He's a Watty Award winner, even though he once hated books. Please welcome Neiljhart, and below is the interview we had with him.
What is your Wattpad username?
Neiljhart
Is there a story to how you got your username? Tell us about it!
It's just my name Neil J (John) Hart. Nothing page-turningly exciting, I'm afraid.
What or Who inspired you to write?
Terry Pratchett made me all in love with reading. I hated books before I discovered his Discworld series and then I was hooked. Ian Livingstone's 'Fighting Fantasy' series were also key for engaging me in wonderful, horrifying, dangerous worlds that I could lose myself in but still have control over. These two (and hundreds more) writers and novels made me love the written word and want to create fantastic worlds and epic adventures of my own.
Share a favorite quote with us!
I have two: "Everything ends badly, that's why it ends." And: "If you weigh all the spiders in the world, the weigh the same as all the humans."
Can you describe your perfect writing area?
Sofa. Duvet. Pillows. Coffee. Snacks. Laptop. Playlists.
Describe Fantasy as a genre in your own words.
Wow. Fantasy is huge. Fantasy combines everything and can feed into anything. But I suppose to classifying a story as Fantasy then it must include something that is not possible, or does not exist, in our reality anyway. Be it Darth Vader or Lyra Belacqua or Santa Claus. A haunted mansion, a city in the clouds, or a realm of aquatic Kings and Queens. For me, fantasy must have a grounding in what we know but twisted in a new way that challenges what we know and takes us somewhere new, inspiring, frightening.
Please tell us about your story/stories on Wattpad so that our readers can discover your works.
My Watty 2021 winning book 'The Last Scarecrow' (although winning for Horror) has huge fantasy elements including a flooded planet, a war between talking birds and re-animated mannequins, a sea-bound scarecrow trying to find her missing sisters, and the last human girl on Earth. I would compare it as 'Return to Oz' meets 'Waterworld' in 'Wonderland'.
My most recent book, and Wattys 2022 shortlisted (hopefully Winner by the time you read this), is 'Sadie Madison and the Boy in the Crimson Scarf', an urban steampunk fantasy adventure about a girl who cannot forget. Sadie discovers that she is connected to The Vents (a dimension where all forgotten memories reside) and conjures a strange music that unearths the secrets to a prophecy set to rip The Vents apart.
What's your favorite Fantasy book/books on Wattpad?
Elana A Mugdan's "Dragon Ascendant' is awesome.
What Fantasy sub-genre do you prefer to write?
Like all my stories, I prefer darker storylines and fallible heroes. I also enjoy urban fantasy and magic realism too!
What does your writing process look like? Are there steps you follow in terms of working on your projects?
I plot heavily. Usually a 5-8k word treatment of the entire book / main story line and then break it into 30-40 chapters. Then the drafting begins. I usually write fast, vomiting up the words until I have 100-120k. I walk away for a few weeks, plot something else, and then come back and edit out 25% and begin to mould it into a workable manuscript.
What is/are your favorite type/s of characters to write? Why?
Villains are always the best to read about, to watch, to write! You can have so much fun inventing a backstory for a character that goes from the light side to the dark. What event(s) in their life lead them off the road to goodness and started them down the dark pathways to evil and wrong-doing. Dark emotions like anger, rage, and hate always feel more powerful but need to be tempered with hope, conflict, and redemption.
What is/are your favorite trope/s to use and see in the media? Why?
I love stories where characters go on a journey (physical or emotional), discovering new things about the world and about themselves, and transform (for better or worse) by the end. I also like opened ended stories where you have a broad sense of what might come next without it being spelled out. Life goes on every day. No story is ever finished.
Share some interesting worldbuilding facts from your works.
I make maps for the settings in my books. Some are internal schematics / floor plans of buildings. Others are towns, cities, and vast continents, filled with mountain ranges and oceans and portals to other dimensions. If there is a magic system or a lot of lore, then I tend to start a document (normally called 'Ideas Cavern') and throw all my ideas in there. Once i've sorted through this I write up histories, family trees, magic systems, prophecies, religions, civilisations etc so that the world remains consistent and accountable to the laws and histories I've determined. I details characters in the same way. General look, style, demeanour, internal / external conflicts, hope and dream and fears. These can and should change throughout the story to greater or lesser degree but I solid starting point it always key.
How do you come up with the names of your characters?
I try to have all my main characters names start with a different letter. So, in 'Sadie Madison and the Boy in the Crimson Scarf' the Madison (protagonist) family are Michael, Larissa, Natalia, Sadie, and Eli. M L N S and E. If names sound or look too similar then I can get confused when reading a new book. Sometimes I name characters after sports people or actors or musicians that I like, mashing first and last names together or changing the odd vowel to create something new. Also, using the latin names of animals is always fun and quickly gives a character personality, for example Vulpes (Fox), Ursa (Bear), Aranea (Spider).
Are you a planner or a pantser?
King of Planning. I've tried pantsing books but I get 30% in and have no idea where I'm going, what comes next, who the hero is, nothing.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert. I'm happiest all alone in my flat writing. Being centre of attention is torture of the cruelest kind.
Favorite food?
Sandwiches. Cheese. Preferably grilled.
Favorite color?
Black or Red.
What is your most used app?
Instagram or Twitter mainly. I try not to scroll too much as it's time I could be spending in fantasy worlds!
Name a country or city you would like to visit.
I've visited lots but never Rome. Going there early next year!
How do you relax after a long day?
Relax? What's that? I work full-time and write each evening and all weekend so there isn't much time for chilling out. I do read a lot so perhaps that counts! I actually get anxious if I'm not working. Sitting doing nothing feels like I'm losing time on a project so I tend to avoid stagnant days (unless I'm ill then I'll binge something on Netflix).
How has the reader community on Wattpad influenced you in writing your stories?
Receiving a huge spike in readership and amazing feedback for Watty's 2021 winner 'The Last Scarecrow' has, and continues to be, hugely inspiring. I get messages most weeks telling me how much they loved the story, how they're making me fan art of my characters, how they cried, how they've never read anything quite like it. That kind of support is amazing and fuels me for all the projects to come.
What are your future plans in writing, whether they be on Wattpad or outside it?
I'm hoping that 'Sadie Madison and the Boy in the Crimson Scarf' wins at the Watty's 2022 and more people decide to drop in and unlock the power of music, magic, and memory!
I've written the first two books in a sci-fi series about the first human girl to enrol at The Galactic Institute, a prestigious school on the other side of the SpiralVerse. It's got adventure, droid, mystery, romance, space magic, and ancient evils. I wrote it after wondering what it would be like to combine my two favourite franchises: Star Wars and Harry Potter. I'm querying it with agents at the moment.
What are your hopes and wishes regarding your journey as a fantasy writer?
Genuinely, I'd love to make a living writing books. I'm not driven by million dollar pay days but would love to earn enough to do nothing but write. I was unemployed for a year during lockdown and wrote for 8-10 hours every day. I'd love to be able to do that until I'm too old to type.
What would you like to tell up-and-coming writers out there?
Finish what you start. If you're writing your first book, get to the end. You'll learn so much about yourself as a writer and how to write a book even if you're not that proud of it. As you get better, you can return to shelved books, pull them apart, build them back stronger. Lots of people say they're an aspiring writer. If you run, you're a runner. If you paint, you're a painter. So, if you write, you're a writer. It all starts with one word. Then a sentence. Then a paragraph. Then a chapter. Keep going. Who knows what could happen.
Notebook or Computer?
Laptop. All day. Every day.
Read a book or watch a movie?
Books are mighty. Always a book.
Pop or R&B?
Pop. Katy Perry for the win!
Summer or Winter?
Winter.
Series or Standalone?
Series.
Music or silence during writing?
Music. Character / emotional playlists really help me.
Writing same time of the day or any time of the day?
Whenever you get the time. Usually 5-8pm. But I don't sleep well so sometimes 4-7am!
Deadlines or Mood?
Mood.
Meet your favorite author or be your favorite character?
Meet Neil Gaiman / Susan Dennard or be Lara Croft? Tricky.
Halloween or Christmas?
Halloween. No contest.
Read on a couch or read on bed?
I sleep on the couch so...
Spring or Autumn?
Autumn.
Kittens or Puppies?
Kittens.
Edit during or edit after?
After. Editing during sounds hellish.
And there you have it. It was fun having Neiljhart on our hot seat today. We hope you all enjoyed it. Catch us next time as we bring on another amazing Fantasy author. Till then, have a magical week ahead.