FA+
Shop
Delays and writer meme
16 years ago
I've fallen behind in my chapter posting. While I work on catching up (hopefully this weekend, when I also plan to get my recent Anthrocon acquisitions ready) here's my take on the "21 Questions: a Meme for Writers" offered by 
poetigress.
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/817467/
1. When did you start writing?
Long ago and far away... I've written in one form or another since at least 6th or 7th grade.
2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination?
I've done both. These days it's mostly typed into a computer. Sometimes though I use a voice recorder to take down what's running through my head when I'm in a situation where I can't write, such as while driving a car, and transcribe it later. (I just wish I had auto-transcription going.)
3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it?
No, not really. I'm pretty bad at keeping journals. Just look through mine here on FA, for example...
4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not?
No quotas. They're too easily set aside and then I start thinking "why bother even starting?"
5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else?
At the moment I'd say short stories. Most of what I offer is targeted for posting to a forum, and there's a 60Kb posting limit.
6. What's your favorite kind of story to write?
Gad, how do I answer? The truth is no matter what genre (fantasy, contemporary, SF) I get pretty deep into the conversations. I suppose that's a "kind," isn't it?
7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why.
You expect me to remember that kind of stuff? Easy? That's a story that almost pours out of me and ends up needing very little revision. Hard is one where I have to extract almost every word as if it's embedded in my blood cells and still have to rewrite the whole darn thing. I suppose it's mostly a matter of focus.
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?
Heh. McClaw. I keep looking to make him a distinct personality from me, but most of the time he's the one character I can have spout something I want to say myself.
9. What work are you most proud of right now?
My current project: Born of the Storm. Isn't it always the current stuff?
10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer?
I suppose I can kick out a good conversation and won't be satisfied until the reading "flows" smoothly. And I really need an editor.
11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way.
Lovecraft made me aware that nightmares could come through words. Tolkien made me see worlds. Katherine Kurtz made me see the lives in them. Spider Robinson and Piers Anthony reminded me that even drama can be funny.
12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason.
Gah. The old "RCST" scripts I wrote back in junior high. Pure in-joke silliness.
13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about?
See 12.
14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write?
Something that inspired people to work for a better world. To stand up for liberty and justice, make the right decisions even when they're hard, and learn to live and work alongside each other. Something that would have the same effect even on our enemies. Oh, and it would be fun to read, so not only would it be re-read today but by future generations as well.
15. What inspires you?
Movies, TV, comic books, art, music... I guess the simple answer is "life."
16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once?
Eh. Depends on how you define "projects." I can keep multiple chapters in various stages of development, but typically they're all part of a greater whole.
17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.?
I have two co-authors I trust implicitly and a group on Yahoo I respect.
18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?
Movies, TV, comic books, art, music...
19. Advice to other writers?
Always remember the basics.
20. What are you currently working on?
Born of the Storm.
21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress.
"General Westhaven to see Colonel McClaw," the tiger in a UAWN 'duty dress' uniform told the calico at the Machu Picchu Embassy's reception desk. She smiled but didn't reply. She didn't need to.
poetigress.http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/817467/
1. When did you start writing?
Long ago and far away... I've written in one form or another since at least 6th or 7th grade.
2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination?
I've done both. These days it's mostly typed into a computer. Sometimes though I use a voice recorder to take down what's running through my head when I'm in a situation where I can't write, such as while driving a car, and transcribe it later. (I just wish I had auto-transcription going.)
3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it?
No, not really. I'm pretty bad at keeping journals. Just look through mine here on FA, for example...
4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not?
No quotas. They're too easily set aside and then I start thinking "why bother even starting?"
5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else?
At the moment I'd say short stories. Most of what I offer is targeted for posting to a forum, and there's a 60Kb posting limit.
6. What's your favorite kind of story to write?
Gad, how do I answer? The truth is no matter what genre (fantasy, contemporary, SF) I get pretty deep into the conversations. I suppose that's a "kind," isn't it?
7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why.
You expect me to remember that kind of stuff? Easy? That's a story that almost pours out of me and ends up needing very little revision. Hard is one where I have to extract almost every word as if it's embedded in my blood cells and still have to rewrite the whole darn thing. I suppose it's mostly a matter of focus.
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?
Heh. McClaw. I keep looking to make him a distinct personality from me, but most of the time he's the one character I can have spout something I want to say myself.
9. What work are you most proud of right now?
My current project: Born of the Storm. Isn't it always the current stuff?
10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer?
I suppose I can kick out a good conversation and won't be satisfied until the reading "flows" smoothly. And I really need an editor.
11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way.
Lovecraft made me aware that nightmares could come through words. Tolkien made me see worlds. Katherine Kurtz made me see the lives in them. Spider Robinson and Piers Anthony reminded me that even drama can be funny.
12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason.
Gah. The old "RCST" scripts I wrote back in junior high. Pure in-joke silliness.
13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about?
See 12.
14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write?
Something that inspired people to work for a better world. To stand up for liberty and justice, make the right decisions even when they're hard, and learn to live and work alongside each other. Something that would have the same effect even on our enemies. Oh, and it would be fun to read, so not only would it be re-read today but by future generations as well.
15. What inspires you?
Movies, TV, comic books, art, music... I guess the simple answer is "life."
16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once?
Eh. Depends on how you define "projects." I can keep multiple chapters in various stages of development, but typically they're all part of a greater whole.
17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.?
I have two co-authors I trust implicitly and a group on Yahoo I respect.
18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?
Movies, TV, comic books, art, music...
19. Advice to other writers?
Always remember the basics.
20. What are you currently working on?
Born of the Storm.
21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress.
"General Westhaven to see Colonel McClaw," the tiger in a UAWN 'duty dress' uniform told the calico at the Machu Picchu Embassy's reception desk. She smiled but didn't reply. She didn't need to.
