8. What is a typical day of writing like for you?
I tend to write late at night. If I am feeling uninspired I will first listen to a good song or watch something interesting. But often I will wake up totally gung-ho and head straight to the computer; not stopping for food or washroom and barely finding time to breathe. I love to tell stories, that is what I am passionate about. As a young child when I had sleepover parties I would tell jokes and make up stories into all hours of the night. The craft of writing came later. Truthfully it is still coming, it is a long learning curve, one I am happy to work at.
9. How did you go about getting The Descendants Saga published? What was the process that took you from amateur writer to publishing a book?
Well, I did send out a couple of query letters to agents but before I got any response I was actually head-hunted by a publisher. So my story is a rather unusual one. But I know of some awesome tools for people interested in publishing their book: webooks.com has a thing called agentinbox where it costs about $4 but they help you customize and send out query letters to agents who are openly seeking manuscripts like yours. They also have a platform where you submit 3 pages of your work and people vote on it and openly critique it; this is very helpful to new authors. It is important to understand that publishers and agents get hundreds of manuscripts, unsolicited, across their desks each month. From those they maybe chose four to read and from those maybe request one full manuscript. I know an agent who says they have turned down amazing books because they needed too much work. So make sure your manuscript is perfect and edited before you send it in!
10. The Descendants Saga has a pretty strong message for young people about relationships and love. Do you feel that the book is targeted at readers young enough to still benefit from the message, and do you feel that the message is compelling enough for older young people to understand and incorporate into their lives?
It is important for everyone, all ages, to know that safe sex does not just mean protecting yourself physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Kids are getting younger and younger these days, in fact I just had a 12 year old message me wishing she did not have sex with her 18year old boyfriend. The world can be a sick and disturbing place and I hope that after reading the Descendants Saga, people will choose to wait before they engage in an relationship again or for the first time, until they are fulfilled in all ways not just physically!
11. What aspects of your personality do you feel are your biggest assets as a writer and why?
I was hit by a car when I was eight and as a result I have short term memory. This can really suck in remembering key parts of your story, but it also helps in keeping everything fresh and exciting. Each chapter, I try to add some form of pull, which is typically done in adventure books. I also really write from the heart in matters that mean something to me or to my family.
12. You have two works currently in progress on Wattpad. Are you going to keep uploading more for your fans to read, even though you're a soon-to-be published writer, and do you have more ideas for stories to come?
I actually have five stories on the go, and have uploaded one of them on Wattpad, Selah. It is my favorite work so far.
I love the Wattpad forum and how it allows me to engage with readers and gauge their response. It is an invaluable tool that helped mold the Descendants Saga. A tool that I feel helped bring me to where I am. So, yes, I will keep uploading!
13. What book has been the biggest inspiration to you in your life and how?
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. It really is an amazing story if you haven't read it, you should. It is about a boy who gives up so much in order to help those around him. It is a painful and heart breaking read but something I would recommend everyone to do! It impacted me because I have a huge heart for people, but I also have a desire to make money and have nice things. The boy in the book gave up wealth to become an outlaw and teach Africans to read in a time when they were not even allowed to be on the same bus as the whites. It really challenged me on what really is important, getting nice things or doing nice things. Now I see kindness as the ultimate wealth!
14. What book do you think every young woman should read in her life and why that one?
Beauty and the Beast. I know it is a silly kid's book. But in truth, its message is really important to women; that internal beauty is so much more than outward beauty. This is coming from a girl who used to starve herself to be a model. Who I was then was not a good person. I put myself before others and in doing so did not get to appreciate the true simple beauty of the world around me. And trust me, the guys I dated then were nothing compared to the amazing man I married. When I stopped caring so much about what I looked like and started to care about how I acted, well that changed my whole world!
15. How has your life changed since you joined Wattpad and started writing?
Wattpad opened the door to help me find what I wanted to do. I am a jack of all trades and because of that, was so unsettled in "What I wanted to do with my life". But now I know that at least for now I want to write and get better at writing!
16. What advice would you give to new writers out there who really want to get published?
Work hard and ask a lot of questions. Give your book to people who will not say nice things about it and take in what they say. Criticism is the foundation for improvement. The book industry is a tough industry to get into. So grow your craft and work hard to put forth your best work possible. Just because you wrote it doesn't mean it is good enough to be published. But it does mean you can work hard to get it there. Take TDS for example, I have made so many changes it will be almost a different book when it is published! Also don't forget to follow your bliss, if writing makes your soul come alive, then writing is what you were made to do!
Number One Fan! Interview with authorRLynn
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