Client: SSears90

Interviewer: Oizys604

Hey! I AM ZIA. I am in senior high and currently studying science!

Tell me something about yourself!

Hi! I'm Sears! Telling something about myself is always the hardest question to answer LOL Hmm... well, I'm a huge iced coffee and energy drink addict haha I love writing, reading, listening to music, and recently I have been trying to practice with graphics a little bit.

Hi Sears!! What does your name mean? Or what did it originate from?

I also am absolutely addicted to black coffee!

It didn't really originate from anything. I love my coffee to have extra cream, sugar, and mocha. Always mocha for me!

That sounds tasty, Sears! I absolutely love Mocha. Talking about beverages, if you were to name all your books/works as them, what'd you name them?

I'd probably keep them pretty simple, to be honest. Like "Mocha Iced Coffee" and "Monster Energy" or maybe mix it up and try to make them sound pretty like "Caramel Frappe with whipped cream" xD ToT Yeah, it's a good thing I don't name my titles after beverages, I have nothing hahaha

Those sound hilarious and mouth-watering! What do you usually write about?

I write BTS Fan Fiction. I mostly write oneshots, and like 99% of the ones I have written are requests from readers. I always write dark themes, so my oneshots are always sickfics/hurtfics and when it comes to my longer novels and short stories the themes usually involve horror, paranormal, angst, and psychological thriller- things like that. I grew up with that being my favorite genre to watch and read so it's what I enjoy writing about the most.

Those sound interesting. Have you ever written romance? I can see that it's missing in what you mentioned.

I tried to...once LOL I started writing one and just wasn't enjoying it. I don't think I write romance well. I don't mind reading it, though. I'm not good at coming up with romanic plots. I'm better at the whole "Angst! Scary! Destruction!" Stuff.

I love angst, personally I'll choose angst over anything. While we are discussing genre's which one is your favorite to read?

I'd have to go with horror. It's my absolute favorite, whether picking a novel off the shelf at a bookstore or choosing a movie to see, my first choice is always horror. I remember watching the original Poltergeist movie when I was like three and there was really no going back after that. I especially love supernatural horror.

I rarely read horror, I love psychological though. Your three-year-old self knew what she liked! You write fanfictions about BTS. Who is your bias?

That's always a tough question. I'd say it switches between Jungkook and Taehyong literally on the daily, but then the others are always bias wrecking me. After seeing J Hope's concert I was bias wrecked, then whenever I see something new come out of the others I get bias wrecked all over again. I feel like I'm constantly on one of those spinny rides at a carnival that just wont stop xD

Oh, that sounds like a rollercoaster-

Do you interact with your readers? Are there some who stand out?

Yes, I do! I try to reply to literally every reader who comments, but sometimes I do miss a few if a lot come in at once. I also browse their profiles to see if they have books and try to find time to read some. There have been plenty of times I have interacted with a book/author and noticed they never cared to answer or interact back which left me feeling pretty heartbroken, and I never want my readers to feel like I'm ignoring their support. There are quite a handful who stand out, too many to list, but for my readers- just know if you comment more than once/on all my stories I DO recognize you! : D

That is so sweet, Sears! Your readers must love you! Have you ever been surprised by the names of reading lists your book was added in to?

Absolutely. I see them get added to a lot of reading lists and for the most part they're all fun and nicely named, I actually have seen users with reading lists just titled "Sears" and I'm like no way?! But on the flip side, I unfortunately also see when my stories get added to not so nice reading lists. I have seen my stories added to reading lists with titles such as "Crap" "Sucks" "Worst I've ever read" "Eh"one was just recently added to a list called "Not that good". In all honesty I'm not sure why those even exist, if someone's doesn't like a story I don't understand why they would still save it to their profile.

You have no idea how much I agree with that, my bestfriend; also an author says the same thing! If you don't like a story, why do you have to save it? Talking about reading lists, what are your reading lists like?

The reading lists on my profile are just there to organize my own stories so readers can find them easier. With over 200+ works people were getting really lost, so I made a bit of an archive to help make things easier to find. I have them separated by ongoing stories, my completed novels, my completed short stories, my oneshots all based on which member they're about, and one dedicated to award shows and other community stuff. When it comes to books that I am reading myself, I just save those to my library.

That's very organized, Sears! While writing your stories; how do you think of the plot and storyline?

That's tough to answer because it could literally be anything. I could literally see a stick and be like "I should write about the members hiking." Sometimes I'm inspired by a photo or a song, sometimes it could even be a dream I have. Some of my novels are based off of dreams I have had. I also really love the "brotherly love" dynamic which is the central theme to all my stories. When it comes to the overall storyline I generally try to figure out how I want the beginning, middle, and end to play out. Some stories are also inspired by real life events, I've experienced a lot in life such as depression, grief, fights, fears, etc so when I have that in my stories I just write how I feel.

I have a huge thing for brother dynamic too! I have read over 300 brother sister stories I think . Expressing few real life situations tbrough book is an amazing thing! I see authors do that a lot.

Have you ever gone through writer's block? How'd you deal with it?

ALL the time. I can think of specific scenes I want in a book, but then the problem becomes coming up with a storyline between those scenes. It took me almost two years to write my story "Surviving Number8" because of writer's block, and I'm going through it again with some current stories/ drafts as well. I don't think I really have a way of dealing with it, per say. When it happens I just kind of give up for a while until I'm re-inspired. I'll try to just sleep on it or listen to music until I can think of how to progress with the storyline. That's why I'm so bad at updating on a consistent schedule. I have the habit of releasing my first chapter of a story right away before actually drafting the rest of it, and then it will just sit there for a while.

I have noticed that listening to music to cope with writer's block is very common among all the authors. Is there a specific reason why? Other than that, how do you feel when you write for the first time after a huge Block?

I'd say it's popular because it really helps set the mood of what you're trying to write. For example with me, my characters deal with a lot of hardships, so I will turn on some sad music and get a feel for the mood which helps me come up with a scenario to match it. If I am writing an MCD and need to focus on grief, I'll think back to the times I have experienced it and listen to songs about it so that I can really convey those feelings into the story. As for finally getting out of writer's block it is a HUGE weight off my shoulders, especially when I know people are waiting for updates. It feels like exhaling after holding my breath for too long. The frustration has passed and then I can simply be excited about releasing an update.

You have relayed that wonderfully!

What future projects are you looking forward to?

I have a few drafts of upcoming novels. I'm hoping to release a homeless yoonkook AU soon and with or after that I have a few more short stories and novels in the works. I'm trying to be better about writing the chapters before officially releasing the books so I still have quite a lot to write lol

I hope I haven't asked for any spoilers~

The idea sounds amazing. Are there any specific messages you try to show through your work?

Don't worry, you haven't! And yeah there are. Many of my stories deal with handling trauma, there are messages such as "people care about you even if you think they don't" and a lot of "you don't know what you have until it's gone" such as not taking friends/family fore granted, forgiveness, stuff like that!

That's extremely sweet and thoughtful, Sears! Sometimes we definitely don't realise the value of what we have until its gone! What are the difficulties you usually face while writing? Do you think others face them too?

My biggest difficulty is writer's block and not knowing what comes next, and also the daunting task of having to proof read. It takes me a very long time to write a oneshot or a chapter of a story, and then while I'm glad to finish and wish I could just post it right away, I have to take a moment and remind myself to go back over it at least two more times with fresh eyes to detect typos and stuff. I'm sure every writer experiences this!

That's very relatable. Patience is the virtue! While editing what are the things you focus the most upon? Also, how do you manage character development and plot?

When editing, I just make sure I don't do things like repeat myself, that I convey emotions well, then there's the typical check of if I used punctuation correctly to the best of my knowledge and to make sure I spelled everything correctly. I make sure the story flows in a natural way that makes sense. As for character development and plot, I try to think of what kind of person I want the character to be, which then helps drive the plot. If I want them to turn from good to evil I'll have something tragic happen, or vise versa, if I want them to turn from evil to good I'll have something happen that changes their perspective and shifts them in that direction instead.

Amazing view! I am sure this is a learning point for many! While writing a chapter, what goes through your mind? What is the process behind it? Is there a certain criteria or a template you follow?

Since most of my books are oneshots, I try to format them into 3 parts. The typical beginning/intro that leads into the climax where all the big stuff happens and then to the ending. They can be a bit fast paced because I have to get an entire story out in one chapter, so I try to make sure everything just makes sense at least. As for my big books, I love ending the chapters on a cliff hanger so I just write until I get to that good stopping point that will leave readers wondering and wanting more.

Oh, leaving the chapters on a cliffhanger? You evil specimen-

While we are talking about cliffhangers, what was the most intriguing cliffhanger you left a chapter on? The one which had people crying for more?

I think it has happened in multiple books where people were really wanting quick updates to know what happens next. I know Surviving Number 8 was a big one for that.

Oh dear, sounds like you love to terrify your readers!

While writing your book, was there a certain message you wanted to give? Has it been fulfilled?

I like ending on cliffhangers to help build suspense, it leaves the reader coming back for more. I'd say with that book there were a few messages, such as don't take the people you love fore granted and, as the saying goes, to "never judge a book by its cover" because you never know what kind of hardships people are dealing with behind closed doors.

That is so psychologically sweet, Sears! For the last question, Is there any message you would like to give to our readers? A question you'd been waiting to answer, but no one asked?

There's not really anything I am waiting to answer, as people usually do ask me a lot of questions haha I'd say a message for the readers is thanks so much for taking the time of day to interact with me and my stories. I'm always grateful for the support, and please look forward to many more stories to come!

I am sure your readers will look forward to your many stories to come! By this, I end our interview. I had an absolutely lovely time conversing with you! I look forward to our future interactions.

Have a wonderful da,y Sears!

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

—William Wordsworth