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21-question Writing Survey.
16 years ago
General
Meme-survey started by 
poetigress stolen from 
bluedude
1. When did you start writing? Depends on how you mean. My first work of fiction was written when I was roughly seven.
2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination? Some combination. Usually anymore it's typed, but on occasion hand-written is necessary.
3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it? I have a small index card booklet-thing that I currently use to write down ideas as I have them, so I won't forget them.
4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not? Occasionally I try, but usually it does nothing for me but stress me out.
5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else? All of the above. Short stories are more common obviously, but that's because they're easier to finish due to their size.
6. What's your favorite kind of story to write? Depends on the mood I'm in. Obviously I enjoy writing smut, but often I find plot writing to be quite enjoyable as well, even more so at times.
7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why. Easiest was probably "The Puppet" honestly; I cranked that thing out in a day and loved every second of it. Most difficult so far would have to be a story I'm working on right now, because it deals with a lot of things I am terribly unfamiliar with.
8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your own work to date? Aside from the obvious Baphijmm / Ba Phyi Zhum... probably Angelo Villalobos from my Return to the Temple series. He's young, moderately experienced in the ways of the world, initially very distrustful of folks he meets, and is still a child at heart.
9. What work are you most proud of right now? Not sure. It really is a toss-up all around.
10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer? I believe my strengths include a decent sense of world-building, an understanding of character base and development, and a fairly good grasp of grammar. Weaknesses can all be boiled down to one thing: laziness.
11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way. Orson Scott Card. Larry Niven, Christopher Paolini (negatively), Tsugumi Ohba (negatively), William Shakespeare.
12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason. First drafts for Journey to Fire's Keep. Good lord. A lot of it boiled down to, I wasn't sure how to tell the story, coupled with the fact that it was written on random loose-leaf sheets during such events as basketball games and trigonometry class. It read slightly better than Paolini's work.
13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about? The first story I recall writing was about a young man named Kamonyin who lived in Antarctica; one day, while out making a nuisance of himself, he discovered designs for making a hot-air balloon and decides to follow them. Keep in mind, this was when I was seven or so.
14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write? A satire of the human condition in America. I'm kind of already writing that, though.
15. What inspires you? Anything and everything. I've been inspired to write by everything from an old stone bench to the contents of a storage shed.
16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once? Define "at once". Currently, I have maybe ten different stories on my plate.
17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.? Occasionally I'll hand a story to a few friends and ask them what they think of it; usually however, I'm my own proof-reader.
18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun? Playing video games, traveling, doing science, bowling, singing...
19. Advice to other writers? In the end, write for yourself. Even if "for yourself" means you're getting paid to write for someone else, remember you write for your own self-benefit and enjoyment.
20. What are you currently working on? A short story for a friend, the next chapter of ScreenPets, several fantasy and science fiction novels, and a slice-of-life novella. I might start writing research proposals in the very near future as well.
21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress. From "ScreenPets 5":
"Doctor Crenshaw, your assistance is needed in Emergency. Doctor Crenshaw, your assistance is needed in Emergency."
"Yes yes, I heard you the first time." Crenshaw hated working the graveyard shift at St. Blaise; it meant he rarely got to practice his specific interest in neurosurgery.
poetigress stolen from 
bluedude1. When did you start writing? Depends on how you mean. My first work of fiction was written when I was roughly seven.
2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination? Some combination. Usually anymore it's typed, but on occasion hand-written is necessary.
3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it? I have a small index card booklet-thing that I currently use to write down ideas as I have them, so I won't forget them.
4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not? Occasionally I try, but usually it does nothing for me but stress me out.
5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else? All of the above. Short stories are more common obviously, but that's because they're easier to finish due to their size.
6. What's your favorite kind of story to write? Depends on the mood I'm in. Obviously I enjoy writing smut, but often I find plot writing to be quite enjoyable as well, even more so at times.
7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why. Easiest was probably "The Puppet" honestly; I cranked that thing out in a day and loved every second of it. Most difficult so far would have to be a story I'm working on right now, because it deals with a lot of things I am terribly unfamiliar with.
8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your own work to date? Aside from the obvious Baphijmm / Ba Phyi Zhum... probably Angelo Villalobos from my Return to the Temple series. He's young, moderately experienced in the ways of the world, initially very distrustful of folks he meets, and is still a child at heart.
9. What work are you most proud of right now? Not sure. It really is a toss-up all around.
10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer? I believe my strengths include a decent sense of world-building, an understanding of character base and development, and a fairly good grasp of grammar. Weaknesses can all be boiled down to one thing: laziness.
11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way. Orson Scott Card. Larry Niven, Christopher Paolini (negatively), Tsugumi Ohba (negatively), William Shakespeare.
12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason. First drafts for Journey to Fire's Keep. Good lord. A lot of it boiled down to, I wasn't sure how to tell the story, coupled with the fact that it was written on random loose-leaf sheets during such events as basketball games and trigonometry class. It read slightly better than Paolini's work.
13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about? The first story I recall writing was about a young man named Kamonyin who lived in Antarctica; one day, while out making a nuisance of himself, he discovered designs for making a hot-air balloon and decides to follow them. Keep in mind, this was when I was seven or so.
14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write? A satire of the human condition in America. I'm kind of already writing that, though.
15. What inspires you? Anything and everything. I've been inspired to write by everything from an old stone bench to the contents of a storage shed.
16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once? Define "at once". Currently, I have maybe ten different stories on my plate.
17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.? Occasionally I'll hand a story to a few friends and ask them what they think of it; usually however, I'm my own proof-reader.
18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun? Playing video games, traveling, doing science, bowling, singing...
19. Advice to other writers? In the end, write for yourself. Even if "for yourself" means you're getting paid to write for someone else, remember you write for your own self-benefit and enjoyment.
20. What are you currently working on? A short story for a friend, the next chapter of ScreenPets, several fantasy and science fiction novels, and a slice-of-life novella. I might start writing research proposals in the very near future as well.
21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress. From "ScreenPets 5":
"Doctor Crenshaw, your assistance is needed in Emergency. Doctor Crenshaw, your assistance is needed in Emergency."
"Yes yes, I heard you the first time." Crenshaw hated working the graveyard shift at St. Blaise; it meant he rarely got to practice his specific interest in neurosurgery.
fyi_dragon
Drako
!drako
Oooo, ScreenPets 5. This should be interesting. I thought you were gonna end it at 4.
Baphijmm
~baphijmm
OP
That was not my intention; in fact, I have a few more tales from that continuum I'd like to tell. I just6 haven't gotten around to them with everything else on my plate. ^^;
Baphijmm
~baphijmm
OP
Wow, just6. Gotta love light-colored, small text on a white background when typing in these comment boxes, so you can't see glaring errors like that.
