Introduce yourself and your books.
Hello everyone!
My
name is Cheyenne Wright, but I tend to share what I write online under
the name Chey’s Works. I am a 19-year-old college student and a
self-published author. I recently turned to Amazon’s Kindle Direct
Publishing program to share my stories with others and have been
publishing books since the August of 2018. I have always written for my
friends and family and have had a knack for storytelling since I was
little. I excel at reading and writing and am hoping to make a career
for myself by doing what I love and sharing my stories with the world.
I
tend to write books that revolve around the fantasy genre and have two
novellas available on Amazon, with a third and fourth on the way.
What is/are the stories behind your books?
I am currently working on a series of books called the Lucalgian Odyssey series. It’s a four-book series that is within the fantasy genre.
The first book, A Crimson Brigade’s Creed,
follows Cright Crimson and her younger brother RedFox. They live with
their father, Kurt Crimson, until his death from a mysterious illness
rips their family apart. Cright and Red are inseparable, but they must
learn to be part of a family again when their father’s friend takes them
in. The duo spend the book meeting their new makeshift family that
becomes the guild, the Crimson Brigade, while taking on quests, fighting
monsters, and struggling with the harassment of one of the Central
City’s most esteemed hunters, Silvius.
The second book, Whispers of A Dragon Hatchery,
centers around Cright and her husband Archer, as well as the rest of
the Crimson Brigade. The members of the guild are ready to fight when
dragon attacks begin to plague the land of Lucalgia. The Crimson Brigade
works closely with the kingdom’s ruler, King Loyar, and soon find that
the dragons come from an unexpected source, which threatens not only the
guild, but Cright and Archer’s lives as well.
I
am currently writing both the third and fourth books, which will
feature an all-new cast of characters but keep similar themes and the
same settings as the other books. The titles to those books will be A Prisoner’s Magic and A New Queen’s Anthem.
What inspired/inspires your creativity?
I
originally got the inspiration to write this series while playing a
video games. Cright was my username for the game at the time and my
younger cousin’s was RedFox. Naturally, the main characters were based
off of our characters and Lucalgia was a setting that I created for them
to adventure in. I had written stories for my cousin before and
eventually my ideas just took off. I wrote a few outlines and began to
write. Before I knew it, I had written a whole book about dragons and
adventure and found that I was contemplating the idea of creating a
whole series.
How do you deal with creative block?
I
tend to avoid creative block by creating an outline before starting a
project, but when I do run into creative block I like to look at writing
prompts. I often use Pinterest for finding writing and dialogue prompts
and it has helped me, especially when paired with a five-minute writing
session. That usually helps me deal with any writer’s block that I may
run into.
What are the biggest mistakes you can make in a book?
The
biggest mistake you can make when writing a book is to let your inner
editor dictate how you write. If you’re constantly correcting yourself,
you’ll get writer’s block and feel as though your writing isn’t good
enough when you haven’t given it a chance. Save the editing for after
the draft is complete, you’ll thank you later.
How do negative/bad reviews affect you and how do you deal with them?
While I have not received any negative reviews on my series so far, I have dealt with them in the past with other projects. I have learned to use them constructively and take the bits of the review that are critical to learn what I could improve upon. This way, I can use the review as a way to make notes for the next edition of the story as as references on what I should work on while writing my other projects.
Alternatively,
I may also take a review with a grain of salt. If I find that there is
nothing helpful about the review, then I take it as just one person’s
opinion in a sea of readers. I can’t let every negative comment dictate
the way I write.
How has your creation process improved over time?
I originally wrote whatever popped up into my head. I would just sit down and write with no goals or outline set. I lost momentum very quickly and a lot of my ideas died that way.
By
the time I was a junior in high school, I learned that outlining my
work keeps me focused and ensures that I know where my story is going
and what I want to get out of it. This greatly improved my writing
process and is probably the only reason why I am able to finish anything
I write today.
What were the best, worst and most surprising things you encountered during the entire process of completing your book(s)?
A lot of these are from after I started self-publishing.
The
worst thing I have encountered is classmates and acquaintances pitching
unsolicited story ideas to me after learning that I am an author. One
example of this was when a classmate in one of my English classes last
semester figured out that I published books. He followed me around after
class and stuck around for nearly 20 minutes to tell me about a really
vague story idea he had and why I should write it. This was after I told
him that I had two other books I needed to finish writing and some
other projects I wanted to outline. After he was done with his rant, he
then had the nerve to ask me if I could write it well enough to suit his standards. I tried my best to avoid him after classes from that point on.
The
most surprising/best thing I encountered after publishing my books was
how seriously people treat you after you say you’re a published author,
especially other writers. Just recently, I met a girl around my age who
writes stories on an online writing platform. We were in the same
fantasy writing group on Facebook and she replied to one of my comments
saying that she would like to read some of my writing. I privately
messaged her with a link to my Amazon author page and my website and the
response I got from her was hysterical.
“Oh wow, you’re actually successful!”
She
seemed super intimidated by it and I was laughing at her reply for
days. I shared a few samples of my books with her, answered any
questions she had, and also read some of her work. I can honestly say
that I made a new friend that day and meeting other writers is an
amazing experience.
Do you tend towards personal satisfaction or aim to serve your readers? Do you balance the two and how?
I
try to maintain a balance of both. If I’m not personally satisfied with
the project or happy writing it, it will not get finished. Usually if I
can’t finish an outline of a book, I will cast the idea aside until I
feel like picking it back up again.
I
also try to serve my readers by having one of my best friends read some
of my writing and give me suggestions. My friend, Jared, is one of my
most dedicated readers and I serve him by taking his suggestions and
editing with him (and my other readers) in mind.
What role do emotions play in creativity?
Emotions
play a major role when it comes to my creativity. For example, I can
only write poetry when I am feeling upset or depressed. I tend to use
poetry as an outlet for dealing with my negative emotions and it helps
me manage them a lot, but I can’t write poetry when I’m happy. I also
have a rough time working on my books when I am upset, because my mind
will start to wander away from my work.
Do you have any creativity tricks?
Timing
myself while I write helps. If I sit myself down and say that I am
going to write for a few minutes, I usually tend to keep writing even
after the timer goes off. Also, I get the urge to write when reading
someone else’s writing.
What are your plans for future books?
First, I want to complete the Lucalgian Odyssey
series and possibly create a 2nd edition where all four books are put
into one. Then I’d like to work on some stand-alone fiction that are in
the romance and fantasy genres. I would also like to write LGBTQ+
fiction and romance at some point as well.
Tell us some quirky facts about yourself
I am an INFJ, if that means anything to anyone.
My author’s blog/website is at www.cheysworks.com
I got my start in writing for an audience with fanfiction when I was 13.
The
only novel-length work I have finished so far has been a fanfiction
that I wrote for my cousin. I wrote a majority of it when I was 13. I am
hoping to convert the story into an original book sometime soon.
I
am a fan of anime and manga. I would actually like to help produce a
manga, or turn some of my books into one, but I’m not very good at
drawing.
I speak three languages.
I was published once before self-publishing by the Rio Linda Library and 916 Ink.
Books
