Jenny here, and I’m thrilled to introduce to Amanda Alwyn! I’ve known Amanda for several years now–we met through a forum and I’ve followed her blog every since. Her new WIP sounds fantastic (New Adult Fantasy!! Yay!), and I’m really excited to that she’s decided to share some of her adventure with us!
1. Describe yourself in four words.
Introvert. Type-B. Daydreamer. ISFJ.
2. How did your adventure begin?
I’ve always loved stories. I’ve been making up and writing down different stories for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of writing is of riding in the back of my parents’ van on the regular trip from our house in Connecticut to New Hampshire to visit family for the weekend. I’m not sure when it was exactly, but we moved at the end of 2nd grade, which was 1992. Writing was a part of me from the beginning.
During high school, I wrote over a hundred fan fiction stories of different lenghs and genres. Some of them were quite good (some were really bad). I posted them online, but never really shared them outside of the internet.
In my last year of college, I allowed myself to take a creative writing class as a treat for having worked hard for four years. It was only after that class that I was ready to call myself a writer. After college, I came up with a novel idea. I wrote that idea during that year’s NaNoWriMo (2010) and it was the only time I’ve won.
Up to that point in my life, writing was just a hobby. I enjoyed it, but I never thought about writing as anything other than something to do in my spare time. I’m still fighting against that mentality. It’s only been in the last few months that I’ve started trying to get myself to think of taking my writing more seriously.
3. What stage of your noveling adventure are you at currently?
The very beginning; I’ve dabbled for as long as I can remember, but nothing that felt good enough to share with anyone. I want that now. I know I still have a long way to go before I’m comfortable sharing what I’ve written, but this novel that I’m working on now has that potential. The ideas are there, I just need to wrestle the words out of my head.
4. What book or writer has inspired you?
Every book that I’ve ever read has inspired me to write. The one book that has had the most impact on my writing is Stephen King’s On Writing. There was so much insight, and simple advice that I felt like I should have known all along. I needed to be told those things, and that was the first time I really thought of writing as a process, rather than just putting down words.
5. What are you working on right now?
I have finally started my big project. This has been two years in the making. It’s called The Traitor’s Heir, and will be four books and a sequel.
The first book introduces the main characters, Acacia and Shade. Acacia’s mentor sends her South to his homeland of Zenobahara, to retrieve some important papers for his research. As his research assistant at the University of Amarlyantii, she’s honored to go, but is confused by the ruse they have to put on to get into the country and by having two armed guards as escort.
Shade is one of those guards, and a man with many secrets. As a Captain of the Royal Guard he’s supposed to be on the other side of the country where the Capital is. The nature of his job means he has several identities, and one of those identities needs to hide for a while. In Zenobahara, Acacia discovers that things aren’t as simple as she always thought they were, and that she doesn’t know the men around her at all. It’s not long before she uncovers some of the more dangerous secrets and is forced to flee the country or be killed.
The events of this book set the stage for the next three.
6. What inspired you to write this book?
A dream. From there, I carried around a small notebook for a month and jotted down ideas, names, and world details every time I thought of them. Once I had enough to work with, I made an outline, and a first draft. Then I put it away for a year. Now, I’m finding that same percolating of ideas happening again. The story is growing, explaining issues with the first draft, and has evolved into something that feels solid and intertwined.
7. What’s a quick, three-song playlist for your book?
This is very hard because I don’t listen to music while I write, or relate songs to stories. As shocking as it is to some people, I just don’t form much of a connection to music. To some, it’s as essential as breathing, but for me, it’s a distraction or a background noise.
Since you asked though, I did some searching and I feel that these three songs could have some significance:
Hoobastank – Crawling in the dark
Adele – Rumour has it
Evanescence – All that I’m living for
8. Are you a Plotter or Pantser?
An over-plotter. I plan things to death, and feel like I’ll never get any actual writing done. However, if I try to write without some sort of idea of where the story is going, than it’ll never get finished (which is sadly what’s happening with To get him back, another story I’m working on).
9. What’s your favorite part of writing?
My favorite part of writing is the 10,000 word days where you sink into the world that you’re writing in and it’s almost like a trance. When the spell breaks, it’s like coming up from under the water for air. I find that my best work comes after 7000 or 8000 words at one sitting.
It’s unfortunate that lately I’ve been only managing 500-1000 word days, if anything at all for weeks at a time.
10. What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give to fellow adventurers?
Stop making excuses, and second guessing yourself, but just sit down and write. Write no matter how bad it is, no matter what else is going on in your life, anywhere, and any time of day. You never know when those golden words are going to catch you, and it’s best to be prepared for them.
Now, if only I took my own advice.
About Our Guest Adventurer: Amanda Alwyn works part-time at two libraries where she alternates between reading and writing novels on her breaks. She writes New Adult fiction of 20-somethings finding their way, filled with magic, royalty, and love. She earned a BA in English Literature, and plans to pursue a Masters degree in Library and Information Science … someday. Married to her best friend, she lives in NH with two cats in a house built in 1850. You can find Amanda blogging about her sporadic success in writing at notquitepetite.com, or tweeting @NotQuitePetite (just send a message with a follow).
