This interview is very edifying!!
One of the best ones I have ever taken.
Everyone has something to learn from it!

She has given such useful tips and tricks, that absolutely each writer must know!
The writer makes you reàlize that a simple small idea can won over thousands of hearts if given the right effort and care.

It might be a little long but it's worth it

Let me present you the winner!!!

1. From which country do you belong?

America.

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

Two years ago, I began with a scene I thought was extremely silly, and from that one scene, I built a story around it.

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

I think both techniques are great, however, I find outlines to be the most promising since I spend so much time mapping them out JUST to not follow them at all.

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

It might sound ridiculous, but I always see these writers who have lists of all their hobbies laid out for us -- all over Instagram and all over Wattpad. Don't get me wrong, these writers are awesome, but when I came across Stephen King and various other authors, they only had "writer" or "writer and reader" on their instagram bios. I thought that spoke volumes.

5. Do you use any other website to update your story?

Aside from Google docs, I've thought about it but I'm deciding to stay on Wattpad until I'm done with the first story.

6. Challenges you face while writing?

I have depression, and it prevents me from reading or writing which is why my updates are pretty random. I could have two updates in a week, and then, I could post the next part three weeks after that. While depression is hard and hard to write with, I found that thinking of aspects of my book, and how far I've come along with it, makes me feel a little better. Four chapters might not seem like a lot to you guys, but it's everything for me.

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

Thailand, the pictures of it are so beautiful!

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

I'm riding my third year, I spent two years planning all 5 books and finally got around to writing it this year.

9. Did you learn something while writing the book?

As Ernest Hemingway said "the first draft of anything is sh*t," truly, and it made me realize that I shouldn't worry about how it sounds or looks. I just needed to write.

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

Kai is insecure, brave (doesn't see it yet), and kind.
Fin is troublesome, adventurous, and extroverted.

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

Surprised, but also happy. It's the first contest I entered and won with To Kill a Serpent. This book is the first book I've written for a while due to depression and it made my day realizing that someone liked it enough to give it first place.

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

Theme: as you grow older, your innocence wears away and the world grows darker, colder -- corrupted. A message I wanted to portray is that hate or violence turns good people into villains. These themes are presented in various ways throughout the story, lest it be the plot overall, or even in the descriptions. You'll find that I talk a lot about nature, how the world was changing, how the story starts off in the morning, but as the story continues, the day grows older. Adding to the theme is a lot of fun!

13. Describe your writing space.

It's small, a little cramped, with a big bed, a mirror, a stand where my bearded dragon's terrarium sits on, and a tiny little shelf with all my knick knacks rested on it.

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

Actually getting the story written! My story is already planned and I imagine each scene, each character, as I go about my day, but sitting down and writing is the hardest part. Where do I start when I'm three books ahead of where I physically am?

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

Can't say, it's everywhere. It could be a name, or the way a person looks, dresses, and talks. It could be on the shower or while I'm walking through the store. Ideas are everywhere, and you don't even have to look for them!

16. Did you do a writing course?

I have, the library in my town did free writing courses so I learned a lot from that. I highly recommend looking into your nearest public library to see if they do the same, it's extremely fun and FREE.

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

Honestly, I can't be sure. I started writing stories when I was 7 and I kept my stories in a pile of journals beneath my bed. Don't get me wrong, the writing was terrible, but the ideas I had I continue to use to this day. It was so long ago, that I can't even recall a time where I began writing those stories. I'm grateful for whatever inspired me to pursue writing though!

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?

Not at all, and for the people who feel like that then I want to tell you your emotions are perfectly valid. Writing is personal and personal things make people feel insecure. While I do wonder whether my book is good or not, I don't think I would feel like my work is wasted. J.K. Rowling was denied by many publishing companies before her work got published. So, just because a few people who think they know the minds of a billion readers say it won't be a success, doesn't mean it's true.

19. Do you ever get attached to characters in your story? If so, what part of their personality or quirks do you find relatable?

I do! I found myself quite attached to all of my characters, some who haven't even been introduced to the storyline yet. But Kai holds a special place in my heart, he's so innocent and insecure. It makes me want to hug him really tight and never let go!

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

Both, but also random people as well, sometimes a person can walk passed me and say something that really gives away a piece of their personality, in turn, giving me and idea for a character. Kai is insecure and I felt he was someone anyone can relate to because everyone is insecure in some shape or form, even if he is worst than most.

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

Looking back and realizing how far you've come.

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?

First off, thank you so much, I'm flattered that you like my character development! Characters are the single most important aspect in a story, and as much as I would like to say it's built within me, it's not. My first ever completed book was poorly written, the characters were whiny and flat.

What helps me create characters is mapping them out. I start with the emotional wound, the lie they tell themselves and what's actually true. Kai, for instance, feels like he isn't as good as everyone else. The lie he tells himself is that he's worthless, that he isn't a hero. The truth: while he is insecure and believes himself to be a coward, there are moments throughout the book (and the series) where Kai displays acts comparable to that of a hero, proving that he isn't a coward and he isn't worthless. The truth is, he's only hindering his full potential because he doesn't believe in himself -- something many people, including myself, can relate to. What comes next is the flaws, the strengths, the dialogue, and finally the description of him.

There are plenty of factors you need to keep in mind when writing a character, and trust me, you shouldn't feel the need to get it all right off the bat because it doesn't need to be perfect the first time around. Keep in mind their identity -- what IS their identity? Time, place, religion, gender, and age all play a factor to that. Give them emotions, don't let them forget where they came from, who keeps them from falling -- for Kai, his father and Fin are what keep him motivated. Kai wants to be like his father, it's his goal, his dream, and his motivation. Fin brings Kai out of his shell, while Kai is shy and unwilling to try new things, Fin is there to ease away the shyness and keep Kai from shrinking back into comfort, a state where he's never changing and never progressing. Chemistry between characters is also important for creating realistic development, how does your character act around their friends? Their family? Random people on the street? Give them background, give them memories. The story you tell is their story.

23. Do you wish to pursue writing full time?

I do, I really do. I've thought a lot about what I want to pursue as a career and the only thing that resonates with me is writing.

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

Yep! Madelineeandreaa on Instagram, I'll follow you back :D

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

Don't write for anyone other than yourself, everyone else is merely onlookers here to give you feedback, that's it. Your stories are yours, they belong to you. Cherish them and strive to improve with as much feedback as you can get. Also understand that writing isn't meant to be perfect the first time, it really isn't. The first chapter of To Kill a Serpent used to be choppy, boring, and the dialogue used to be so stiff that I visibly cringed when I read it. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to exist.

Another tip: study, study, study and practice what you study. Give other writers feedback as well. What I learned is that when I focus on helping others and giving them feedback to improve, it helped me shape my stories because I learned what I didn't like compared to what I did like. Studying also helped, and there's plenty of stories and articles out there that you can look up and read for free. A good writing website is septembercfawkes.com, Fawkes is a professional editor who gives tips and tricks on how to write.

26. How was it to participate in the WRITE ON contest?

It was fun, the anticipation. I got to check out a lot of stories in my category, which, seeing their styles and writing techniques was pretty cool.

27. I know you're a great writer! Can you pls interview my book ONE CHAPTER STORIES? It has only 3 chapters. And where I can improve on it?

I like the idea of your stories, the chapters were short and easy to read which is a good thing because I find reading long chapters on a phone difficult. I ALSO liked how subtle the information you gave was, it felt like the stories were all pretty straightforward, their endings were unique and different in their own ways.

What I found helpful in writing is using appositive sentences, they're useful because they add more depth to a topic by further describing a noun -- they also add a mature tone to a story. There are three ways of doing such: an opener, a subject-verb-split, and a closer.

Ex: a closer would sound a lot like the sentence I used to describe Fin's entrance in my book. "Oh and what a devil indeed. Not the kind of devil with red skin, horns, and glowing eyes made for lies and trickery, but the devil known as Fin Halaway, A CURLY-HAIRED NO-GOOD PRANKSTER..." Having said Fin's name, and by calling him a devil, I've already established him in a broad sense. By adding the appositive after I named Fin, I narrowed the general term of a devil, who is typically seen as evil, down to a mere troublemaker. If I wanted to change the structure of the sentence with a sentence opener, I could instead start it with this: "A CURLY-HAIRED NO-GOOD PRANKSTER, Fin Halaway flew down the street..." or even a subject-verb-split: "Fin Halaway, A CURLY-HAIRED NO-GOOD PRANKSTER, flew down the street..." all three are good ways of further describing a noun in a mature way. Also: make sure to keep the appositive beside the noun, otherwise it won't be an appositive anymore.

Another tip: a good way to stay strong is to limit the use of "was" and instead stick to using powerful verbs. Verbs make the scene much more active than it would have been with "was." Ex: I was going home while my life was falling apart." can be changed to: "I lumbered home while my life ripped itself in pieces." You don't have to be super descriptive with anything as long as you have great verbs, a verb can say so much. Try practicing adding verbs to your work, play around with them. It's a good way to have fun with writing and a great way to practice.

28. Among all the contests you participated in, have you found something positive or negative about them?

I've only entered 4, three of which have yet to be judged. This one was nice, I got some feedback on my cover, and your encouragement really made my day. The negative aspect I found wasn't in the contest itself but the writers -- I noticed some took their stories down?? I wanted to read them but they were gone. I'm not sure if it's because of the contest, though it was right after. Never take your story down if you lose: take the feedback you are given and improve your writing. Losing or winning is the least important thing. What is important is the feedback you get, the encouragement you get, and improvement you're able to make.

Thank You so much angeltheory
I loved taking the beautiful interview!!!
Just wanted to tell you that it would be brilliant if your dear readers know about this amazing piece of art is here for everyone to read!
They would love it!

If anyone wants an amazing novel here on wattpad,
TO KILL A SERPENT
is one of them!

Make sure to check it out!