Tahieuba - Golden Raspberry Award Winner for Best Lady of Shallot for The Vault [Comp. 2]

Three things you love besides writing/reading?

1) Character drawings for my stories. Sketching from my mind and getting it onto paper helps me clear the space in my cluttered mind.
2) Winter – especially when it snows for days and it makes you feel like a kid again. My family originally lived in a mountainous area so snow, ice and cold never bothered me. 
3) Music – either playing on my keyboard or listening to it. I listen to a range that reflects the mood I’m in and this in turn motivates me to write story scenes.

Three things you hate?

1) Really hot days. Temperature soaring over 25°C (80°F) and I start burning up and getting horrible heat spots all over my body. No wonder I prefer the cold weather.
2) Indecisive people. I don’t hate that they take their time getting to what they want but it’s switching their minds every 5 seconds. Seriously stick to one and let’s get going.
3) Creepy crawlies. I’ve got nothing against them, but once they start to attack or disappear (yep those house spiders get on my nerves) I run like hell.

Why do you write?

Escapism. I was bullied in high school (therefore life sucked) and the only way I could deal with my anger in a healthy way was to write it out. It started out with a diary and reading more stories especially fantasy and romance genres. And when I decided to pursue a career in writing I wanted to create a world were readers and I can escape from this provincial life.

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

Gosh! It’s a tough one because I consider all my stories like my babies; I just can’t pick a favourite. I can tell you which one I enjoyed writing the most. That would have to be The Silk Dancer. Unlike the other stories I gave this one a timeline to complete the first draft in two months. Plus I had creative help from my niece and nephew who not only loved the story but gave me the confidence to appreciate my writing a lot more. It gives me hope to know that readers will have something positive to say.  

How do you create your characters?

Experience and dreams are the two things that help me a lot. For example the protagonist in Little Ms Cynical, Sylvia Coal, was inspired by my sister who is an architect, Margaret Tate’s attire in The Proposal and Katherine Minola’s temper in ShakespeaRe-Told the Taming of The Shrew. Those three characters helped me flesh out Sylvia.

I dreamt the character Ezra for The Silk Dancer, his face under the moonlight appeared and that was etched in my mind. I know it sounds slightly cheesy but it happened like that. He wasn’t influenced by any other character I’ve encountered. He could possibly be my dream man.

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

I truly believe that my characters in all of my stories have some of my traits in one shape or form. I’ve been told by a friend that Katrina Schwarz from A Vampire’s Deception is a lot like me. It’s not her physical appearance but her sarcasm, tomboyish ways and the fact she doesn’t give up on her finding out the truth.

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

In any normal situation I would bang my head against my bedroom wall, but I usually try to fight it by over thinking. When the writer’s block is persistent I take a break, pace my room or actually go for a walk around town, to refresh my mind and deeply think about what I want to write.

How do you plan out your stories?

It’s a mix of planning the storyline or going with the flow. For The Red Coat (completed short story) I had the thought in my mind and I just started to write it out, taking me 3 hours to write 4 chapters. The creative juice just flowed with that story.

I planned out stories like The Vault and A Vampire Trilogy by writing out a storyline, converting into chapters, adding notes and dialogues to each chapter and then fleshing it out.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I’ve been told by many people that I suck at grammar, which is true. It’s a weakness that I have to personally work on because it fails me as a writer. I could have the most amazing plot and then the grammar wrecks it all. Another weakness is descriptions. I know what I want to say and I’ve visualised it a thousand times, but I can’t find the right words to describe it. It peeves me.

What are you writing strengths?

I’m pretty good at dialogue and capturing each characters voice. Whilst studying Film Studies in college I looked at screenplays and character interaction on screen. So when I write my stories I find it easier to get the dialogues down rather than description.

What genre do you read?

I try to reads a range of genre and it really depends on my mood. I’m trying to kick the habit of reading romance novels (my guilty pleasures) and getting into Sci Fi and crime novels.

What genre do you write?

I like to dip and dive and so I find that nearly all my stories are a mash up of other genres. I call it the Masala of genres. Nearly all of my stories have some romance elements that could be set in a fantasy world, sci fi world or in a paranormal backdrop.

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

If you would like to read any of my work just click on the External Link or onto my user name Tahieuba and everything that you need to know will be there. Have fun browsing Wattpad and be inspired by a world of story tellers. =D