Title : Freak

Author : MelancholyMango

Summary : What if you could hear them? The thoughts they deigned not reasonable enough to say out loud, the things not suitable for even a giggly teenage gossip conversation. Would it be a blessing or a curse?

Troye, the unlucky teenager bestowed with this 'gift', thinks of it as a curse, with good reason. Do you know how hard it is to keep a relationship with someone when you know exactly what they think of you? Impossible. It's impossible. Or at least that's what Troye thinks, considering he's given up on even trying to make it work. He's different, people shun different. People hate different. And it's better to go under the radar, to be nothing, than to be hated. Right?
Tyler, on the other hand, has taken a different approach to a similar problem. No, he can't 'read minds', but he does have a part of himself he doesn't want a soul to know about. He's quarterback, every girl's dream guy, an academic mastermind, and he's also gay.
He's seen how different kids get treated, hell, he's been the one to treat them that way before. Why on Earth would he ever wish that on himself? No, it's easier to hide, to be someone you're not, than to be hated. Right?

Genre : Fanfiction

Link : External Link 

Interview with the Author

1) At what age you began writing and what or who inspired you into writing?

1) I'm not sure when I looked at what I was doing and thought of it as serious writing rather than just something I found myself doing to pass the time, so this is kind of hard to pinpoint. Throughout school I always went above and beyond expectations on creative writing projects, ever since it was introduced in second grade. I took up writing things longer than a couple pages when I was twelve, so 2009, when I wrote a beautiful 64 page novella creatively titled 'Love and Hate' that was filled with more teen werewolf angst than ever necessary in any universe. I've been doing it irregularly ever since, only really taking up a committment lasting longer than a few months in late 2013 when I stumbled upon Wattpad. As for inspiration I can't really say I was inspired by one person or thing so much as the literary world as a whole. I've loved books and authors of every kind for as long as I can remember, it's just been a part of who I am.

2) How was the entire experience from writing 'Freak' to Winning Wattys has been like?

2) It's definitely been a journey, I'll give it that. Writing Freak has been amazing in every way, I never dreamed of having such an insanely huge response to anything I'd write. It's given me so much confidence in my writing and it's unbelievable to see how far I've grown just since the start of it. As for the Watty's, I'm not even ashamed to say how proud of myself I am for all the work I put into it. I decided to enter a ways into the competition after mulling over the decision forever because of how crazy it seemed. I still had fifty chapters when I decided to enter, fifty chapters to finish in less than fifty days, each of which ranging from ten to twenty-five pages. Everyone I told about my decision to enter thought I was crazy and while they supported me, I don't think anyone thought I'd pull it off. I had to finish chapters daily even after cutting down the chapter count in order to finish in time for the deadline, it was so incredibly stressful trying to juggle real life and all of that. But I did it and I can honestly say I've never been more proud of something I've done in my entire life. I don't regret any of it for a minute.

3) What is the plot of 'Freak' about?

3) Freak is the story of eighteen year old Troye Sivan, a boy who's been dealing with voices inside his head for his entire life, and not just in the metaphorical sense. Troye was born with the power to read minds, though they seemed to leave out the instruction manual on how to use it. For the first few years of his life it was an entertaining talent he didn't think much of, but of course it was only a matter of time until he realized the harsh reality of just how different he was from everyone else and the negative affect his powers could have on others. After that he did everything he could to fight that part of himself, craving nothing more than the normality everyone else his age had. After a while he gave up on finding it, resolving to embrace that he'd never find happiness and simply do what he could to keep from making anyone else unhappy ever again. What he didn't realize is that happiness might find him, in the most unlikely of forms; a human connection he'd long ago told himself he wasn't allowed to have, in fear of hurting someone else and himself when they inevitably realized what a freak he was.

4) What message are you trying to convey to your audience through 'Freak'?

4) When I started Freak I had no message in mind, or much of a plot really. However, throughout writing it and looking back over all of the chapters now I can see that it kind of formed it's own message through the way I told the story. I think what I was mainly trying to get across without even realizing it, is that everyone can find happiness. It's a really general message and kind of cheesy, but I think it's really important. No matter how far away or impossible it seems, everyone is capable of getting to a point where they consider themselves happy, granted they stick around to see it through.

5) Do you work on an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you, while writing?

5) I've tried every variation of plotting and not plotting that there is out there at this point, trying to find what works best for me. I'm still constantly adapting and changing my mind on what I like to do best for plotting, but currently I have a method I'm quite happy with. First I arrange the major events in the story that absolutely must be included and are very important in chronological order, then minor things that I would like to see but could get by without if necessary I stick in between in chronological order, and then from there I'm usually able to do chapter-to-chapter vague plots on how I could get to each of those important goals. I'm not sure if that made sense really, but hopefully you get a vague idea of what I'm saying.

6) What are your other works and what are you currently writing?

6) All of my current works are fanfiction and will probably continue to be for a while, at least on this account. I owe so much to the community I wrote these stories for and I don't think it'd be right to just leave that behind. Currently my main focuses are actually the second and third books in the series Freak is from. Both of which are focused around different pairings but have similar plots, people with powers struggling to come to terms with them and find their happiness.

7) Do you ever get writers block? How do you tackle it?

7) I actually don't get writer's block. Of course I have moods where I'd much prefer writing than other times, but there's never a time when I can't sit down and force myself to write if I have a deadline or know I have to get it done. I think I owe a huge part of that to the intense plotting I do beforehand though, considering I lay out my chapters before writing them. So if you find yourself struggling with writing, take a few days off to really focus on figuring out where you want to go with the book as a whole and in the immediate future.

8) Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?

8) I edit my own, however I only really do the bare minimum and fix typos that come up with red lines under them. A lot of errors do manage to slip through with this method but I don't really have the patience to look into some sort of external editor and I don't enjoy it enough myself to spend any more time than that. Plus, a part of me likes being able to show myself and other people how much my writing grows with time, I find it almost inspirational.

9) Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.

9) The covers came about through hours of frustrated fiddling with different photos, filters, and layouts. The original covers I thought I liked looked nothing like the current layout. I'm glad I went with the eyes in the end though, as I really do believe they're the windows to the soul. Seeing as a lot of the stories is coming to terms with yourself and emotion centered, I figured it's important to the body part that you can really see all of that through.

10) Which social network worked best for you? What else do you do for promoting your books?

10) I was always way too shy to promote my books when I was just starting out, though if you're desperate for reads Twitter might be able to get you some quick. However, I think what really got me out there was the Wattpad community itself. I commented and supported so many stories in genres similar to mine and because of that I had a lot more people feel the need to check out my story. So I guess just support other stories the way you'd want yours to be supported.

11) What are your favorite books from wattpad?

11) Most of my favorites are, not surprisingly, from fanfiction categories similar to the ones I write in, so if that's not your thing I doubt these recs will be much good for you. "A Touch Of Courage" by @Erhabori is written insanely well and the plot is very vaguely similar to Freak's. "Escort" by @Colour-me-Troyler is a very good read. And finally, my favorite original work would have to be "Top and Tail" by @AlyWasHere17.

12) Now that you have won the Wattys, what are your future goals/plans? Do you see writing as a career or is it just a hobby?

12) For the longest time I told myself that my dream was to be a writer, but at the same time I never thought I had it in me. I was constantly told how hard it was to make it in that career and how it wasn't a steady income or whatever, and I let that affect my confidence and my opinions to the point I nearly gave up writing altogether. I might have if I hadn't found Wattpad. All of this is still so unreal to me, that so many people enjoy what I write and that it's capable of winning contests among thousands of entrants. It's unbelievable still, but slowly I'm gaining confidence in myself and I've realized that my dream actually was stupid, because I've been a writer all along, now more-so than ever. So, as much as I'd love to do it for a career and make money at it, I don't see that as a necessity anymore either. I'm going to keep writing because nothing makes me happier, if I end up making money of any sort at something I enjoy so much, I'll be absolutely ecstatic.

13) If you had been an original author of a book, what would it have been and why?

13) Likely something that had a lot to do with werewolves or crazy supernatural beings of some sort, that's my thing. If it was an original work I would have gone with something a lot more out-there than the subtle powers I gave Troye in Freak, mainly because I didn't think the fanfiction community would accept a crazy plot quite as much. Now I realize they actually love it, possibly because my story and a lot of others have helped ease the way, but yeah, at the time I was much too self-conscious to go full-out fantasy. At the same time, I'm very glad I didn't. What seemed like a limitation at the start of the story has made me explore plots I wouldn't have before, with powers like this rather than supernatural beings entirely. Aside from errors and filler chapters, I can honestly say I wouldn't have changed Freak much at all had it been an original work.

14) How can readers discover more about you and your work?

(Share websites, if any)

14) While you can see a lot about me as a person through the author's notes at the end of each chapter, I do have almost every social media going as well. The one I use most for predicting update times and general personal space is probably my twitter @MelancholyMango. I'm often found sharing paragraph spoilers of upcoming chapters and sharing edits inspired by Freak (made by readers, not me, I'm untalented in that category) on my Tumblr @Mangothatismelancholy. And I also have a youtube where I mostly just answer fan-asked questions in videos, basically monthly mini interviews like this one, titled MelancholyMango as well.

15) Your message to readers and followers.

15) Talk about going out with a bang, this is definitely the question I could spend the most time answering if I let myself. I have so much to say to people that support my writing, I could go on for days. First of all, I just want to thank-you all so much, for likely the nine-hundredth time. I say it all the time but every read, vote, comment, even glance at my stories, is so incredibly important to me. It's helped me grow so much as a person and find so much confidence in myself and my writing. I know it just feels like clicking a button and reading some story to you guys but it's literally changing my life for the better and there's no way for me, even as a writer, to truly express how grateful I am for all you guys have done for me. You're amazing and I hope each and every one of you can chase and achieve your dreams, just like you're helping me do.