We've got another awesome Fantasy author for you today. Hailing from the country of South Africa, please welcome monstermakers and let's hear what they've got to say.
What is your Wattpad Username?
monstermakers
What is your country of origin?
South Africa
What other languages aside from English can you speak fluently?
Afrikaans
Do you think it's important to build your author personality? Why? How have you built yours?
I think it depends on the reason why the author is writing. I write primarily to entertain myself and then I share my stories in the hopes that the readers will get to experience some of the joy that I had writing the story.I think that building up a author's personality is a way to signal to potential readers what kind of book that they get when they read it. Having said that, I do know that I don't want to limit the type of story that I write to only that which matches my author's personality.
What/who inspired you to start writing?
I generally spend my day thinking about over-the-top situations. Writing is a way to explore what would happen in those over-the-top situations and to get past the first thought.When I was about 12-13 years old, I was part of a school team that would compete agaisnt other schools in the region in quiz about popular South African and International books. I read alot at the time in order to prepare for the quiz. I developed an appreciation for written works at the time, and I like how with books, you can go back and re-examine what was said to see if it changes your understanding of the events. I guess I want to be part of the tradition which allows people to escape their own world and pretend to be someone else for a short while.
Please tell us about your story/ies on Wattpad so that readers could find them.
"The Characterisation of Annabelle le Roux" is a situational comedy with a double narrative. It follows the story of an author who has prehaps received premature success and is now making not particularly well thought out plotting and character decisions in dystopian fantasy production that he is in charge of.
What does a typical writing day look like for you?
I wrote "The characterisation of Annabelle le Roux" for Nanowrimo 2019. Before writing the story I had plotted out the story and had made a list of key scenes that I wanted in the story. I did most of the writing for book by hand on the bus/train while commuting to work. It was written out of order. During the pandemic, I rearranged all of the parts of the story to the correct order and wrote a couple of bridging paragraphs where the story had large jumps in it. I write the story by hand in order to force typing of the story as the first edit.
What do you think of multiple POVs? What do you think is an effective way of keeping up with them?
I think that multiple Point of Views in a story can work, but in general it is better to keep to a single point of view.When we live life in the ordinary world, we can only access our point of view and we can only guess and infer the motivations of other people. I think that one of the things that makes writing good is when it is relatable and one way to do that is to limit the number of POVs. Having said that, I have enjoyed stories with multiple points of view although I tend to think that third person narration is the most natural form of story telling.
What makes up an appealing storyline and conflict in Fantasy stories?
I'm not sure that it is any different from any other genre. A character finds themselves in a situation where they are forced out of their comfort zone and are requried to grow.That, and the possiblity of magic and dragons.
Share some interesting facts about how you built and/or are building your worlds.
A theme for my fantasy world could be "Good manners are no excuse for criminal behaviour."My idea for the Mamlish came from mashing up the Mamluks who were in charge of Egypt in the late Medievel Period and the English.
Out of all the genres, why fantasy?
I think that fantasy allows a lot of creativity for the author. As an author I can come up with alternate rules of society and power hierachies. This allows me to explore how people would react if their position in society was ever so slightly different to what it is in the real world.And of course, nobody can say no dragons.
What subgenre of fantasy do you like to write now or in the future? Why?
N/A
Do you have other hobbies besides writing? How do you think they help with your writing process or writing in general?
I don't know if this counts as a hobby or not, but I spend an absurd amont of time looking up data and trying to generate mathematical models for it. Yes, I think it helps in my writing process, but I have found that putting a treatise on mathematics in the middle of a book is not necessarily something that grips readers.
Share some tips on writing fantasy (and its numerous subgenres) for new and old fantasy writers alike or to those who are looking to try the genre out.
Have fun.
What projects and stories are in the works as you do this interview? Share some interesting sneak peek.
I wrote a story about a young women who is struglling in her first job. The first few chapters are up in "Try". I have an idea for science fiction which explores the idea of where does danger in society come from and what a technology that is designed to protect people might disrupt interpersonal relationships.
What are your hopes and wishes for your journey as a writer?
I want people to enjoy reading what I write. They should be generally having fun and enjoying themselves as they read. That being said, I want my readers to be challanged in their assumptions as they read and perhaps view the world a little differently, but not at the expense of being entertained.
Would you rather read your earliest first drafts or write only the first page of your favorite book to write?
Read my earliest drafts - No man, I want to write lots. Not just three hundred words.
Would you rather choose love or chase your dreams?
Chase my dreams - I don't see why my dreams can't include love.
Would you rather write one book for a year and remember everything or write 10 books and remember nothing?
One book a year.
Would you rather have your book turned into an animated movie or a real-life movie?
Real-life movie - It's more cinematic.
Would you rather be in the world of your books or in the world of your favorite book?
My favourite book - Narnia is a better place to live than Zilby. (Or is Cape Town, is it Jo'burg. I don't know. Narnia is definitely better than Bloemfontein).
Would you rather write in a noisy coffee shop or a solitary cabin filled with pests?
Noisy Coffee Shop - Having people look at you, going why aren't you writing is incredibly motivating.
Would you rather read a book that transports you to the future or the past?
The past. The future is completely specalative, the past has at least some grounding in reality.
Would you rather read physical books or digital books?
Physical book. But with the difficulty in producing and storing physical books, I definitely see the advantages of digital books. I am mostly reading digital books now a days.
Would you rather write a book that nobody will care about but is meaningful to you or write a book that will become a sensation but is not important to you?
A book that is meaningful to me.
Would you rather write a book based on the story of someone you know very well or write a book with you in it as a character?
NA - I know myself really well.
Would you rather live your favorite character's nightmare or spend a day as the most-hated fictional character in your works?
I would rather spend a day as my most hated fictional character in my book.
And there you have it. We hope you enjoyed this interview with monstermakers. To check out their works visit this link:
The Characterisation of Annabelle le Roux
Catch us next time as we bring on another amazing Fantasy author. Till then, have a magical week ahead.