Follow this amazing writer:
ifana8

Her books:

ifana8

1) From which country do you belong?

-I'm from Nigeria.

2) Where did you come up with the idea for the story?

-Well, as I originally started the story for The Opennovella Contest, I can say I got its prompt

from there. However, the plot development, setting, and even the characterization were derived

from my love and study of the Japanese culture.

3) Do you outline your stories or write whatever comes to your mind?

-I outline my stories, most especially the sequence of my plot and what every chapter should

accomplish. Writing whatever comes to mind can never work as well for me. Doing that for me is

a free ticket to "writer's block".

4) What was the turning point of your life that you decided to take writing seriously?

-Well, that was when I turned fourteen. I was a very depressed, very emotional person then, and

I was going through a lot. So, I started writing poetry to escape, and from there, it became more

than that to me. I wanted the world to hear my thoughts, to feel my voice. That had me culturing

my love for writing in general, and I started taking it very seriously.

5) Do you use any other websites to update your story?

-Oh yes, I do, though I'm much more active on Wattpad. It's a site called Reedsy. You can find

me @AnastasiaIfinedo, where I upload short stories inspired by the weekly prompts they give.

6) Challenges you face while writing?

-Well, I struggle with tenses while writing. Sometimes, I don't know what tense to use, or how to

switch tenses if and/or when necessary. But I come out victorious after my struggle many a

time, so I think it's fine. I don't think I have any other challenge.

7) If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

-I'd go to Greece. It's the epitome of the literary culture, alongside Italy, sure, but there's just

something about Greece and all its ancient beauty that makes me want to see it. Plus, it's very

quiet. I generally like quiet places.

8) How long have you been working on this book?

-I finished "A Diary's Essence" under three months or so, back when The Opennovella contest

of 2019 was running. Even though it was a longlister, the work didn't feel satisfactory to me, so I

set about editing it. Even now, I'm still editing and broadening the scope of the story, so if you

count from March 2019, you can say I've been working on it, in between resting periods, for over

a year.

9) Did you learn something while writing the book?
did. A lot of things actually. I got to know more about my setting, Kyoto, and I got to know

much more than I already did about Japanese mythology, particularly about the god(dess),

Kannon Bosatsu. It was an interesting experience, learning all that.

10) If you had to describe the main leads in 3 words, what would you say?

-For Benjamin: brooding, handsome, loving

-For Maki: strong, wise, loving

11) What did you feel when you first saw you won?

-I was really happy, even made happier by the review on my work. The review made me see

some things that were ominously missing in my work, so it made me really grateful and ecstatic

to have entered the contest in the first place. Now I know more improvements I can make as I

edit.

12) What is the key theme and message in your book?

-Well, the key theme and message is "living". We should learn how to live, laugh and just hang

out with the people God has gifted us as family, friends and so on. Past experiences, no matter

how bad, shouldn't hold us back from feeling and simply "living", because you don't know

tomorrow. Benjamin learnt that, and we should too.

13) Describe your writing space.

-I like a quiet place. On my bed, with my gadget in my hand, or on a table. I find being

surrounded by nature appealing, too. It spikes my creativity. Apart from that, I work in absolute

silence.

14) What do you think is the most difficult part of the writing process and why?

-Well, personally, I think it's editing. I kid you not, editing is extremely stressful! And it's in steps,

the worst being developmental editing. You have to make sure there ARE ABSOLUTELY no

loopholes in your work, whether in timeline, setting, description, or even characterization. Then

you move to copy editing. Do you have issues with your sentence construction, tense, grammar,

spelling, punctuation? Then proofreading, where minor issues are corrected, say, typos. It's a

difficult thing, and honestly, no one should do it alone *cries*. For all we know, you can edit one

work many MANY times.

15) The time and place of when you get awesome ideas for your book?

-Anywhere! Anytime! I can be discussing with someone and a light bulb will just pop in my head.

I can be reading another book when I get an idea. I can be playing a game, chatting, in the night

or day, in a crowded or quiet place. Even by looking at someone's face, my imagination starts

vomiting ideas for a work-in-progress or a new work.

16) Did you do a writing course?

-I did take, I'm still taking, and will continue to take writing courses, no matter how good I get.

Currently, I'm taking a writing course on Plot Structure hosted by Reedsy. I've learnt a lot from
my writing courses. They've helped me improve so much, and they continue to assist me, all by

God's grace. I advice any writer out there to take writing courses.

17) Which book did you find inspiration from or motivated you to pursue writing?

-There are a thousand and one books that inspire and drive my motivation to write. Books by

Dan Brown, Jeffery Archer, Karen Moning, Rachel Morgan, Joe Rowling, Dee Anderson, Dean

Koontz, Stephen King, Jane Corry and a whole lot of world-acclaimed authors push the ink from

my pen. And some people might find it strange, but I find God as my overall motivation and

inspiration. And yes, I hope to join, and even best those authors I mentioned one day.

18) When you are writing the book, don't you fear if the book doesn't get published or loved,

then your effort would be wasted?

-Nope. I don't give myself time to fear. I just want to do something, and I go through with it.

19) Do you ever get attached to the characters in your story? If so, what part of their

personality or quirks do you find relatable?

-Well, I find that I can relate with the characters in my story, yes. Most often, it's their thoughts

and emotions I feel. Not their physical attributes or any particular habit they have.

20) Do you base your characters from people in your personal life, imagination, or both?

-Definitely both. I love analyzing people's habits, attitudes, opinions, emotions and

what-have-you. So when I do meet people, I find myself weaving whatever attributes I picked

from them into some person I've already conjured in my imagination.

21) What is the best part of writing a story?

-The BEST part of writing a story is PLANNING the story. There's this excitement that comes

with sketching out your characters, plot, etc. Writers like yourself can relate.

22) How do you have such amazing character development? How did you learn, or was it

built in you from the start? Can you please tell me how to build a good character?

-😂😂 Honestly, I don't know exactly what to say. Thank you so much, first of all, for that

beautiful compliment. And yes, by God's grace, I think it's in every writer to spin an amazing

character development, but let me say this: you can't build a solid character if you don't observe

the real-life characters. After all, we're just actors and actresses in reality, as Shakespeare said.

If you, as a writer, can watch the way people converse in real life, the way people act, and why

they act that way, you can create a very solid character in your work. If you watch people in the

world and what drives their actions, inactions, or CHANGE OF ACTION, trust me, you can never

create a flat character, unless it's intentional 😉. So I guess people-watching helps.

In addition, strangely enough, I find that watching a lot of anime has helped me build my

characterization. In most anime, otakus can relate, you find that many villains/antagonists have

this backstory that stirs empathy in the heart of a watcher. The world isn't all black and white. Ifsomeone turned out all wrong, there must be a reason. So as part of character development,

anime has taught me to always show the grey areas-the reality-in human personalities.

Personally, I feel this has helped me have that amazing character development you commend me for😊.

23) Do you wish to pursue writing full time?

-Honestly, I've been asking myself that question too. Many want me to, and many don't. As for

me, I'm yet to know.

24) Do you have any social media so I can follow you?

-Yeah, of course. I'm @ifana8 on Wattpad, @AnastasiaIfinedo on Reedsy, and

@ifinedoanastasia on Wordpress.

25) What is your advice for those who couldn't place their names on the winner's list? Any tips for them?

-Yes, keep writing. Take your reviews, study them, edit, and never let your ink fade.

Thank you so much once again for this opportunity. My appreciation knows no bounds.

Keep doing what you're doing. Stay safe, everyone, and God bless you all.