A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words #apicturesworth1000words #WPContest

Winners Interview: Jessa

Congratulations to the winner of our A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words contest, Jesse Martell. While our contest initially began as  a lead up to Halloween, and the desire to find a scary story, we never expected to get the eery, yet beautiful story we got from Jessa. Like a classic tale, it was filled with layers of conflict, including a dark theme. We got a chance to talk to Jessa about her work: 

Tell me about yourself?

Haha, this is such an open-ended question. I'm 34, married to my high-school sweetheart, and mom to a six-year-old girl that we adopted when she was two. We have a rescue-mutt we named Toby, two cats, and a blue-spotted salamander named Ronan.

I live in northern Minnesota (which is also where I grew up), and almost all of my stories have some type of connection to here. I love hockey, hiking, fishing, craft beer, and dogs (I tolerate cats—the feeling is mutual). Reading was my first passion, and writing came later. I always wanted to write, but was too insecure to share my work with anyone until recently.

When did you start writing online?

I started writing online this past spring-March, I think? I write under the penname Jessa Martell in honor of my grandma who helped raise me, and passed away a couple of years ago.

How did you discover Wattpad?

I stumbled across it in the comments for another online-writer's blog, I'm not even sure where it was, now. Originally, I was looking for more of her work, and discovered that I could post my own. I had a story (Untethered), rolling around in my noggin, and decided to give it a shot.

How have you changed as a writer since coming here?

I'm more confident than I was before. I've gotten such amazing feedback on my work, and it made me feel like I have a relevant voice, and could actually make something of this. Writing was always something I aspired to; I wanted to be a writer. Now, it feels like it could be a reality for me.

Tell us about your writing habits? What influences you? (beyond pictures!!)

I had some serious health issues in the last few years that left me unable to work, and my daughter was starting school this fall. I decided to try my hand at writing, since I will have time on my hands.

I do my best to write daily, usually during the day, or whenever I have time alone. I don't set word or page goals for a day, I just take the story as far as I can without it feeling forced, and then take a break. I've written some very emotional scenes that stuck with me for days before I could move on to the next part.

I do like to have a basic outline for my stories before I start writing, as I'm a planner, but leave enough freedom to let the characters breathe. I like to have the big questions answered, but let the details come about more organically.

My writing is definitely character driven, the plot is secondary. I think you can always rearrange the plot, but it is harder to make a character do something that isn't natural for them. That also keeps me from becoming bored. There's still some mystery and surprise because I don't even know all the answers until I write it.

Music is very influential for me, as well as other author's writing. My work is strongly driven by emotion, and things I've experienced in my own life. Even if the details or events are different, I strive for the emotions my characters are experiencing to feel authentic and be relatable.

Thank you Jessa!