We've got another awesome Fantasy author for you today. Hailing from the Philippines, please welcome, Exequinne, and let's hear what they've got to say.
What is your country of origin?
Philippines
What other languages aside from English can you speak fluently?
Tagalog/Filipino
Is there a story as to how you got your username? Please tell us about it!
Story-time right off the bat? Let's go.
I got my username because I was an impressionable kid way back when and got obsessed with the x's and q's. There's this one girl from a higher year in high school and her name has all the requirements, and I got drawn by it. This was before I had any plans of becoming the novelist I am today. I was just looking for a mononym I could be known for the rest of my days, especially in the writing world. And so, after arranging and adding some stuff, it's got to where it is now.
My account was made in late 2014 and I feel that "Exequinne" is just such a mouthful and an eyesore—a little bit intimidating to approach—so I eventually had to give my name so that people can refer to me easily. Still, I owe a lot to this username that I couldn't just shed it off and change it. Rather, I have some grand plans for it. Stay tuned in the next five to ten years. Lol.
What inspired you to write?
If you're aiming for what inspired me to start writing poetry, no one did. I was just a lonely kid back in primary school, so I started jotting down words and making each line rhyme with each other. And that's when I first realized I liked putting my thoughts into words—because I feel like I have a lot to say and no one would listen.
If you're aiming for what inspired me to write novels and genre fiction, in general, look no further than Rick Riordan's PJO series. I gobbled that thing up when I was around 12. I thought—I could do something like this as well!!!!—and that's how it was for me until now. I read a book, watch a show or a movie, or consume just about any media, and I'll be like—I can and will do something like this as weeeeeell!!!!. That's also how I ended up with way too many series and standalones in my writing queue.
Please tell us about your story/ies on Wattpad so that readers could find them.
*flexes fingers * I should never be asked this question and not expect a barrage of words.
I am the author responsible for the Chronicles of Fantasilia Series and its horde of spin-offs (a 13-novella series and more to come!). It's about this girl who has to discover how to save the world and her friends against a great evil that may be more ancient than she thought. It's an epic/high fantasy series with elements of adventure, action, and romance.
ONC 2022 brought about a slew of works and they are as follows: The White Thorns of Fire, a longlisted novella, is a wholesome adventure about family, friendship, and a frozen world. Never Ever Say Goodbye, a historical fiction novella centered around the darkest times in our history in the postmodern world, is currently unpublished due to safety and political reasons. It's also included in the longlist.
The Piper of Mirchaek is a high fantasy series with East Asian mythology influences. Its first book, Piper: The Gods of Dansarun, is originally an ONC 2022 novella and is part of the longlist. Since then, it has spawned two more sequels, with the last installment to be written and released this year. It's the story of a prince and his guard going through all sorts of stuff in their magical world, finding the thing that matters to them most.
Finally, the work that surprised me since its creation—Kolibrie. It has managed to snag the 3rd place in the ONC 2022. It's about a girl who infiltrates the Demon King's palace as one of the prince's brides in order to topple the kingdom and save humankind.
Other fantasy works include: Scapegoat—a dark fantasy novel with elements of horror and paranormal about a girl who becomes the town's sacrifice to appease the evil lurking in the Woods (with a capital W), and Libelle —a romance fantasy novel with elements of steampunk and paranormal about star-crossed lovers crossing between past lives and prejudice to save each other. Both are recess ideas from the ONC 2022 and the story of those is for another time.
As for the non-fantasy words, we have:
My favorite trauma baby, Manila Sunsets With You, is a contemporary, coming-of-age novel about a boy who can see the past interlaced with the present, tackling themes like grief, friendship, family, and moving on. It's got to be my most powerful work and also my most poetic one (and I was told I write pretty darn good poetry).
Forever the Same and Jaq of All Trades are also contemporary fiction works. We don't talk about them other than the fact that I currently hate them now. Haha.
And if you're still here at this point, I recently started a world-building guide called Worlds Asunder: A Guide to Building Worlds. It's currently ongoing, with articles written and published sporadically in between major projects.
For a list of my poetry works, visit accidentallysof.
What does your writing process look like? Are there steps you follow in terms of working on your projects?
My writing process is very much like the industry except I'm the one behind every role.
When I get the idea, I would file it somewhere and stew on it. Once these ideas take on a heartier space in my brain, I would then move to the pitching stage, where I present myself with things that makes the work exciting for me to write. At this stage, I would also define if it's a standalone or a series, its word count range, POV, suggested scenes, and themes, and even construct an initial logline.
Then, I'd move on to the planning stage. This is where I come up with the major plot points, the outlines, the world-building documents, the character sheets, and the zero draft.
After that comes the writing stage, which is the longest stage of this whole thing. The end product is the first draft.
The draft will then undergo the dissemination stage, where I will announce its release in Wattpad through Instagram, complete with graphics and everything. Then, I'll upload the thing one chapter at a time until it's completed.
There will be times where I would go further than this stage, and go straight into the editing phase, which results to the second draft. And repeating this stage again and again for different purposes like querying or just plain improving the story and prose will result in further numbered drafts to the point of forgetting it. Haha.
What is/are your favorite type/s of characters to write? Why?
My go-to character trope is the damaged but somehow functioning person, mostly because it's a reflection of my life. I also like to write sassy and witty characters as a reflection of my (dark) humor.
Mature and wise characters that function as the mentor archetype but are at skewed ages compared to the MC are also my soft spot. This is because I noticed my mental age isn't quite the same as my peers and age group so I guess it bleeds out in my writing.
The Grumpy character trope is also a go-to. Those Sherlock-type people with the mantra of "I don't have friends" but still manage to gain some? Yeah. I'm a sucker for those, both in the media I consume and the works I cough out. I guess it just feeds into my fantasy that even the most unlovable peeps can get friendship and love too.
What is/are your favorite trope/s to use and see in the media? Why?
As of this interview, the trope that appeals most to me is the enemies-to-lovers trope. I'm a sucker for character development and believe they are the emotional core of the story, and E2L just gets it. Even then, I prefer the complete ride. Like, Friends to Enemies to Lovers to Enemies again to Friends—you get it, the whole rollercoaster. I guess it just shows realism as to how humans form and cut connections with other humans and it's great.
Another trope I'd absolutely kill for is the underrated genius who prefers to hide and play everyone like fools. If you want to know what I'm talking about, see Vincenzo, Artemis Fowl, Sherlock Holmes, Bungou Stray Dogs, and the recently completed, Reborn Rich.
I am also fond of genre soups and most of my works are like that. Just a mish-mash of each and every genre that can be crammed into a story in a way it still makes sense. Just mwah. Love.
Kingdoms on the verge of falling are also high up on the list. I just love to see a good ruining of a country. Oh, I love the "Myths are real all along" and other iterations of hiding the fantasy in plain sight. I've yet to try doing that and I'm already excited.
Lastly, the thing I'm most drawn into is the retelling of well-known works from all sorts of places (fairytales, myths, classic novels, or other media that has a story) and tuning it waaaay down in the dark side. Add a smidge of ancient magic, curses, and other exciting stuff and you'll be golden!
Share some interesting worldbuilding facts from your works.
Hmm. For COF, I guess it's the way I've built the flora and fauna and made points where the story actually brushes with them. Like, there was this character who had become some sort of environmentalist because of the existence of a black market made for smuggling and pirating essential tears from a small mammal in that world. You know, things like that.
The thing I'm proudest of is this bit I did with this upcoming work where I had to come up with a card game on the fly. The result was interesting, to say the least. It's like poker and bridge but played on a deck with twelve suits. Some variants include the suits being divided into West, East, Center, North, and South sides and they have different kinds of possible hands that are worth points (like in poker!). And...yeah. I love it. Watch out for that work when it hits my profile. ;)
Out of all the genres, why fantasy?
Because real world is troubling enough and fantasy is the only way to escape it?
Kidding aside, I like the "awe" element fantasy brings. Not just to me but to the readers as well. It also is a different kind of genius to be able to change up even one thing in the world we knew today and come up with an entirely different world with its strange cultures and stuff. The process, the intricacies, and the sheer wonder—it's why I choose and adore fantasy.
What subgenre of fantasy do you like to write most?
Dark fantasy! Better yet, Dark High Fantasy with tinges of Occult and Political Fiction. Those are my soft, soft spots. Romance Fantasy, Fairy Tale Fantasy, Retelling Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Urban Fantasy, and Grimdark Fantasy come in second. The rest come in third. Why? Because I loooove all things fantasy! It's my aim to be able to write at least one work in each of them someday. :)
How has the reader community on Wattpad influenced you in writing your stories?
They're my first fans, the first people to truly care what I was spouting into the world. They're the only ones who push me to continue uploading to Wattpad (because I wouldn't ever stop writing. At all.) and have been the people who have provided me with small ego boosts throughout the years. The readers are the ones who gave me the courage to try and go for opportunities I never would have considered if they're not present. Every comment, vote, and recommendations they did fuel my desire to keep telling more stories because now, I know my words can somehow reach them.
What are some tips you can share to help new and old fantasy writers alike?
Let's go with four.
One: Read my other interviews that asked me the same thing. I'm sure you will find something there. xD
Two: Write. Just...write. It doesn't matter if what you're producing is trash or a convoluted replica of Michelangelo's David. Just...keep doing what you're doing and maybe you'll be the next NY Times Bestselling Author. Who knows?
Three: Build your community. Sure, the writing and publishing industry is a bloodbath, but finding that safe spot with people who understand what you're going through will keep you sane for most of the time.
Four: Aspire, but don't compare. Once in a while, you will encounter someone blessed by the writing gods having made a piece of work that's soooooooo good you wonder why it's not being screamed out into the world. Then, you look at your work and see all of its flaws and how ugly it is. Don't compare your work to something you have no idea how much the author/artist went through to be able to produce. Take note of their skill and their amount of practice time. It's not good to compare yourself, who is undergoing a different journey, to them. BUT it doesn't mean that you should stop looking at other people. Rather, use these works to fuel up your desire to step up your game, keeping hope that someday, somehow, you'll end up on the other end of the spectrum, where people are so touched by your work and such. That's how you aspire.
And I'll end here because we will be in this interview for another twenty years if I went on. Lol.
What are your future plans in writing, whether they be on Wattpad or outside it?
Writing everything I have lined up this year and the next and the years to come. Just that, really. Being traditionally published, becoming a novelist with a social presence, monetizing my "hobby", reaching 1K followers, and being a full-time writer are just bonuses. I just want to write stuff that continues to interest me and, hopefully, you—the reader—as well.
What are your hopes and wishes regarding your journey as a fantasy writer?
I wish to step up my game from the traditional fantasy works and build expansive and complete worlds that can breathe on their own. I also want to try creating my own version of things like religion, planets, sciences, mathematics, and languages since they're sure to be fun exercises (and more work) for me. YAY.
THIS OR THAT?
Notebook or Computer
HMMM. It's hard since I use a computer to write my drafts but nothing beats making the plot points by handwriting stuff in a notebook. I guess I'll go with computer since I could still technically write stuff there and much faster too.
Series or Standalone
Series. Always. I looooooove long-form fiction with overarching arcs and stuff. I love creating them and I certainly love reading them.
Music or Silence
Music. I can't focus without it blasting in my ears.
Same time of the day or Any time of the day
Depends on the activity. For writing, I prefer the same time of the day.
Deadlines or Mood
Deadlines. My moods are unpredictable af. If I want to have a completed work any time soon, I need to terrorize myself with deadlines. xD
Meet your Favorite author or Be your Favorite Character
Meet my favorite author. My favorite characters are either dead or have gone through hell and back. Ope.
Unlimited free books or Writing your books with just a thought
Writing books with just a thought. If I could do that, I'd have finished all of my queues as soon as I come up with the idea. ;-;
Read on a couch or read in bed
Bed...couch? Couch bed? I just read anywhere so...yeah. I'll pick bed, because couches hurt my back if I slouch in them for too long. lol.
Not allowed new books or not allowed to re-read
Not allowed to re-read. I'm not a re-read type of person unless a story really stuck to me, so it's not going to be missed. xD
Fancy book cover or Sneaky plot-twist
HNNNGG. So hard. I fancy myself a good cover, but I'll go with a sneaky plot twist. Because it's going to fill me with enough spite to produce [a work with 180k+ words] to rival it and induce the same feeling in other people. haha.
Edit during or edit after
Edit after. I mean, I do occasionally edit during, but only when I feel like the inconsistencies are too much to keep drafting further. But the principle is to always edit after.
Plotting or Pantsing
Plotting. Hands down. No more words are needed. (See the answer to the writing process question for more info.)
And there you have it. We hope you enjoyed this interview with Exequinne. To check out their works visit these links:
To see upcoming releases as well as view the complete list of works in my profile, visit the Guide to the Arcane Universes.
Chronicles of Fantasilia RL
Memoirs of Mayhem RL
The Piper of Mirchaek Trilogy RL
Standalones
Kolibrie
Manila Sunsets With You
Scapegoat
Libelle
The White Thorns of Fire
Worlds Asunder: A Guide to Building Worlds
Forever the Same
Jaq of All Trades
Catch us next time as we bring on another amazing Fantasy author. Till then, have a magical week ahead.