Funnily enough, my own mortality inspired the story. At the time, I was 19, turning 20 in a couple months, and I felt like I hadn't done anything "big" yet. I'd been working on a couple short films and written some short stories, but I still hadn't caught a decent break. I had a thought that I didn't want to turn 20 until I figured my life out. Then I had an even weirder thought: what if I could be 20 forever, then I wouldn't have to be stressed out about figuring things out before I get too old? And thus, my story was born.

2

I struggles with a couple things. Worldbuilding, definitely. Since I don't imagine the story to take place in a world much different than the one we live in now (just slightly worse), I had to find the balance between building a world and relying on the reader's own awareness. My goal was to keep the world familiar, but have these small beats of dystopia that created an uncanny feeling. I also struggled with how I wanted the "serum" in my story to work, and giving enough backstory on it so that it wasn't the story's make focus but also enough so that it didn't seem out of place.

3

I enjoyed writing the dialogue. I love creating characters that have all these different voices so they can say things I'd probably never say myself. From a lot of the comments on my stories, it seems like my readers enjoy the dialogue a lot, too.

I love the responses I've gotten so far. I see angry reaction where people are supposed to be angry, sad where they're supposed to be sad. Also, there a couple of twists in the story that my readers express they have a "feeling" about. I don't mind that. It shows that I've laid enough foundation for it to make sense when the big reveal happens. I've also gotten a lot of great messages about how the story subverts what readers expect a general dystopian story to be, which is what I was aiming for.

I wrote the novel as a standalone. I think stories are a lot more poignant when they're left open-ended and not everything is wrapped tightly in a pretty bow. Some readers have wanted me to write a prequel or a sequel. I doubt a sequel will come (since I don't believe in making sequels unless you planned to from the very beginning). If I had to choose, I'd write a prequel, but I feel that might be boring to read. I think the story started and ended right where it needed to.

My goal was for readers to take away a few things. One, I especially wanted to drive home those moral gray areas. Not all characters (and people are all good and all bad). I also wanted to show how power operates (pretentious, I know), and that many times *small spoiler alert* that revolutionary Katniss Everdeen take-down-the-government sort of thing doesn't always happen. That doesn't mean that all is lost and you should give up, but it's a bit unrealistic to tell a story that way. I also wanted people to be a little more aware of how major atrocities happen- and become legal- a lot of times it can easily be a slippery slope. It was hard wrapping this into a story that didn't come off as too political, but very fun!

I've been asked this a lot. I think the best advice I can give is to keep your story in your head at all times. I've had some of my best ideas while I was driving, or at work, or sitting in class. You should always be "writing" your story, even when you're not at your writing desk. It almost becomes a fun game. When you think of something, jot it down. Put it in your Notes App. Also, don't try to make your story a ripoff of what's popular. All the best stories become popular because there's something original about them. Find what makes your story original and write it.

My main character is the same age I was when I began the story. I think I'm an even mix of my two main characters, though. I think I'm like Ilana (my main character), in that my 'inner monologue' is always much more complex then what I actually say. Now that I think about it, maybe I'm not like her at all. I'm definitely not as naive. And I'm not a billionaire! I do share her desire to travel, though.

9

I think that the story isn't "heavy", if that makes sense. It took a lot of effort to write, but more or less it's a pretty easy read. It also doesn't feel like a typical dystopia, which can be emotionally taxing to read sometimes. I also think the fact that it's a standalone story means the reader doesn't have to commit to sit down and ready 5 books.

10

Write now, I'm working on my next story, "The Dark Side of Space". It's up on WattPad but it's ongoing. It has a different vibe than "Of A Certain Age", but I still feel like it fits my writing style. I'm also working on a story for ONC that's pretty different from anything I've written.