Hey guys, it's me, dancing keyboard.
And I'm here with an important message.
First of all I'd like to apologize for this week's uploads, they were shorter and I myself felt the drop in quality and this is because I've been so swamped with schoolwork that all I've been doing is trying to meet deadlines and the sad part is, I still didn't meet the deadline, that's why this episodes even exists. I'm really sorry and I ask that you guys bear with me as I try to readjust the schedule.
I didn't want to live you guys hanging with just 2 short episodes, so I decided to hold a Q and A session. And If you also have your questions ask in the comment section, I'll reply (even if it's months or even years after the story is complete).
I hope you enjoy this episode and once I again I apologize.
Q: What inspired the creation of the main protagonist, and what motivates them throughout the story?
I've always been a webtoons girlie and if you know webtoon, you in there are a lot of reincarnation-revenge stories, I wanted to do something like that. I tried to put a spin to your normal reincarnation trope and this "Qaya: the tale of the singular duo" was birthed but along the way, I ran into a hitch and rebooted the story.
Q: What is the main character's greatest fear, and how do they overcome it?
Qaya/Mahalia is a character that even I am still exploring and I don't really know much about, Ironic!
But if I should guess, I think she's scared of abandonment and this is a fear she faces everyday. I might be wrong I'd like to see the readers' thoughts on this question.
Q: Can you describe the daily life and struggles of Jaslin in the story?
I'm sure Jaslin is flattered that someone cared to ask how her day usually goes.
During her cousin's coma and aunt's subsequent arrest, she had to be the one of overseeing the affairs of the home. She probably spent her day taking care of the estate and now that everyone is back home and conscious, she sticks close to Mahalia. She's also an academic that loves to study strategy but aside from these things, I think Jaslin is a pretty boring person. Alas, the life of a noble.
Q: What is the significance of the story's setting, and how does it impact the characters?
When I was writing this story, I didn't really think any big deal about the setting I just thought it would be a pretty setting.
Q: Who is your favorite character to write, and why?
Hmmm, this is hard but I think Awin. He's just easy to write, when I'm writing a scene with him, I just go "if I was a manipulative, power hungry king that wants to keep face,what would I do?" The others, I have to brainstorm because unlike Awin, where I already have his motivations down, the rest of my characters are dynamic and I'm trying to fit their motivations with how the story eventually goes.
I think my second favourite is Zachary, just because...
And the funny thing is I suck at writing men.
Q: Can you describe the world's geography and climate, and how they impact the story?
I see these questions and I go "whoa, this is tough" cos I wasn't thinking of this.
I want to establish that this story is in an entire universe with made up continents and countries. But if we're only focusing on Easteford, I'll say it's like the weather in Germany... because when I was writing this story, Easteford just gave me that German vibe....but really i never thought of this.
Q: How do you come up with names for your characters?
This question, I love.
Qaya, Jaslin, Awin- I totally made up, but I think Qaya is an actual name. Jaslin is a simplified Jocelyn and Awin, I just chose it/made it up cause it kinda embodied a royal name...I really don't know what I was thinking tho, but it just gave me royalty.
Rivan-River
Mahalia- Meta ai suggested
Some other names like Jane onceoff was because Jane is a very basic name as in "Jane Doe" and onceoff cos I wasn't planning on reusing the character. Fuliz was literally from "foolish"
Basically my method of nomenclature is almost arbitrary
Q: What's your favorite quote or line from the story?
I don't think I've written it yet. But what's yours so far?
Q: How do you balance writing with your daily life?
Well, this episode is a testament that I suck at balancing my writing and school. But normally what I do is write 4 chapters a week and post only three, so that if I keep doing this I'll always have something in the reserve but... it's really hard. I write after class but nowadays, my classes end late in the evening so I'm too tired to even write, so I write in-between classes but I have to do that in my phone and I find that really uncomfortable.
Guys this is really hard, I'll appreciate your advice on the matter.
Q: What's the theme or message you hope readers take away from the story?
I don't want to give spoilers but I'm an ardent believer in redemption, yes revenge is interesting to read about but I want people to understand that before Mahalia, Qaya was somebody who did bad things but she can be redeemed.
Q: What's the most memorable scene you've written so far?
Genuinely, I don't think I have written it yet but if I was to pick I'd choose...that "checkmate" scene. I myself was surprised by the buildup and I really liked how I wrote Rachel in that scene.
I guess that's all for this session, we'll probably do another one in the future when the story is more established but if there's any question you'd like to ask, please do in the comments section.
I'll try beat to bounce back and give quality uploads starting next week.
Bye.