Danielle Fuller
What made you decide to become a writer?
When I was younger, I liked to read a lot and, at one point, wanted to make my own stories.
How do you decide your plots? Are they taken from events that have happened to you? Do you base your characters on real people – or do you prefer to be fully creative and make them up?
In several cases, I'll watch a video(s), read through someone else's project, etc. and get inspired to make one of my own. My stories don't necessarily come from any events that have happened to me. Also, the characters are totally made up.
What comes first for you – the plot or the characters? And why?
The plot comes first (however much that is), then as things get fleshed out, the characters come into play. As for why, it's just how it happens most times. Sometimes, I'll get a very basic summary of a character doing something or being somewhere and build things around that, but, in a lot of cases, the plot (whether very general, or a bit more fleshed out) will come to me first.
How many books have you written and/or published, and which is your favourite?
I've written several over the years (not all of them finished), but self-published 4 (one of which is a “House of Leaves” inspired, 97 page, short story). My favorite is The World's Longest Tunnel.
Tell me more about your favorite book – the plot, characters, setting, POV, tense…
The World's Longest Tunnel, has to do with a tourist attraction, in Graniteville. Several people hear about it and decide to go and see if, in fact, it is the world's longest tunnel. When they get there, things start out alright, until a certain point is reached and everything starts over. As time goes on, the characters start to realize something's wrong and, eventually, they find a way out of there. All except for one of them, that is determined to go through the tunnel only one specific way (Causing him to be trapped there, forever).
What is your favourite genre to write in? Tell me why.
I enjoy writing unassuming Horror. (It's the concept of having something seem completely normal, but, at one point, things start to fall apart and you realize there's something more going on. Which is why I like it.)
To me, it's a way to draw someone in and get them interested, while taking them on a journey, that, at some point, takes an unexpected turn and has them asking what happened (which would, hopefully, get them to re-read what already happened to piece things together).
Did you need to do research for your book? If so, how much did you do, how did you do it?
I don't remember doing research for Onyx Rayne, but for another book of mine (I Know You, But How) I did a good amount of research about Victorian clothing, décor, etc. on the Internet.
Would you write any genre or do you stick to one?
In addition to unassuming Horror I have also written Mystery stories. I've also written stories that have multiple genres. For instance, Onyx Rayne fits in the Mystery and Psychological-Horror genres.
How many hours a day or week would you say you spend writing? Is it a potential career for you, is it something you do outside your day job?
It really depends on how much of the story comes to me. Also, writing stories is my day job.
Is writing therapeutic for you, or does it cause you to stress out?
It's a bit of both. There are times, where it's a bit stressful (when I run into challenges, such as not knowing where the story's going yet, or how to portray certain things), but it's also something I enjoy doing (Especially when there's a story I really feel needs to be written).
How do you market your books?
I market them on my social media accounts, in several discord servers, and on subreddits.
Tell me why you market them this way – how it helps.
It's a way to reach the audience/fan-base I've built up, over time. It's also a way to connect to others, in my field.
How do you react to reviews? Would you prefer just good ones or are you okay to receive a bad one occasionally? How does this make you feel?
How I react to reviews, depends on what's said in them. I definitely prefer good ones, but, at the same time, if someone has constructive criticism about my work (as much as it can sting sometimes), I'm alright with it.
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