Writing Questionaire: AKA, The Process

1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”
A bit of both. I scheme. I play it by ear. I go wild. Watch out!

2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?
I usually have a rough idea of what I *want* a character to be like, but then I develop them more later on. It's like building an electronic device. You have the necessary metal framework without which it can't function and then later on, you add the glossy chassis that gives it that unique and individualistic touch.

3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?
Sometimes. Like, I'll think what if X happened? But then I have to ask myself, Why would Character Y do X thing? What did Character Z do to make them want to do that? It becomes a domino effect of questions that need answering, at which point I usually end up having to step back and procrastinate meditate on their actions for a few months.

4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?
I haven't read any. Probably harmful, though. Because if you have to learn how to tell a story, you're already pretty far behind in the process. That probably sounds incredibly bitchy, but hey, there's enough people out there saying that attaining your dreams is easy if you just try hard enough. Not a whole lot of people dishing out reality checks, on the other hand. Some people just can't tell a story. Trust me, I've talked with lots of them. Usually on crowded buses or at family reunions.

5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
I'm really busy and don't have a lot of time to write anymore. I try to write a couple pages at least some days out of every week, but as a prospective student with a full-time job who also runs a book blog AND does all of her own PR & whatnot, writing has sort of taken a back seat. I am still doing it though! Because I love it. And I feel guilty and unproductive if I don't.

6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
Back when I actually had time to kill, I could sit down and write for 6+ hours straight. There were a couple times where I'd write for more than ten- I swear, I wrote 100 pages in a sitting once. Now it's usually short bursts, whatever I have time for. I keep my laptop by my bed in case I have an idea in the middle of the night that I want to note.

7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
Ugh. Neither. I'm a middle-of-the-night type writer. I am the terror that types in the night.

8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
I need complete and utter silence. I'll edit with music sometimes, but when I'm writing it needs to be quiet.

9. Computer or longhand? (Or typewriter?)
Actually, either! I like writing things down by hand because I feel like it causes you to be more deliberate (erasing is not quite as easy). On the other hand, typing is great too because if you type fast enough (which I do) you can pretty much put down your ideas down as fast as you can think them.

10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?
No. In fact it actually took me several months to figure out how to end Terrorscape. I'd written three endings to that story and ended up going with the one I thought fit best. I tend to do that a lot...

11. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
See, this is a huge problem I have with the current business model of the writing industry. Something becomes popular, and everyone jumps on the train & the market becomes completely oversaturated until it reaches critical mass and the Next Big Thing happens. By the time something's popular, it's already on the wane, anyway, so being a trend-chaser is just going to exhaust and frustrate you. You do you. Write the story you've always wanted to read but that doesn't exist. Stop fixating on what everybody else is doing.

12. Editing – love it or hate it?
I actually like it. It's like the stitches that cinch my little story quilt squares together. I love that feeling of having the narrative grow tighter and more cohesive. It's a very good feeling.

Bonus questions

13. Why do you want to write?
Because I love to read.

14. Do you want to publish your work? Why?
My readers actually encouraged me to publish, and so did my friends and family. I didn't have the confidence to sell my work because I didn't think I was good enough. But I had a following from back when I posted my stories for free, and I had people who loved and supported me, so I was lucky because I knew from the outset that I would probably succeed (once I pulled my head out of the sand that is). I also kept all my old reviews from way back when, so I also knew what I needed to change in order to start selling my books professionally (I read through every single one of my reviews before doing just that, and there were thousands of them in aggregate. I am a firm believer of paying attention to reader feedback).

15. Do like to write alone or do you like to work with other? Why?
I like to write alone. I'm a very private person, and I like to keep my writing life as separate from my personal life as possible. It's not that I'm not proud of what I do, because I am. But there's more to me than just being a writer, and sometimes those other facets need to remain distinct.