually the only time I have to devote a few hours to writing. It's not much, but consistency is key!
Do you have a favourite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special?──────
Oh god, I love them all! I think my favorite for Persistent Silence is a toss up between Mark and Jonathan; I love characters who have deeper conflicts than what they let on, and I love narratives that slowly unravel who characters are at their core. Mark especially embodies that, and I'm especially excited to see how readers react to him.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?──────
My best friend! She's is my alpha reader and critique partner, and probably knows the story as deeply as I do. She's always up for hearing my rambling thoughts at 2 am and is very good at talking sense into me when my brain convinces me I'm a lousy writer.
What famous author do you wish would be your mentor?──────
Maggie Stiefvater! I absolutely adore how she writes and creates characters, and reading her stories is what really helped me understand how to get to the core of who a person is.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal, and why?──────
I'm going to go with a young puppy; easily distracted. I'm dyslexic and have ADHD, which means figuring out what words I'm looking for is like playing with those word poetry magnets, and it's hard for me to remember what word I'm looking for and what order things happen in. The ADHD part comes into play when I go to thesaurus.com trying to figure out what words I'm looking for and open every tab imaginable and now it's been fifteen minutes of browsing Tumblr and I still don't know what word I was looking for and oh hey I want a different song on, I need to go to YouTube and oh while I'm here I might as well see if new videos from my subs has been uploaded, etc.
I've tried the usual methods to stop this of turning off the internet for writing time and limiting distractions, but I forget words so often that I have to have the internet available. The workaround I've found for myself is to go to a coffee shop and spend money; then I feel guilty if I don't have any writing to show for it after buying a $4 dollar drink.
Do you think someone could be a writer if they don't feel emotions strongly?──────
Absolutely! Emotions are only one aspect of storytelling, and as long as you can convey and instill emotions in readers, it's fine if you yourself are not an emotional person.
Name an underappreciated book that you love──────
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury; it is absolutely my favorite book, but it's so hard to find people who are fellow fans because the book is 60 years old at this point. If you want to read about the original Circus of Fear story, definitely go check it out!
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?──────
Chapter 13 is coming and I am very, very excited to see how people will react to it; a big reveal is happening in it, and I'm having a lot of fun finalizing the draft!
Finally, how do you celebrate when you finish your book?──────
I am probably going to treat myself to a fancy dinner with my friends once the manuscript is done and send the coffee shop I've been writing at for the past three years some flowers for putting up with me for so long.
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Thank you very much for your time!
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