Voices behind the words: An interview series with writers, (Interview #6)

• NEW INTERVIEW ALERT (DJ Khaled voice)
• New poetry post hopefully uploaded by tomorrow

 

• Welcome readers to another entry in this series I call Voices behind the words where I interview writers in the WordPress community. I’m currently thinking of venturing off an interviewing not just writers but other artists in the area I live at. Having said that this time around for Interview #6 I spoke with Sara P. of SarainLaLaLand. The questions have been somewhat modified compared to previous ones as I’m adding more complexity to my questions. We spoke about what gives her the motivation to keep on writing with all the adversity she faces, her experience in joining WordPress, and the importance of promoting content on social media. If anyone is going through tough times and needs someone to converse with you can reach Sara at sarainlalaland@hotmail.com. Without further ado I leave you with our interview. I hope you learn more about her and check out her blog site because I created this series to learn, give exposure and allow my followers to connect with the interviewees. We are all in this WordPress community to prosper together so lets include everyone. Anyways peace and enjoy !

1. Q:  What is your writing process like, do you hand write or type a draft? Or do you think of a theme and immediately start typing?

       Sara: Nine times out of ten I think of an idea and then go with it immediately. This  mostly goes for poetry or when I am touching on a subject. A lot of what is on my blog is my thoughts or feelings at the time of writing them. I have other projects that are too big to write like that, so they have a lot of handwritten notes and notes, chapters etc. typed up on my laptop.

2. Q:  At what age did you start writing poetry and have you been consistent with it ever since?

  Sara:  I have been writing ever since I can remember. I have always been vividly imaginative and took to writing at quite a young age. When I was a kid I used to make my own books to write in. The consistency has been there somewhat, but the passion has been there always. I have consistently kept journals and diaries, unfortunately I don’t have any anymore, or I had a habit or ripping out pages that I wrote in my attempt to start fresh. Until last year I kept everything I wrote very private. It wasn’t until I started my blog that I shared any of my writing with anybody.

3.  Q:  How would describe the current state of poetry and should schools emphasize creative writing and poetry in English curriculum’s?

Sara:  It seems to me that poetry is very much alive these days. At least within the communities that I frequent. It is great that the written word is still a great passion to a lot of people, as we are in the digital age, the younger generation seem to be more into watching videos instead of reading. I think if schools do not have creative writing and poetry in their curriculum’s then they definitely should. Just like any art, writing should be touched upon. I would hate to see it fizzle out, although I am sure that would never be the case.

4. Q: What are your favorite book genres? Who are your favorite authors?

  Sara:  I do not have a favourite genre, I read anything that I find has a good story. At the moment I am enjoying a lot of mystery novels, before that it was fantasy/adventure stories. I am a big fan of Stephen King and could only dream of creating such out of this world stories as he does. J.K Rowling impresses me for the world she created and the stamp it has left on the world. Terry Pratchett is another author I greatly admire and then there is Lewis Carroll who dreamt up Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is my favourite story of all time. I love the original story, I love all of the adaptions that others have made merely by the inspiration of the story.

5. Q: When your not writing how do spend your down time?

Sara: I am an avid video gamer. I love getting lost in a story in any sense possible. I love how involved in a story you can become whilst playing a video game and I enjoy the fact with a lot  of them you have to think and solve your way to progression. I love being able to seek the answers myself and it is nice to get lost in another world for a while.

6. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers who love poetry but don’t know how to start? I have some days where I can’t think of something to write so, do you believe in writers block?

Sara: I would say write about how you feel and also what you see. Imagine a scenario and follow where it takes you, follow on and write what you can see and how it makes you feel. Everybody is going to have a different method and vision from the next person, so I could not say there are any specific guidelines to follow. I suppose it is just trial and error. With me poetry either flows or is does not. I only write it when I feel that it is flowing, otherwise it will most likely end up as a draft and nothing more.

7. Q: These are two unrelated question. How has your WordPress experience been since joining? Have you done or plan on doing spoken word?

Sara: WordPress has exceeded my expectations. I never in a hundred years thought that I would have such an amazing following of kind and supportive people, but they truly keep my blog alive. I have considered spoken word, but I am incredibly shy in person and for now I can not get passed that. It does not mean no though, it might just take a while, just like it did making my writing public.

8. Q: Would you ever considering publishing your writing, and if you have how were the reception and reviews?

Sara: I would love to, without a doubt, have my writing published. It would be a dream come true.

9. Q: Which social media platforms do you use to promote your content? Do you have any tips for bloggers when it comes to promoting their content?

  Sara: I use Twitter, which automatically posts anything that I publish on my blog. At the moment I am working on connecting with fellow writers and bloggers, because not everyone is into reading blogs and my Twitter account was active way before I started my site. I think the best advice I could offer is to put yourself out there. Get to know other bloggers and when you are writing, make sure you are doing it for yourself first and foremost. Of course it is wonderful to have a following, but if you want to keep your passion for writing alive, you have to do it for yourself.

10. Q: If you could describe your writing with one word what would it be? 

Me. (That is a tough question!)

• Shout out to Sara for taking the time to do this interview with me, and I look forward to reading more of her work and I believe you should too. Until next time when I interview a new guest lets keep on writing to stave off the stress. PEACE