13 Questions with Gail Aranas

What was the first thing you wrote?

I remember that in kindergarten I had just learned how to write, and that was right after I watched the movie Cast Away. I didn’t understand the movie but that bloody ball interested me. So when I learned how to write words like “man” and “ball” and all those pronouns, I wrote something like a fanfic of Cast Away. It was only a couple of phrases/sentences.
BUT the first thing that I seriously and heartily wrote with all the writing 'rules' in mind was a 100-something page “novel” called Ellen for the Better. It has a terrible plot and it can make you throw up. I did. In my head.

What got you into writing?

I’ve told this story before, but hey, why not tell it again? Basically, I started loving the Internet at a young age. I played dress up games online and went on virtual worlds like Dizzywood and Fantage. My mom didn’t think it was healthy, so she jokingly said that we (my brother and I) could only use the computer if we used it to write a novel. I was sneaky and I wanted to play dress up, so I did.

What are your writing necessities?

Laptop with Internet. That’s the only thing I need. 

What form and genre do you write?

I write poetry, essays, short stories, and on long breaks, novels.

Any inspirations?

Just reading something beautiful can inspire me to write. 

What genre would you like to dive into next?

I want to try writing Historical Fiction. I think it’s going to be a challenge to write something that already has a background. I’m used to making stuff up, and having to stick to a set of facts will be hard. I’m willing to try, though.

What do you do when you're not writing?

What other people do. I watch TV shows, spend hours on YouTube, go on Tumblr, all that crazy teenage stuff. 

What’s your writing process like?

For short stories and novels, I go backwards. I come up with an idea and keep asking myself, “Why?” Why is he sad? Why did the girl break up with him? Why was he not faithful? It’s kind of like deconstructing a snowball. For essays and poems, I just find something that ignites a fire in me, or something that provokes me, and start there.

Do you have any strange writing habits?

This is going to sound so disgusting but I get most of my ideas while I’m on the toilet. Maybe it’s the quietness of the bathroom? I also try to get as imaginative as possible before bed. I read books, watch short clips, and fill my head with images of a certain idea which I’d like to dream about. Sometimes it works and I get the most horrifyingly beautiful dreams.

What book do you wish you could have written?

I feel like I should answer with a classic, but nope. I’m going to go with Harry Potter. 

In relation to writing, what were you like at school?

I wrote a lot of poetry about being invisible and shy with all the self-pity that I had. I came up with some pretty good rhymes back then, but with the subject? I think I could’ve done better.

Do you have a specific writing style?

Kat says that my writing focuses a lot of specifics, and that it is “filled” like a cake with fillings. I read some of my works before answering this, and yes, I do agree that I am very specific. I give a lot of descriptions using the five senses. I make my characters bleed onto the pages so their souls enter the reader when they start to read. My writing is also very driven by the current state of characters.

And lastly, what book are you reading now?

City of Heavenly Fire and Dreams of Gods and Monsters have been on my to-read list for centuries. I’m now on page 20 of CoHF and I don’t think I’ll finish reading it until October… unless college goes, “Yeah, go ahead, no work for a month. Just read CoHF!”

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