Coffee Talks

With Jo

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Our new author of the month is Jo, who is also known as  jkmaclaren on Wattpad.

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Hello! Thank you for taking the time to get involved with CoffeeCommunity. It's great to hear from authors like yourself and get to know a little bit about what motivates you to write longer works of fiction.

So, to begin, tell us a little bit about yourself as an author on Wattpad. For anyone who hasn't met you before, how would you describe yourself and your fiction?

Oh hey, there! I'm Jo, a 24-year-old peanut butter-addict living in London. I love Taylor Swift, running along the Thames, and brunching on the weekends. I also happen to be a Watty-award winning author that writes YA, fantasy and romance fiction; you can find my fluffy Toronto Girls series under @jkmaclaren, and my steamier F1 romance under joafterdark.

When did you start writing and what does writing mean to you?

I started writing when I was about six-years-old; most of my stories followed young girls that went on crazy adventures, whether that was commandeering a pirate ship (and falling in love with the roguish captain) or journeying to fairyland. Writing was — and is — an escape for me; I love imagining new worlds that people can escape to whenever the real world feels overwhelming.

Out of all the stories that you've written so far, which one is your favourite and why?

Ooh, this is such a tough question! I think my favourite story that I've written so far is "Blur the Line," a fake-dating Formula1 romance where a young woman falls for her ex's biggest competitor; I had so much fun writing Matthew Carr (a charming, snarky race car driver) and I love F1, so it was really the dream combination for me. I can't wait to release the sequel soon. The protagonist — Amelia Cartwell — is basically the female version of Matthew, so I've been having a lot of fun with her dialogue.

What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

I'm 100% a plotter! At the beginning of each novel, I like to do what my family calls a "murder wall" and put coloured-coded sticky notes all over the place, so I know exactly where the plot is going. "Don't Promise Me Forever" was the first novel I (mostly) pansted, and I spent the entire four weeks that I was drafting it in a constant state of panic. I can't say that I'm keen to repeat the experience.

Writing for sustained periods is a hurdle that every writer, beginner or experienced, faces from time to time. What powers you through those longer bursts of creativity and keeps you focused?

Snacks. Lots and lots of snacks. And tea. And coffee. Food aside, I like to make a Spotify playlist for every book, which gets me in the right headspace to write each scene (and if I get really stuck, Wattpad writer amelierhys suggested writing the dialogue first, which really works for me!).

What top tips would you advise for getting a story, a novella or a longer piece of fiction off the starting line? What kind of story developments motivate you to see it through to the end?

Be disciplined! I subscribe to Cassandra Clare's BICHOK theory ("butt-in-chair-hands-on-keyboard"); it's nice when inspiration strikes, but most of the time, I give myself a word count and just keep going until I reach it.

If you're REALLY feeling unmotivated to write, then skip to the scenes that you do want to write — then backtrack and figure out how you can make the earlier scenes more exciting. Can the characters play strip poker? Can something explode? Can a character confess his love? Suddenly, writing those scenes could seem a lot more interesting (and yes, I have actually used all those examples to get myself more excited about writing a scene).

Lastly, what was your first ever experience with the power of the written language?

Reading Harry Potter! I was lucky enough to have a mother who diligently read me a few chapters every night as I was falling asleep (and then eventually bought me the cassette tapes to listen to). I still love those books — I think Hogwarts will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you once again for this lovely coffee chat! We're glad that we had the chance to get to know you more and wish you all the best for your writing journey. ☕