Interview with Brittany Geragotelis (BrittTheBookSlayer)

This interview is with one of wattpad’s most original authors. Her first story to be posted on wattpad, ‘Life’s a Witch’, has already reached one million views!

 

1. Where do you get the inspiration for your characters?

Hmmm, for my main characters, I usually either create people who I would like to be friends with myself or whose personality traits are interesting to me for whatever reason. Of course, I also tend to create people whose characteristics are either similar to mine or whose characteristics I wish I had. You’ll see a LOT of sarcasm in my main characters as well as a certain kick-assedness in each of them, because those are the kinds of characters I adore and gravitate toward.

2. What’s your writing process?
I’m a creature of habit, so getting into a writing schedule wasn’t very difficult for me. When I’m working on a book, I write every day (with the exception of Friday and Saturday). I push myself to write at least 2 pages a night with a total of 10-12 a week. Sometimes I get on a role and I write more than that, and sometimes writing just a paragraph is like pulling teeth.
As far as time and setting, I am at my most creative at the end of the day, so after I’ve come home from work, worked out, showered and ate, I lay down in my bed, turn on the TV (because I need noise in the background; I prefer something I’ve seen before, so I don’t feel compelled to watch…Lately this has been “The Office” or “Friends” re-runs) and don’t allow myself to close my computer until I have finished at least 2 pages. Oh, and usually one of my two cats is laying on my chest as I write. I think they think they’re my muses.

3. When did you decide to start writing?
Do we ever really decide to start writing? For me, I’m pretty sure that it was a gift that was given to me and I didn’t really have a choice in it all. I had the itch. I’m not sure exactly when I fell in love with writing–I just always remember it being a part of my life. But I think that I fell in love with reading first and due to my passion for books, the writing became a natural path for me. I spent my early years starting to write what were either supposed to be short stories or novels, but only getting a few pages in. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I actually had the attention span and dedication it takes to write a full-blown book.

4. Do you plan out your books or just go with the flow?
A little of both. I’m the kind of writer who needs to know where a story is going. If I don’t know how it’s going to end before I write it, I can’t be sure I’ll ever know (and what would be more painful than writing an entire novel only to realize you don’t know what happens in the end?). So, I definitely start with a bare-bones outline. I’ll sit down and map out all the details that I know are going to happen from beginning to end. After I have the basics down, I start doing more thinking and planning of characters and begin to flush it all out a little bit more, getting into details. Then as I write, things naturally come up and I’ll sometimes add new information to the outline, as well as keep track of character’s names, schools, etc. So like I said….it’s a little bit of both.

5. Do you have a specific writing style?

I really love writing Young Adult fiction that includes kick-ass girls. I tend to stay away from the supernatural unless the story is incredibly original.

6. Was this based off someone you know or events in your own life?
Well, there was that one time when my evil enemy coven waged a war on me and my family, but no….it’s totally a work of fiction. I think I’ve always had a fascination with magic and witchcraft, but besides wishing I could cast spells, not a lot of Life’s a Witch is based off my own experiences. Oh, and the cheerleading parts. That’s totally me.

7. What do you think about the success of your writing?

Putting some of my writing up on Wattpad might have been the smartest thing I’ve ever done. To be honest, it’s hard to make that mental shift from the old-school thought that a writer’s not successful unless a mainstream publisher pics his/her book up, so my first response to this question was, “What success?” But the truth of the matter is that within four months, I’ve had the privilege of garnering over a million reads of Life’s a Witch–and I’m not even done posting chapters yet! The idea that people are falling in love with LAW and saying such positive things about my writing…well, that’s success.

8. Do you see writing as a career or a hobby?
Being that I’ve based my entire professional life on my ability to write (I’m an editor at a teen magazine), I definitely see writing as a career. Now, if you’re asking whether I’m doing this for fun or for fame….If I could afford to stay at home and only write books….Well, that’s my ultimate dream.

9. Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
In Life’s a Witch, it’s Hadley. She’s a strong, powerful female (read: kick-ass) who’s popular AND nice. And she’s going to make a difference in the world around her, which I believe is deep-down what we all want to know that we’ve done when we’ve left this earth.

But out of all of my books? It would have to be Bliss Benson, the main character from my book, Painless. Bliss is the most imperfect, damaged, strong and fearless people I’ve ever encountered. This was also a book I’d been thinking about for four years before I ever wrote it, so I had plenty of time to solidify what I wanted the character to be like.

10. Which of your characters is your least favorite and why?
Of course, I can’t stand Samuel Parris. He’s destructive and hurts everyone round him. Oh, and he’s cocky about it all.

11. What was your favorite part of writing Life’s a Witch?
Exploring the idea that the whole Salem Witch Trials might have been due to traitorous action was really cool. Oh, and doing the initial research on the trials was extremely eye-opening.

12. What was your least favorite part of writing Life’s a Witch?
Although my favorite TV shows and movies are action-packed, I’ve found that writing the action scenes have been the most difficult for me. No idea why this is…maybe because when it comes to fast-paced stuff like fighting, my brain works so much faster than paper will allow me to describe it. So, yeah, this part has been really challenging to me.

13. Do you ever get writer’s block and if so, how do you get over it?
I’m not sure I’ve had the sort of writer’s block where I can’t write for long periods of time…but I often find myself writing scenes that are literally like pulling teeth. It’s not like the chapters are hard or anything, but nothing’s coming out the way I want it to and it just doesn’t flow. When this happens, I just force myself to push through it, understanding that I can always go back and change the sucky parts later. That’s the important thing when you’re having any kind of block: get something down on paper. You can’t fix something that hasn’t been written!

14. If you could work with any author, who would it be?

Hands down, my favorite author is Meg Cabot…but just like I’m not sure I’d ever want to interview some of my favorite stars for fear they wouldn’t live up to my expectations, I’m not sure I’d want to work with her on writing a book. Meg Cabot’s such an amazing writer and person (I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her on several occasions), that I’d want to just be able to sit back and enjoy her creations, instead of trying to put myself into her work. If I had to collaborate with someone on a project, I think I would most want to team up with Jessica Bendinger (writer of Bring it On and Stick It). I’ve gotten the chance to know her over the years and besides being ridiculously talented, Jessica has one of the kindest hearts of anyone I’ve met. I also appreciate her work ethic and passion for all the projects she puts on.

15. How did you come up with the title?

I was trying to incorporate the witch/magic theme in with something that was a bit snarky, sarcastic, funny and attention-grabbing. It’s of course a play off of a famous phrase…a little bit risque, but I think it fits. What do you think?

16. Do you have any advice for writers?
Two things: Don’t let rejection keep you from doing what you love. You never know who your books are going to inspire and touch. And the difference between an aspiring writer and a real writer is that one of them actually forces themselves to get something down on paper. Create a habit of writing on a daily basis…the more often you do it, the easier it gets. And before you know it, you’ll have a book!

17. Have you got any up-and-coming novels planned?

Weeeeeellll, I’m actually planning on publishing Life’s a Witch in actual book form after I’ve published the whole thing on Wattpad, so that’s going to be huge for me. And Life’s a Witch is actually my 7th book….I have a few in my arsenal that I’m thinking about publishing on Wattpad once Life’s a Witch is over. And of course, considering my day job, I have a book waiting in the wings and ready to be written about a cheerleader who…get this…kicks ass!

18. If you could have a meal with any of your characters, who would it be and where would we go?
Hadley’s such a great witch, I’m sure she could just pop us into Cinderella’s Castle in Disney where we’d eat gluten-free pasta and gluten-free cinnamon rolls. Of course, it would all be calorie-free, too!

19. What’s your favorite genre to write?
Teen fiction. I LOVE stories that deal with a main character who suddenly discovers she’s famous in some way.

20. Are your characters based on anyone in real life that I know?
That I know personally? No, but when I’m creating a character, I usually cast who would play her/him in the movie version in my head. That way I know what they look like, act, etc. Occasionally a character will come along that either has some of my personality traits or experienced something similar to me, but no one character is based on any person I know directly.

21. If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be?

I’m assuming you’re counting fictional people since we’re talking dead here, right? If I could meet anyone, it would be Buffy from the show, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Are you kidding me? That would make my life. In real life? Joss Whedon because he’s a genius storyteller and he was the one who created my favorite heroine!

22. What are three things you’d like to do before you die?
1–Publish a book.
2–Go to Greece
3–Learn to surf

23. If you could slap any book character, who would it be and why?

Bella from the Twilight books. She’s just so whiny and passive. She doesn’t have any other goals in her life other than to be with Edward. And Jacob was clearly the right guy for her. I didn’t mind her so much when she became a vampire, though–but that may have been because she finally grew some balls!

24. Can you tell us some fun facts about yourself?
*I once dated a guy who was on a WB TV show.
*I once tried out to be a judge on a cheerleading reality show
*My mom was stalked by a serial killer when she was younger
*I’ve interviewed some of today’s hottest celebs including: Dakota Fanning, Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale, Ashley Greene, Heather Morris, Kendall Jenner and Ashley Benson. And even though this is my favorite part of my job and I’ve interviewed a ton of people, I still get starstruck about it every time!
*I was training for the Olympics in gymnastics as a teen
*I have Celiac Disease, which means I have to eat gluten-free!

25. If you could swap roles with anyone for the day, who would it be and why?
Maybe one of the Kardashian girls….I was recently over at the Jenner house and their home was sick! Theirs is such a glamorous lifestyle that is just so different than mine. I think it would be fun and interesting at the same time to see what it’s like for them. Who wouldn’t want to live in the lap of luxury for 24 hours?

http://www.wattpad.com/881984-life%27s-a-witch  LINK TO FIRST CHAPTER!