#visible

Interview- Iwritevariety

PEOPLE'S CHOICE JULY 2015 CONTEST

To learn a little more about the person behind the short story 'Prom Moment'- winner of people's choice July 2015 contest- I sent a few questions her way!

If you have any questions for the People's Choice Winner, just comment them below!

Firstly, Congratulations on winning People's Choice! How do you feel?

Thanks so much! I feel over the moon and thrilled that my story won, I had no idea who was going to win because the other entries looked fantastic but just incredibly happy and thrilled.

Is there anything you would like to say to the readers who voted for your story?

First and foremost, your support means the whole world to me, seriously, I couldn't have done it without you guys. From the bottom of my heart, thanks so much for voting on my story. And thanks for asking more people to give my story a try!

What made you want to enter the #visible competition in the first place?

I saw it in the pinned contest threads and the whole banner and design really captured me. Seeing the #Visible in white bold brought me to attention and I thought that since I had a little bit of writers block, why don't I enter so that I can keep writing but not sit back and wait for any ideas to come?

Why did you choose the setting that you did for your story?

For "Prom Moment", it is a story set in a School Prom. I chose this because I was in the exact same position as my main protagonist. Should I go to my School Prom? Is it worth it? I didn't go to mine but that wasn't going to stop me from putting a Prom type element in my entry. My main protagonist has learning difficulties which I personally have as well so I wanted to create a character that was believable and help her to discover who she really was because sometimes, we all need to go on that journey of self-discovery and we suffer from hurdles and setbacks. I used my personal experiences and opinions to create the setting to the best that it could possibly be.

What do you hope the readers take away?

I hope that the readers of "Prom Moment" take away that dwelling on the negatives all of the time is a barrier to future success and pretty much life in general. It's wrong and sadly, I've been there myself. Also, for any readers that also have learning difficulties that they are not alone and support will always be there if and when they need it.

Why do you think it is important to have diverse characters in literature?

Diversity is important. I've recently finished reading a story about a girl in a wheelchair who was paralysed from the waist down and she meets a boy who was in an accident and they go on a big journey together. If every single character sounded the same, looked the same and basically, did the same. Where is the diversity and variety in that? I haven't read a lot of stories like the one with the girl in the wheelchair so I'm writing a story like that away from Wattpad (shameful self-promotion Scarlet!)  

Finally, what does 'diversity' mean to you?

Diversity to me means that everyone, no matter where they come from and what they look like, should all be treated equally and with respect.