Hello everyone! As a teen author and artist myself, deciding a career path to pursue can be both exciting and scary. In this article, I will be interviewing the amazing Loren Rodrigo, who started paving her own journey as a writer at just eleven years old! Loren has published six novels under her pen name before graduating high school! Today we will be discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly of creating your way to pursue dreams with ambition and the right amount of hard work, as well as balancing school! That sounds like a lot! Loren will share her experience about how she copes with this, and at the same time battling a chronic condition. I’m Cailey Tarriane, and this is my interview with Loren Rodrigo, the teenage superstar!

Loren Rodrigo: Hey Cailey! I’m so excited to be sharing this with all the teen authors out there. 

Cailey: Loren, you started writing at ten years old and publishing an ebook at eleven, am I right?

Loren: Yes! I took down the ebook now, it was quite embarrassing! But I understand it was a stepping stone to shape me into who I am today, and I’m grateful for that.

Cailey: Incredible! What was it like to take writing so seriously by the age of eleven?

Loren: I knew this was what I wanted to do for such a long time. It felt like I was stalling simply because I was scared at this point. I didn’t know them all, but I was certain I would face challenges I just wasn’t ready for. Then one day, that changed. I just woke up feeling certain that it was time to start writing, and doing whatever it takes to achieve success!

Cailey: Love your ambition! You’ve accomplished so much, but before that, what did success look like for you?

Loren: I always imagine it as a finish line. Publish a book, I thought, even just one, and I would reach the greatest height. It was hard for me to imagine anything better. There were several blocks down the road, though, of course.

Cailey: Please do share more about these. 

Loren: The hardest part of writing for me was finding time for it. I was a competitive swimmer, my homework was piling up by the time I reached high school, and I was battling a chronic condition. People say I’m ‘’lucky’’ to find the time to write, but the reality is, you have to find time to write. Another issue I had was getting taken seriously. I remember I was twelve, and I was being told that my ambition was ‘’just a phase’’, and because I was so young, nobody thought I was serious about this career.

Cailey: Establishing a career as a twelve year old! The struggle to get adults on board is real! How did you manage this?

Loren: I knew I had my limitations, I knew I had disadvantages, but the important part is to have a mindset that you have to keep pushing forward. Write paragraphs on days it’s hard to get a decent sentence down, find opportunities in those nobody takes into consideration. When I was thirteen, I was published in a local magazine. It was a short article, but I was incredibly proud of myself. It was hard to find a publisher without much of my parent’s support. There were days I searched the internet for new opportunities, and few of them worked out. I either lost interest or couldn’t make it work. It hurt me when I had to turn down an idea that I had been toying around for a long time because of age restrictions or no time to write. I spent weeks at a hospital once, wishing to start writing, but I was discouraged. That was a dark moment. I was fourteen and I remember considering quitting.

Cailey: It’s a great thing you didn’t! And brave, too. How did you move forward from this discouragement?

Loren: Writing. It felt like the solution to everything. That’s the feeling when one is too passionate, I believe. I wrote my sappy feelings filled with teenage angst to my characters, created new scenes for them, and slowly fell back into why I loved writing. It was magical, unavoidable. One day I’m going to go back to this interview and cringe at how mushy I’m being, but it’s true.

Cailey: Haha! The story you were working on, the first few of six novels in your fantasy series as I’ve been told, what was the connection to it like for you?

Loren: I felt like I would kill to meet my characters, or just have five minutes in their world.

Cailey: How did you come up with all the details and features of your world? Has any part of it been based on reality?

Loren: Absolutely. From people, though most of my characters are mixes of different people, to events as well as emotions. Sharing my personal experiences with my characters gives the story a personal, realistic sense. 

Every part of my town, with a drop of imagination, has immediately become part of my world. It’s fiction, but I think if I could somehow transport the image of what the world looks like in my mind. People who live in my hometown could see the similarities, and it is quite funny when you put it that way. 

Cailey: What an interesting perspective! I love the way your culture is incorporated into the story. How do you find motivation to keep up your series? Because six novels written by ages 12-19 is a lot!

Loren:  Haha! I do see myself grow through my writing. I cringed so much when I reread book one, editing it for publication. It didn’t seem possible for twelve year old me, it was beyond rewarding. The main motivation I had was walking down memory lane and getting nostalgia from the time I worked so hard on a certain part of the project. It would hit me that this was what I loved, and that alone was the strongest source of motivation. 

Also, before I get too sappy again,another way I come up with ideas is by coming up with the life stories behind random people I meet. It’s an amusing hobby, but it helps me shape up my characters. 

Cailey: You’re such a major inspiration to all the young writers out there, Loren! Watching yourself bloom is indeed amazing, but hard work and dedication has such a massive impact on all your accomplishments. Like I keep saying, you’re such an inspiration. To wrap this up, do you have any words of advice for new authors who may be in the same boat as you were? 

Loren: Start the greatest things small. One day, you will get the recognition you deserve. For now, focus on writing. Write paragraphs on days it’s hard to get a decent sentence down, find opportunities in those nobody takes into consideration. Keep your head up and block everything that stops you from achieving your ‘finish line’. Plan action carefully. Surround yourself with those who believe in you. And do the work. Don’t avoid it, make it as natural as breathing. One day you will see. Success has its own stories, so don’t compare yourself to anyone. And that’s it. Become a bestseller!

Cailey: Hahaha! I’m at a loss for words. Nevermind, I know what to say. That was beautiful. There is so much to learn from you, Loren, and I just wanted to say that at this point, you can do anything you set your mind to. I just know that somewhere in the world, a little boy or girl would be grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper, scribbling and being filled with motivation. Thank you. For your time, and your wisdom of an old soul. 

Loren: Hahaha! I had a great time talking with you. 

And that wraps up today's article! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me, Loren. And to you, dear reader. Please give this a rating or review if you enjoyed. Until next time!