AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTANZA MCINTOSH
My name is Costanza McIntosh and I was born and raised in London. I am a doctor who recently graduated from medical school but prior to this, I had completed a BSc in Biomedical Science.
Are you happy about being an Author?
I am extremely privileged to have the opportunity to write my thoughts and experiences on paper and I do hope that every person can take something positive away after they get a chance to read it. It also gave me a chance to further explore my creative side as not only did I write the book I also designed my own cover. That was a very therapeutic yet meticulous process.
What's your motivation as an author and what have you learnt from writing books?
My motivation was to educate, entertain and encourage my readers to believe in themselves and their dreams regardless of the naysayers. Creating this book made me realise how quickly time flies. To think that I experienced the fifth year of medical school over two years ago is unbelievable. Having this journal to look back on reminds me that I did in fact put the work in so I earned where I am today and should believe that.
As an author , what do you think are the positive things about your writings?
What is beautiful is it enables the production of something that lasts the tests of time and is something that you can always refer back to in the distant future.
Which book or E-books have you published and which are in pipeline?
Do you believe in "Writer's Block"?
Yes, I do. Thankfully I didn’t experience this myself because the nature of this project involved bringing my journal to life which had for the most part already been written.
What are the problems that you have faced in your Author journey?
Knowing when to take a break probably was my greatest problem. I am the type of personality who likes to get things done even when I feel mentally exhausted. This became a problem when I found myself proof-reading into the early hours of the morning as these are the times when one is most likely to miss grammatical errors and mistakes.
What Genre of Books do you create and Why you chose it ?
I chose a memoir as I wanted to give my readers a chance to live someone else’s story, at least for a little while.
If you could tell something to your younger writing self , what would it be ?
Stop worrying because everything will work out in the end.
Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want ?
I have tried my best to do a mixture of both because I do not want to lose my authenticity and originality but I also did not want to write something that others would not find interesting to read.
What's your advice for budding authors?
Take advantage of the fact that there is no one else in the world like you and so make your book as personal as possible. Additionally be prepared for a lot of time spent proof-reading, re-editing and re-writing many rough drafts. It may seem like a tedious process but the finished product will be worth it.
