Best Served Fake

Q+A

How do I find myself a Kai Delaney?

A Kai Delaney is a unique beast, so when I meet someone exactly like him, I'll let you know.

I know this isn't exactly answering the question, but I would love to tell you guys a little bit more about discovering the character of Kai. I don't preplan my books all that much. I usually have an initial concept, a lead character, and then I write from there. So if you ever notice any discrepancies in the text; whoops, that's why. When I wrote my first book, Tightrope, I had a really good grasp on my lead character Lena. Her character was so clear to me from the get-go. I knew exactly what it was like to live in her head; she was melodramatic, academically smart but absolutely clueless, black-and-white in her thinking, kind and selfless but also a little self-absorbed. Her voice when writing was so distinctive, and I spent a year and half writing in it. Jace and Lena are polar opposites, and honestly are soulmates because no one else would willingly put up with their bullshit.

Valerie is so completely different to Lena, just as Kai is so completely different to Jace. That couple dynamic is SO WILDLY contrary. To me, Kai and Valerie fit together in this really easy, natural way; chemistry born of being two people so similar it's like they're two halves of the same whole. But that came later. I spent so long trying to figure out who Valerie was. Lena was such a strong character, so unique, that I spent ages writing fake diary entries from Valerie's perspective to try and make her feel like a person I understood; who was strong and funny in ways different to Lena. I'd like to think I succeeded, because I love her now. But in the interim, Kai was irrelevant. I started writing this character as a bad boy, and it wasn't fitting with the character of Valerie I'd crafted. I probably wrote 13 chapters—that is 32,000 words—before I knew Kai Delaney.

And I fell completely in love with him. I like that he feels like a real person. Cora is actually one of my favourite characters because to me, she seems the most like an actual person you'd meet, who is flawed and still likeable, and yet so capable of being disliked. Kai wasn't quite that, but it wasn't until I decided to bring in the plotline of his mother that Kai really fell into place for me. He's a guy who is charming and easygoing and a shameless flirt (like, honestly, so shameless), and yet those traits also mean he is non-confrontational, easily misinterpreted and labelled as a bit a ho. I enjoyed writing conflict that directly arose from no problem or miscommunication in the relationship, but from a genuine flaw in the seemingly perfect hero; this need to make everything as okay as possible for everyone, trying to be the hero, and making a colossal mess of doing it.

This is such a ramble, but I could talk forever about these characters and why they are the way they are. Kai was the character that took me the longest to discover, but I hope he was worth it.

Do you have any writing tips?

I have SO MANY. Some that work for everyone, some that work for some, plenty on structure and story-telling and getting words on the page.

But the first, and only important, tip when it comes to writing is: write. It seems deceptively obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people struggle to actually do it. I used to start 4-5 books a year, write a few chapters, and then fall into a sad ball of crippling imposter syndrome and declare myself a failure. I consumed every piece of writing advice out there, and tried to apply it with no avail. So here's my best writing tip: don't listen to any writing tips until you've finished a draft. You can fix it later, I promise. But the best books in the world are the books that are finished. You're in the 1% of books, because 99% never get completed. So don't worry about your vocabulary or your structure, just worry about telling your story. Polishing is easier than writing, I promise.

How do you start a book? I've written stories before but it always feels like the first chapter isn't quite right, but yours introduce characters quite well.

Starting a book is a universal struggle for writers. You know, especially on a site like Wattpad, where the books are free and readers quick to judge and click out, that you only have a few paragraphs to capture their attention. Maybe two chapters for the more patient readers.

The first few chapters of Best Served Fake changed quite a lot, as I grappled with how exactly I wanted to present the story to readers. Actually, the original first chapter was chapter three. And the difficult part was; I knew chapter three was a more engaging beginning. It's straight into the action. But it didn't serve the story I wanted to tell. I decided that Sydney's relationship with Valerie was important, and I wanted to provide context on it.

And the second chapter didn't exist until I was just about to upload the story to Wattpad. And honestly? It was added because I was concerned that writing a romance book where there's no hot boy to love until chapter 4/5 would deter some readers. There's a continual balancing act between telling the story you want to tell, and telling the story that your readers will find engaging.

With all this superfluous backstory, here's my honest tip; include your inciting incident in the first three chapters, but take the space and time to first establish the tone. For Wattpad, at least, there's many successful books that aren't tightly plotted. It's what I come to Wattpad for. Best Served Fake certainly isn't condensed; it has a bigger word count than Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (insane, right?). At least for me, Wattpad is about engaging characters and a unique tone. If you establish that in chapter one, before anything else? That's how you start a book.

Who is your favourite character?

My favourite character from Best Served Fake is Jameson, and my favourite from Tightrope was an even split between Lena and Knight. I find every scene written with Jameson to be such a delight to write; he's a flawed person, but jeez is he fun. How about you guys?

Could you do a bonus chapter from Kai's POV

Absolutely! I'll be releasing a Kai's POV bonus chapter simultaneously to the release of Living With Boys (just to remind you guys that I have a new book coming out, did you hear?) I couldn't be more excited about this book; it's set to be my longest story yet, and I hope you guys all love it as much as I do.

THANK YOU

Thank you guys for reading this! I love providing a little insight on my process. Writing is such a solitary hobby, but you guys have made it something completely different. I read every comment, answer every enquiry in my inbox, and love communicating with you all more than anything. The fact that so many people are interested in anything I have to say is absolutely baffling.

If you have any further questions please drop them here! I'll either answer in the comments or add it to the Q+A if I think my answer is worthwhile. If you could drop me a follow, a comment, a vote, I will give you a virtual cookie.

If you have a story you want me or anyone reading this to check out, pop it in a comment! I'd love to support you guys like you've supported me.

I love you all.

-onceuponabook_ xoxoxo