We have been lucky to conduct inspirational interviews with fantastic authors so far and shared with you their insight on writing expelling unique stories. This time an anonymous authoress agreed to reveal her secrets of writing with our readership. She has been blogging at “Miss Snark’s First Victim” since 2007. She does not want to reveal her name as she prefers to tell the truth about writer’s routines and be on the safe side. Her blog can confirm that.
Writing is a mastership that requires inspiration, special skills and devotion. Amazing original texts are the ones that always evoke emotions of adoration. This task may turn to be rather tough sometimes, as there are other alluring pieces, and therefore a writer can fail to resist a copy and paste temptation.
Plagiarism has always been a problem and in order not to leave a chance for plagiarism, the Unicheck plagiarism checker may come in handy. The anonymous authoress has never plagiarized, yet it happened so that her work was copied. Find more detailed answers by the author below and get inspired to create your own original stories.
- What is your job?
I’m a writer of YA fantasy and science fiction represented by Danielle Burby of the Nelson Literary Agency.
- Why have you decided to be anonymous? How long have you been hiding under your hat?
I’ve been hiding under my hat since April, 2007, when I had a (literally) sudden idea to start an anonymous blog to benefit writers. I chose to stay anonymous because it’s often easier to talk about our journeys as writers without attaching our names to the story. Over the years, all of my in-house critique sessions, contests, etc., have posted the authors’ material without their names attached. It’s been my hope to create a community that feels safe, and I think Miss Snark’s First Victim has achieved that. (Also, the participating writers have, by and large, been amazing.)
- What was the most complicated book you have ever read? Would you recommend it?
Aside from my Economic Botany text book in college? Nothing comes to mind. I read a lot more fiction than non-fiction, and my opinion on fiction is that, if you’re struggling to comprehend it, it’s not nourishing your soul.
- What is more important for a young writer – a talent or a discipline? Or anything else?
What a good question! I believe that discipline is more important, though, admittedly, the combination of talent and discipline is what makes a good writer into a great one.
In college, I accompanied for a bassoonist who was naturally gifted, but not disciplined. We didn’t pass our first hearing (in which you have to play some of your pieces for faculty members to see if you were ready to perform your recital) because of a “lack of ensemble”. They gave us few weeks to practice and try again, and we passed. But I remember feeling so frustrated with my colleague because she didn’t take the time to carefully practice.
The same can be true for young, talented writers. The ideas may flow, the words may flow, and it might all feel sublime. But writing is work. It’s hard. And there’s so much to learn—structure, pacing, voice. Talent alone will not get you where you need to be.
- Have you ever spotted plagiarism or revealed it in one’s work?
Fortunately, I have not. The closest was in college, when one of my classmates stole my jazz arrangement, copied it, then tucked it back into my book without my ever knowing, with the intent of handing it in as his own work. I would not have known at all, had he not had the audacity to sit in the practice room next to mine practicing the piece on the piano—with a few minor changes. (Of course he denied it when I confronted him, but eventually he confessed. How could he not?)
More recently, I made the decision to remove myself from an online program after I learned, among other things, that its founder and president had plagiarized at least two of her books. As a writer myself, I don’t take things like this lightly.
- Are there any essential elements for a great story that you always use in your novels?
Honestly, I don’t set out to use any particular elements or themes when I sit down to draft stories. It’s more often true that it’s the readers who pick up on recurring themes and messages, most likely because these messages tend to come from our unconscious as we write. I have been surprised more than once by someone’s comment on a theme in one of my novels.
I would definitely say, though, that the concepts of betrayal and redemption tend to play large roles in my stories, as well as the sense that, in the end, good prevails.
- If you could appoint a meeting with a well-known author, who would you choose?
This question shouldn’t be as hard as it is! “Well-known” doesn’t necessarily mean I read their books, and my favorite contemporary authors are not necessarily in the “well-known” category.
In this case, I would opt to time travel in order to have lunch with Jane Austen, my favorite. I’d love to ask her how, when she never married herself, she was able to so effectively capture the “happily ever after” of her characters. I’d also like to thank her for Mr. Darcy.
