Hello, fellow disciples! Today, we bring to you an interview with TanHongLynn, the author of The Quest of Guardians: Story of Legendary Shen Yang and one of our contest winners for our Quest of the Guardians writing challenge!

You can check out TanHongLynn's winning contest entry here ➟➜

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What are some things that influenced your contest submission?

First of all, I love wuxia, xian xia and xuan huan films a lot. Plus, the contestprompt for The Quest of Guardians are all very compelling. Wattpad AsianFantasy really did a good job in providing good contest prompt. Itgave the writers ample room for imagination. I believe there are manypossibilities to explore in this genre.

Tell us about the main character of your winning entry. What inspired their creation?

Shen Yang! Yes, I created him and really love this character a lot. When I waswriting this story, I even had a little crush on Shen Yang. Oops! I wanted readers to see the personal side of this character. How he feels and what is in his mind when he is completing his quest.After reading the contest prompt, I really shut myself out for a few days tobrainstorm. When I do brainstorming, I love to listen to music. This characterwas particularly inspired by a song covered by Julia Wu "為你我受冷風吹".

What were some challenges you experienced while writing your entry?

I really enjoyed writing this story. Still, there were some challenges that I faced, of course.Emotions. Expressing fictional characters' emotions can be quite tricky. I tookquite some time to imagine their emotions and write it down for readers tounderstand what Shen Yang is going through not seeing Ying for centuries.For example, the part where Shen Yang saw Ying in the dreamland.

What is your favorite myth or legend? Why? Please tell us from what culture it's from.

Sun Wukong. It is from Chinese culture. I like his loyalty towards TangSanzang and of course, his funny character. I learned most about Sun Wukongfrom Journey to the West television series. I spent most of my childhood watching this series.

What is your favorite mythical creature? Why? Please tell us from what culture it's from.

Dragon from Chinese culture. You may even find it in Western culture. It is the most powerful of all mythical creatures. It symbolizes power and wisdom which is much admirable.

What was one thing you learned from Asian mythology and folklore from this contest?

I learned that they are very brave in protecting something valuable to them. It is something that everyone should learn. It also has a theme that deals with the opposite. For example, Black Tortoise's counterpart, Qiongqi, is evil. It is much the same as reality. There are pros and cons in everything.

What do you wish you incorporated from Asian mythology and folklore?

Hmm. I wish I incorporated reincarnation. That's my wish for my charactersShen Yang and Ying to be able to meet again in the next life. I would love to have JadeEmperor in my story too. Maybe there is a chance where Shen Yang meet theJade Emperor during his training with the Four Gods?

The contest is about completing a quest, so its subgenre is action or adventure. According to you, what makes a good action/adventure story?

In my opinion, a good action/adventure story is how the writers make the readers understand and help them to imagine the imaginary place that the writers build in their own mind. The same goes for the fight scene. Readers will enjoy if they can really imagine the fighting scene. It is best to include some onomatopoeia. Anyhow, moderation is the key to it.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us and congratulations on your win, TanHongLynn! We wish you the best of luck in your writing endeavors.

Until the next chapter, fellow disciples!