Ask the Author: K.P. Merriweather
Answered Questions (12)
K.P. Merriweather
I now define success for myself because being told what success is and trying to achieve it their way was mentally and physically draining. I was never "good enough" according to Them, and the bar kept getting set higher and higher. I used to have high expectations but it kept getting crushed. Now my expectations are extremely low and I appreciate the small things - like getting book reviews organically. Even if they're poor - I'm happy because the customer bought my work and was moved enough to either praise or hate on it.
I don't let culture dictate what success is, because let's face it - I'm not part of the mainstream and unless I conform, I'll never "make it" by their standards. So I set out to do what I know I can do best - and it's starting to pay off! I only operate by a loose set of rules - they're made to be bent, not followed rigidly or broken. I see it this way - if my works get talked about, whether in a positive or negative manner - I've done my job. So let the haters keep hating. I thank them for it.
I don't let culture dictate what success is, because let's face it - I'm not part of the mainstream and unless I conform, I'll never "make it" by their standards. So I set out to do what I know I can do best - and it's starting to pay off! I only operate by a loose set of rules - they're made to be bent, not followed rigidly or broken. I see it this way - if my works get talked about, whether in a positive or negative manner - I've done my job. So let the haters keep hating. I thank them for it.
K.P. Merriweather
Thanks! I never thought anyone found me interesting (other than a salty, whiny, negative crazy drunk who happens to write doorstoppers and programs games). My talents aren't much, I just like tinkering :D
I write mainly RPG's (2d & 3d), and Shooters (FPS & third person) ) (i can also do fighters and racing games, just never been commissioned to do so). I have an RPG in the works set for release on March 15. I have a list of releases planned, but due to owning poor equipment, dates get pushed back often.
My sister does adventures, puzzles, and visual novels (graphic interactive fiction) for windows and android.
I write mainly RPG's (2d & 3d), and Shooters (FPS & third person) ) (i can also do fighters and racing games, just never been commissioned to do so). I have an RPG in the works set for release on March 15. I have a list of releases planned, but due to owning poor equipment, dates get pushed back often.
My sister does adventures, puzzles, and visual novels (graphic interactive fiction) for windows and android.
K.P. Merriweather
I get easily burned out, so I tend to run 3 to 5 projects at once. When i get sick of one of them, then it's onto the next. Sometimes it takes a while to get a project done (the longest was 10 years!). At times if something's not working, I might rewrite, or have to do more research. Sometimes my computers fail (as they're prone to do, since I smoke around them) and I have to redo everything from the ground up. However, I keep extensive notes and have backups either as hardcopy (typewriter!) or on another media (word processor!). Most times the second, third or nth draft is better than the first and makes me work harder to remember to backup more often.
I've junked a few projects but sometimes if I'm sitting and drinking and thinking, i get a new idea to fix it and something new comes from the ashes. (I never totally trash everything. I might keep a plot snippet and character sheets.) I never stop researching or learning new things and I can easily spend hours reading books or fall down the internet black hole. I try my best to keep track of the market. I don't write mainstream, so that's a mark against me as far as sales go.
I've junked a few projects but sometimes if I'm sitting and drinking and thinking, i get a new idea to fix it and something new comes from the ashes. (I never totally trash everything. I might keep a plot snippet and character sheets.) I never stop researching or learning new things and I can easily spend hours reading books or fall down the internet black hole. I try my best to keep track of the market. I don't write mainstream, so that's a mark against me as far as sales go.
K.P. Merriweather
Thanks for the tips!
K.P. Merriweather
43.5 inches XD (from the top of my head to my wrist).
The longest for me has been 10 years. :D (The Agency Saga and the SIGNET series took 10 years to write. I published Chain Reaction back in 2009 and The Most Unlikely Beginnings in 2013.). The shortest was 6 months, though it took 2 years of editing and getting the cover art right. (The Enforcer will be availble next month!)
The longest for me has been 10 years. :D (The Agency Saga and the SIGNET series took 10 years to write. I published Chain Reaction back in 2009 and The Most Unlikely Beginnings in 2013.). The shortest was 6 months, though it took 2 years of editing and getting the cover art right. (The Enforcer will be availble next month!)
K.P. Merriweather
Being sober! Sometimes if I'm really blasted, I get an idea, but my hands shake so badly that I can't write/type fast enough. When I'm sober, I'm in my head too much and my crushing depression makes it difficult to write. I take extensive notes and research a lot. (Now with internets, it makes the process easier.) I also get burned out often and have to have several projects running at once (3-5) just to keep from hating the work. I also chain smoke while I write (bad habit, especially being around computers. I burn them out due to that and constantly upgrade yearly because of the accumulated tar) and *have* to have music. If my radio is broken or the internets are shut off again, it'll make writing even one page take days to crank out. (again, due to being in my head too much. music drowns out the crushing self doubt so I can focus on what I love: writing novels!)
K.P. Merriweather
There's nothing at all and due to the facts of that, actually I hate it sometimes. Unless you write mainstream you're still nobody. The payment in peanuts and beans are nonexistent at times and it's a lot of work pushing books when you're close to poor (yes I'm a poor writer).. Only because I have stories to tell I keep writing. Only because I keep hoping that one person will understand my work and let me know, I keep writing. Not a lot of people understand my work nor care for it and that's fine. As long as it exists out there hopefully someone ejoys it. That's what keeps me going.
K.P. Merriweather
I tend to run several projects at once. right now the sequel to SIGNET, the third book in The Agency, the sequel to Demonic Awakening, and two other series (one is an teen urban fantaasy and the other is a dark supernatural fantasy).
K.P. Merriweather
I read trashy books and play video games. When that doesn't help, I stroll outside. Sometimes I sit on the stoop and people watch.
K.P. Merriweather
Read, research and study. Really get the feel of your characters the town and the universe you create. Depending on the story, I visit the area I'm writing about or study the country and its history customs etc. I study people, how they dress and talk, listen to coversations around me. I read books on psychology, fashion and history. It's a lot of note taking but those small details come together to make the universe and its inhabitants real as if you could visit and meet those people in real life.
K.P. Merriweather
My strange dreams inspire me. Sometimes when I have issues to work out, I put on my god mode hat and get to cause my characters hell. Other times I read a book that makes me want to burn it and I think I can do one better and start writing. Once finished, the book is no longer a copy of the one I read, having become vastly different.
K.P. Merriweather
My stories tend to come to me as weird dreams (I suffer from chronic insomnia after all). The Agency (Chain Reaction, Dangerous Methods and the rest) started out as a short story in high school english class (the scene appears in Chain Reaction, chapter 7). I worked on the story for years before publishing it in 2005. Though it sold well, I hated its existence. (it's vastly different from the version published in 2009). It wasn't the way I wanted it told. When I originally wrote it, i used to be zonked on pills and booze. So after cleaning up and clearing out my head, I pulled the old version out of circulation and changed it to what I have now. I no longer cringe at the mere thought of its existence.
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