The Wisteria Writer Tag

Grace @ True and Pure tagged me for The Wisteria Writer Tag! Thanks, Grace! 🙂

Since there were ten questions she answered, and then she made ten new questions… I’m adding a few of the questions she answered because I wanted to answer them too. 🙂

I’m also not tagging anyone, but feel free to consider yourself tagged if you’d like to do it! Just let me know if you do so I can read your post. ^_^

Speaking of posts… would you lookit that. This is my 175th post. *confetti* Go me. XD

ALSO! If you haven’t voted in the Silmarillion Awards yet, do scurry on over there and vote by the end of July 14th! Your favorite fantasy characters need your vote!! 🙂

Okay. Now on to The Wisteria Writer Tag…

The Rules

• Thank the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the ten questions asked.
• Add ten (writing or book related) of your own.
• Nominate ten people.

The Questions

1. What do you use to document inspiration and ideas?
2. Can you share a snippet of one of your current pieces of writing?
3. What authors or books inspire you?
4. What is the first story that you ever completed?
5. What story (short story or novel) do you consider your best work so far?
6. Do you outline your novels before you start writing, and if so, how?
7. Who is your favorite character that you created?
8. What style of prose are you best at writing (description, dialogue, action, etc.)?
9. What is the first thing you do when you start revising a piece of work?
10. When do you write (in the morning, after lunch, before bed, etc.)?
11. Where do you write (on your bed, at your desk, etc.)?
12. What is your favorite music to listen to while you write?
13. What writing advice do you want to give yourself?

What do you use to document inspiration and ideas?

For several years now, I’ve been keeping a series of writing notebooks/journals. I have one each year, either a nice journal or notebook, which I label for that year, and all my random ideas and a lot of my plotting goes in there. I do have folders and files on my laptop where I keep track of bigger things for specific stories sometimes, and my actual-writing mostly happens on the computer as well, but as far as inspiration and ideas, most of it goes in my notebooks. …I really should go back through them for ideas.

Can you share a snippet of one of your current pieces of writing?

Here’s a snatch of later on in The Other Half of Everything:

Having gotten free of Ivan, Teague folded his arms, turned away, and stood staring at a wall. Lulin scurried to fetch first-aid supplies to clean Ivan up. I hovered anxiously, flickering nervous glances between the brothers.

“Dinner,” Teague proclaimed shortly, pointing me toward the kitchen.

Normally I would have been annoyed. Not today. Gratefully, I fled back to my soup.

What authors or books inspire you?

Diana Wynne Jones, Lloyd Alexander, George MacDonald, Mirriam Neal. Also Tolkien because we’re kindred souls.

What is the first story that you ever completed?

Quest for a Legend, which was then book #4 in my Starrellian Saga. …Which is now in a complicated position what with me reworking the whole series. (No, the three small “stories” I wrote when I was maybe 10 or so that were 500 words, 900 words, and 1400 words, respectively, which we do not talk about, do not count. *cough*)

What story (short story or novel) do you consider your best work so far?

Whoa. This is a really interesting question! It’s complicated because my opinion of my finished stories change over time… So at the moment, I’d say Darkling Reflections, my 11,000 word mystery/romance story. Which is odd considering it’s the only thing like it that I’ve written and I’ll probably write nothing like it ever again. It’s not even fantasy, precisely… But it’s my favorite right now, since with most of my other things, I feel like they need a bit of work to be perfect… 😉

(source)

Do you outline your novels before you start writing, and if so, how?

I usually do, but it depends. I tend to have at least a rough idea of the story, but I prefer to outline it pretty well. It doesn’t always happen though, and sometimes I just start writing. XD As for how… it changes so much from story to story that I’m slightly at a loss for what to say on that subject. I like to have a “blurb” sort of summary, and if possible a rough list of the main events, at least, and a list of characters. From there it depends.

Who is your favorite character that you created?

*clutches heart* HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME. Ahem. I don’t want to offend anybody. >.> But… yeah… probably Tare. *cough* I can’t help it. I love everyone else too though!! (Also… *twitches at the word “created” since I actually “discover” my stories*)

What style of prose are you best at writing (description, dialogue, action, etc.)?

Wow, I have no idea. O_O Um… mayyybe dialog? I do enjoy that the most, I think. But I don’t know if I’m “better” at writing it than other aspects… I would of course love to be equally skilled in all kinds, if I could be!

What is the first thing you do when you start revising a piece of work?

If it’s something pretty big, I print it and go over it with a pen or highlighter. Usually. Not that I’ve revised a lot of things. >.> If it’s just a smaller thing, I just… I don’t know, read through it and fix typos and make sure it actually makes sense? *shrug* I don’t analyze my revising process much since I don’t always make it that far. 😛

When do you write (in the morning, after lunch, before bed, etc.)?

All over the map. I think I WISH that I wrote in the morning, but that I usually write before bed… and, more likely than not, after I SHOULD be in bed… Ahem. I don’t want to be a night-owl but a lot of my writing tends to happen then.

(source)

Where do you write (on your bed, at your desk, etc.)?

At my desk on my preciousss my laptop. Unless I happen to be at a write-in for NaNo, in which case I write at a library or restaurant, or if I am writing in my writing-notebook, notes/plotting/etc., in which case I’m usually on my bed or in my comfy reading chair, or occasionally in a car.

What is your favorite music to listen to while you write?

I don’t always listen to music when I write… but if I do, it’s usually something that is a theme-song of sorts for the story in question, or else instrumental Celtic music, usually.

(If I’m writing The Secret of Kedran’s Wood, I’ll sometimes have this one playing. I listened to Stand in the Rain wayyyy too many times when I was writing Darkling Reflections and have no regrets. XD I sadly don’t have a theme-song for The Other Half of Everything. Which is dreadful because it actually is supposed to have music involved because Meridian is a music-nut like Teague is a word-nut. And yet I don’t have any music I associate with the story. No wonder I’m uninspired. -_-)

(very Meridian) (source)

What writing advice do you want to give yourself?

Don’t be afraid. Just write down the stories. Don’t let fear hold you back from putting those words down. Fear of less-than-perfection and all the rest of it is just a trick to make you not write. So just do it — write the tales on your heart, fearlessly. You can perfect them later. What do you fear? Don’t fear it. The pen is mightier than the sword.

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