Someone I have been friendly with on Wattpad for over a year now, and I never tire of her wonderful writing and delightful conversation. Renee is such a lovely person, always willing to help her fellow writers, so this was a really nice interview for me to conduct. I cannot urge you enough to check out her work guys.

When did you start writing? And why did you pick up the pen?

I started writing when I was eleven -- all because J.K. Rowling wasn't writing fast enough for my liking! I was Harry Potter obsessed and dying for Order of the Phoenix to come out, so rather than sit and complain about how it was taking forever I decided to write my own version. Back then my "novels" were mostly illustrated short stories scrawled in my diary, and I never let anybody see them. Two years later, when I was thirteen, we got Internet for the first time. I discovered that Harry Potter fan fiction was an actual thing, and the rest is history!

How long have you been on Wattpad, and what drew you to it?

I've been on Wattpad since 2011, and my beginnings aren't the same as most people. At the time I was writing on two other websites -- FanWorks and Mibba -- when I by chance discovered that three of my earliest stories (you guessed it: Harry Potter fan fictions) had been stolen and posted on Wattpad without my knowledge. So I actually joined Wattpad to deal with a plagiarism issue!

But on FanWorks and Mibba I was mostly writing fan fiction, and I knew that eventually I wanted to get back into posting my original stories online. Neither site felt like a good home for original fiction; most original works would go unnoticed, unread, uncommented on. Whenever I looked at Wattpad, I saw a place where original stories were more than accepted -- they were given the opportunity to shine. I'd never seen anything like it, and I wanted to be a part of that, so I started making myself more active. And now here I am!

What does Wattpad mean to you?

Wattpad has become my home online. It's the first site I log onto when I get online -- before my email, before Facebook. If I'm online, I'm on here. If you'd asked me a year and a half ago, Wattpad probably just would have been a place that I like to read. But since then I've made friends with an assortment of amazing readers, writers and graphic artists, played judge in a handful of contests, joined a book club, spent time as an Ambassador, earned a slot on the featured list. They might only be little things on their own, but together they've given me one hell of an experience. Wattpad means home to me -- somewhere that I don't have to worry about not being accepted.

As someone who has clearly made friends from Wattpad, how does it feel being part of that community?

It feels amazing! I've been on a number of writing websites and made friends on each of them (some I'm still friends with to this day), but nothing has ever compared to the sort of community I've found myself a part of here. Thanks to Wattpad I've had the chance to build my skills as an editor when a couple of friends have asked me to beta/edit their novels -- and with some guidance from the amazing Nicole ( @morningtides ), I even managed to get a short story published in print for the first time!

More than anything, I love that the people I've met on Wattpad aren't afraid to speak their minds. I love knowing that if I need writing assistance, I have a giant handful of people here who are willing to help -- and they won't give me the standard, "Oh, you're doing great!" unless they really mean it.

How does it make you feel when you see a message from a reader or fan?

Nothing beats that feeling. Nothing. Not many people know this, but I have a photo album on Facebook full of screen-shotted messages from my readers dating back to my fan fiction days. There aren't a huge number of them, but every one of them is there as a reminder to myself that people love my work, and that I can write even when I've been hating on my work for months. Some of those messages are essay-lengthed; one of them is a tweet from a reader with the "one more chapter before I sleep!" mentality. A personal favourite is a Tumblr message where a reader claimed to be a fan of my written and photographic works, and they were so glad they'd managed to track me down! Unfortunately, by the time I saw that message the account had all but been abandoned! (I still don't know who you are -- please come forward so I can love you!)

This is why I try to be a highly active commenter whenever I read somebody's work. Not only does it make an author feel good, but it's the least I can do when they've worked tirelessly to write something that I love!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

What is this spare time that you speak of? Are your days not filled with the magic that is writing?!

In all honesty though, I do spend most of my spare time writing. I don't have much of a social life (by choice -- I'm an extreme introvert). You'll often find me with a movie on for background noise -- probably something Marvel or Criminal Minds -- or listening to music while I pretend to be a rock star. I love going to concerts (rock n' roll, baby!) but I don't get to them much anymore. Besides that, I'm going to be a complete girl and say shopping. But not for clothes or shoes -- I love shopping for homewares and decor! I fancy myself a bit of an interior decorator.

What is your writing process? Where do you write? When? How long for? Noise or silence?

I don't really have a writing process, which is probably why I'm currently caught up in an epic case of writer's block. When I was actively writing though, I found that I could do it pretty much anywhere. I'm usually on my bed with my laptop, either a movie or some music playing in the background. If I have the time, I'll write before work or while I'm on my lunch break. Usually that's in silence. This morning I got inspired when I got to class, so I sat at my desk and word vomited for fifteen minutes before anybody else arrived.

The length of time entirely depends on how much material wants to come out at the time! Sometimes I'll write for ten minutes. When NaNoWriMo comes around, you'll sometimes catch me writing for twelve hours straight. (I'm not kidding.)

If you could design the perfect writing room/spot, money no object, what would it look like?

Is it strange that I've never considered this before?

I would create...a wide, open office in one of those little cabins people build out of dark logs. It would sit somewhere between the open ocean and a vast, green forest, and the office would have one wall composed entirely of windows so I could look out on the trees while I wrote. There would be a fireplace. And lots of cats. Like, tons.

And a portal that would let me visit all my Wattpad friends!

Which genre is your favourite to write, and is there one that you wish you were better at?

My favourite genre to write is probably paranormal, specifically under the young adult umbrella. I try to incorporate a little paranormal element into most things that I write (unless I'm writing something that really doesn't call for it, of course).

I wish I was better at horror! My mother raised me on Stephen King movies, so I love, love, love horror movies -- but I can't write the genre worth a damn! I somehow managed to win @fright's Aim to Engage prompt, but I wish I could write more like the greats. Stephen King, Joe Hill...and of course, Seb Jenkins and Daniel_Barnett And I didn't even pay her to say that :)

What are your favourite and least favourite book to screen adaptations?

Least favourite: The Golden Compass. Hands down, it is the worst adaptation I have ever seen! The His Dark Materials trilogy was one of my absolute favourites as a teenager, but the movie was such a train-wreck that I wish it could be erased from the face of the planet. Who okayed that monstrosity? Here's to hoping the upcoming television series does it better justice!

Favourite would have to be... Well, none are really great, but I'm gonna go with Carrie -- the 1976 Sissy Spacek version. Much as Stephen King is a genius, I wasn't a fan of the way Carrie was written. I felt it was quite choppy and could have been told in much more powerful ways. The movie manages to capture Carrie well though, and Spacek is absolutely chilling in that final scene.

From your own stories, which character would you rather date, which would you rather marry, and which would you rather kill?

Ha ha! Little old to be playing FMK, aren't we, Seb? Haha! Blame MeiSummer

Hmm... I would date Nate McKay from The Angel of Vengeance, because I think it would be quite the experience. I would marry Lysander Maverick from Lost, because he's an all-round nice guy with his head properly on his shoulders. And...I can't tell you who I'd kill, 'cause it would be a big ol' spoiler.

If you could have lunch with one character from any fiction book in history, who would it be and why?

Another thing I've never really thought about. I...would have lunch with Remus Lupin from Harry Potter, because the man practically goes around handing out chocolate. You know that lunch is gonna be great!

Also, I'd really just love to hear him talk about his school days. The Marauders were some of my favourite characters in the Harry Potter saga, and it's always killed me that J.K. Rowling didn't give them their own novels. I want to hear those stories.

What are you working on right now?

I'm currently working on five different novels -- I'm jumping around a lot because of my writer's block. Most actively I'm working on the sequel to The Angel of Vengeance, and an upcoming novel called Dead Ringer, about a girl who takes her famous twin sister's place after the twin is killed in a freak car accident.

What are your writing goals for the next year?

Finish something! And when I say finish something, I mean to a level that I'm satisfied with. I've never managed to complete a novel and feel like it's good enough to try to get published, so I'm going to work on that over the next twelve months. With a lot of editing, rewriting, and more editing, I'm hoping to bring The Angel of Vengeance to that level. Fingers crossed!

How important is social media as an aspiring author?

At the stage I'm at now, I don't feel that social media is all that important. I have a Facebook page, and Twitter and Instagram accounts for my writing, but I find that I don't use them all that much. They've been great for sharing my achievements and seeing how many people I have cheering me on, but I don't get much traffic through them.

Now, if we want to talk in terms of Wattpad being a form of social media, different story entirely! This goes back to the community question, but I've found that this site is great for networking. We have everything here: editors, publishers, graphic designers. Most importantly, this is the greatest place I've ever seen to build yourself a readership.

So I would argue that traditional social media isn't all that important (for me, yet), but Wattpad as a form of social media is highly effective.

What advice would you give to any writers just starting out?

DO NOT GIVE UP.

If you post a chapter and get fantastic feedback, keep going. If you post a chapter and get no feedback at all, keep going. If you post a chapter and all you get is hate, keep going.

If you're serious about your writing, you need to be able to write through the good, the bad, and the downright bitchy. Be willing to accept and implement constructive criticism, but also be ready to brush off the hate -- and you will get it. I like to consider it a good thing. If somebody's taking the time to hate on my work, I must be doing something right! Just roll with it.

If you love what you're doing, it shouldn't matter what anybody else thinks. You do you.