Hello Visionaries! Today I've got an interview with a dear friend and fellow author (do I say this every time? Lol...) Allyson Jamison! I had a guest post from Allyson last week, which you can check out here. She's got an amazing blog! Just fantastic! Which you can find here.
Now, without further chitting and chatting and ranting from me, here is the interview!!!
Hello Allyson! I am just so very excited about this interview and I am happy you were able to join me on Writers’ Vision today! I love your blog and can’t wait to start this interview!
Thanks for having me! I’m excited as well!
First, tell us a little about you!
Well, most importantly, I am a Christian with a desire to serve Christ in all that I do. Next to that, I am a young writer with a serious addiction to books and tea… Part of the trade, right? XD I love spending time outdoors, with my family, or trying something new! Three things I can never get enough of are sunshine, stories, and chai tea.
What inspired you to start writing?
Actually, it was a friend that first inspired me to start writing. I was ten and had never thought of writing as something I could do but when she mentioned it I was like, “Well, why not?”. XD So I gave it a try! Needless to say, I’ve never looked back.
What genres do you write?
Oomph! This is a tough question. XD I love so many genres and will most likely have written something in them all eventually. However, so far I have written contemporary, mystery, historical fiction, and dystopian, all of it YA. Lately, I’ve found myself really enjoying writing contemporary mysteries.
What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given, one that has stuck with you?
It’s hard to say if this is the best writing advice that I’ve been given but it’s definitely something that has stuck with me for many years. That is:
“Write, write and write some more. Think of writing as a muscle that needs lots of exercise.” –Jane Yolen.
This quote really helped me to continue writing even when it felt hard. Because, just as our own muscles build strength as we work out, our creative muscles build strength the more we use them as well. So don’t stop! Keep building that muscle!
You run a writing blog can you tell us a bit about that?
Sure! I started my blog earlier this year to be an encouragement to other writers, share a bit of writing advice, and post clean book reviews. My theme is that no one size fits all–a different method will work for each individual writer. So often writers become discouraged–myself included!–because they aren’t outlining as much as this author or they aren’t going so deep into the editing process as that author or so on and so forth. But every writer will have a different process! I have yet to see two authors with the same exact process. So that is what I want to encourage other writers on my blog.
But I also just want to create a community where they can stop and enjoy themselves for a while. Find encouragement as well as advice and other fellow writers to chat with. I know what it feels like to first start out as a writer… It's hard and you don’t even know where to start or where to go next. This is why I’ve included links to other great resources for writers on the resource page of my blog. It’s my hope that my blog can help other writers grow in their writing and further themselves on their own journeys. I’m trying to create a blog that I wish existed when I was starting out.
And do you have any advice for new authors, or authors just looking for good advice?
Don’t give up! I know, that seems so cliche, but it’s so important! When we hit a rut, our first thought is defeat. You have to know ahead of time that there are going to be ruts along the journey and be prepared to fight back. Because you can’t let writer’s block or procrastination or imposter syndrome or anything else keep you from what you’re meant to do. You have to keep writing! Even when it’s hard… Because that’s when it matters most.
What can we expect from you in the future?
Yikes, that’s a loaded question. XD Well, my dream, of course, is to publish clean YA books. I’m continually striving after that and hope to accomplish it…within my lifetime. XD I don’t really have deadlines to any of my goals and dreams, just for them to happen. I have, however, begun the process of looking into agents and have even garnered the attention of a couple quite by mistake honestly. So that is something that truly excites me! Aside from that, I also want to continually provide the best content that I can on my blog and Instagram as well.
Beyond writing, I have recently launched a small business where I’m selling natural candles as well as fun bookish stickers. I’m super excited to see where this journey will take me! So be sure to check that out with the link at the bottom of this post.
And lastly, can you tell us a bit about your writing process?
Well, it first starts with an idea, of course. This can literally come from wherever! I sometimes find it laughable the places I’ll get a new idea. But once I’ve had that new idea come to mind, usually it can get pretty demanding so I allow myself to think on it and develop it in my head before ever putting pen to paper.
Once it’s swirled around in my head long enough to where I’ll go crazy if it stays there any longer, I grab a piece of paper or sometimes a Google doc and write down my brain dump. This is quite messy… Like, imagine spaghetti thrown all over the kitchen counter and cabinets. It’s comparable.
After the brain dump, I start implementing the three-act story structure by creating a bullet-point list of it with my ideas. This tidies things up a little bit. XD At least for my sanity. Next, I delve into character development and try to flesh out my characters the best that I can before going any further. This involves finding each character’s unique voice, traits about them, and what makes them do what they do–in other words, their internal conflict. (If you can’t tell by now, I am a huge fan of Abbie Emmons.)
Lastly, a new thing I have begun doing is writing out chapter summaries. For the longest time, this sounded so tedious to me and like a waste of time. But when I actually gave it a try, I loved it! It’s not nearly as tedious as I was expecting and it was actually very helpful while writing. All of that takes me, at the most, a month to complete, and then I start the fun part… Writing!
While I write, I have begun burning candles or listening to instrumental music to create an atmosphere that instantly puts me in the mood. I love creating playlists or even candle scents that remind me of my WIP to better help that mood.
And that’s about it! My writing process is constantly changing and evolving as I grow as a writer so please note that everything I just described is liable to change. But so far, this process is my favorite that I have found and what I’ve stuck with the most.
Thank you so much for joining me today, Allyson! It’s been such a pleasure to interview you!
Again, thank you so much for having me! This has been so much fun and I’ve really enjoyed it!
About the Author
I am a quirky young writer with a passion to serve Christ in all that I do. Writing makes up the very being of who I am and I could never imagine doing anything else. In my spare time, you can find me reading my pocket-sized thesaurus, playing friendly pranks on unsuspecting family members, or writing my next great novel. Always with a cup of tea.
You can connect with me on my blog, Instagram, Goodreads, or my Newsletter.
Or you can find me at my Etsy Store, Between the Pages Gifts.
Well, did you enjoy the interview? You should definitely check out Allyson's blog and her store! Both are so cool! Let me know you thoughts on the interview in the comments? Do you use the three-act structure? Plotter or pantster? Do you like candles?
Till next time!