Q: Hello Steven, how are you today?

A: Hi there! I've been wasting my time watching YouTube videos all day, but besides that, I'm great. What's up?

Q: Right. Thank you for joining us and sharing a little more about yourself with the Wattpad universe. First off, shall we talk about you and writing? When did you first start writing?

A: Oh, I first started writing when I was what, seven? I still remember the book that made me fall in love with literature – the book adaptation of the movie Finding Nemo – and also the fun times I had with my buddies in elementary school writing Gregor and The Underland Chronicles fanfiction and comics. Sigh. Those times. *snivels*

Q: What are your writer's best practices – doing character profiles, maps, visualization, tai chi, anything?

A: Me? To be honest, I'm a pantser. I hate plotting, but I still keep a huge 2ft x 1ft white paper folded 3 times, in which I jot down as much detail as I can regarding my book. It helped, but I gotta admit that most of the time the plans for my story turn out in a different way that what I visualized at first.

Q: When and in what setting do you write best?

A: I'm a professional procrastinator, so deadlines give me the most motivation. Besides that, I think I would really love writing when I'm alone at 2am in the morning. I don't know if any of you can relate but, the quietness and tranquillity just keep the inspiration juices flowing.

Q: Is there anything in particular you find difficult to write about?

A: I've always found it tough to write romance. Partly it's because I don't really believe in fairy-tales and cliché endings, but mostly it's because I know if I started writing romance, it would be either too mundane or too sensationalistic.

Q: What piece of advice has been most helpful to you since you started?

A: I remember writing to one of my favorite writers, Jodi Picoult, who's a well-known romance author (note the irony?) and actually getting a feedback! She gave me advice on how to create suspense, and to "make every part of my story mean something" so that I'll create a great piece of literature. Her words have stuck with me since then, and have helped me a lot.

Q: What do you enjoy more – writing or having written?

A: Both have their own joys – writing is no doubt challenging, but the thrill you get when you manage to serendipitously come up with a killer line for a particular situation, it's incredible. Of course, the satisfaction you get when you finish a book or story is the best kind happiness one person can ever get in his/her entire life. I mean – I'm not even kidding – it's just that exciting. And the moment when you manage to hold the paperback copy of your book in your hands, your heart explodes, like literally – BOOM. You start fangirling over your own book, bringing them everywhere and even putting them under your pillow while you sleep. I know, it's crazy.

Q: What genre would you write in, if it wasn't sci-fi?

A: I probably would write in Adventure...but thriller and mystery sound like appealing genres too. Oh and I have always wanted to write in historical fiction, if it wasn't for me being a total History dummy.

Q: That's cool! And what about reading? What three genres do you read the most?

A: Oh I love science fiction, adventure and historical fiction.

Q: Is there anything you can think of that you would love to read, only it hasn't been written yet?

A: Oh yes. A dystopian novel where English is the only language and to speak other languages is punishable by crime. Also, I've always been intrigued if anybody could successfully create a dystopian setting where the status of women and men are reverted and men are the ones fighting for their rights instead of women. Oh, and women catcall men as they walk down the street. That would be an interesting sight, don't you think?

Q: What book could you not put down under any circumstances?

A: The Book Thief and Woman at Point Zero. Book series wise, I would say the Pendragon series, the Gregor and the Underland series, and the Animorphs series.

Q: And, I know the readers would really appreciate this, tell us what inspired you to write your book on Wattpad?

A: I think I mentioned this in one of the chapters of my book, Someone's In My Head. Basically, the short version is that the book started out as this really mind-blowing idea my friend June and I had thought up during PE class―the notion of a person finding out that he has another person's consciousness in his head after an automobile accident. For some reason, I got really excited and started drawing plans and plot lines. A day later, I started writing it, and the rest is history. So whatever reason that was, I'm grateful that it occurred to me.

Q: Can you describe it in three words (and don't be modest!)?

A: Witty, mind-blowing, and interesting.

Q: Which character is the total fan favorite? Why do you think that is?

A: It's definitely Jarod, hands down. "But I like Phil more." Nope. Rejected. Jarod is the best. His sarcastic monologues and witty ripostes are the reason why this book isn't a just a monotonous sciency book, and I guess that's also the reason my readers love him.

Q: Talking about fans, can you quote the one comment on your book, which you will never forget? Please include *SPOILER** ​if it contains major revelations from the storyline.

A: Oh man. There are just way too many. I guess the best ones are the ones that I got at the beginning, when I was still struggling to get recognition on Wattpad. There was this one by @Murican_ : "This book is an undiscovered literary gold." I've made that comment my motivation since that day.

I also love the sarcastic ones, like this one by @Good_Night_Lock: "Welcome to Chapter 26, Pt.2 of 'Someone's In My Head' by Steven Steel, where we go from dusty hidden passageways to SpongeBob in 0.2 seconds." But that's the one that I can think of right now. There are tons of other funny comments that are stuck at the back of my head.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being active on Wattpad?

The interactions with my readers. That is always the best thing – ever. I still remember a couple of readers starting a comment thread in one of my chapters that went on to over 400 comments. It's mind-blowing.

Q: If you had to mention just one Undiscovered Gem of a story or writer on Wattpad, who would it be and why?

A: This definitely goes to @AnniesBooks and her novel, Infinite. She is one of the first readers of Someone's In My Head, and her book is currently shooting up the ranks of Science Fiction. I can't be any prouder of having known her on Wattpad.

Q: How do you work on your writing style and how do you develop it?

A: I don't really do that. It just develops on its own as I keep writing and reading.

Q: Is coming up with a title a difficult task?

A: Sometimes, yes, it's a chore. But sometimes it just pops into my head naturally.

Q: What has been your favorite part of any of your projects to write?

A: The beginning is always the easiest to write, but I guess for Someone's In My Head my favorite part was the end of Chapter 26, where there was a huge plot bomb. For those of you who had read it, I'm sorry, but it sure was exhilarating for me to write that part.

Q: Where are you from?

A: Somewhere over the rainbow. Nah, I'm just kidding; I'm not a unicorn. I'm from Malaysia. You know, the penis-like country at South East Asia? Yeah, that's us.

Q: Did you ever feel like writing just wasn't for you anymore and wanted to stop?

A: Oh, yes, this moment occurred to me tons of times. But I guess I stuck with my true passion and never gave up and hey, look, mom: I've made it here today.

Q: Also, what was your hardest chapter to write and why?

A: I guess this would be the chapter where I had to explain the scientific technicalities behind my story. I didn't want to make it boring, but yet I had to make it legitimate and understandable as well, so it was quite challenging.

Q: How can you start a story well so that it pulls the reader in and keeps them hooked till the end?

A: Engaging, with a powerful voice, but yet at the same time, not too over-sensationalist.

Q: What is the one thing about writing nobody told you about?

A: How hard it can be when you're in the middle chapters of the story and you're having writers' block. Oh, and add in the fact that you have a shitload of schoolwork waiting for you to complete.

Q: Is there anything that you wish you could go back in your story and change?

A: Oh, yes. I would love to increase the level of suspense in my story. But as authors, we all know that it's really hard to change what you've written 'cause that often includes slashing off entire paragraphs or even chapters, which hurts beyond imagination.

Q: Have you considered publishing paper copies of your books?

A: Oh, I already have! In fact, I'm currently having a crowdfunding campaign for Someone's In My Head and you can pre-order paperback copies of it through this link below:

And trust me when I say this: the paperback copy looks absolutely amazing :D

Q: How did you start your stories? Did they end up turning out to be different from what you originally expected and had in store for them?

A: It started out as a stand-alone, but something happened. My plan was to end the book in a conventional way―with the good guy defeating the bad guy, saving his gal, and they both live happily ever after (yay!). But as I sat down in front of my computer, about to start my last chapter, an unorthodox idea popped into my mind.

In fact, the idea (of course I'm not telling you anything) was so mind-blowing that I was left rambling about "how awesome it's gonna be if I pull it off" to no one in particular for about an hour. Then, I calmed myself down and went to work on the story line, its plausibility and the titles for the next two books. I ended up writing an extra chapter in order to integrate my 'mind-blowing' idea into the book.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

A: There are soooo many. Fringe, Breaking Bad, Criminal Minds, Rick and Morty, Game of Thrones. Oh, and YouTube. Tons and tons of YouTube.

Q: And to finish off, I am going to ask you two more personal questions, but don't worry, I won't dig too deep.

1. If you had to get up and do one of these three things right now, which would you go for?
a. Bungee jumping
b. Singing in front of a thousand people
c. Running a marathon

A: Running a marathon. Definitely. As a middle-to-long distance runner for 10 years now, I've always loved to run a full marathon. In fact, I just ran my first half marathon yesterday (and didn't die in the process), so that's a start!

2. If you had to live one year without one of the three things below, which would you pick?
a. Chocolate
b. Ice-Cream
c. Coffee

A: Ice-Cream. For some weird reason, I don't really like ice-cream.

That was fun!
Thanks for being with us and sharing your amazing stories with the world!

You are absolutely welcome. :)