Fiction-Trail: Author Smackdown!
Every week fiction-trail will choose
an author and contributor of Fiction
on Steemit and see if we can stir their hidden kraken!
This week we speak to the enthusiastic, layered story teller 
! Lets see if his cloud has a silver lining!
! Lets see if his cloud has a silver lining!
FT: How and when did you first learn about Steemit?
J: I first saw Steemit while browsing through news about altcoin, and it immediately piqued my interest. At first, it seemed too good to be true, but after I finished reading the whitepaper, I took the plunge and tried it out. I registered on July 2016 (back in the rough and tumble days of no vote % adjustment), and had mixed feelings about the platform. My first post earned $0.00 and 9 votes, my second one netted $0.06 from 3 votes, and my third post struck big with $524.10, 74 votes and a comment, care of 
FT: Yes, sadly I think all of our earnings went downhill from there! Do you feel you have gotten traction now on the platform? Or is this a work in progress?
J: Traction? Not one bit! Haha! Kidding. Or am I? :/ (Is he?) Seriously though, most of the time, I often feel frustrated with the platform. I've actually quit after I posted my introduction post (hah! The irony!) because the lack of interaction got to me quite a bit. I felt burned out and a bit saddened about the reception I had been getting in exchange for the effort I put in. Luckily, my former employer 
Nowadays, the lack of comments in my posts still gets to me, but I just try to keep myself motivated by appreciating the people who support my work. Shoutout to my buddies 
FT: That was dashed good of
J: As a child, I often got lost in thought, wandering off to far away places. In my mind, I was whisked away to wondrous worlds, but for the others who looked on, I looked like a child that had an attention deficit disorder. So, I was taught to pacify these tendencies and learn to sit still. So, I did. For a time.
As a Filipino, I didn't use English in my daily life. I'm not sure how it's relevant, I just wanted to throw it out there. Everything I know is from years of studying and appreciation of the language. I have always sucked at speaking, so I verbalised my thoughts through writing. When I was younger, I never really gave much thought to that. Writing just became this sort of means to an end, to get my point across whenever necessary. That is, up until my senior year in high school.
We were tasked with writing a 10-page paper about Greek and Roman mythology, so I burned the midnight oil in hopes of getting high marks. Come submission time, our teacher became pissed at the blatant plagiarism that my classmates engaged in. So, he slammed a trash can in the middle of the class room, read each paper, then threw those he deemed as plagiarized submissions into the bin. Including mine. I was floored! I was fuming. My English teacher kept taunting me, but eventually relented and asked to speak to me after class, to which I obliged. He told me to re-submit my paper the next day, and he promised to read it from cover to cover. I got a 100% grade.
I went on to become Top 1 in his class, and I honed my writing more seriously. In college, I applied to become a sports writer for the school paper, a features writer for the college government newsletter, and a technical writer for my laboratory. Writing didn't come naturally, so I worked hard in developing my craft. I've self-published a novel three years ago (which I'm currently reworking with a professional editor), and I've written quite a few drafts of stories that I'm excited to share. I'm a storyteller first, and a writer second. So, I guess you could say that I still consider writing as a means to an end, to some extent. It's just that now I write with more passion :D
FT: Cor blimey, that is a tale in itself! Now, riddle me this. If you could be an animal what would it be?
J: If I were an animal, it would have to be a quokka! I mean, how could you look at it without smiling, right? I'm a flaming introvert, but people often incorrectly classify me as an extrovert because I am very friendly and outgoing. Really though, I just try to treat people the way I want to be treated, that's why I try to make people happy by helping them or playing pranks or telling funny stories. While the quokka isn't as mischievous as I am, it has that ability to make people happy by just being itself. That's what I strive to be.
oooh looky look, I wants it!
FT: What excites you as a reader and as a writer?
J: Being able to see how others think and exploring the worlds that they have built are the things that most excite me as a reader. I love watching and analysing people, that's why I find it enjoyable to see the differences of how different writers tackle similar topics.
As a writer, the power to create worlds and move people are what gives me a sense of accomplishment, while being able to bring stories to life and make people think provides me with a sense of fulfilment. The best praise that I've gotten was when someone said that my work brought her to tears and completed her day. If I'm able to do that by just telling a story, then it gives me the belief that I can do anything!
FT: My goodness, its almost like you relished such power! Now... has Steemit affected the way you write?
J: Oh, definitely. The short attention span of the readers forces me to learn how to make my stories more concise. While I'm not able to apply it to my ongoing series, it's something I consider greatly for my upcoming stories. Trying to find a balance between length and depth is a bit hard for me, but I'm sure it would be beneficial in the long run. "Saying more with less" has been my new mantra for my posts in Steemit, and my most recent non-fiction post is testament to that change of style.
FT: Quite ... ... see what I did there!
FT: You are quite a prolific writer on steemit. Do you have a store of work or is everything new?
J: I wouldn't say "prolific" haha! Heck, my name won't even ring a bell to most Steemians. I'm just a guy with a lot of things to say. I have work scattered across my memory banks, Google Keep, notes on my computer and notebooks, on the back of receipts, and tons of other scratch papers. My work is literally everywhere around the house. I derive inspiration from everything, so I have a Eureka moment for a new story almost every day. Back then, I just kept everything in my brain, but when I saw movies and TV series with the same premise air, I knew I had to write them down somewhere so that I could keep track of everything. That's why I decided to write everywhere haha!
FT: What is your favourite genre to write in and to read?
J: I adore science fiction and general fiction the most. I'm not too big on fantasy, but I'm warming up to it. Horror and crime stories interest me as well. I have a wide range when it comes to writing, and I try not to box myself into specific genres, which works against me at times.
FT: What would you say is your finest Steemit post in any category not necessarily the most lucrative?
J: So many to choose from! For fiction, it's a coin flip between Outwithye Olde, an Inn with a View and Prodigal (or A Short Story About The Long Way Back). I like the former because I love playing around with words, and it allowed me to do so unapologetically. Try to mouth the title a Scottish accent and see what I mean. However, the latter has some sentimental value because it's my comeback post, and what served as a declaration that I'm sticking with Steemit even through rough times.
My ongoing series will always have a special place in my heart as well, because of my motivation in writing that. I keep none of the earnings from the series, and I put my faith in the goodness of Steemians out there to lend just one measly vote for a good cause. So far, it's not going that great, but I'm holding out for hope.
For non-fiction, both Needle Me This and The Wisdom of Non-Competitiveness (which, coincidentally, is the most lucrative) definitely caught me by surprise. But, I would have to say that NaNoWriMo Lessons for Non-Writers is the one I'm most fond of.
FT: And finally. What advice would you give to a new steemian wishing to write and potentially get noticed on Steemit
J: I've said it countless times, but I couldn't stress it enough: comments are key. No matter how good you are as a writer, you will always feel neglected if people stop tuning in to your work. To keep them engaged, interact with them on their own posts. You have to remember that Steemit is a social platform. So, if you just focus on yourself and refuse to socialize, you won't get far. Don't just socialize by replying on the comments on your post, be proactive and comment on others' posts as well. What have you got to lose? Time? You'll gain so much more in return. Respect, adoration, interaction, and a sense of accomplishment that you've made someone's day better just by taking the time to read their work.
Well that was a quokka on the wild side and no mistake!
