A Little Something about Gabriella White
Gabriella began her journey in high school when she took a creative writing class as an English elective and discovered her love and talent for writing stories. She would write poems in class periods that were 42 minutes long without realizing it because it came so naturally to her. She wrote her first unfinished short story in the same class and still didn’t think anything of it until she went to college to pursue her lifelong dream of being a teacher. During her freshman year, she continued writing poems that expressed her emotions, such as “Who I Am,” throughout the year while attending her regular classes simultaneously. At the end of her sophomore year, she decided to pursue her passion for writing and switched her major to Creative Writing. Gabriella then moved to Wattpad and began publishing her work on the writing platform. Her stories gained some traction, but after a few months, that traction came to a halt. So, she moved to Inkitt after seeing several other Wattpad authors mention it on their profiles. She submitted her first book on Inkitt, and it skyrocketed. Within a month of its submission to the website, the book gained over 300 reads, and within a year, it rose to over 2,000. After witnessing its success, she attempted to publish it through traditional publishing but found that it wasn’t for her, so she went the self-publishing route and has found it to be more successful for her. She published her first book, “The Chosen Ones,” on Amazon on July 10, 2021.
Questions and Answers:
1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I would say that I first realized I wanted to be a writer after I was reminded how well I wrote stories by my family, friends, and boyfriend about two or three years ago. At the time, I was attending college and was majoring in Early Childhood Education with the subcategory of Special Education meaning I would be working with children that had disabilities. After struggling in classes that I could take without officially being in the program, I decided to go with my second passion which was writing stories. However, I discovered my passion for writing in high school after taking a creative writing class as an elective, but because I had been dreaming of being a teacher since I was about seven years old, I went with that career path first.
2. How long does it take you to write a book?
It depends on the book. For my Sci-Fi romance/action book “The Chosen Ones”, which I’m intending on publishing July 10, 2021, it took me roughly 2-3 months, but that’s because I wrote it during quarantine i.e., April-June/July 2020. However, my most recent project, “His Savior, Her Sin”, has taken me about 7-8 months to write.
3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I don’t really have a schedule. I tried having a schedule and struggled to keep up with it. To me, writing shouldn’t have a schedule because it blocks the creative juices and they struggle to flow so I just write when I want to write which is usually at night but not all of the time.
4. What would you say is your unique writing quirk?
I tend to not only write in the first-person point of view but I also insert my own experiences and emotions and express them through my characters. I also usually base my characters’ personalities after people I know in real life because it’s easier for me to write them that way and I do that to make my characters more relatable to my audience.
5. Whether it be traditional, self, or story book apps. How’d you find the publishing process?
I find the process to be a little stressful. I first published my books on Wattpad before moving to Inkitt due to lack of reader interest and I found it stressful because when you’re putting your work out on any platform, whether it be a blog or story app, you want to make sure that the grammar is correct and that the hook grabs the reader’s attention. You also wonder if the cover looks good and appropriate for the book you’re putting out there if it’s on a story app. As for the traditional route, I almost went through traditional publishing but decided not to because it was too expensive and I didn’t like the percentage I was receiving for royalties. For self-publishing, I would say that I enjoy it the most and find it the least stressful because I can publish when I want to and can go to other resources for a book cover and editing for a much more affordable price.
6. How much of your writing process involves research in your subject matter or plot?
It depends on the plot. For my book “His Savior, Her Sin” research played a large part in terms of the characters because they’re vampires and fairies, which are well-known mythical creatures that have many adaptations, so I wanted to make sure I got the general idea of them and then insert my own twist while also include some cliches. The twists mostly involved the structure of each creature’s society rather than the creatures themselves.
7. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I started writing my first story when I was 18 but wrote my first novel when I was 20.
8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I enjoy spending time with my friends at their houses, playing games on the computer with my siblings, playing Dungeons & Dragons with my friends and family, working out at the gym, and spending time with my boyfriend.
9. What does your family think of your writing?
My family loves my writing and fully supports me. My sister was actually the one who suggested that I put my stories on Wattpad and my boyfriend will occasionally help me write when I have writer’s block.
10.What was one of the most surprising things you learned about yourself in creating your books (characters, location, plot)?
One of the surprising things that I learned about myself in creating my books is that I tend to have dark plots. No matter what I do to try to make the plot light-hearted, I somehow always manage to make it dark one way or another. I suppose it’s because that is what I enjoy reading: books with dark plots or themes.
11.What is it you particularly like about the genre you write?
I write in multiple genres because I don’t like to be held down by only one. I like Science Fiction because of the action and nerdy vibe that it gives me, and I like romance, specifically adult romance because it’s a fun genre to write in and I don’t have to worry about cutting off a kissing scene so that it remains PG-13.
12.Do you have any suggestions to help others become writers? If so, what are they?
I would suggest that they write down any ideas that pop into their head.
13.Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
As a predominantly Inkitt writer, I do receive comments and reviews on my books and most of the feedback from my readers is positive and some of them talk about how good the beginning of the chapter was or they express their anger or love for a character. If there is negative feedback, it’s typically constructive and meant to help me improve my writing skills, usually addressing grammar. Although, I do remember one time where one of my readers reached out and asked if I could write a poem about overcoming bullies and that’s what my poem “Who I Am” is about.
14.Do you like to create books for your target audience?
Yes, even though I started writing as a hobby and something I use as therapy I do enjoy creating worlds and stories for my readers, as well as characters that they can relate to. If I see someone comment “Oh my gosh I love [insert character’s name]!” or “I love the detail!”, then I know I’ve done a great job at creating the characters, settings, etc.
15.What do you think makes a good story?
Relatable characters or situations mixed with something unique that also has a small number of clichés but not enough to overpower the story to the point where it’s boring. That’s what I do in my stories.
16.How do you handle writer's block and what do you tell other aspiring authors who may be fighting or fearful about hitting that wall?
I sometimes reach out to other authors, but I generally just take it as a sign to take a break from writing for a day or two.
Final Note:
Since I have been writing this blog I have been lucky enough to have discovered such wonderful talent in the young women featured in my blog. This particular young lady is one just like the others. The difference is her genre. Not many her age find a comfort zone in sci-fi and even though sci-fi is not my cup of tea, I still can find the beauty in the way she is able to capture her world in the way she writes. She pulls a reader in just by her cover alone. So check out, The Chosen Ones. I already own my copy.