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This interview was done by EagleFromAL

So without further ado, we introduce to you frommarleighwithlove

1. Congratulations on winning this contest! How do you feel about this?

I'm overwhelmed, to be honest. I don't view myself as a world-class writer, and I enjoy taking any success with me, wherever I go. It's certainly encouraging.

2. Where were you when you heard that you won?

I was in Burger King at the time, getting my usual. Because I practically live in Burger King, I had their Wi-Fi, and the notification shot up as soon as I entered. My God, I looked like the Cheshire Cat reincarnated.

3. What does it mean to you to win?

It means that I do actually have the ability to write and that I can do something I enjoy without feeling self-conscience about it.

4. How long did it take you to write and did you find the contest interesting?

For each entry, it didn't take me long. I wrote the majority of them in under an hour because I didn't feel like I should pour my heart out into each piece. I slowly eased myself into writing in competitions because I didn't want to write something I deemed incredible, and then have it shrugged off by someone else. The last entry took my three hours because I grew to love my characters and the plot I came up with. As a whole, the competition was engaging, I nearly always did my entries on the first night - except for the last entry, because I was on holiday with no Internet when it was set - and found myself thoroughly satisfied by the prompts. It tested my knowledge in every genre, and I'll definitely take it as a learning curve.

5. How were you feeling when you entered the contest? Like were you feeling confident? Or were you just trying your luck?

I was honestly trying my luck. I thought I would come out with nothing. I had faith in my spelling and grammar, and my ability to be coherent, but I went in knowing that there would be writers with incredible imaginations and more talent than me. I couldn't once feel bigheaded or confident, but I went in open-minded.

6. How would you describe yourself to other writers?

I would say I'm a writer with some very dark twists, who is very strict with grammar and spelling, and hard to engage in other works. I'm quirky, and I spend more time planning and reading than socialising. I get inspiration from music, and I write about a lot of my dreams. I would like to say I'm a fairly decent writer who knows how to make characters unique but realistic, with engaging plots, but I don't have a big enough audience to test that theory.

7. What is your favorite genre?

Any. At this current moment in time, I find myself able to read and write about anything I want to. It may not be a good quality, but I can do it.

8. Who or what inspires your writing?

I get my inspiration from everything. I look at the houses across the street and get ideas. I see the way the clouds hover in the sky and get ideas. I hear the cat meowing underneath cars, and oh look, great job Marleigh, another idea. I watch films, and read books, and think about they could be adapted, or what could be done to shatter the plot and make it so unthinkable that it could be a hidden gem. My mind works to overthink everything, thus creating inspiration.

9. How long have you been writing? Like, did you start after joining Wattpad or did you write before?

I've been writing for ten years now, not serious, award-winning pieces, but as a hobby. I first started when I was five, and I'd make badly held together books with folded sheets of A4 paper, and I believe my first story I ever wrote was about three pigs who were all sisters, going on a journey to find their fourth, missing sister. They did actually find her in the end. Writing started off as a hobby for me, then a passion.

10. If you could pass on a single piece of advice to anyone who just started writing, what would it be?

PLAN EVERYTHING. You need something to refer back to, your memory won't be good enough. If you don't plan, you won't be able to see the loopholes in your plot that you could expand on, or how similar or cliche the plot is. It takes a very long time to write books. Every aspect ends up planned. But then you have organisation. Another piece of advice is, don't be down about not having any views. You could be the most amazing writer, and no one would read your work. Because you're the new kid on the block. No one knows you. It takes time not only to write, but to be noticed. Use the hashtags, get onto the clubs and share your work, read more and comment more, and just make friends in general. If you've come on Wattpad to be noticed, you have to put yourself in the position to be noticed. Everything takes time. It's all down to patience. 

Thanks for checking in, until next time!

Stay awesome!