INTERVIEW WITH: @HCLandsteiner :)

Me: What's behind your username?

HCLandsteiner: The H and C are my Anglicised initials and the 'Landsteiner' part is taken from Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian scientist who received the Nobel Prize for discovering blood groups. High school experiments on blood coagulation, to me, are both morbid and educational-- a motto of sorts for my works. Lol.

Me: [Wow. That's cool.] What country are you from?

HCLandsteiner: I'm from Malaysia. :D (I've been keeping my location a secret for a year or so because I'm afraid that my classmates are stalking my account. Now that most of them are inactive, I'm telling you guys the truth. Hehe~)

Me: Why did you join Wattpad?

HCLandsteiner: I joined Wattpad because this one classmate of mine in high school kept pestering me to do so. For the last two years, she'd been binge-reading EXO and Harry Potter fanfics on Wattpad. I googled the site and stumbled upon good Invader Zim fanfics-- and from that day on, I decided to try writing one of my own. And First Snow and Firefall are the results.

Me: *nods head* What was it like when you first started writing?

HCLandsteiner: First Snow, as the title suggests, is the first fanfic I posted on Wattpad. It's an Invader Zim one-shot collection and only collected 1k reads since it was published almost two years ago. I admit, the fandom I chose to write about was pretty obscure and esoteric (tee-hee!) here in Wattpad, and my writing was rather short and... awkwardly choppy. The same goes to my first full-length fic, Firefall (or In EXO Wonderland). Every time I reread First Snow and Firefall, I feel like cringing. But I don't think that I've ever improved since then either. ;-;

Me: Where do you get your ideas from?

HCLandsteiner: Historical events, personal experience, my (usually morbid) imagination and music. Especially music. Every single story I write has its own set of soundtracks. Song lyrics can be good story prompts too.

Me: How do you deal with Writer's Block?

HCLandsteiner: I usually take short breaks from my writing to distract my mind from the problem. I hope that later, when I continue writing my draft, I'll be able to write from a new perspective.

Sometimes, I read some novels to get some fresh ideas. My writing is greatly influenced by Ira Levin who wrote awesome novels like The Boys From Brazil and Rosemary's Baby.

Me: Who are your favorite author's here on Wattpad?

HCLandsteiner: Among my friends: @venusic (her words are poetry), @officiallysarra (her works are very atmospheric), @angel_8998_  (her works will screw up your psyche) and @rockerChen (a human imaginarium). Among famous Wattpadders:  @hecallsmehischild eonnie (she'd been writing fanfics since I was nine, and I'm nineteen now-- her horror fics are fandom classics) and @FantasticYeoja (prepare for emotional rides).

Me: What was your most embarrassing moment ever?

HCLandsteiner: I have a bad, bad memory, so I can't really remember any of them... But I sure am a heck of a klutz, so a minor embarrassing incident (if not a major screw-up) is bound to happen every single day lol

Me: [Lol. I feel ya. xD ] Are there any stories you're working on that aren't yet published? If so, can you please tell us a little about it?

HCLandsteiner: A friends! Baekyeol one-shot titled 'Fade to White'. It was part of a series of flower-themed body horror one-shots spanning multiple fandoms about a disfiguring epidemic that struck future Korea. The first part of the series, Wilted Roses, is already completed. Will finish Fade to White (and its The8-Jun substory) once I'm no longer burdened by the never-ending tests and quizzes. Wish me luck~<3

Me: Is there anything you would like to add? Any advice or other things you would like to share for our fellow Wattpaders here?

HCLandsteiner: I don't really have any useful advice to offer... So, here are some of my favourite inspirational quotes about writing:

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."
- Thomas Mann

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect." 
- Anais Nin

"You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best and fussing. Story is testing, not refining."
- One of Pixar's storytelling rules

"I can shake off everything as I write, my sorrows disappear, my courage reborn." 
- Anne Frank

...and age doesn't matter. It's never too late to start writing! Better now than never <3

*****
That was beautiful. :') Huge thanks to @HCLandsteiner for participating! :)

That is all.

Thank you and God bless!

~Jewel💕