Featured Story of the Week: Silver

Silver is an amazing story written by Average Lifesaver;;. In this week's Featured Story, we take a closer look at this wonderful work!

Give us a brief summary of Silver.

In short, werewolves, haha. The best I can come up with is this: Autumn, a relatively normal teenager, is at the wrong place at the wrong time and gets bit by a wolf. And, of course, the only person who knows anything about it, is the one person the entire town believes is behind the murder of several girls.

What inspired you to write this story?

Like with some of my other stories, I had a dream about one of the characters and that was the stem of the idea. I'd also been reading a lot of werewolf related books, so I guess I wanted to try my hand at it. It's the first non-realistic fiction thing I've written since I was, like, thirteen haha.


How long have you been working on this story?

I actually can't remember - so a while, evidently. Probably over a year. It went on a bit of a hiatus for a couple months, but I watched an interview with Neil Gaiman who said his best advice for writers was to finish what you started, so I took it upon myself to finish it! And succeeded, which is always a plus.

On average, how much time do you spending writing Silver each week?

It's currently the only thing I'm working on, so any time writing is spent on Howl (the sequel). Probably 15 hours a week, at most.

How did you choose the title for this story?

When I first posted it, it was called Somewhere There. When I took it down, and eventually reposted it, I didn't think the old title fit where I had decided to take it. So I stuck Silver in there as a placeholder, because, you know, werewolves. When I tried to change it, some of my readers didn't like it, haha. So it picked its own name, but I'm still not 100% pleased with it.

What is your favorite thing about writing Silver?

Two prominent things definitely come to mind. Firstly, it's my first time writing in verse. After reading Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder, I thought it was a really cool way to write. It's just an interesting way to form a thought or use the format to tell the story, too. Secondly, it's a nice break from the norm. Instead of having everything grounded in reality, I get to throw in a different, supernatural element. It's refreshing.

What is the most challenging thing about writing it?

Writing in verse, haha. Sometimes I forget that it's not the same as prose and I lose what it's about. So keeping myself in check is a challenge.

Have you ever experience writer's block with this story? If so, how did you overcome it?

I'm kind of facing it right now and I definitely did when I was writing Silver. Hence the long period where I removed myself from it. To get rid of writer's block, usually I just write a rubbish chapter, something to just get back with the characters and in the mindset. I can always edit later and it gets me moving again.

Do you write with an outline, or just wing it?

A bit of a mix. I start a story with just a few characters, figure out what they're about and try my hand at actually writing it. Once I get going, I usually come up with a few plot points and the overall endgame and just work my way to it. To be honest, I had no idea who was behind the wolf-turnings until I was near the end. I reread the whole thing and figured out who best fit to be the bad guy, haha.

Do you have any pre/post writing rituals?

I wish I did! But I'm not that interesting, unfortunately, haha.

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

Thanks for reading, of course! I don't know if I would have finished it, or even started a sequel, without the support that my readers have given me. I wish I could give you all a cupcake or something!

Special thanks to Fandango and Katie Mosing for editing!