Hello fellow Wattpadders! Today we have Pollyf79 with us, the author of the book, Practice Makes Perfect.

I am Abhipreeti (_abhipreeti_) and I have interviewed Polly Ford, a.k.a, Pollyf79.

Polly Ford was born in Scotland but tries to escape to somewhere far warmer at least twice a year. She's been obsessed with romantic comedy since she was a teenager in the nineties, and if it's not a happy-ever-after, then she probably doesn't want it! She has been writing on-and-off pretty much since she was old enough to hold a pen, but since she joined Wattpad in late 2021, she's somehow managed to post nine complete novels or novellas!

At what age did you realize that you have a special place for writing? Are you currently or do you ever dream of one day being in the writing industry?

>>I honestly must have been about seven or eight...I'd been reading loads of boarding school books - the ones by Enid Blyton, and The Chalet School series - and decided to write my own, despite having no experience in ever attending a boarding school! As my mum was a teacher we always seemed to have spare jotters in the house, so I had plenty of paper to write on, and apparently made it my goal to use it all up! A few decades down the line, I've still never made it into the writing industry, and not sure if I will, but I still love creating stories and characters.

Did any story, on or off Wattpad, inspire you ever and help you carve your interest towards writing books?

>>I feel like most good books I read as a kid and teenager inspired me in some way or another. But it was probably reading my favourite book "Rachel's Holiday" by Marian Keyes in my late teens that inspired my style of writing. Her older books had a chatty, first-person style which I loved and which I found I definitely prefer to write in myself. (I would really recommend that book, by the way!)

What is the genre(s) in which you mostly write your books? Do you think you are able to create brilliant plots when you write in that specific genre(s)?

>>I'm pretty much exclusively chick-lit/romance- I'm not really sure I could write in a different genre, and I don't think I'd want to! I love a good love story with a dash of humour, and there's so many different ways to use one of the many romantic tropes . . . The possibility for plots are endless, really!

What advice would you like to give to authors who are writing in the same genre(s) as yours?

>>I'd say just write what you enjoy, and write characters you love yourself, and just go with the flow. Sometimes, even if you have a plan (I usually don't), the characters might decide to do something completely different from what you expected yourself... and it's fun to just go with them and see what happens!

Do you have any favourite quote or quotes from your book?

>>Is it wrong to say I have so many that I can't actually narrow it down to just a few? Sometimes I write something down and I'm briefly in awe of how amazing I find it. Of course, more often than not I'm looking at my writing thinking "this is such rubbish" so it all balances out in the end!

Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

>>Hopefully winning the lottery and moving to the Greek Islands, where I can write part-time and sunbathe and drink wine the rest of the time!

Now let us talk about your book. How would you describe your story in five words? Could you please give us a brief summary of what your book is about? What makes your book different from other books in the same genre(s)?

>>Hmmm, five words, let's see . . . Newly-Dumped Girl Seeks Fake Date?

Practice Makes Perfect is about Abby, a girl who has just found herself single and doesn't really understand what went wrong. In the meantime, she's found herself sharing a flat with gorgeous-but-irritating Ric - he seems to really enjoy winding her up, but when she needs a fake date to save face at a wedding, he might actually be the only guy who's up to the task!

Something that makes my book a little different is the little images I put together at the start of each chapter to set the tone - whether they're to-do lists or text messages or something else relevant to the chapter. It became a bit of a pain trying to think of something different for each chapter, but it proved quite a popular element, so I'm glad I stuck with it.

Also, I've had a lot of not-great relationships in the past, so I've adapted and then channeled a lot of personal experience into this story . . . Got to put the exes to good use somehow!

Which character or characters of your story do you relate to most? And why?

>>Definitely Abby! She's a lot more optimistic than I am . . . But I used to put my faith too much in useless guys too, and so I definitely incorporated a lot of my own past reactions into her character. This always makes it a bit upsetting though on the rare occasion her character is attacked in the comments for being stupid - I take that quite personally!

How did you come up with such a fascinating plot? Were there any inspirations?

>>I'd actually wanted to write a story about a girl moving in with an annoying flatmate for a long time and the rest of the plot came from there as I tried to decide why the girl would be living with Ric in the first place. I realised this would be the perfect place to use my own experiences of being dumped, and then I love the fake-dating trope so decided to incorporate that too. So really I had Ric in my head as a character way before Abby!

How did you discover Wattpad? And what engendered you to begin writing on this platform? What do you like best about this application?

>>I'd started writing a story for the first time after several years break (Charlie's Web) in 2012 and after a strong start I'd just faltered and was only sporadically adding to it. I'm not sure when exactly i became aware of Wattpad but in 2021 it struck me that if I started uploading what I already had of the story, it might force me to continue . . . Which it did. It took me a good few months to get any comments on my writing, but I really do live for those comments - it's definitely one of my favourite things about Wattpad!

When did you start writing on Wattpad? How has your writing journey been ever since then?

>>It was October 2021, and it well and truly made me fall back in love with writing! As soon as I finally completed Charlie's Web, I started writing a new story and I didn't really stop after that. I was getting a bit of engagement at this stage but it was only really after I began my fifth book, No Reservations, that I found some decent Wattpad success. More recently, one of my books won an Amby award so I'm still basking in that success a little!

What is your writing process and how do you cope when writers' block hits you?

>>Honestly, I don't really have a process. I try to write when inspiration strikes - sometimes that's often and sometimes not so much - and if I'm really stuck I either step away completely for a few days, or I write a later chapter (if I have even the vaguest idea where the plot is going). The main thing I try to do though is just not put too much pressure on myself. At the moment, this is just a hobby, and something I enjoy . . . it shouldn't feel like a task!

Are you a pantser or a plotter? During which time of the day do you usually write?

>>I'm 100 per cent a pantser. I find most of the plot doesn't come to me until I've started writing and the characters have taken shape. Also, if there are ever any  twist in my books, they've usually not been planned very far in advance! As for the time I write, it really can be any time - whenever the mood takes me, really! Although I've noticed that I seem to have far less motivation to write at the weekend.

What would be your advice to young and budding authors, who are just beginning their journey on Wattpad and are quite new to the writing world?

>>Write what you want to write, try not to let negative comments get to you too much, but embrace genuine feedback. Also, be sure to engage with others on the platform. And by that I mean genuinely engage, don't just try to promote your own work. Leave thoughtful comments, reply to comments people leave you (it honestly kinda bugs me when people don't do that), shout out other people's work you admire. Oh, and don't expect people to read your work just because you've read theirs (unless you've made some sort of R4R agreement) - it doesn't always work that way.

Is there any author(s) on Wattpad whom you look up to as an amazing writer?

>>There are actually so many great authors on here that I can't single out specific ones - it's too hard! Don't make me choose!!!

Could we please have two or more Wattpad story recommendations? What do you like most about these stories?

>>So I'm going to go for two stories I read relatively early on in my Wattpad career. And I say *relatively* because it was probably around a year in before I found a lot of my favourite authors.

So I'm picking Stolen Heart by JSPRomComs as this was one of the first times on Wattpad I had read a story and thought "Jana's writing reminds me of the chick-lit books I read  outside of Wattpad!" It's such a good, witty, funny story. I've found other gems since, but this was one of the first I struggled to "put down".

I've also got such a soft spot for Raven & Rue by ella_rowan - this is a super-sweet gender-flipped version of Cinderella and I believe it has also featured on this profile too!

I always add the books I really enjoyed to my recommended reading lists on my profile too, so you can find a ton of others there!

What would be the three words to describe yourself as an author?

>>Hmm... I'd like to say funny, silly and quirky!

Thank you so much! It was an honour to have you here for the interview conducted by Kalon Community. We wish you lots of success on your writing journey and may you flourish more. Thank you once again!