Interview with @MichaelLimjoco

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@MichaelLimjoco is the author 'Kuro : A Land In Eternal Night' , which is a Watty Awards 2013 finalist ! He also provides free advice on the 'Ask The Old Man' thread in the 'Improve Your Writing' forum. The link to this awesome thread is provided in the external link.

Enjoy !

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1. What do they call you?

A. My username is exactly the same as my real name. :) Michael Limjoco.

2. For how long have you been writing?

A. Hmmm...since High School, I would say. Perhaps a little earlier than that. I've been reading all my life though. Many people think it's the writing that makes you better, but the reading is a big part of what makes a good writer good.

3. Which part of writing a story, do you enjoy the most? (Creating characters, the plot and the subplots, the beginning/ending or the middle)

A. I enjoy setting the scene and describing visuals the most. I'm a very visual person, so most of the time in a scene, all I've got to do is describe what I'm seeing in my mind's eye, and then add a bit of flourish to that.

4. Have you faced any embarrassing moments, in terms of writing?

A. When I first brought my novel Kuro to a critique website, I thought everyone was going to be so impressed. They weren't. They thought it sucked, LOL! There were so many things I was missing back then. I had the fundamentals down like voice and dialogue, but my POV was shaky and I infodumped like mad. It took the better part of a year and the help of a published author to get it to where it is now.

5. Which is your favorite color? Have you made any reference to it in your story/stories?

 A. Blue. Hmmmm...yes I have in the next story I'm considering posting on Wattpad. ;)

(that's my favorite color too !)

6. Out of the stories you have written on Wattpad, which is the most memorable one?

A.  I've only got one so far. I am considering posting another, tentatively titled "Death Angel".

7. Are you planning on publishing soon?

A. That's up to the publishers, I think! I'd love to ge traditionally published, but I'm not sure my writing is up to snuff. I am self published at the moment.

8. Which is your favorite book/series on Wattpad?

A. Too many to mention! I enjoyed Sally Slater's Paladin a lot, though.

(*shouts* Sally! Did you hear that? lol!)

9. What kind of help do you provide - critiques, free advice or editing?

A. I have a thread on the Improve Your Writing Forums called "Ask the Old Man" where I provide writing advice. I also have a thread in Industry Insider called "Cracking the Wattpad Code" where I provide advice on how to promote your stories. I do perform critiques, but take on people very slowly. I am thorough in my critiques so it takes me a long time to get through one.

(click the external link to go to the thread mentioned above.)

10. Which author do you idolize (off Wattpad)?

A. George RR Martin, and Frank Herbert have incredible imaginations. Also, as far as writing style, I enjoy Anne Rice's voice. She is often accused of being excessively florid, but I happen to like it. :)

11. If you were a newbie, which part of the story would you focus on most?

A. The "getting it done all the way to the end" part. ;)

12. Which is your favorite character (off Wattpad) ?

A. Hmmm....there was a character in the old Weiss and Hickman Dragonlance novels named Raistlin Majere. One of my own characters, Vannah von Talthys was inspired by Raistlin. If you read those books, you can totally see the resemblance in the two characters! The only big difference is that Vannah is a girl, and that she isn't totally evil. :)

13. If you were given a choice to become one character (of your story posted on Wattpad) which one would you be and why?

A.  I'd like to be Mykall Talonfire. :)

14. Do you prefer dark romance or the usual?

A. I prefer Dark anything. :)

15. Where do you look for your inspiration?

A. Other writers books mostly. I find that my writing improves considerably if I've spent the week reading someone else's amazing book.

16. What’s your favorite TV show?

A. I like Sons of Anarchy lately, but I'll watch all sorts. I used to watch a lot of Anime, but haven't had time to catch up in a long time. :)

17. Do you prefer more reads, votes or comments?

A. Comments are my favorite even though they don't count as much in the rankings. Comments tell me whether I'm doing things right or wrong. They are very valuable.

18. Imagine the world is collapsing around you, what would you choose to save – technology or books?

A. I would save the technology, because the technology would save the books. ;)

19. What is the best advice you have given and received?

A. From Stephen King: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”

It's the exact same advice I give to any aspiring writer. :)

(*claps* loved this one !)

20. Any extra tips for our young writers?

A. Yeah from #19! LOL! I'll say it again. READ A LOT of good books. Especially the classics. When I critique someone's work, I can tell within the first two paragraphs if that person doesn't read a lot. I politely tell them that their problem isn't writing - it's reading. Reading good books will give you a sixth sense for writing good prose - you won't even need to know the rules, you'll assimilate them just by reading excellent books.

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I hope you enjoyed this interview guys ! ^^

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