1 what's your favorite movie?
Cinema and movies have always been the background to my life. TV too. I obtain endless inspiration from feature films or TV series. For i.e. Fight Club instilled in me the unreliable narrative, which I incorporate in a lot of my novels. But the biggest impression a movie has given me is Pulp Fiction. In my opinion, Quentin Tarantino is the best storyteller. His films are visual novels. The timelines that he edits and crafts together like a wizard is awe inspiring. Any artist that inspires me I love! Inspiration produces art. Muse.
2 what's one Wattpad goal?
My goal is to take my creative writing to wattpad and JUST HAVE FUN! I believe when I write stories I have the best time and the most fun creating worlds with characters inhibiting it and if I'm having fun, I know readers hopefully will. The market is flooded with tremendous aspiring writers with all the same goal ultimately, so if I can stand out and be unique too, that's a bonus. But to keep it simple, I care if one person enjoys a story I wrote. The rest is a bonus.
3 how would you spend a rainy day?
How would I spend a rainy day? Well I know the boring answer is writing all day, every day no matter the weather, but i recently found some time because my brain is constantly working being I'm obsessed with writing. If I'm not reading trying to catch up on so many good books, I'm watching Netflix or another streaming service. I am not proud to say I know every show and I'm a binge junky. Shows like Mr. Robot are what drive me to write a fun story.
4 if you could gain advice from your favorite author, who would you choose and what would you ask?
If there was one author I could spend some time with talking and receiving advice it would no doubt be Agatha Christie. What a marvel! Her novels consist of puzzle pieces sometimes hidden in plain sight. She is a pioneer author and each book consistently great. There's authors like Michael Connelly who I share the same approach to writing a novel; which is sort of an improvisation style. I just make up as I go along never setting up outlines or anything. I always thought it was the least effective style, but I'm very creative. I would love to ask Agatha Christie how she starts her fiction. With so many layers and layers, red herrings and etc, I would be fascinated.
5 what's a song you enjoy? Who is the artist?
A song I absolutely love.. I mean makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up----total masterpiece, is 'Under Pressure', by Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. I think it's the best collaboration ever created and I know I'm old (31), but great music is timeless.
6 Are you still surprised when you get a new vote, follow or comment?
I only submitted one story that unfortunately I had to walk away from for a week due to vacation, but I was appalled at the response it gathered being that it's not even finish, plus the amount of views, which I know are minute to the writers that aren't new on wattpad. I will admit, I just improvised each part with only the ending in mind, so I don't consider it great, but it's okay. Hopefully it earned some people's attention when I submit a story I'm really proud of. Again, my goal is only to provide entertainment and escapism to readers. If I receive a vote and/or a follow, that just validates what I'm trying to do. That feels incredible!
7 what's your dream vacation?
My dream vacation would be going on book tours and signing thousands upon thousands of my debut published book that's hit stores with fans lined up anticipating a copy and finally taking a step back and exhaling...."this is what it's like." I would marinate in that moment for as long as possible and then flee the country on a Caribbean vacation. All while reflecting on the hard journey but always fun. That's the thing: it's always fun writing and I will always write for myself, for readers, as long as it remains fun!
8 what's your schedule regarding your writing?
My writing schedule is rigid. I write early in the morning till 8 or 9 at night. I never have a word count goal. I don't want it to feel like work. I get lost in my own Narnia and create. Lately I've been focusing on rich character development. I usually write between 7,000 words to 8,500 words a day. Whether I use all of them is another story, but even the words I delete, I've learned something from it.
9 what's a good piece of advice for a newcomer?
I started writing when I was a young kid but I would say I really began writing seriously for almost 3 years. The amount of knowledge I've learned is mind boggling. Just attempting to write my first novel, which I never finished, I learned so much. More than I did in college. I would tell any newcomer to never ever give up----just write! Keep writing! This is always overlooked, however, but you should always try to read as much as possible. I don't consider myself a "writer" but more of a storyteller, so through reading and trial and error I learn an endless amount.
A very big thing that's imperative is writing your first draft. Keep writing, don't go back and fix something you previously wrote. Just keep adding to it even when you change your mind or think of something different. You'll find it a blessing when you go to polish it out and you'll have a great idea of the directions you want to go in the second draft. Also, most important, you can do this unless YOU believe in yourself! Once you do, anyone could shit all over your story and it won't make a difference. Just always be hungry for constructive criticism. It helps you grow and molds you.
10 what's your favorite holiday and why?
I love things that are nostalgic. The smell of a particular cologne may remind me of summer 2010. The biggest event in life that gives me the best nostalgia is Christmas. I love it! It's the one holiday I still get to feel the child anticipation. The music, the dinners, the cookies, it's the best!
11 what's your favorite book?
For a book to truly be a masterpiece, I think it has to have all the ingredients that make an amazing story. Love. Loss. Villains. Protagonist. Revenge. The Count of Monte Cristo is this book for me. It has everything and stands the test of time. I've never been so engrossed in a book, though maybe another day I would have a different answer. The woods by Harlan Coben is superb too.
Request time!
I'm just starting to share my stories. I have over 200 short stories and a few novels. Right now I write because it's my life, my utopia. I tried self-publishing and published a few, but if I'm going to ask readers to read my work, I want it to be worth their time that they invest in me and I want the story to be as fun for them as it is for me to write. Anyone can go to goodreads.com and search for Leonardo DiSalvatore for my previous work that I self-published before I decided I want to publish at a publishing house.