Alex Zandra

my writing habits are kind of weird because I don't really have a set rhythm; I just write when I'm inspired, usually in long bursts over several days. for Her Majesty The Prince it got really intense to the point of hyperfixation, where I would literally wake up, eat, and then write until it was time to go to bed. I would bring my laptop around the apartment so I could keep writing if I needed to be in a different room for some reason! it was a bit wild!

obviously that wasn't sustainable. the big challenge was slowly ramping down my frenetic pace to make sure I could keep writing after the hyperfixation died down, instead of just stopping entirely as the inspiration dried up. that was my big worry—I wanted to keep writing!! I didn't want to be at the mercy of brain chemicals for this one. thankfully, it worked; I was able to shift into a more usual kind of writing mode, where I can get a few hours of writing done in a day and still have brain left to do other things with

looking back, I think the biggest change is that I've gotten way better at planning stuff out. usually I'd just have a rudimentary bullet point list for main story beats to refer to, but it was always pretty sparse. for Her Majesty The Prince, however, my notes document is as long as many of my books. I have 20,000 words of bullet point list items, all meticulously organized. because since I'm stuck with whatever I write—I can't go back and seed plot threads, once a chapter is out it's locked in—I've learned to write in a more "open" way, if that makes sense?

I'm way better at subtext! I can trust my future writing self a lot more! I find myself now writing some throwaway lines that I don't really have plans for, but that I know I'll be able to tie into the greater plot later—and it turns out that I can! for a 100% plotter like me, learning to pants it once in a while has been a great boon to my writing. I'm really excited to see what it does to my future books! ^^

It's hard to say! I'm still not quite sure, to be honest.

I often say that I'm less of a "write what you know" kind of writer and more of a "write what you feel" kind of writer. I write emotions! I visualize scenes, feel what the characters feel, and then write everything out. Something in Her Majesty The Prince really struck a nerve, and I've been writing ever since!

Maybe it's because I finally get to write a fantasy setting? Maybe it's because I'm finally allowing myself to write flawed characters and messy narratives? It's hard to say.

I do remember that there was a point after 4 or 5 chapters where I planned to just end things nicely, but then I realized that I couldn't; the characters weren't there yet. So I kept writing. Maybe this kind of journey—going beyond just gender feels, and into getting better as a person—is what's taking me so long? But as long as I haven't reached the end, I'll keep writing. ^^

it's primarily because I speak French! ^^ (but also because medieval France is a very common setting for fantasy and honestly I wanted to give it a shot!)

being from Québec means I both have French ancestry and know a regional offshoot dialect, so it was also a fun opportunity to mix high-class civility with lower-class outskirts in a way that was very relatable to me

(plus I get to use a ton of French words and names heheheheh)

it also let me do one of my favorite bits: use Québécois joual French as "the weird regional language no one understands" >:3 I've been wanting to do this for years!!

good question! here are some ZandraVandra Light Novel stats

Squid Maids: 19,000 words
Cat Wishes: 22,000 words
Cat Wishes Stories: 22,000 words
Subfami: 35,000 words
Subfami Stories: 30,000 words
Feline Therapy: 10,000 words
Plant Lamp: 53,000 words
all my light novels so far: 191,000 words

HER MAJESTY THE PRINCE: 135,000 words (so far)

HMTP is currently the longest story I have ever written; it's more than double my next longest book. At least one chapter is longer than my shortest light novel! By the time I'm done with this book, it'll have eclipsed the size of my entire library before it.

It's not the longest time I've ever spent on a story; Plant Lamp took me around two years to make, primarily because of a perfect storm of energy-draining events (burnout, trauma therapy, and the start of the pandemic). I'm still dealing with said events, to be clear, but the sheer motivation I feel to write this story has somehow helped me be productive despite all the obstacles in my way.

At some point I had to calm down and find a way to sustainably shift from Hyperfixation Writing to Regular Writing, and that's been mostly successful! I don't write a chapter ever 2-3 days now (which was frankly ludicrous what was I doing), but I'm hoping I can return to my ideal speed of one chapter per 2 weeks that I was writing at for a while.

Writing this story has been a revelation and a breath of fresh air, primarily because of all the firsts: my first serial story (where I release chapters as I write them), my first fantasy setting, and the first time I let myself write really messy relationships. I'm thriving! And while I can't say that all my books will be like this going forward, I definitely want to do more serial writing in the future. It's been so much fun to engage with my audience as I write a story instead of just in one big burst once I'm done with a book!

Just like my other works, I couldn't have done it alone. Every book I've written has involved sensitivity readers, consultants and editors that have helped me cross the finish line, and this one's no exception. And the best part is that they get to see people react to their work as it comes out, too! ^^