#WCW– Author Chat & Interview feat. Colleen Hoover

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

CH: I was four-years-old when my older sister started school. She would come home after learning how to read and she’d write things down. I remember being so jealous that she had this method of communication that I didn’t have. I had all these stories inside of me I wanted to tell and I couldn’t wait to start school and learn how to read and write. Somehow, my love for writing and my need to be a writer started before I even knew how to write!

How do you handle writer’s block?

CH: I like to pretend it doesn’t exist. I call it a “creative lull.” Sometimes I feel creative, sometimes I don’t. I don’t force it. I consume other forms of art, like television, music, reading, etc. Inspiration always seems to build back up when I find a great movie or read a great book. I’m not too hard on myself if I’m unable to write because I think the brain needs breaks. When you’re feeling blocked or uninspired, maybe it’s our brains way of telling us to rest.

What comes first, the plot or characters?

CH: It’s honestly different with every book. Sometimes I’ll get an idea for a character and form a plot around the character, but sometimes I get an idea for a plot twist and I’ll form the entire book around the twist.

Where is your favorite place to write?

CH: I like to switch it up. I have an office a mile from my house, but it can get lonely there. Sometimes I throw on headphones and write at my kitchen table so I can feel like I’m still engaged in the goings-on of my family. Sometimes I need complete solitude and I’ll go rent a hotel for a week. I don’t really have one location. I get bored easily, so my scenery needs to change on a regular basis.

Do you prefer writing in silence or to music?

CH: I need complete silence. I even take the batteries out of my clock. I do love to listen to music to help me feel inspired leading up to a writing day, but if I’m actively writing, I can’t have any interruptions or noise. 

How much ‘world building’ takes place before you start writing? I

CH: tend to stick to realistic stories, so I don’t have the type of world building a fantasy book would require. I also LOATHE description. I skip over descriptions of locations when I read, so as I write, I like to leave most of that up to the reader’s imagination. I don’t care what color the walls are, I just want to know what’s going on behind that door and what’s being said!

How do you deal with the emotional impact of a book (on yourself) as you are writing the story?

CH: I’m not an emotional person, so I find myself pushing my characters to their limits in order for me to actually feel something. I think that’s why the books are referred to as emotional reads. But I do tend to take on the mood of my characters, so I always try to end my writing day on a funny or happy scene. It’s why, even in the saddest scenes, I tend to insert comedy when I can because I like to go home without the character’s feelings weighing me down.

How do you come up with the titles to your books?

CH: I usually have the title before I start writing and they almost always tie into the book. There have been a couple of times where the title has changed during writing, like with my newest, Reminders of Him. I had about ten different titles for that one. And Hopeless was originally called Falling Together. But I mostly settle on a title first and then build the book around the title.

Do you find it more challenging to write the first book in a series or to write the subsequent novels?

CH: I don’t really write series. I have a couple, but they aren’t typical series, they’re just follow-up books that readers asked for. I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, so none of my novels really require the reader to move to the next book to get the full story. Any series I write is more of a bonus, so I do find any follow-ups I do for a book much easier to write than a standalone novel. 

You’ve written in the YA, NA, and contemporary romance genres. Do you have a preference?

CH: I think I enjoyed writing thriller the most. I just haven’t come up with another idea that could match Verity, so I’m being very picky about when I write another thriller. 

If you were to genre-hop, which genre would you most like to try?

CH: I love to genre-hop. I’ve tried thriller, paranormal, YA, NA, contemporary. But I’d love to write a fantasy!  

Which of your books was most enjoyable to write?

CH: I enjoyed both Slammed and Verity for different reasons. Slammed was my first book, so it was 100% fun and unexpected and I didn’t feel any stress because no one was expecting a book from me. I enjoyed Verity because it was so much fun to try something new and get into the head of characters who are nothing like myself. 

Where do you get your inspiration?

CH: I feel like it’s more of a question of how do I turn inspiration off because I soak up inspiration from everywhere. I people-watch, I get inspiration from movies and music and reading. I eavesdrop on conversations when I’m out to eat because I find stories in almost everyone I encounter. It’s more a matter of turning off the inspiration in order to focus on one storyline and one set of characters at a time. 

If you had to recommend one of your books to a new reader, which would you recommend?

CH: I’d probably recommend It Ends With Us. It’s one of my more popular books and I think it’s the one readers recommend to others the most. 

After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.

The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.

The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.

Would you rather be in a room full of snakes or a room full of spiders?

CH: Spiders

Would you rather have an endless summer or an endless winter?

CH: Endless Winter

Would you rather always be an hour early or be constantly twenty minutes late?

CH: An Hour Early

Tea or Coffee

CH: Neither

Movie or Book

CH: Ummm…script? Is that an option?

Coke or Pepsi

CH: Pepsi!!!

Toilet Paper: Over or Under

CH: I don’t even put it on the holder. It just sits on the back of the toilet.