Writers Crush: @poetryspillingforth
This has been long overdue, but I finally was able to sit down with Ice of @poetryspillingforth for our FIRST WRITERS CRUSH INTERVIEW. She was able to answer the riddle for the contest I was holding back when @writtenconsiderations was still “AtlasConsiderations.”
(For newcomers and people who played but never guessed the answer, the riddle was a series of poetry prompts. Three prompt “types” at varying levels of difficulty. X, Y, and Z were the options people could choose. The answer was Conflict. X was Man vs Man, Y was Man vs Self, and Z was Man vs Nature.)
Interview with Poetryspillingforth:
Atlas: So, how did you come up with the answer to that riddle?
Ice: I’m not sure honestly. I was kinda thinking about what makes the center of every single story and the first thing I thought of was “plot”, but either you said it was wrong or it didn’t fit. Afterwards, when I was checking out some writing blogs, one of them said something along the lines of “your main character must have a reason to tackle the problem in the story” and I just thought of the answer from there
Atlas: Nice. Sometimes it helps to have a bit of inspiration. In your opinion, though, what is the most important part of a story?
Ice: Tough one. I think the most important part of the story is building a sense of emphathy or a understanding of characters. A story could be simple and describing daily life but personally I’d still enjoy it if I could feel what the character feels and ride an emotional roller-coaster with them, without feeling like an impassive bystander
Atlas: Being able to emotionally connect with your characters is important. Are there any novels or stories in particular that do that for you?
Ice: I’d say Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. It was really interesting being able to understand things from Aza’s perspective, which is far from yet still similar to daily life because she sees it with different lens. It was also a good read because the whole book was basically centered around her way of thinking about the world.
Atlas: John Green is known for the emotional emphasis he puts into his characters and their day to day encounters. Do you write with an emotional emphasis or do you base your works on “in the moment” type feelings?
Ice: I try to write with emotional emphasis, but I’m not sure if I’m quite there yet, haha. What I usually do is write a scene in which the main character is just living, with no conflict or even any real plot, just to try to let the reader familiarise themselves with the main character before they get to the main story. When the plot starts to pick up I try to make the characters be as relatable as possible, especially with dialogue.
Atlas: Draw the reader in, I get that. What are some of the challenges you have dealt with in writing– whether it be poetry, prose, fiction, etc?
Ice: I find it hard to describe places, especially in prose. When I imagine somewhere, I have a mental image and no matter what I type, it somehow corresponds to it because I’m already thinking of it, if that makes sense. For me it’s pretty hard to let the reader imagine the scene that I’m trying to set, so that’s something I’ll have to work on :D
Atlas: You’ll get there! How long have you been writing?
Ice: I’ve been writing since 3 years ago, but I only started poetry a year ago
Atlas: What challenges do you face with poetry in comparison to fiction and prose?
Ice: I find that with poetry, I need to use more imagery and descriptions compared to fiction and prose,ysijg more of the “show not tell” everyone preaches. It’s not a bad thing, and it definitely makes poetry more enjoyable to read (based off my own experience) but like I said earlier, it’s a weakness of mine I have to work on.
Atlas: That makes sense. Are there any famous poets or authors you read regularly?
Ice: There aren’t many authors or poets I follow, since I’m more of someone who randomly browses books, but I read John Green, Sir Authur Conan Doyle and Cassandra Clare the most I think. I don’t really read specific poets much, so most of my exposure actually comes from tumblr :p
Atlas: There are so many great poets and writers right here after all. Do you plan to do anything with your writing in the future or do you see this more as a hobby?
Ice: I see this more as a hobby. When I get older I might possibly publish something, but I don’t think I’ll ever be an author/poet in my own right because I think it’ll be hard to force myself to do something I love to live
Atlas: It really just depends on both dedication and notoriety. Poets and writers that make money off their works are pretty much famous. If you were to publish, would it be just poetry or would you like to see a novel in publication?
Ice: I think I would prefer to see a novel in publication, but I don’t really have the dedication to write a full book - I usually write up to a certain scene and then feel burnt out. That’s also why I mostly only write short scenes and poetry.
Atlas: That makes sense. It took me a long time to build up the writing endurance to even produce half a novel, so I’m right there with you. Last question! Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your past self just starting out with writing?
Ice: Share your works with the world, get them to review whatever things you write so that you can improve much faster. Also, expose yourself to more poets other than specific accounts/people, so you can learn much more!















