Intrview with Writer/Blogger Haley Nak!



Hey Guys! I am really excited to post my interview with one of my very inspiring and awesome friends, Haley Nak! She is so sweet and nice if you guys have not checked out her blog yet, please do and follow her here- http://17hnak.blogspot.com/! Here it goes:


1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and when did you start writing Haley?

My name is Haley Nakonechny and I am a sixteen year old from Manitou, Manitoba (I'm not surprised if you haven't heard of it :P).  I live there with my parents, my two older sisters (yes, I'm the baby!), and my mischievous little shih-tzu dog, Molly.  I love anything to do with sports, dogs, writing and chocolate (of course!).  I started writing pretty much as soon as I learned how to print in Kindergarten!  I started out writing the usual three sentence stories about my life that everyone in Kindergarten writes!  From there I began to love writing so I started writing at home.  I "published" my first short story when I was in grade one with hand drawn pictures and all!  From there I never looked back! 

2. Tell me about the stories you have written. How did you come up with the ideas?

 I've always enjoyed writing short stories and poems and have just recently started to write my first novel.  I mostly enjoy writing Fantasy because that's my favourite genre to read....and I read a lot (seriously).  Strangely enough, I come up with my best ideas when I'm asleep!  I finally became smart enough to keep a journal right beside my bed so that I can write things down before my dreams are lost!  Dreams are usually where I come up with the main plot line, but I usually base my characters after people who I know in real life.  That way I can give more details into what their personalities are like, and I find it easier to write about them.

3.  What do you do in your freetime when you are not writing?


In my free time I love to play sports!  My absolute favourite is badminton and I travel over an hour and a half every weekend to play at a club in Winnipeg. 
When I'm not playing badminton, it's usually volleyball!  I'm the setter for my senior high school team and it's in my opinion the most fun position to play!  Another passion of mine is baking.  I really enjoy baking a
nd decorating cupcakes.  They're my favourite thing to make!  Other than that, all empty spaces of time are usually filled with reading anything I can get my hands on and just hanging out with friends!

4.  What is the hardest part of writing to you?

To me the hardest part about writing is coming up with those little "filler" parts of the story.  Coincidently, those parts are my least favourite parts of a story to read as well.  Parts that are exciting or have lots of suspense come to me easily, but making sure that everything is set up to my liking is challenging.  Another part I find difficult is knowing when to stop writing for the day!  When I get on a roll, that's all I want to do!  Time goes by so quickly when I'm writing.  Finding a balance between the real world and my writing world is important.

5.  Tell us a memory of one of your writing experiences.

My best writing experience (so far :P) was when I won an award for a poem that I submitted for Remembrance Day.  I had already won first prize within our branch but I never thought that my poem would make it any further than that.  I was shocked to find out that I had won first prize in the Manitoba and Northwest Ontario region!  I've never been very comfortable with sharing my poems with people, so the fact that I got recognized for one of them was really exciting for me!  Since then I've been less shy about sharing them, so it was a really positive experience for me.

6.  What advice would you give young writers who are reaching their goals to be an Author?

My advice for young writers who want to be authors is to just write.  For me, a really good thing has been that I've been writing things since I was little because it helps me a ridiculous amount that I can look back and see what I was doing wrong.  Write down anything and everything!  What's wrong with filing an idea away even if you don't want to right about it at the time?  You may look back at that idea and be like whoa!  I'm glad I wrote that down!  Another important thing to do is follow this blog!  You Only Write So Much is a great place to find pointers on writing and get inspired!

7.  Tell us about your blog?


Haley's Blog
 My blog is actually my novel!  I post the chapters of it online as I finish them.  I find this helps me get feedback on my story and it keeps me motivated to keep writing it  I'm currently in the process of writing the tenth chapter but the first nine chapters are posted and ready to be read!  Here's the general idea of my story!

Heather was a regular girl just out of high school.  Her life was going great.  She had a great family, supportive friends, Tanner (the best boyfriend in the world), and exciting plans for her future.  However, things change when she is suddenly killed in a car accident.  She is introduced to a whole new world that she didn't know existed.  Now she must learn to adapt to the strange new place that has new rules, new people, and....Phoenix.


8.  Do you have any favorite books or authors?

Definitely!  Who doesn't?  My favourite authors include J.K. Rowling, Cassandra Clare, Suzanne Collins and  Caroline B. Cooney.  I have to say, I'm a sucker for series!  Even if a book isn't that great, I have to read the sequels just so I can find out what happened!  It's almost a curse!  So that's why most of my favourite books belong to series.  I absolutely LOVED the entire Harry Potter series, the Mortal Instruments series, the Hunger Games series and the Infernal Devices so far.  I recommend all of them highly!

9.  Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Hunger Games?

 You're going to make me choose between Harry Potter and the Hunger Games?  That's almost cruel!  But in the end, if I absolutely had to choose I think I would pick Harry Potter.  I was floored by the way all of J.K. Rowling's books were connected.  Tiny details in the first book are huge parts of the story in the later books!  How she even came up with all of it, who knows?  As for Percy Jackson, I'm ashamed to say I've never read it....I might have to put it on my TBR list!

10.  Why do you write?

I write because it's a way to put my feelings into words.  I challenged myself to journal something every night before I went to bed for 365 days and at the end of the year I had accomplished my goal.  I think that's what it is...when I write I feel a sense of accomplishment.  Plus, when I write, the world can be whatever I want it to be at the time!  I think that's why I love fiction so much because the possibilities are endless.  I can create a whole new world, which is actually what I did in the novel I'm currently writing.  I grew up writing, so to even think about stopping isn't really an option!  It's one of my favourite things to do and I'm sure I will continue writing for a long time!

Thanks you agian Haley for letting me interview you about your writing and your life! I am really glad we did, if you guys have not followed her writing blog yet, you should! No, you have to!  http://17hnak.blogspot.com/

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, Josie, and Haley, for such an interesting interview.
    Haley, I've wondered how it would work to do a serial publication of my writing on my blog. The idea always made me a little nervous. It seems to be working well for you. Congrats!

    Josie, I love the Oscar Wilde quote!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great interview and it was nice meeting Haley. I think its cool that your blog is a book. Of to check it out!

    ReplyDelete

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