Question One: I love the title of this book, but what are your reasons for naming it Captive?
There's this Halsey lyric from her song Hurricane: "And held him captive in my kiss.."
And it spreads light on the impacts a relationship can really have on the people involved. I called the book Captive because that was what Tris was. And it's something that she didn't realise until AUGUST 30, when she finally put her foot down and thought, I don't deserve this. And until that moment when she called her mum, she never knew that she was trapped in her own emotions or that toxic relationship she just couldn't escape from. And that's what we do as a human race. We blind ourselves with the good aspects of things and completely brush everything else under the carpet. We need to stop doing that.
Question Two: In Captive you chose to tell the story backwards, beginning at the end, so to speak. I think it was a really smart and interesting idea, but why do you feel it was the best way to tell Tris's story?
The structure of the story has a lot to do with my purpose for writing the book. I wrote it because I wanted people to understand abusive relationships, and why the victims of domestic violence don't simply walk away. So often, a person thinks of themselves as too smart to end up in a similar situation. As the person reads, he or she chooses a defining moment (often the first time an abuser pushes or hits the victim) where they say to themselves, "that is when I would have left." From then on, they place a certain amount of blame on the victim for being in the situation in the first place.
By telling the story in reverse chronological order, it removes the reader's ability to judge the protagonist. They don't know the events that led up to the abuse, so they can sit back and observe.
Question Three: This book is a shift in tone from some of your previous ones, going into a very dark place. What inspired this story? I love you btw!
I love you too! And I guess I relate to it a lot because I was involved in a relationship that, while not extremely physically abusive, was intense and difficult, and became the inspiration for this story. I was only with that person for a year, but it had a profoundly deep impact on me, in much the same way Tobias changes Tris. That's a big part of why Tris's relationship is exactly a year long.
I attempted to write a book like Captive a few times over the course of a couple of months, but I never got beyond the first couple of chapters. Once I tried writing it in reverse chronological order, the dam broke, and it was done (as you can see) within eighteen days.
Question Four: Tobias is interesting because he's got a volatile temper and he abuses Tris both physically and psychologically. But we see that he's been treated that way all his life as well. We may sympathize with his background but not condone his behavior and actions. How did you achieve that balance?
I've read a few things on Wattpad that contain themes of abuse in relationships, and I didn't feel like any of them capture it just right. The problem is, the abuser in those books simply has an "anger problem." But domestic violence is about so much more than just someone's temper.
It was important to me that readers realize that Tobias isn't a bad guy—just a very broken one. I spent a lot of time developing Tobias's backstory, so that readers could understand what brought him to such a place. Truth be told, I'm a little nervous that people will be upset that he comes across sympathetic. My point isn't to make what he does seem okay, or even justifiable, but just to make it clear that there are deeply rooted problems here, far beyond anger management.
Question Five: Christina, like Al, serves as a reminder of Tris's previous life/previous self. She doesn't like Tobias but for the most part she just lets Tris drift away from her. Did you ever consider having Christina discover the physical abuse? And if so, would she have been more assertive about intervening?
The thing with relationships—abusive or not—is that a girl never breaks up with her boyfriend because her friend doesn't like him. Christina is a smart girl, and she recognises how deeply in love Tris is. While she may never explicitly confront Tris about the abuse, Christina has to know that something is very wrong with Tobias and Tris's relationship.
Tris's mother takes the opposite approach—she tries almost constantly to push Tris away from Tobias. But as you learn through the course of the book, it only backfires—Tris has great difficulty, in the end, reaching out to her mother.
I guess my point is, you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. Christina knew that.
Question Six: It's well known that abuse is cyclical (the abused often become abusers). Similarly, the abused can often find themselves in the same situations. Do you think Tris would do it all over again, knowing at the end what she does?
Sadly, I think it would depend on when you asked. A day, a week, a month after their relationship ends, she would probably say yes. But with time, distance, and a little perspective, I certainly hope she'd have the strength to say no.
Question Seven: You play with the idea of public and private selves in the narrative: Tris, Tobias, even Tris's mother. Tris does a poor job maintaining her public self—it starts to deteriorate even though she manages to keep her biggest secret. Tobias's private self (the good part of him, which Tris can see but no one else can) remains entirely private. Do you feel it's necessary for everyone to have these divided selves or would life be easier if we were all just one person?
I think it's human nature to have a public front and a private one, and what that truly means can vary widely from one person to the next. There are some people you can know your entire lives and never truly know them, and others seem to read like an open book. I think it has to be that way, though. Having a private side is a way to protect yourself from people who many not understand your innermost thoughts.
But that's why reading can be such an emotional, deeply moving experience—for a while, you live in someone else's head, and you see beyond their public self.
Question Eight: When you read other FourTris fanfictions, Tobias is never really portrayed as unstable. I just really wanted to know your reasons for illustrating him in such a way. (I live for this book btw!)
Thanks, I live for you too! Tobias is portrayed as unstable for quite a few reasons. One of those reasons is that, like I said in a previous question, in fanfictions people show him as a broken person shaped by his past, but no one ever really goes that deep into it. I wanted to grasp the psychological impacts that abuse can have on someone, and I tried showing that it can change you in a number of different ways— it changed Tris differently than Tobias. And damaged people clash in a very intense way. I guess it's human nature.
I also figured there weren't all too many Divergent fan fictions out there, and the majority of them aren't from the heart. I tried making Captive as honest as possible, just like I tried to do with Broken Together, because I'm honestly speaking from experience. Not as extreme, obviously, but I at least understand and want to educate people on the subject.
Question Nine: In a few of your books, you've said that you want people to get something out of your stories. What do you mean by that? ( by the way Captive has helped me so much :)))) )
I've come across a lot of readers who simply read because they're curious, and they're not really knowledgable about the topics. I love that. I want everyone who reads this to be able to finish reading it and fully understand what it's like. I think I said to one of you once that it's good to be curious about these types of things, and that it's also not bad at all to savour it. It just gets to a point where some people who try to write about it in fanfictions won't take it as seriously, and start to get a little careless about what they're actually saying/trying to get across. I want to try and eliminate that.
And as for those of you who do understand the topics I write about (not just abuse, but the themes shown in Broken Together, too), I wanted to show you that there is a bright side, and sooner or later you WILL reach it. Things will get better, if only you'd let them. It's hard to let go of things that you think are good for you. Tris thought Tobias was good for her, but as soon as she realised holding on was the worst thing she could be doing, she let go. She stopped being captive, and she set herself free.
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Thank you to everyone who sent questions - I really didn't think I'd get them as quickly as I did!
And thank you to everyone else who made it this far and to those of you who have supported me. This isn't just my book, but it's yours too. And I hope that you've enjoyed it as much as I have.
I love you, frens. I hope that this book grows so that I can get this message across.
See you at the next book!
-Tayah :)