Writer Highlights: January 2022

Hello, Lighters!

Welcome to a new year of writer highlights and to our third official highlight! This highlight is extra-special because today we're interviewing our first-ever alumnus! Emi's her name and writing's her game; she's from the U.S. and is also one of our first members! If you haven't met her yet, go say hi, 'cause she's such an amazing person (as you'll see here in this interview)! Alrighty, first off, we'll share Emi's favorite piece, then our Q&A with her, and then we'll end with her prompt. Let's get started!

Featured Piece:

My brother And His Stupid Daisies is Emi's choice for her featured piece. I absolutely love it! Emi does a wonderful job of hooking you from the start and making you wish it would never end! Here's an exert:

My brother's in love. I knew this day would come. He's already almost eighteen, and he's fought it off as long as he could. And boy, so have I. He'll never know the sacrifices I've made for him, the girls I've wasted time on convincing that Casey's so shy he'll never ask them out. Well, I was mostly right. He is too shy to ask her out, but he's going to do it anyway, and he's acting like an idiot.

This is why I didn't want this to happen. He's been moping around the farm for weeks, picking daisy bouquets to give to this oh-so-special girl, neglecting his chores, and ignoring me. Me! His own little brother. What kind of a wimp is he anyway, picking flowers? If our neighbor, Darrel, and the rest of the gang hears about this, Casey's reputation is as good as cow manure.

And that's why I don't like all this love nonsense, but it has to be dealt with. Pretty soon all the wildflowers will be gone, because he'll pick 'em and then discard 'em on the way to school because he'll chicken out on asking the girl. Not that I care about wildflowers, but Momma and Lilah'll have a fit if he kills all the plants. Dad's already grumpy, cause......

You can read the full story here! (Emi's piece in on Write the World)

Q&A

Q: How did you get into writing?

A: I honestly don’t remember too well. I feel like I’ve been writing for forever. I think it was actually after my cousin, who is my age, wrote a short book, and I wanted to be like her so I, at the age of five or so, decided to write a short book. By book, I mean five handwritten pages.

Q: What’s your favorite genre {fantasy, sci-fi, etc.} & why?

A: This is a hard one. It honestly depends on the mood I’m in. Currently, my favorite genre is dystopian, but it sometimes switches to fantasy or historical fiction. Right now I’m interested in dystopian because I see many parallels between it and what the world is becoming. I like to read/write about it because, while dystopian novels always seem hopeless, the protagonists are usually people who will stand up and do something to fight what is going on. It makes me have courage for my country so that I, too, can stand up and fight.

Q: Who is your favorite author or book, & why?

A: Also a tricky one. My favorite book(s) is the Out of Time trilogy by Nadine Brandes. It’s a really great Christian dystopian series, and it changed my outlook on writing and incorporating my faith into my work. The author does a brilliant job of including God in her novels, and it makes me want to emulate her. Also, she does a beautiful romance. I don’t normally like too much romance in novels, but Nadine Brandes creates such a lovely, God-honoring relationship in this trilogy that I actually really liked it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes dystopian and sweet romances!

Q: You sent us the link to one of your works. Why did you choose this piece to be featured?

A: I love a lot of my pieces, but “My Brother and His Stupid Daisies” was just a really fun piece that I enjoyed writing because it made me feel nostalgic.

Q: What gave you the inspiration for it?

A: I have a lot of siblings, and some of them are hesitant about growing up and watching me grow up. I tried to picture that sort of relationship with the two brothers in the story—the conflict between watching an older sibling become an adult, in a way. I also love writing about historical settings and enjoying the culture of a simpler time before technology and all of that. Of course, I had to add a little romance too, because I love sweet romances (many of my stories feature them).

Q: What’s something that makes it stand out to you?

A: It makes me feel a little sad. Bittersweet might be the way to describe it, as I look back on my own growing up and how my siblings might feel as we all become adults and move away to from our own families.

Q: What unique word do you use most in your writing {ominously, glorious, etc.} & why?

A: Suspiciously. A lot of my female protagonists are people who take a long time to trust others, and so I often use this word to describe their thoughts/opinions/glares at other people.

Q: Do you think you want to pursue a career in writing? If not, what career do you have in mind & why?

A: I used to consider being a full-time author, but then my practical self got the better of me and I decided it wouldn’t provide a livable salary. So, I have concluded that I will probably just have writing as a side gig and hope someday I get published. Well...my dream career is to be a wife and mother, but since, once again, I am a practical person, I am going to school for TESL (teaching English as a second language). I would like to be a wife and mother because I love children and I’m very skilled at...um...let’s just say “housewifery” skills like cooking and sewing and everything that would’ve made me successful 200 years ago (but not really now). However, until that happens, I plan to work teaching English. My grandparents were both immigrants to the U.S. from the Caribbean, and they did not speak English when they arrived, so I want to help people like them learn English so they can be successful. Also, TESL can open doors to being a missionary in other countries.

Q: Which POV (point of view) do you use in your stories most {third-person close, first-person, etc.}?

A: This also depends on the story. I would say, in my short stories I usually use third-person limited or third-person objective if I want to be really classy. In my novels, currently, I am using first person.

Q: What’s your writing process {what gives you inspiration, etc.}?

A: Many things give me inspiration. Oftentimes films and novels in a certain genre inspire me to write in that genre. Other times a scenario pops into my head and I think, “what would happen if this happened?” Other times it’s something in my personal life, like some sort of emotion I want characters to express. Recently (as in, about three years ago), I had an idea for a dystopian novel that came after over-exposure to Hunger Games YouTube clips (I hadn’t seen the movies yet). However, I set it aside because I was working on too many unfinished projects and couldn’t seem to get the first chapter right. I literally rewrote that first chapter ten or eleven times before giving up. Then, when Covid hit, I realized I needed to pick up that book again (coincidentally, part of the premise for the novel was a pandemic

with an over-controlling government creating a horrific vaccine). So I did, and after once again trying numerous times to start it, I found my groove and created the first chapter of a novel I’m hoping to publish someday.

Q: What do you enjoy about Light / how did you get involved?

A: Freedom!!!! Sorry, that was too exuberant. Well, I got involved when my dear online friend Savanna created this awesome site after experiencing anti-conservative discrimination (yes, I’m calling it that) on another writing site that shall not be named. I had also faced unpleasant people treating me badly on this site for my beliefs, and I had witnessed even worse occurrences of bullying against other people who were conservative on this site. I was tired of always having to guard what I was saying and conceal my political/moral beliefs in my pieces, so I switched here so that I could post some of my more controversial poems about “offensive” topics (such as abortion). Other than the liberty of free speech here, I really like the community. I feel like it’s such a positive place and most of us are believers who encourage each other and inspire greater faith in God. It’s such a rare thing to find online interactions that are full of love and kindness (rather than shallow comments or even cyber-bullying), and I know it can only come from believers.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you would give to younger/newer writers {about writing}?

A: Don’t give up. That’s an order. If you’re working on any sort of piece or novel long-term, discipline is key. The only way you can finish is by telling yourself every day (or week, whatever your writing schedule is) that you can finish this and you will work on it. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself! I know from experience how easy it is to just want to edit and edit and edit until the work is perfect. Well, guess what? It will never be perfect to the author. Get some other people to look at it, accept their positive feedback, fix what you can, but eventually, be satisfied with what you’ve produced!

Q: If you could have your “bucket list” day, what would you do?

A: Well...I don’t know if there’d be enough time in the day to do what I want to do. I guess I would probably go and visit the Florida Everglades, take a supersonic jet (or teleport, I wish) to the Arches and see those, check out the Great Smoky Mountains, go up to Acadia National Park, take a look at the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and then finish with a hike in my own Pennsylvania Hills. I really like nature and I feel very blessed that God has given the United States such a variety of landscapes (mountains, swamps, prairies, forests, deserts, and seashores)! Since travel anywhere else is kind of closed to me right now, I would love to explore the United States and have adventures here at home!

Prompt

In this prompt, Emi challenges you to imagine what you'll be like in the future. Check it out here! I can't wait to try it out!

Thank you!

Thank you so much, Emi, for agreeing to do this interview with us! Thank you for being such a supportive member and friend, and working with us as a forum moderator! We appreciate you and all you other lighters reading this! Remember to be a "light in the darkness!"

Happy lighting!

Your friends,

--Kate & the writelight Torch-Lighters