Hey, friends! Here we are for round three of interviews with young writers! Today, I am talking with Leah Bixler! Leah, welcome.
Q: So, for starters, how long have you been writing?
A: I’m more of a youngling in the writing game. I started writing seriously at the beginning of 2022. So not even a year. I’ve always been in love with stories though and writing just became the best way to express that.
Q: Well, it's still pretty cool that you're writing, even if not for long ;). Now, what’s your favorite thing about being a writer?
A: The procrastinating. One hundred percent. Because who doesn’t love a good dose of stress-filled days voluntarily spent away from the very project you’re pouring everything you’ve got into? Kidding, kidding. Honestly, for me it’s the fact that I can actually put all those crazy plots and characters and words that would normally just pile up in my head (good or bad) into actual existence. And even though much of it will only ever be seen by me because it’s so bad, I can still have it exist as something I actually put work into and can look back on as something that I wrote. And that’s priceless.
Q: Yes! I 100% agree! Speaking of writing, what genre do you primarily write in?
A: Definitely fantasy; it’s always been the genre that fascinates and excites me the most. Though lately I’ve been dabbling in some sci-fi and dystopian, which has been fun. Really, I just like the big plots, I suppose.
Q: Ah, yes! I really enjoy a good Fantasy novel! And while we're on that subject... What is your most current work-in-progress about?
A: I’ll spare you the details of the ones that have barely gotten beyond two paragraphs and tell you about my pride and joy… Ones and Zeroes! Essentially, the story follows my two main characters: Lacy, who is a young intern at her uncle’s tech company, and has isolated herself from love and real family after the tragic death of her parents; and Henry, an obnoxious college student, who refuses to become attached to anyone, as he feels that one must choose between a successful career, or love and family. The two of them at the beginning of the book, get stuck inside of a hard-drive during a tour of the company Lacy interns at that Henry has been taken on. And the two of them must find their way out of the hard-drive before they are killed; either by the set period of time they have before they are essentially deleted inside of the hard-drive, or before the hard-drive’s defense mechanisms get to them first. This is probably my favorite project I’ve done so far. Not because of the plot, because that could definitely use some work. But because the characters, I think, are so much more complex than my other characters in other projects, because those often are quite depth-less. But Lacy and Henry are probably my favorite characters I’ve had so far.
Q: Sounds interesting! Now, the worst part of every writer's life... how do you deal with writers’ block when it comes on?
A: You mean other than panicking and wondering whether or not I’ll ever be able to write again? Lol. Really, I just wait it out until inspiration and/or motivation hits me in the face. For example, there was once when I went a really really long time without writing anything in my work-in-progress at all. It was absolute torture, I hate not knowing how or what to write next. But then, I was texting a friend, and for whatever reason she mentioned something about tumbling blocks, and suddenly the light-bulb in my brain clicked on and went, “THAT’S IT!” And before you know it, the theme of my next chapter was metaphorical tumbling blocks. Though sometimes, I just have to suck it up, sit down in front of that terrifying blank page, and write literally anything. Because sometimes inspiration and motivation simply will not come, and when that happens I’ve just gotta grit my teeth and do something, even if I hate what I’ve written. Because in the end, it’ll get me writing, and the only thing that will even begin to get you out of the rut of Writer’s Block is simply writing.
Q: Mm, agreed! What are some of your favorite writing resources?
A: -The first has got to be a book another writing friend recommended to me called Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? It was written by Ally Carter, author of the Gallagher Girls series, and it’s absolutely filled with fantastic advice for any writer. Definitely go check it out.
-Second, I love the website Ambient Mixer. It’s a free sound generator, where you can search different types of sounds that you want to hear–such as ‘rainy dystopian city’ or ‘woodland sounds’ and so forth–that can provide fitting background for your work-in-progress as you write, and really helps to get you deep into your project.
-Another is a YouTube channel by a girl named Abbie Emmons. Her videos are filled with golden nuggets of advice for writers of all experience levels. Just search ‘Abbie Emmons’ on YouTube, and you’ll find her awesome videos.
-And of course, I must mention my favorite: The Young Writer’s Workshop otherwise known as Y-dubbs or YWW. The workshop is full of fantastic lessons and author interviews that have really shaped me as a writer. And in the fabulous workshop community, you can share your writing, get feedback on it, and have your questions answered by like-minded writers and the amazing instructors. All of which have helped me, and others I know, become the rock-star writers they are.
All of these resources I highly, highly recommend to any aspiring writer.
Q: Ooh, I emphatically agree, on all of the above! Well, we're down to our last question, which it: If you could give one tip to any writer, what would it be?
A: Just sit down and write something. Yes, I know it’s gonna be hard. And I know that you’re scared that what you write is going to be anything less than the amazing novel you aspire to write. But guess what? That novel will never be written if you don’t get through some bad writing first. You have to get your hands dirty at some point, it just comes with the job. But in the end, you’ll be glad you did when you turn your manuscript into a publisher’s hands, or when you finally publish that article, or hit that word count you’ve been striving for. And the likelihood is that your words are nowhere near as bad as you think they’ll be. Believe me, I’m the worst procrastinator and perfectionist in the game. But I never would’ve gotten the first draft of my first novel finished, never would’ve gotten anything finished, if I hadn’t sat down and written, even when I didn’t want to. And the amazing thing is, the more you write, the more motivated you’ll be to write something again. And again. Until you’ve completed that goal that seemed so far away before. Take a break every once in a while, and don’t beat yourself up when you don’t know how to progress. But at some point, you have to force yourself to type something. Just one sentence, just once paragraph. Again, and again. Stop dreaming about writing something and sit down and write something. You’ll be so glad you did.
Such wisdom in those words, Leah! 🥰 Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me!
That's it for today's post, folks! But keep an eye out for next Friday, where there'll be a book review and another interview!
Tallyho!
Deigan
👍