Author of the Week | Elixir Aiden
I hope you’re having a great time reading this week’s novel and have made women's day a meaningful affair for all those amazing women in your life. The next theme is an interesting one, but it is farthest from reality, quite literally. That’s all for the next week’s hint, let’s go to this week’s author.
All that being said, I feel that every person should be treated equally regardless of what gender they identify themselves as. While the judiciary has made remarkable progress by amending Section 377, there’s a lot of changes that our society and mindsets still need. It is because of these mindsets that a person with different preferences cannot come out to their friends and family even. Imagine keeping a part of your secret from your loved ones, couldn't imagine? I couldn’t, either. Something that you and I are unable to imagine is what they’ve been facing all their life. Altering your perspective isn’t something that you can do overnight but it’s never too late to begin. Start by using the right pronouns.
This Week’s Author is really experienced with 6 full-length novels being the feathers in their cap. Like every other Indian kid, their first read was the Ramayana. With this said, I introduce you to the first anonymous author of our Author of the Week series. Their pen name is Elixir Aiden.
So, what was the first book you ever read? How old were you then?
My mom started reading to me when I was almost one and my mom used to read one chapter a day at most but I wanted her to read more but she didn’t have time so I took up reading, I think I was five? And the first book was Ramayana.
How many Books/Short Stories/Poems have you written? Which is your favorite? Are there any that ended up getting shelved for the time being?
My poem count goes past 100, I have around six full-length novels, I think. I like my book called How to Disappear Completely because that was my first book where I was able to put emotions into words articulately. It’s more personal and it might not be my best book, but it’s most definitely my favorite. Yes, plenty of my projects have been kept on hold because I don’t think my writing needs to improve more before I write them.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I hear from my readers every day. Mostly it comments about how they like my character or writing, sometimes it’s a message telling me that they hope I keep on writing, I think the best part is that most of my readers see me as a friend.
When did you write your first Book/Short Story/Poem and how old were you?
I was thirteen. It was a book about a chemist whose wife had vanished and then his lab gets haunted by a ghost that keeps breaking his beakers and test tubes. That was my masterpiece if I say so myself. Oh, the chemist had three kittens called Paws, Whiskers, and Claws.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I don’t think there was a particular realization, per se, I had never been interested in writing until I started writing poems. I still don’t consider myself a writer, not exactly. I just write that’s all. But I guess the first I realized I could write was when I was seventeen. That I could write properly.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
The amount of commas I use is unreal. People don’t get to see it because I think it looks weird and breaks the sentences down.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your Books/Short Stories/Poems?
If I need information I usually google it, but most of the time I just bluff and hope it’s accurate. The ideas, most of them are shower thoughts. I get one line or a name and then I work from there.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your Books/Short Stories/Poems?
The most surprising thing that I learned was that I have a way with words even when I never actually thought about writing before, compared to a lot of other writers I know, I’ve only been doing this for three years. I realized that I improve fast because I have the impulse to write every day. I also realized that writing helps with a lot of things in real life too.
What does your process of writing look like? What is the hardest part?
In the scene when a zombie apocalypse has wiped out half of the world, everything is on fire. That’s how my writing process looks if you were to give a visual to it, I write everything unplanned, it looks very disastrous especially since I’m lazy. The hardest part is to convince me that I’m capable of bringing an idea to life.
What do your family and friends feel about your work?
No one reads what I write, not my family or my friends. I’m a little self-conscious to show them but most of my online friends, they’re the ones I’m closest to, they met me through my books so I guess they like my writing.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
The biggest challenge is to keep going, especially when you don’t get the acknowledgment you deserve so I think to make sure you don’t quit.
Who is your inspiration in the field of writing?
All the people my age on Wattpad, my fellow writer friends, are my response because they show that age doesn’t matter when you’re passionate about something.
Has your writing style changed since you first started writing? If yes, in what ways has it changed?
Yes! Of course, my writing has changed a great deal. I think I can create more detailed characters now and be able to write in the third person better. Everything about my writing has improved a lot.
What attracted you to the genre(s) you write in?
The lack of representation of characters I can relate to, as well the fact that I was able to accept myself for who I am because of the LQBTQ+ genre. I think I also felt really into the romance because it was easier for me to write but it’s also kind of a challenge because so many of the tropes have already been written so many times. So it seemed fun.
Would you consider yourself a planner or a pantser? Or both? Is your current system working for you?
I’m 100% a panster. I wrote a murder mystery and I didn’t know who the murderer was until the near end. Considering how well that book went, I’d say this system works pretty fine for me. When you’re this lazy, creating random unplanned characters out of nowhere, you learn to make it work by bluffing. In the end, everything works out fine for me.
What do you love the most about your writing process?
I love how my writing ends up looking like there are lots of metaphors when there’s none.
Does music help or halt your writing process?
Music neither helps nor halts my writing process, when I’m focused, the music sort of gets pushed back into the background so it doesn’t make much of a difference if there’s music.
Are your characters often inspired by real people?
Most of my characters end up like me because it’s easier to write my traits but some character traits are inspired by other people. Not complete characters but most traits are inspired by people around me.
Are there any specific ways that help you out of your reader’s/writer’s block?
I’m very goal-oriented and most of my goals are very unrealistic so it usually pushes me out of the slump I’m in when I think about how I need to read [this many books] within a certain amount of time or I have to finish writing the book within a certain period. Reading a lot when you have writer’s block and writing a lot when you have reader’s block helps me.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
“You’ll write a lot of cringe stuff. You’ll feel like hiding away from embarrassment but it’s fine, you’ll improve a lot. You’ll want to quit a lot but what matters is that you’ll keep writing.”
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