SMC_Scookie - a writer I requested to interview. Be sure to check out her story The Clearing!

Three things you love besides writing/reading?

1) Kung Fu! I'm an orange (almost green) sash.
2) Psychology. I have a first class degree in the subject. If anyone wants to chat about delusions or migraine aura or the processing of a metaphor, just drop me a message!
3) Teaching myself guitar - sorry neighbours!

Three things you hate?

1) Blood. I faint at the sight of it.
2) The fact I only get to see my boyfriend of 4 years every few weeks. Someday we'll live in the same county. Someday soon I hope.
3) That person who puts the milk back in the fridge with just a drop left - oh wait, that's me. Moving on...

Why do you write?

I love the thrill of reading comments by beta-readers. Some make me smile uncontrollably, others point out things that make me kick myself, but both give me a sense of pride that someone else is enjoying my hard work.

I also enjoy pouring my heart and quirks into a piece. It's a cathartic process, and I can't wait for the day I can hold my own novel in my hands.

Out of all your stories, which one is your favorite?

My latest, The Clearing, is the best I've ever written. I can feel it. All my other novels were just teaching me to write whereas this is the one. All my best ideas and lines have gone into it! (G.S. Glow Commentary: I concur - I haven't read anything else by SMC, but what I have read I've been impressed with! I do suggest checking out The Clearing!)

How do you create your characters?

I build them up slowly. At first I don't know who they are, but I try to focus on a key defining characteristic, which I make as consistent as I can. For instance, Jacob is protective and Ruby is reckless. This is just a core characteristic to differentiate them with, but on its own it's a bit too simplistic.

After a while, I feel like I understand them better. I know why they act the way they do, and how each of them will handle a similar situation differently. I make sure my plot has room to show you who are my characters are. Once I know them inside and out, I go back through the novel, making sure this is consistent.

I also bear in mind that characters learn from experiences, just like we do. As the book goes on, my characters become different versions of themselves depending on what they've experienced. I want to make sure that readers know that the Ruby of chapter 1 is not the same Ruby that ends the novel - she's grown.

Out of your characters, which one are you the most like?

I'd have to say Sapphire. She's strong and persistent. Whenever someone hits her down she gets back up, but she's very delicate too. Sapphire is stronger than I am because she has a lot more hardship to deal with, but like her, I try not to let people see me upset or struggling. We both keep our minds on the positives of life to keep us going, and we're both persistent and don't mind a bit of hard work!

What do you do when you have writer's block?

Usually, I take a step back. Maybe I'll write something else for a bit, but usually reading a published novel will spur me on. A book either inspires me to make my writing better, or it shows me 'look, this got published and it's not perfect - you have a chance!'

How do you plan out your stories?

I usually start with an idea - a twist. Something fresh. Characters start to immerge around that event. I'll write out that scene straight away as if I'm possessed, with only a vague idea of what's before and after. Then I'll leave it be.

The idea will stay in my mind though. I'll read it back, ponder it before I sleep, and if another scene comes to me, I'll write it down along with notes of how it links up.

For The Clearing, the idea was the scene where Ruby is thrown in the streets and will be trialled for endangering the village, and this was paired with the opening and the ending to create what I hope is a powerful circle in the novel. Next, I had more ideas for the main plot. To flesh out characters and concepts, subplots formed. Eventually, I weaved them together and out popped a completed novel.

I don't write in order. I write where my inspiration guides me.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I like being subtle and quirky. The problem is, subtly can be missed or seen as vague, and there's a thin line between quirky and odd or misleading. Usually beta-readers help me work out when something just doesn't work - and sometimes I find it hard to part!

What are you writing strengths?

Ah. I usually do see what people tell me...

I think my strength is that I've been honing my writing for years and years, learning to write better through editing others and applying it to myself.

I've been told The Clearing has a good balance between description, intrigue, characterisation, pace, and also includes those one liners that make you love a novel. I wouldn't say this is my strength because I struggled to pull this off in the past.

I do throw in lines that help glue the story together, and I love it when readers pull them out and realises what I've done.

What genre do you read?

Dystopian and fantasy, and usually young or new adult novels. I have a blog (ScookieReviews.blogspot.co.uk) with reviews for up and coming titles which I acquire through NetGalley, so I read a lot of books both old and new. My favourite novel out of everything I've read is Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I'd recommend The Paper Magician which came out last October, or Nightbird which comes out in February if you want a newer releases.

Occasionally I like literary fiction, but only when it's really good like The Kite Runner or My Sister's Keeper. It has to be really good to catch my attention though. Otherwise, I'd rather stick to magic and twisted versions of life.

What genre do you write?

Dystopian. Sometimes urban fantasy, but even then I have a dystopian spin.

It's strange, because I studied dystopian fiction during my A levels and loved it - have been writing it ever since. A year or so later, the genre exploded and now everyone's writing it. My idea started back then, and I just hope it still feels original.

Include a small blurb/summary of your story so people can see your work.

Ruby enjoys being a reckless child with a dangerous fascination of the undead. She spends her time pressed up against the village gates, watching the way the Soulless move and fearing the day she spots her father among them.

Now that she's sixteen, Ruby is no longer a child: she is a child bearer. But she won't take part in the village's desperate bid for repopulation whilst she yearns to know what else is beyond the gates. Most of all, she refuses to understand why the Sentenced run willingly into the forest full of the Soulless - including her brave and wise father who taught her how to be strong. It isn't long before Ruby uncovers a shocking conspiracy and is Sentenced like her father for endangering the village.

Unlike those before her, Ruby refuses to run to her death - and, to the mayor's dismay, she survives! But Ruby's defiance has consequences for the entire village, starting with a headless Seer on a stick.

http://www.wattpad.com/story/29928264-the-clearing [Quick Link: ExternalLink off to the side]

Currently looking for Beta-Readers.