1. WHAT GENRES, STYLES, AND TOPICS DO YOU WRITE ABOUT?
Genre: Fantasy. I've loved fantasy since I read Narnia and The Hobbit/LOTR years ago. I only started writing it when I was fourteen, though. I've dabbled with other genres, but I always come back to fantasy.
Style: I try to write vividly, but not laboriously. I don't like the modern juvenile style, but I also don't want to sound pretentious, like I'm trying to be 'old fashioned'. I just try to write the story.
Topics: I don't really have topics. I have a story, and I write it. Themes that seem to find their way into my stories no matter what: brother/sister friendships; courage; ordinary heroism triumphing against magic.
2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?
Since I was seven years old. Around seventeen years! I got serious when I was fourteen, though.
3. WHY DO YOU WRITE?
Because there are stories that haven't been written yet; because I enjoy it; and because the ideas have no place to go except to be written down.
4. WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO WRITE?
At night.
5. PARTS OF WRITING YOU LOVE VS PARTS YOU HATE?
I love the feeling of a new idea going smoothly from my fingers to the screen. I hate when I run into a problem, or lose momentum. I also hate trying to rewrite a scene that I like but that just isn't working; the scene may end up being better in some ways, but it seems to lose some of its sparkle and freshness.
6. HOW DO YOU OVERCOME WRITERS BLOCK?
So glad you asked! Not too long ago I would have said that I just wait for it to go away; which could take months sometimes. I've recently joined a group on Facebook called 365 Writing Club, where you are challenged to write something (even if its just 100 words) every day for a year. This isn't like NaNoWriMo, where you work on a single story the entire time. The writing can be anything: journalling, blog posts, poetry, even free writing and outlining. The idea is to get you into the habit of writing every day.
When the year started, and the club started, I was stuck in the old procrastination mindset. January and February went by, and my word count was so dismal that I seriously considered giving up. But I persevered, and in March I missed only one day of writing. Now, near the end of April, it has literally become a habit. If I'm about to go to bed without writing, I actually have a little nagging feeling inside me that says, "No, you can't go to bed yet. You need to get some words in."
Sometimes these words are throwaway, basically me talking to myself about ... whatever. But more often, they are part of something I'm working on that needs to be written.
Unfortunately, you can't just sign up for the club at any time during the year (complicated spreadsheets) but near the end of the year you can sing up for next year, so keep it in mind! It has worked wonders with my motivation and upped my confidence so much.
7. ARE YOU WORKING ON SOMETHING AT THE MOMENT?
I'm working on a multi-chapter fanfiction which will hopefully be done some time next month, as far as the first draft goes.
I'm planning on writing the second draft of Where the Music Ends once I've heard back from a few people I've shared it with.
8. WRITING GOALS THIS YEAR?
To write, and keep on writing, and never stop! Also to write the second (and maybe third) draft of Where the Music Ends; I would love to publish it on Amazon within the year as well.
Consider yourself tagged! Post your responses in the comments, or write a blog post and link it in the comments.
Consider yourself tagged! Post your responses in the comments, or write a blog post and link it in the comments.
