yallwest:YALLWEST Teen Ambassador Interview with Jennifer...

yallwest:

YALLWEST Teen Ambassador Interview with Jennifer Niven
by Diana Balbuena

Why is sunshine your favorite word?
Because it’s happy and it makes me think of Los Angeles, my favorite city on earth.

What’s in your purse?
Wallet, phone, ginger mints, business cards, a variety of purple pens, a little notebook to write ideas in, my Daryl Dixon key ring, a miniature ivory armadillo that belonged to my mother (because she always said to be a writer you have to have the soul of an angel and the hide of an armadillo), and about 500 lipsticks and lip glosses.

Tell me about your favorite bright places in the world.
 Home. Anywhere my fiancé and cats are. And Los Angeles, where I live. I’m madly in love with my city!

What’s a common misconception about you?
That because I’m sweet and sunny I can’t write edgy things or dark things. And I can.

Can you relate to any of the characters you have created?
Like Violet in All the Bright Places, I’ve known my share of loss. Also, I hated my small Indiana town when I was living in it, and didn’t feel as if I truly fit in, and sometimes I kept my feelings too bottled up because I was always trying to be perfect. And like Violet I knew and loved a boy like Finch.

Do you keep a journal?

I don’t. For me at least, I’ve always found that keeping a journal depletes my creative writing energy, so I knew I could choose journaling or book writing and I chose books. But I can look at each one of my books and know what I was doing and where I was in my life at the time I was writing them because there are parts of me and fragments of my life in the words.

Which book did you put the most effort and emotion in?

All the Bright Places was definitely the most emotional book to write because it’s the most personal. Years ago, I knew and loved a boy, and that boy was bipolar. I witnessed up-close the highs and lows, the Awake and the Asleep, and I saw his daily struggle with the world and with himself. Like Violet was with Finch, I was forever changed by knowing him.

What are some sacrifices you have done in order to get published?

I’ve often had to give up time with friends, movies, dinners, weekends (lots of weekends). I work a lot, but I do try to make time for fun and friends because it’s important to be balanced.

What’s your advice for young teenage boys and girls who are aspiring journalists,writers,reporters, poets and professionals?

Write, read, and work hard.  Remember to enjoy it. Don’t get hung up on making it perfect, because there’s no such thing. Write the kind of book/article/poem/story you’d like to read. Write what inspires you.  Write what you love.

Teen writer Diana Balbuena is a member of WriteGirl, a creative writing and mentoring organization. (www.writegirl.org)