Welcome back, readers. Before I bring a guest, I want to say that each person I interviewed will be a little different. Last month I interviewed Sutherland Staatz. I asked him questions and he shared his journey in writing life. If you wanted to read it; click Sutherland and it will lead to that blog.
This one will be something like that, but a little different. Instead of asking the guest questions, we are going to talk and ask each other questions.
Hello, Ella. I'm glad you could join me on a guest blog. I will go first and we will start from there.
Can you tell us about yourself?
Ella: I'm 35 years old storyteller, who's about to take the leap as a freelance writer and writing coach. Before I learned how to write, I played my stories with dolls. The moment I could write, I had one notebook after another filled with little stories and thoughts. That's hasn't changed. I have a cupboard with my secret notebook stash because my husband keeps poking fun at me with every new notebook I acquire ;) Even though most of my writing happens on my trusted laptop now. Nothing beats the feeling of pen on smooth paper.
Cool, I'm the same way. I mean when I was younger. I would write my stories on paper, but now I do a lot of my writing on my laptop.
Ella: When you get inspired?
I was about twelve or thirteen when I got interested in writing. My older sister had a notebook and I asked, "Can you write a story with my characters?" At that time I didn't know how to write stories but I like to draw and create characters. She did and I enjoyed watching her write the story. That's when I got inspired to be a writer.
I noticed you like to write romance and SciFi, why?
Ella: As a deeply romantic soul, most of my stories have an element of love that changes the characters. The other aspect that is consistent is that I like my story worlds to have some basis in our world, with fantasy/futuristic elements included. I want to use my imagination and imagine an altered world.
I honestly love writing fantasy, especially when it comes to fairy stories. I think it's important that we have the freedom to be creative and use our imagination in any way we wanted.
Ella: What triggers inspiration and how does it feel when you get those sparks?
When I was a newbie writer, I used to copycat the stories from animated movies. I didn't know till later on, it was wrong to do that. Many of the stories I copied were mostly from Tinkerbell movies or Barbie: Mariposa. Again, I was a newbie writer. However, it helped me find my writing style. Now, I'm older, I find inspiration through books or pictures. I sometimes get ideas from movies. My favorite trigger inspirations were writing a short story Anastasia Romanov in a fairy version, and Long Journey Home novel, which it's finished and hopes to get traditional published. I was pretty thrilled to have those stories written!
There are many ways to get inspiration; what helps you to find yours?
Ella: For me, it's about beauty and daydreaming. I can get a rush of inspiration at the sight of a colorful sunset or a frozen spiderweb. Music is part of the beauty I appreciate too. I have playlists that get me in an instant writing mood. For every story I write, I create a separate playlist with songs that fit my characters. Then there is the daydreaming. I've always spent a lot of time in my own head. I think up characters while waiting at the school gate for my kids. I witness a situation on the plane that makes me create an entire scene in my head. Very often, my stories keep "percolating" in my subconscious, even when I'm not writing. They seep into my daydreaming and into my actual dreams and inspire me to keep on writing.
Yes, that's true. There are many ways to get inspiration from those things. I like listening to music too. They do have a way to pump our mood and write stories.
Ella: What are your writing habits?
Hmm, I think my writing habit is an obsession. I always wanted to be sure my story make sense. I'm good at creating a story but I don't write things clearly. It may be a normal thing for the first draft, but this is different. I have a habit don't speak things clearly when I'm not writing a story. I just have to remind myself to slow down.
Do you write other genres besides romance and SciFi?
Ella: I sometimes use short stories to explore different genres, like the Trails of Love contest I entered on Wattpad with a variety of genres.
As much as I like to write fantasy stories, I like to try something new once a while. I think the hardest genre to write is murder mystery or thriller. I wrote one and now I can see why it's hard. However, I think it's good to exercise our creative writing to the next level.
Ella: Have you found your writer's voice?
While growing up I dealt with some things about myself. I compared myself to others because I was different. I was adopted from another country into a family of eight. At the time I was four and a half; I was able to speak but I couldn’t communicate because I was deaf. Now, I can hear by wearing hearing aids. Even then, I struggled with some things. My family has always encouraged and remind me that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made in God's eyes. I'm no mistake. He blessed me with the gift of art and writing. Because of that, I can write stories that reflected in my life and faith to encourage others and inspire them to share their stories because they matter!
Any tips you wanted to share with other writers?
Ella: Write all the time. Read all the time. Get a community of writers gathered around you. The more you write, the easier it will become. It doesn't mean that you need to spend hours a day. It does mean you need to find a little time each day. Read all the time will unconsciously teach you about the different options out there and help you expand your writing skills. You write alone most of the time. Still, having a group of people around who know what you are talking about is invaluable. Inspiration and encouragement.
Before I end the chat, I wanted to thank you for being here. I had a pleasant time chatting with you. I hope these answers we shared help and encourage other writers to use their imagination and be creative no matter what.
Ella: Thank you for this opportunity!
I wanted to leave the link down below where you can follow her on Twitter @ellamooreauthor, Instagram ellamore.author or visit her site www.moorewrites.com
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