House-of-Playwrights

She has dreams of writing for children's media and enjoys dancing and singing with her family. Her gallery of work indicates an optimism and appreciation for the beauty and brightness in life, while maintaining a reverent devotion to her faith.

We recently had the honor of conducting an interview with the the First Place winner of House-of-Playwrights' Holiday Royale Scriptastic Tournament and the author of "The Queen's Celebration Consolation," VeggieManiac, who was gracious in taking the time to answer our questions.

• How long have you been writing or when did you start?

I think I started trying to write in 2015, when I was thirteen, so maybe I've been writing for eight years. I honestly don't know because I lost track, but that's my best guess.

• What inspired you to become a writer?

I've always been captivated by certain stories from other people, especially those involving Bible stories, fairytales, and [stories from] other cultures. When it comes to other cultures, I especially enjoy myths from Greek mythology and folktales from Native American tribes. Either before or about the same time [that] I realized my dream was to work for my favorite show, I started trying to bring my [own] stories to life. Some of those stories could probably use edits now that I've grown some in my abilities, but I know it was a lot of fun creating them.

• Who is your favorite writer?

Yeesh. Way to make it hard; there are so many talented writers out there. I would have to say my favorite writers are any positive ones involving the Bible, as well as the Bible authors themselves, because I am a Christian. But then there's also: Frances Hodgson Burnett (author of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden), E.D. Baker (author of The Wide Awake Princess series), Phil Vischer (creator of my favorite show VeggieTales, and author of Me, Myself, and Bob), C.S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia series (lots of Biblical parallels in this series!))....You know what? There's too many to name. We'd be here all night if I kept going!

• Tell us about two or three of your favorite pieces you have written.

Ooh boy, I've never been asked that before. Hmm... I'd probably have to say "The Queen's Celebration Consolation"...which is based off of an AU (Alternative Universe) I found of a Disney XD show called Star vs the Forces of Evil, and the AU creator, @jgss0109, is so nice that I wanted to honor him and his work. The second one - "Cucumber Green" - is a story that [was originally sparked by the] DeviantArter... who inspired me to make my own account here on this site, [but had since] quit working on it. One of her friends had welcomed me warmly to DA, and we one day decided to surprise that person by making our own rendition of that story, and that person loved it!

• How do you stay motivated when writing?

Music!! I love listening to Christmas music and other songs that I think match either a plot point or a character in a specific moment. When I hear what's being played, it's easier for me to imagine myself in the story and what's happening around me.

• How do you process and deal with negative or critical comments on your writing?

I will admit, there are times comments do shake me up. If it's a particularly mean comment, I'll talk to someone I trust about it or listen to something to help me get calm, but I do eventually settle down and/or defend my position if necessary....Critiques are different; if it's specified beforehand that the critique isn't meant to be mean, I take it in good stride, and think over the comment for a while to see if their suggestion really is better.

• What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

I think I come up with characters first more than the plot, but I sometimes flipflop.

• How do you generally go about developing your plot and characters?

I put myself in the shoes of the characters I'm writing, and I listen to music that I think fits a certain scene in the plot. When I listen to music, it's easier for me to register my emotions and how I'm reacting, and then I try to place which character would feel the way I feel in that moment.

• When you finish a writing project, how do you celebrate when you finish?

Huh. I usually am just relieved and pleased that it's finished, and that it's the best it can be... unless I see more edits that need to be made. I don't really celebrate finishing a script, except in time crunches.

• Looking specifically at the script you wrote for the Holiday Royale Scriptastic Tournament, what part of “The Queen's Celebration Consolation” did you have the hardest time writing?

Believe it or not, all of it! @jgss0109 created the AU that inspired the story, so I don't know a lot of the details surrounding how Stump Day was banished and Star's Day was created. I don't even know if Star's subjects did forgive her for accidentally starting a war before her crowning, so I simply tried to imagine how it might have gone instead. I guess it paid off, because he ended up favoriting the story!

• If your script were made into a skit or stage-play, which actor would you imagine playing Star? How about Marco?

....I would either pick the original voice actors for the characters (Eden Sher for Star and Adam McArthur for Marco), or Dove Cameron for Star and - MAYBE - Zachary Levi for Marco.

• What stories or characters of your own do you plan or hope to write about next?

It's not a script, but I'm working on a pre-/mid-/sequel to my favorite VeggieTales DVD involving a romance: Duke and the Great Pie War. The story I'm writing is called "Sleeves of Green and Duckies of Gold." It focuses on the female lead of Duke and the Great Pie War, and will be exclusive to fanfiction.net, so check it out if you want to read it! The first chapter will hopefully be posted on March 20.

• To wrap things up, what is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing that you’d like to pass on to others?

The most valuable advice I can give is actually split into two pieces. The first piece was taught to me when I first began writing fanfictions for this site: Beware plot holes! A plot hole is where you address something in one part of a story, like a fire breaking out in the basement of a house or boys turning into donkeys (does that last one sound familiar?), but then you don't specify if the fire was put out or if the boys were saved before the story ends. You need to take note of everything you wrote in the past part of your story so that when you write another part of it in the future, you can recall what you have or haven't covered and then take the necessary steps toward addressing the unaddressed. The second part? Have fun! Your writing is meant not only to bless others, but to be a reflection of you and the gifts God has given you. Have fun with the way you write your story, because really, there's only an audience of three reading it - God, Jesus, and yourself.