“Dreams Aren’t As Far Away As You Think” - An Interview With Zoë Cottrell
In which I interview a good friend about reading, writing, and her life.
Hello, friends!
One month ago, I featured Ruth Anne Acheson from Washington. (You can find the interview here!) Because you all enjoyed that so much, I’ve decided to share more interviews from other readers and writers from the Kindness Cafe community! In each interview, I will ask the interviewee questions about their life, reading, and writing.
For my second interview, I’m featuring Zoë Cottrell, a good friend and writer from Kentucky. You can find Zoë at her author website and her blog.
Let’s get into the interview!
Introduce yourself!
Hi, my name is Zoë Cottrell, and I’m an author from Louisville, Kentucky.
What are three things that you love?
I love cats, chocolate, and autumn.
What is your favorite piece of artwork or music?
My favorite song is “Oldies Station” by Twenty One Pilots.
If time travel were possible, would you want to try it?
Wow, I’ve never really thought about whether I would give it a shot. I don’t think I would go too far back and try to change any major events like World Wars or anything, because I think God knows what He’s doing, but I might go back a few days or weeks to tell past me about something.
What genre(s) do you write?
I mostly write fantasy, but I also enjoy dystopian and some romance. I also enjoy sci-fi at times.
What was your very first project you ever wrote?
The very first story I wrote that I know about was in a wide-ruled notebook with blank spots at the tops of the pages for drawings. I wrote and illustrated a short story about a koala bear and a bird. It was based on the fact that koalas aren’t really bears. I was probably six or seven.
What is one struggle you’ve had while writing, and how have you overcome it?
The biggest struggle I’ve had writing is probably just giving up. I tend to have an idea and then either get stuck or decide it isn’t any good, and that’s the reason I have so many abandoned projects. What’s helped a lot, although I still have the same problem, is talking to people about it. I’ve met a ton of fantastic writers at school, church, and on an online writing group I’m part of, The Habit. Brainstorming with other writers or asking for encouragement really helps me get through tough scenes and see that my writing isn’t as bad as I often think it is.
What are three books that have influenced your writing?
Unfortunately I don’t read a lot now, but I used to read all the time, and I took a lot of inspiration from books and stories I read. The Book Thief comes to mind as one that really made an impression on how I write grief. The False Prince also made an imprint on how I write characters at times. The Vega Jane series influenced my writing a lot, too.
Tell us a little bit about your writing journey!
Well, it’s been a long ride! I’ve been writing for ten years or more, from little short stories to novel-length stories. I didn’t realize I loved writing until I was 9 or 10, and then I realized that I’d been doing it for as long as I’ve been able to write. As I got more and more into it, I started talking to my friends about it and found out that a lot of them loved writing, too. My best friend introduced me to The Habit, which played a large part in making me more confident in my writing and better at it. Another friend of mine played a large part in the publication of The Otherfolk by showing me that it really isn’t that far fetched for young authors to publish. I’ve come a long way since wide-ruled notebooks, and I’m still growing!
Are you working on anything fun right now?
Yes! I’m working on editing the sequel to The Otherfolk and writing the third one. I’m also making my way slowly through a couple of dystopian short stories, a sci-fi short story, and a romance novella-length story.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Not particularly! I just hope that my writing journey can encourage other writers that dreams aren’t as far away as you think they are sometimes.
Zoë Cottrell is a teenage writer who lives in Louisville, KY. She aims to write like her heroes, J.K. Rowling and Jennifer A. Nielsen, while enjoying iced peach tea. You can find her at zoecottrell.com or sitting on the roof in the sun writing.
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Would you like more writing resources? Check out My Writing Compilation Post!
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