Coffee Talks

With ereehu

The moment has come to finally meet the grand winner of this year's ONC - Let's talk to ereehu, who made it to the first place with As the Crows Fall!

Hey there! How did you get into writing?

It started with collecting quotes. I've always kept a sort of 'quotebook' where I transcribed quotes that piqued my interest, whether from movies or books or just daily life. They would later serve as sources of inspiration for me to write. 

 I've always enjoyed reading fantasy and fiction, but it always bothered me how more often than not, supposedly 'grey characters' were not really 'grey' at all. They all had well-rounded redemption arcs and absolved blame. They were always spoken of as 'grey' or 'dark' or 'immoral', but they weren't, not really. Where were the villains who were truly villains or the characters who did all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons? I thought to myself, 'I could write something like that'. 

 When I was about thirteen, I started doing just that. It started with some horrid mix of 'Harry Potter', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Maze Runner' and 'Blood Red Road' all rolled into one. This draft still exists somewhere. We do not speak of it. It is awful. It makes me cry inside. Maybe I'll revive it one day lol.

Why did you participate in the Open Novella Contest?

 . . Spite. 

 It wasn't easy. My daily life is absolutely hectic and finding the time to write is difficult, but I was determined to write a proper novella. Last year, I entered ONC but wasn't able to finish on time and my story ended up running to novel length. 

 I was a bit upset with myself for that, so this year when ONC came around, I decided to give it one more try and to do it right. I set out to write a novella and told myself I'd finish it no matter what. No matter how crappy it was, no matter how many typos it had, no matter how late I had to stay up (5am is the record if anyone cares lol), I was determined to complete the novella on time. I think I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. And I did. So I guess you could say it worked?

What inspired you to write your ONC winning story?

This is rather ironic because I almost didn't participate this year due to an utter lack of inspiration. None of the prompts caught my eye initially. I decided that if no inspiration came to me, I wouldn't do it. 

I debated for several weeks and eventually ended up choosing prompt 4 due to how open-ended it was. The prompt reads 'When something tragic happens, it's often said we lose a piece of ourselves. How far would you go to find these lost parts of yourself in order to be whole again?' 

When I read this, the first thing it reminded me of was a very distinct line from a Taiwanese short film and novel called 'The Poetry of Summer' (it does not have an English translation that I am aware of). It reads: 'There was a girl that told him the soul is like a piece of cake. If you love someone, you will give a part of the soul to them, like a piece of cake cut out; if they love you as well, then they will give you a piece of their soul, like a piece of cake cut out [ . . . ] But if the person you fall in love does not love you, then there will be a hole in your soul. Because that which was given will never return.' This is referenced in the first chapter of my story. 

I then coupled this with the overarching Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, in other words, balance. It's not about finding all your lost pieces to become whole again; its about finding balance among the pieces you have left. That was the story I wanted to write. 

Without spoiling, at the start of 'As the Crows Fall', Ruwei lost her sister and is attempting to fill the hole in her heart with revenge by enacting revenge against those who wronged her, but in the end, she realizes it's not about revenge itself. It's about the purpose revenge gives her for her suffering.

Do you have a favourite part in your story that you would like to share? Please, elaborate why you like that part in particular.

I particularly like the opening of the first chapter (murder, although rarely legal, is always fun). The line she counts the crows as the man across the street takes a bullet to the head came to me out of nowhere. This became opening line of 'As the Crows Fall'. The second thing that came to me was the ending. The first and last chapters are my favorite because they show the metaphorical circle that Ruwei walked in throughout the novella. 

 Chapters 9 and 10 are also among my favorites for a similar reason. In a way, this is the turning point where Ruwei and Mu'en switch in terms of their roles in the story and to each other. They still mirror each other, but now they stand on opposite sides of the coin of revenge from where they were before. This is also where sh*t goes down and you get to see how dark they really are inside. 

What did you like about the Open Novella Contest the most?

Last year, I liked the prompts the best. This year, I liked the community and seeing all the other novellas people wrote! I'm also finding out that I just really enjoy writing novellas. Short enough that they are doable while leading a busy life, long enough to feel like I've actually accomplished something lol. I also think it's the perfect length for balancing description with plot. Novellas have a very distinct flow to them, I think, where they maximize the efficiency of a storyline without sacrificing the details. 

What do you like best about writing on Wattpad?

My readers. By this I mean the readers who stick with me regardless of my antics. I have a number of readers who have been with me from the start. They are often silent readers, but I see when they vote on the chapter and it always makes my day! It's rather simple: I like being able to share my work with readers who enjoy reading it, and it just makes me happy to know that my writing brings them joy.

Congratulations to you once again and thank you for the interview! We wish you all the best for your future writing endeavors. 💛