WhoopsHarryStyles

1) "Name?"

Dawn.

2) "Age?"

Over 30.

3)" What are your hobbies?"

My hobby is Harry Edward Styles. Besides writing about him nonstop for the last three years, I also run a blog on Tumblr dedicated to Harry (whoopsharrystyles). During the first Hrought, I started posting themes about Harry. For example, a full day of Harry wearing stripes or a full day of Harry carrying things in his giant hands. That has evolved into Themed Weekends which now has five team members, and is followed weekly by a lot of people. We enjoy coming up with creative themes that showcase different parts of Harry's personality and person.

4) "When did you start writing and why?"

I first start writing when I was in elementary school. It was therapeutic for me because I could get my emotion out of me and onto paper.I wrote and self-published my first novel which was a cozy mystery about a teacher who has to help one of her former students who has been arrested for murder. Her other former students band together and help her. It was so horribly written. When I think about it now, I shake my head in dismay. Since then, I've learned a lot about plot and story structure.

My adventures with writing about Harry started about three years ago with y/n one shots. I enjoyed mild success with those, but then I wrote a story that deserved a second chapter. And before I knew it, that story (Snog Me Senseless) had five chapters. Then began the plotting for longer and longer stories. Which is how I ended up writing a trilogy this time around.

5) "Which was your first story generally?"

My absolute first one shot is one called "Confidence", and my first short story was "Snog Me Senseless". My first longer story was "Tangled Yarns".

6) "Do you write in some other website except Wattpad?"

I used to publish on Tumblr. In fact, my earliest stories were posted there. For a while, I co-wrote with another writer. We started co-writing in our messages on Tumblr which led us to a story called Amore Toscana, and then we wrote an advent story that published one chapter a day for December 1-25. We published on Tumblr and Wattpad under the name WhoopsBlackDress.

7) "What has given you motive to keep on writing?"

My writing motivation comes from a variety of places. Part of it is that I love the challenge of writing something unique, and I confess that I have the best readers on Wattpad! They leave me such lovely comments, and that often keeps me going. But really it's because Harry keeps whispering to me different story ideas. Every time I think I'm going to be done and quit, he sends me a new story idea, and as it grows, I realize it's a story that NEEDS to be told. LOL. He's a demon.

I write every weekend that I can, and when I really focus, I can knock out a chapter in a day. I'm usually about ten chapters ahead of what's being published which gives me time to go back and repair any plot holes, as well as do some heavy editing and revision before I publish.

8 )"Have you ever wanted to give up everything? (writing I mean)"

There were times when I was publishing solely on Tumblr that I thought about no longer publishing. Tumblr is a harsh place for writers, and I didn't realize there were other places like Wattpad at the time. So yes. I definitely thought about no longer publishing. But not writing? No. That hasn't really occurred to me. I get exhausted at the end of a story because the characters wear me out, and once their story is done, I consider taking a break, but as I just said, a new story idea has usually presented itself by then, so I start plotting and writing the new one.

9) "Which is your favorite story on Wattpad?"

I'm actually a horrible reader! I love The Adventures of Harry and Grace by @abutterflyonhistummy. They are short stories about Harry and his family, and they make me happy. Reading them is like reading a little page of sunshine and warmth. Most recently, I really enjoyed Goldie by @fatbottomedgirls. Such talented writers! There are so many great writers here on Wattpad, and I suppose I should slow down my own writing so I can read what they've written.

10) "Have you gained any friendship from Wattpad? If yes, which are your Wattpad friends?"

SO MANY! It's a lovely community. One of the first who was kind and welcoming to me was @chanmapan. She's delightful and helped me navigate this world of Wattpad. (I actually should say "helps" in present tense because she still shares her advice and brilliance with me regularly. @Lollipop2204 is someone else I chat with weekly. She's also my go-to for knowledge of British English. And every time I publish, there are lovely readers who show up to comment. There is no way I could list all of them, but on update day, I love seeing who comments when and how they interact as a community in my story comments. It's got the feeling of a neighborhood when everyone is reading at the same time.

11) "Do you relate with any of your characters from your books? If yes, which one and which characteristics are similar?"

There is something of me in every character I've ever written. I relate to their insecurities, their sense of humor, and their love for Harry. I know that doesn't feel like a complete answer to this question, but I could write an entire book on how I'm like the characters I write. In each book, for each OFC, I take a piece of my personality and expand it. For example, in Press Release, Minnie spends a lot of time taking care of others, but she won't (doesn't) let anyone take care of her. That's definitely a part of my personality that's pretty strong, so I took that trait and made it 10 times worse than it is for me so that she could work out her issue in the story while I merely watched. Or Alys' fear of abandonment in Battlefield. That's something I also experience, so why not let my characters dig into those deep, dark personality quirks in ways that I can't personally?

12) "What did you study /are you studying/do you want to study?"

I worked in elementary education, so that's what I study constantly. There's so much to learn. More recently, I've been learning about the developmental levels of adult learners and how to support people in being their best selves.

13)" Describe yourself in 3 words."

Creative, Loving, Loved

14) "What do you advise new writers?"

New writers tend to want to share their writing immediately, and they forget to include emotions and description. My suggestion is always to slow down the action so that you can watch it in your brain like a movie in slow motion. It helps the author clearly articulate exactly what's happening: whose hand is moving where, what the stomach is feeling like, how the eye blinks, etc. It's one of the most powerful ways to paint a picture for the reader. In my minds, that's what writers do: we create movies with words. If we're successful, readers will be able to say things like, "I can picture that in my head!"

15)" Questions based on ' Battlefield ' :  How were you inspired to write this story?"

The inspiration for Battlefield started out with this idea of a typical divorce. Not a divorce caused by something giant that one or the other party did wrong, but rather a series of small miscommunications. The majority of marriages that fall apart do so because of a lack of communication. The entirety of Harry Styles' first album is about how he doesn't communicate well. "We don't talk enough. We should open up before it's all too much." "Even my phone misses your call." "Maybe we can work it out." There's so much pain in Harry's music, and it's so contradictory to what we see of him in public where he appears to always be happy, kind, and upbeat. But what's under the surface? And I wanted to create an OFC that was unique. Different from what's typically out there in fanfiction. Someone that would intrigue Harry and yet make him keep working hard to keep her. From the moment she tells him she wants a divorce in chapter one, he distances himself from her. He doesn't ask why. He doesn't communicate with her. It's heartbreaking to write and to read. But it's part of why I love these two so much. They've had to fight harder than the average couple in fanfiction.

16)" Who's your favourite character in the book and why? "

Alys is definitely my favorite character in the book. She's complex and complicated and not likeable at first read. For me, there's always also the piece of writing an OFC that is independent from Harry. To me, that's who he will choose: someone who has his/her own life. So my OFCs always have their own careers separate from Harry in some way. The fact that Alys has a PhD in genetics and is pursuing her own career with an aim towards solving a pretty serious genetics challenge (one that actually exists in the real world, by the way) appeals to me. She's booksmart, but not people smart. She's pretty but doesn't know it or care about outward beauty. And she has a huge heart that has been broken again and again by the people in her life. She's damaged. Like all of us. She's my favorite OFC that I've ever created because of her uniqueness, and that's saying a lot since I originally was very torn about writing her. She's the least popular of my OFCs, and I feel sad for those who don't read far enough into the book to fall in love with her.

17)"If you were asked to publish your book , would you do it?"

Any of my books would have to include some serious scrubbing to be published because they are all based on the real Harry. I think the themes are universal. The truth is that I won't be asked to publish my books because they're not the popular reads, and I'm okay with that. Some of the more popular fanfictions that have been published (and you know which ones I mean) depict Harry as a typical negative "bad boy" who needs to be saved. They're filled with dramatic swings. My stories are smaller. Rarely do huge dramatic things happen. Because that's not how life is for most of us. The majority of us go through life in a normal way: working or studying, eating, sleeping, hanging out with friends. Maybe we have one or two major things happen in a year, but they're only major to us: wisdom teeth getting removed, the car breaking down in the middle of the highway, a friend who says something mean or ugly. or thoughtless that hurts us. A diet that just doesn't seem to help us lose those last few pounds. Would I publish if asked? Sure! Why not? But I don't expect to be asked, and I'm perfectly happy with the very sweet readers that live here on Wattpad.

18)"Which is your favourite a)  funny,  b) dramatic,  c) romantic, d) sad scene in the book,  until now? "

a) funny: Hmmmm.....I don't know that it's traditionally funny, but I love the scene on the train with the young college student who asks Alys about Harry. Alys' response makes me chuckle, and it's also incredibly empowering to women everywhere. For a traditional funny scene, I would say the bits between Nick and Harry. Those two always crack me up, and I tried to convey their relationship accurately.

b) dramatic: The scene at their home in Oxford when Alys holds the sale of her vintage clothing is one of the most dramatic scenes I've ever written (not just the most dramatic in this particular story). There is so much raw emotion throughout chapter 19 that it practically has the power to jump start a small motorcycle.

c) romantic To me, the most romantic is the way that they talk to each other when they're in bed. Chapters 7-8 were fascinating to write because the change in their relationship is so clear in those chapters between the past and the present. It's the one place where they fully communicate, so those two chapters might not be romantic in the traditional sense, but you can really see how intimate they are as a couple.

d) sad: When Harry and Alys are visiting her family and her tad-cu (grandfather) recognizes her. It's so deeply sad and overwhelming. I cried when I wrote it, and I cry every time I read it. The way Harry is so soft and gentle with her afterwards touches me and really shows how in love they are with each other.

19) " A phrase or a scene that you write and you'll never forget.(and why)"

Again, I would say it's the scene with the clothing sale in chapter 19. Those lines were in my head for most of the book, but I didn't write them until I was actually writing chapter 19. It's the kind of dialogue that reminds me of a movie because I could 100% picture it happening just that way.

20) " How much time did it take to plan the whole plot?"

Plotting this one was challenging because it's written in two different time periods, and I wanted them both to move forward sequentially and simultaneously. So I had to plan the parallels between the past and present pretty closely. There were actually a lot of other events in their married life that were in the plan but didn't make it into the book because I didn't have enough present to share them. I would say it took 2-3 weeks of plotting to set out the events. I don't typically do specific plot points for a story. Usually I know the overall story arc for each character and a few big events that are going to happen, but I don't plan the specifics at all. For Battlefield, I had to do some very intentional planning to line up the two time periods.

21)" How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?"

I'm one of those odd ducks who only writes one book at a time. So I have my current Work In Progress and a vague idea for the next book, but there aren't actually any written bits and pieces hiding away anywhere. Oh, wait. I take that back. I did start a story once about Harry and the OFC meeting as Jeff and Glenne were planning their wedding. Harry was chosen as best man, and the OFC was chosen as maid of honor, so they had to interact a lot. I dumped it because the OFC was a bit too hung up on Harry, and that wasn't the right tone for the book. Another one that I started to write was one where the OFC was the daughter of an executive at a movie company. She was a bit of a brat, and her father cut her off money-wise, but gave her a job as Harry's assistant. I quit writing that one because it just felt icky. I couldn't get the light tone I wanted for it. I don't think I'll ever write either idea, so if someone else wants them, take them!

22)" On your last update of the book you had Alys's style. How would you describe her style?"

Aly's style is vintage boho-chic. She adores clothing from the past which is part of her method to recycle and save the earth.

23) " What do you think was the real reason Harry was so attracted to Alys at that first meeting in the library?"

When Harry saw Alys in the library, at first he thought she was beautiful because of her dark hair and bright blue eyes. Her clothing grabbed his attention with her vintage outfit. And then he noticed that she was deep into her studies, and I think that attracted him because he loves brainy women. After all, both his mom and his sister are smart, so he's not intimidated by that. But what really hooked him was that she didn't care one iota who he was. That's what intrigued him the most. This beautiful woman who didn't care that the famous Harry Styles was sitting across from her and didn't want his autograph. That's what reeled him in.

24)" During the book the frustrated me to no end. Like , it was like they were getting turns. One time one of the was saying something STUPID and the other time the other one would say something STUPIDIER. WHY? (lol)"

They frustrated me too. Harry and Alys didn't know how to communicate. Like many couples, they avoided negative conversations that could lead to arguments or disagreements. So just when one of them would get up the courage to raise an issue, the other one would close off. Back and forth.

25) "Any spoilers for future plans?"

Future plans for Alys and Harry? In my mind, they went to Australia together for Alys to take the job at the university. She's continuing her work in genetics in a larger research facility, and they are expecting their first child. LOL.

Future plans for me as a writer? I always swing back and forth on the pendulum where I go from one extreme to the other. The story after Everywhere (which I'm currently publishing twice a week) is going to be very close to home for many Wattpad-ers. Maybe too close.

26) " Choose- 'challenge' two writers that you want to know about to do this interview like you."

@abutterflyonhistummy & @ninabinabobeena

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

1)"What is something that is really popular now, but in 5 years everyone will look back on and be embarrassed by?"

I think that scooters will be on the way out. Right now they are pretty popular in the USA, but I suspect few will be riding them in five years.

2)"What ridiculous and untrue, yet slightly plausible, theories can you come up with for the cause of common ailments like headaches or cavities?"

Did you know that multiple sneezes in a row are caused by a rush of evil spirits escaping your body at the same time because when one leaves, the others get scared that they will be alone, so they all have to leave together.

Thank you so much WhoopsHarryStyles !! ❤❤

All the love,
M.