Interview with:Germaine Augustin [germaine88]
WRITING
 | What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it? I love magic realism. I think it's interesting to blend elements of the fantastic into what we take for granted as mundane. I blog frequently at www.wtwblows.blogspot.com. |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? I've been trying to get into a writing routine, but that's been almost impossible for me right now. I find myself writing very late at night, sometimes when I'm completely exhausted.
I start writing when I have a particular phrase or an image that I want to put down on paper. Lately I've developed a system for my writing. I start writing on a typewriter, which I know sounds a bit pretentious, but it's the best starting point for me.
Then I start writing longhand in a notebook, finally I type it out on my computer. It's interesting to see the evolution of an idea. I'm trying to be more organized with the little bits of paper I scribble on, you never know when something could turn into a really good piece. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? It may sound strange but writing doesn't inspire me. I am inspired by visual art, music videos, photographs. Traveling. Those are the things that inspire me almost immediately to write. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? I find myself writing in the first person most often, but it really depends on the story. Sometimes a story requires third person narrative. I really have no preference, I choose what fits the story I'm writing the best. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? I love, love, love Francesca Lia Block. Her works made a very big impact on me at an early stage. I admire her so much as a writer. I also admire Neil Gaiman very much, he's a very versatile writer and I like that. He's written for comics, for the silver screen, and lately he has written a lot of novels.
I've also recently started to appreciate Jack Kerouac. I had an issue with how a lot of my fiction was inspired by things that happened to me personally. I thought that this meant I was not a good writer. Reading On the Road let me see that that's not true. |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? A character needs to be real to be believable. That means having a character who has flaws, who doesn't always say the right thing, but who also has redeeming qualities.
I start by thinking about a character a lot. What music do they like? What type of clothes do they wear? How do they walk? What is their biggest disappointment? Asking all these questions helps to build a believable character. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? At the moment I'm actually pretty bad at telling stories orally. It's something I'm trying to work on. I think being able to tell stories orally improves your writing. I used to think that it was no big deal that my story telling skills were not up to par. But I see the importance of being able to organize your thoughts and deliver a story now. |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? I think I write for myself. I keep in mind that I have an audience when I write. But at the end of the day if I didn't write I would go nuts. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Writing is extremely therapeutic for me. Sometimes I don't even know that something is bothering me until it comes out in my writing. I can tell a lot about what I'm feeling and what my state of mind is from what I choose to write. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Oh most definitely. As a writer your perspective is a lightly narrowed. I try to be as objective as possible about my writing but a reader will always provide me with feedback that I would never be able to see on my own. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? I've entered a few competitions for young writers. So far I've won consolation in two competitions. Competitions are both good and bad. It can be great to win and have a little platform for your work. It can also be terribly discouraging but I would encourage people to enter. Enter something you're proud of and do it for fun. Don't be too discouraged if you don't win or make the shortlist. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? I've recently started to show my rough drafts to a friend who also writes. It's amazing how much you can improve something when you have constructive criticism from someone. I don't always apply all her advice but it's helpful to see what someone else thinks needs improving or tinkering as I call it. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? I don't know about other writers, but for me my 'voice' is always changing. I know what sounds right, if that makes any sense, when I write; but what sounds right changes. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? I'm the biggest slacker. I've put schedules on my writing before and very rarely have I been able to follow one faithfully. I take comfort in the knowledge that lots of writers have no schedule. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? I stay away from the Internet! Going online is a huge distraction. I usually listen to music when I write. Sometimes the right music can help me write in a certain way. Other times it can help block out things going on around me. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I avoid writing my first draft on the computer. It's so tempting to stop and backspace something. I prefer pen and paper for my first draft, or even the typewriter.
I find it helpful to print and reread and correct. But I don't always do that. I like correcting on paper for short stories. |
| What are you working on now? I'm writing my first novel after years of short stories and first chapters. I don't want to say too much, but it's a coming of age story set in Malaysia. |
| What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone? Read them again and see what you think. I sometimes find great potential in something I wrote years ago. I'm continually surprised by the things I wrote years ago. Reread them and maybe edit a little, and then gather all your courage together and show them to someone. |
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267 visits Whohub
Germaine Augustin
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
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95717 interviews created
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