Q: Tell me some basic information about yourself.
A: Well, my name's Justin Webb, and I'm a senior in college right now, studying philosophy and economics. I absolutely love extreme sports--anything that gives me an adrenaline rush, really--and in my free time I enjoy snowboarding and working out.


Q: What do you plan on doing after college?
A: Honestly, I don't really know. I have a job lined up back home, so I'll probably stay with my parents for a bit and continue working on a couple of novels I'm writing right now. After a year, I will most likely apply to MFA programs. We'll see, though. Right now, I'm just enjoying the ride life gives me.


Q: What made you get into writing?
A: I've been writing things since I was in elementary school. My first book was actually about Steven Spielberg encountering Bigfoot in the wild--I wrote that when I was eight! Granted it was terrible, but at least it had little pictures.

I've always loved creating characters and worlds; I didn't have a lot of friends when I was younger, so I made my own friends. I've maintained that bond with my work today; all of the people I've written about are real to me, and I care about them deeply. I think that shines through the prose.


Q: What inspires your writing?
A: This may be cliche, but everything really. I'm on the lookout for inspiration every waking moment of the day (and even some moments during sleep). I read newspapers, watch stories on television--I feel that young writers underestimate the value and importance of non-fiction. After all, what fiction writers strive for is maintaining a certain suspension of disbelief in the story; what better way to figure out how to do that than to study how the actual world works?

I also take parts of my own life and infuse them into whatever I'm writing. Whether it be my own personal philosophies or experiences, or people I've met--they all make it into my work in some way.


Q: If you had to pick a few of your favorite authors, who would you choose?
A: For poetry, I'd have to say Lucile Clifton, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Ross Gay.

For fiction, depends on what I'm reading. I love John Green, Suzanne Collins, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and Therese Fowler.


Q: What made you join dA?
A: Surprisingly, not literature at all. I actually joined to put up some drawings I have (I enjoy graphite drawing in my free time as well), but then I started posting some work up here and started getting some exposure and making new friends.


Q: How has your writing changed since joining dA?
A: I've definitely become more well-versed with regards to what type of writing I'm crafting. With respect to poetry, I've learned a great deal about the editing process and how to craft the poetic devices I love so much in a way that each word makes an impact. It's nice when that process becomes a part of your writing, because then you start to see what works and what doesn't the first time around; I am constantly editing as I work on a piece, and it really does make a big difference.


Q: I remember the story you had up before, the Your Little Feather series. You said you were going to take it down because you intended to publish it. Have you gotten anywhere with that? And will you tell us when it is published, so we can all raid bookstores with the intent to buy it?
A: I have been working on it a little bit, but my senior year here has been extremely busy. That, and I want to do more research on some specific things, like how Alina would write. I don't want it to seem artificial, so I'm just letting it simmer for now and mulling some possible plot directions around in my head.

I think the current word count is somewhere around 25,000+, so it's still not near being finished, but I will be sure to keep everybody posted on what's happening with it.


Q: Do you participate in any clubs on dA?
A: I do; I'm a member of *ProsePlease and =PoetryPlease specifically. There are so many to choose from, though. It is a hard pick deciding which ones to be in.


Q: What would you like to see happen on dA, specifically in the literature community?
A: I've actually been really happy with the improvements dA has made with regards to being able to protect literature from the masses. It really helps to deter plagiarists.

I would like to see more community workshops. I know there is a club that does one, but I think it would be kind of cool to have all of the more popular writers sort of united, where each one could give a talk about their style or how their methods to approaching writing. I think that it could help younger writers, especially when so many of them look up to the more popular here on dA.

(I understand that popularity is not equated with quality, but I think this could still be really helpful.)


Q: What made you choose *ProsePlease and =PoetryPlease?
A: I just really enjoy spontaneous prompts and the involvement of other writers in the community. It really helps people strive to be better when you have that constant, driving encouragement. I want to give that back to everybody.


Q: A word of advice for young writers?
A: (1) Write. I know this sounds overused, but its a cliche for a reason. Epictetus once said, "If you want to be a writer, write," and you can't put it any better than that. You won't get any better at writing by talking about doing it. That's like saying "I want to hit more home runs than Babe Ruth" without ever swinging a baseball bat! It's silly to say. Writing is no different.

(2) Read. I'm torn on whether to put this before writing, because it's equally as important (if not more). Bottom line: you need to read to be a good writer.

I get notes sometimes from younger writers who look for inspiration asking "Tell me how you write so well," or "How do you write realistic dialogue." My answer is always to read, and they usually respond telling me that they don't have time to read or reading is boring.

I hate to be blunt about this, but if you can't make time to read, you can't be a writer. It's that simple. You need to learn what works in certain types of writing. You need to learn what doesn't work. I read 50-100 novels a year, and not all in the genre I write in either.

Read everything too. Everything from literary fiction to crime fiction to horror to fantasy. Read King, Koontz, Higgins Clark, Rowling. And as I stressed earlier, don't skimp on non-fiction literature. You learn so much from non-fiction works, and in doing so, you shape a more sophisticated life view yourself. This will be transferred to your characters because you start to see the world more critically and become more sympathetic to other worldviews that are different from your own. (In other words, you start to learn how the world works.)


I just want to take this opportunity to personally thank everybody who reads my work and gives me my own encouragement or constructive criticism. You are all a large part of my life, and everything you say is taken to heart, truly.