Interview with Stephanie Latos

Our Dancing With The Pen blog tour continues today with an interview with talented young writer Stephanie Latos. Stephanie is a 14-year-old ninth grader from Warren, Michigan. In addition to writing, she loves running on her school's Cross Country and Track & Field teams and playing piano.  

You can read Stephanie's personal essay "Fainting in Florida" in the debut anthology from Write On! Books, Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Order your copy on Amazon here.


Describe your piece that was published in Dancing With The Pen. 

I wrote my piece, Fainting in Florida, because I thought it was a humorous and memorable incident in my life. I wrote this a couple years ago so my writing process was basically just sitting down at the computer, typing out the story and adding detail as I remembered it!

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing?

I've been writing ever since I was 8 years old. I'd always known I wanted to be a writer, but I also know that in order to be a successful one, you have to work at making it interesting and enjoyable to others, whether it's a serious research paper or an imaginative fiction piece. I think I find free-writing fun because it allows me to take a subject and go anywhere with it, despite any critic's opinion of it. I really enjoy writing stories with a unique scenario and then ending it as creatively and originally as I can!

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book?

To me, having my piece included in this book means that I wrote an essay and I wanted people other than my family and friends to read it. I think it means that I wanted to entertain people I don't even know with a story that they might get something out of -- and that's something I take pride in. When I read the e-mail [informing me of my piece's acceptance], I remember I was so happy! I remember I felt so accomplished because I'd finally be getting one of my pieces published.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams?

To quote a Smash Mouth song: "You'll never know if you don't go, you'll never shine if you don't glow."

Or in other words: if you don't attempt to follow your dreams or accomplish your own goals, you'll never know what you're missing.

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors?

I love the Harry Potter series by the amazing J.K. Rowling, and I also love Jodi Piccoult's work. My favorite books by her are Keeping Faith, The Pact and My Sister's Keeper. I also like Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff. (I haven't anyone who read this and didn't reread it over and over again like me!) Another one of my favorite authors is Nicholas Sparks. My favorite book of his is Three Weeks with My Brother.

What inspires you?

I recently took a trip to Italy. I can't even describe all of the intricate frescos, ruins, and views I saw because they are all just those kinds of things you have to go see for yourself. I met new people and tasted some of what is known as the greatest food in the world. Things like that inspire me because a thousand people can look at the same view of the Amalfi Coast, but if you were to ask each and every person of that thousand, they will all describe it in different, but synonymous, words. That is an example of individuality—another thing that inspires me every day.

What are you working on now? What's next for you?

Right now I am working on a few different essays that I'm hoping I can submit into writing contests in the future. What's next for me? Haha, whatever comes my way. :)

Links:
Order Dancing With The Pen on Amazon. (It rose to a #2 ranking on Amazon.com in the "literature anthologies" category in its first week of release!Please take a few seconds to "like" our Amazon page!And, if you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic! You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook and Twitter. We're now featured on Goodreads, too!Discounted bulk orders are available at the Write On! website: www.writeonbooks.org.  Dallas Woodburn
author, speaker, freelance writer
founder of Write On! Books and Write On! For Literacy
www.writeonbooks.org
http://dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com/