Coffee Talks

With L.B. Shimaira

Hi, Shimaira, thank you for taking the time to get involved with Coffee Community. It's great to hear from authors like yourself and get to know a little bit about what motivates you to write longer works of fiction.

So, to begin, tell us a little bit about yourself as an author on Wattpad. For anyone who hasn't met you before, how would you describe your fiction?

My fiction is either inspired by or a direct retelling of dreams/nightmares I've had. They are a great inspiration for me and because I actually "lived" through the events in them I am able to write them down with a vivid realism--or so I have been told =P

Writing for sustained periods is a hurdle that every writer, beginner or experienced, faces from time to time. What powers you through those longer bursts of creativity and keeps you focussed?

Considering my first novel took me a decade to complete, I am not sure if you should be asking me this ^_^;; But what helps keep me focussed: good music, fan-art or commissioned art, readers who leave comments, getting plenty of sleep (being tired often results in procrastination), and of course ensuring I take the time to write (I can't do much with 5 minutes here, 20 minutes there; I need to give myself a few hours of room if I want to make actual decent progress). Oh, and close/turn off your social media ;)

I'd also suggest staying away from Netflix if you want to increase your output.

Staying away from Social Media or your Phone seems to be a common way to fight procrastination. Other than that, what top tips would you advise for getting a novella or a longer piece of fiction off the starting line? What kind of story developments motivate you to see it through to the end?

I would say: know where you want the story to go. My first novel took so long because I started writing it when I had no clue where I was going to end. The plot developed on the go, but that resulted in a lot of writer's block moments. Having interesting characters or character development is what helps keep me going. The characters come alive while you write and I enjoy writing longer works as I get to know my characters. I am not just telling my readers a story, I am also telling myself a story.

Depending on your writing style you can also create an outline. I like to outline in bullet-points, and when I write and finish something I can delete that bullet--this is very satisfying and helps motivate me to write more.

How much do you edit on the fly? Or do you prefer to edit after you've finished the initial draft?

I write a few pages, read it back, edit, write some more, read back, edit... After I completed a chapter, I read it all again, edit, and after that, I also run Grammarly xD
Only then will I feel confident enough to post it on Wattpad :)

Personally, what kind of novella -- be it any style, theme, or genre -- would you like to see emerge from the Open Novella Contest?

Give me all the good horror stories, please ♥

Showers you with horror stories... all of them.

Lastly, because we're always curious... What was your ever first experience with the power of the written language?

I was thinking very hard about this but then it hit me: The Little Match Girl. I don't know if the short story version I had was the actual one by Hans Christian Andersen (I actually doubt it), but it really left a mark on my soul. I read that story as a little girl (it was one of the first stories I could read even).
It was part of this little fairy tale collection thing where they printed the tales on a sheet of thick A4 paper and added some illustrations to it. Reading that story always left me in tears--even when I found it again years ago.

It's been great hearing from you, Shimaira, and thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge in storytelling.

Thank you for this interview ♥ I hope my words might inspire others and help them complete their stories.

Best wishes for your future endeavours from Coffee Community.

Our goal is to bring you many more exclusive interviews with people who aren't just Wattpad Stars or Staff, but also some pretty awesome authors.
In that quest, next we will be talking to TLDorian, so stick around for more fun!