Stories by Firefly! : 13 Reasons Why || Author Q&A Collab

Monday, September 9, 2019

13 Reasons Why || Author Q&A Collab

*sets off rockets filled with confetti*

The day has arrived! Together, Kate and I answering the questions that all of you submitted through the Q&A form. Kate's answers are in teal and mine are in purple, because these are the colors (along with yellow) that represent suicide prevention and awareness. Teal is also the color of the PTSD awareness ribbon.

Kaitlyn Krispense, Author

|| Q&A

Who was your favorite character to write?
All of the siblings. So fabulous. But particularly Eddie.

James. I love Alex—well, and everyone else—and I always will. But James is my favorite.

What is one essential piece of advice you'd give to new indie authors?
Get yourself a writing partner. Get someone to whom you can scream about plot twists, sob about inconsistencies, and complain about editing, all without worrying about them getting annoyed with you.

Not to intentionally create an oxymoron, but don’t follow all the advice you receive. When I first started writing, I was overwhelmed by the amount of advice I got. And, because I’m a rule follower, I tried to do everything that everyone said. I quickly decided that a lot of it wasn’t going to work for me.
For example, there’s this age-old line that says: “write what you know.” Ehh, nope, not a fan of that one. The whole concept implies that you should only write about what you know well—whether that’s knowledge of specific countries, cultures, or workfields, or experience in certain hardships—which is a really close-minded perspective when you think about it. If we only write what we know, then we’re not learning anything new. And isn’t that half the point to any endeavor?

What part of the story touched you the most?
The whole thing . . . ? I mean, each part of the story touched me differently. But if I had to pick just one scene . . . the second one with Erich & Cara on the boulders (if you’ve read the book, you know what I mean!)

I’m going to go with the scene that I affectionately refer to as the “In Christ Alone part.” Some of you already know what I’m talking about, but for those who don’t, it’s a church scene in the second half of the book where the song plays an important role. Those paragraphs still give me chills.

How long did it take to write your book?
Little over a month, actually.

*squints* Like two years? I wasn’t working only on this project during that time, though. Obviously.

What inspired you to write about the topic of suicide?
Uhhh . . . Pinterest? It was pretty much the first thought and I never really thought of going any other direction, honestly.

Originally, Pinterest for me, too. But then further into the project, I was encouraged and inspired by the constant reminder of the many lives who’ve already been lost to suicide. I can’t tell all of their stories, but I can tell this one.

What did God show you while writing these novels? How did you grow closer to Him while writing them?
No matter how many times I doubt, He’s always there to love me. <3

Every life has a purpose. It’s something I’ve always known, something you hear all the time in places like church and Sunday School and Bible study. But it’s a truth that I didn’t fully comprehend until I placed myself inside the mind of someone who’s lost all hope.

How do you figure a book cover to wrap around and fit the spine?
Algebra. *shudders* Since I don’t have a special app that tells me what size to make everything, I make the front cover, then take the number of fully formatted pages and plug ‘em into an online calculator that tells me how many inches wide the spine will be. Convert that to pixels, then calculate the size to fit with the rest of the file, then make the back cover, then put ‘em all together and pray they all fit. If that all makes sense. XD

*coughs awkwardly* I ask Kate to do it for me. That’s how I do it.

Or that . . .

What’s one big lesson you learned from writing this book?

I can write coherently . . . ? Also that God will make a way. He loves us. <3 And that how we treat others makes a huge difference. Shall I go on?

Suicide is so much worse and happens much more often that I realized. It deserves more attention, awareness, and understanding than it gets. Let’s show some grace and love, and get rid of the contemptuous mindset.

|| R2L

Today's reason to live is: purpose. No matter how burdened, alone, or unwanted you feel, God has a plan. In every aspect of your life, He has a plan. Even right here in this very moment, He has a plan. I love the words of Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you..." He doesn't have to specify that He has a plan for us, because it's a given. Instead, this verse seeks to instill in us that His plans are good and they are of a peace-filled future.