This is a really fun new segment I’ve decided to add to my blog, and I had so much fun doing it for the first time with a blogger friend of mine, Topaz. (It was my first time doing an interview via Skype, face-to-face. It was so much fun! Actually, she don’t really have an accent, ya’ll.) I also learned it’s easier to word and piece your thoughts together when you can type them up first, and also to make sure you’re recording the interview before beginning! 😀 I think the premise of this segment is pretty self-explanatory, but basically I pick a favorite blogger of mine and interview them for In the Spotlight. You ready to read Topaz’s answers?
Q: I figured we’d start at the beginning; when you began interacting with your readers and sharing your up-and-coming novel, Frozen Hearts, with the rest of the world. Then you began writing more and sharing more of your stories via Wattpad and other social media sites, and then you began your first blog and then now you have, what? – 526 followers? That’s incredible! So what made you decide to share Frozen Hearts with the rest of the world?
A: So when I started writing Frozen Hearts and posting it online, I’d already been writing for quite a while but I hadn’t really shared much of my writing with the internet, and the world in general except for like my family, but I had been on Wattpad for a while so I kind of understood the kind of community that sprang up around these sorts of stories, and I had never kind of ventured out on a piece of writing that was as long and as complicated as Frozen Hearts, so I decided to post on Wattpad because I wanted that kind of community on my writing; not just to support me, but also so that the readers could connect with each other over the story. I think one of the biggest reasons I write is to connect with the readers and to share something with people who maybe might not have that much otherwise. So I think that’s a great advantage of Wattpad and other “story-sharing” platforms – that people can find a little bit of a family there as they’re reading, and talking with other readers and other writers.
Q: As I’m a regular follower of your blog, it seems you have a ton you’re always working on/doing. You’re editing Frozen Hearts, updating Fearless, always writing some form of poetry (songs or poems), working on National History day at your school… oh, and you have a debut album coming out as well – Falling Star. How do you divide up all your time for everything? Do you have a set routine, or is it like spur of the moment?
A: I think a really big part of balancing everything comes from a) being really organized and b) figuring out what your priorities are. For me, that changes on any given day – for example, right now I have exams so I’m focusing more on studying and schoolwork than on writing, but… in general, just kind of on any given day I just have to kind of figure out if it’s more important for me to finish my Chinese homework or more important for me to edit Frozen Hearts and I think it really depends on the urgency of it. For example, if I have the Chinese essay due tomorrow then I’ll probably be working on the Chinese essay, but if I haven’t edited Frozen Hearts to a great extent in a while, then I’ll probably be editing Frozen Hearts instead. I think daily, you have to figure out what sacrifices you have to make in terms of time and in terms of what you really need to get done, like in that very moment. Also, Google Counter is like my savior because I literally schedule everything – in terms of events and all the little things that I need to keep track of (blog posts, blog events, and even interviews like this one), and I’m constantly checking that and figuring out what I need to prepare for. If I didn’t have that method of staying organized, that would be really difficult to finish everything daily.
Q: Often times, you get stressed and a bit frazzled when the organization and structure doesn’t quite go how you planned it; maybe you decide to edit Frozen Hearts or write as opposed to doing your homework that you know is due, and everything just sort of crumbles and you’re not sure… you know, how to get back on your feet. How do you sort of say, “Okay, I need to take a breather” and make sure you prioritize to a better efficiency?
A: I think that’s something that’s always going to be a bit of a risk and I think, even on just a normal day, there’s always just a risk of me going, “I can’t do this right now” for whatever reason – maybe I’m just too tired or have been pushing myself too many days in a row and I’m getting burned out. I think in those scenarios I just need to take a step back and say, “You know what maybe I don’t want to do that right now but I will get to it eventually – and that’s also where Google Counter comes in, because I do have the freedom of saying “I can’t do this right now!” so I can just reschedule to a later date. Even on the weekends, I have where I have an hour or two of free time so I can go to my calendar and see, you know, okay right now I could do this and this is where I can fit that in.
Q: So IN your free time, out of your room, or away from your computer screen for a while; what do you enjoy doing? (i.e. hanging out with your friends, where do you go, ect.)
A: I hang out with my friends a lot, I actually go to Starbucks a lot with my friends! That’s kind of – I mean, other than that I don’t really go to… like other places. I don’t shop a lot; I like going to the cinema and watching films… I like walking my dog, and other than that I just really love reading and listening to music. I’m a bit of an introvert, I think, I don’t really interact with people other than my close friends very much.
Q: Sort of a random, fun question – What are the first things you see in this image?
A: First three – love, second one… intelligence. And third one – money. No, freedom. I saw money and freedom kind of at the same time. 😀
Q: Money and freedom. Be free with your money, yes? So what was the last book you read? What are you currently reading?
A: Uh… I am currently reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and I’m actually enjoying it a lot. Last book was Girl of Nightmares, by Kandare Blake. It’s actually the second book in the Anna Dressed in Blood series, which is like my favorite series at the moment. So I’d really recommend it!
That’s it for this interview 😉 Thanks for reading, everyone! I had lots of fun, Topaz!
