What was the last thing you wrote? A bit of a story to be included in The Duchess Tales, a bunch of fairy tales I started because I wanted a girl to save the day without being saved by marrying the prince. In fact, in my stories, the girls don’t choose the prince––if they choose any young man at all.
Was it any good? I’m not sure. Could be. If it’s not, well, I hope it becomes good after a few revisions.
Write poetry? Occasionally, but I’m not very good.
Angsty poetry? Typically not. Angst is annoying.
Favorite genre of writing? I like to write for me. So, young adult fiction.
Most fun character you ever wrote? Livy was an 8-year-old genius and the younger sister of the main character in In All Honesty. She was sassy, brilliant and a bit of a diva. She regularly flipped from whining like a normal third-grader to drawling like an amused British butler (a la Stephen Fry) with an attitude problem.
Most annoying character you ever wrote? Er. The first that come to mind are two characters in a fanfiction I wrote. But they weren’t original characters, hence my wincing. (I find it mildly embarrassing to admit that I dabble in fanfics. I like my original fiction better.)
Best plot you ever wrote? I haven’t written it yet. I’m not good enough. But when the time comes, Magic Heart will be about a girl named Pippa who is frozen by her grief. She does what she has to to get through the day, but she doesn’t feel. She doesn’t care. She has nothing left to give; everything she loved had already been taken. Then Pippa gets on the wrong side of a savvy witch, who curses her in the cruelest way imaginable: She forces Pippa to feel every shard of sorrow the girl had stored up and ignored. And then Pippa has to live.
Coolest plot twist you ever wrote? I don’t know. Perhaps in Emma/Peter, at the very end. (I have large parts of this story written, if anyone would like to read it. Email me at veggie1 -at- gmail.)
How often do you get writer’s block? Very often. But more often it’s just a distraction, not writer’s block. Because there’s almost always something I want to write. Maybe it’s a current story, or a very old one. Maybe I begin something new. But I’ve almost always got something worth writing, just probably not whatever I meant to be finishing at the moment. Hence why I’m still working on stories I began in middle school, and why I haven’t finished any novel-length story yet.
How do you fix it? Write. I sit down and I write. Maybe I plan the plot some more, maybe I write a short scene that doesn’t fit in the novel or that isn’t in chronological order. Maybe I write something else. But if I want to fix it, I just write. Or, I read. And listen to music. And go out and live. Life may be the cause of my distractions, but it’s also the antidote to feeling uninspired.
Write fan fiction? Yes, and I enjoy it very much. Inserting my own character into another world is great fun for me. It’s like a writing exercise, and sometimes I realize that my story has deviated so much from the book it was based on that it’s become an original plot. So I change the names and world to better fit my actual characters and plot, and I rewrite it as its own tale.
Do you type or write by hand? Yes.
Do you save everything you write? No, but I save a lot of it. I need a filing cabinet! I have lots of handwritten things I need to save, and ideally I could get a scanner and upload them to the computer so everything would be in one place. (But if I did I’d just kick myself if the blasted thing ever crashed.)
Do you ever go back to an idea long after you abandoned it? That’s my specialty.
What’s your favorite thing you have ever written? Honesty’s story, I think. In All Honesty was based on a plot device that I had seen misused one time too many. Bad boys don’t change just because the protagonist fell for him. They don’t suddenly stop being assholes. And I was tired of seeing so many plots revolve around how the heroine had to share a bedroom with a guy she hated and then suddenly she falls for him and everything’s dandy. Few sane parents would allow that even in extenuating circumstances, and if they did it probably wouldn’t go over too well. And if the girl did fall for said bad boy she was living with, he’d still be an asshole. So it still wouldn’t end well!
What’s everyone else’s favorite thing you’ve written? People like In All Honesty. They also liked Dragon’s Flower, the fanfiction.
Do you show people your work? I’ve been on Fictionpress for some time now, and I’m just collecting my best work on SanityBakery.com but I’m looking for a real-life crit group. I’ve shown friends my work. I’ve entered competitions. I’ve used some stuff as semester projects at college.
Have you ever written fantasy, sci-fi, or horror? Fantasy, yes. The others, not much as of yet. Wait and see.
Ever written romance or teen angsty drama? Yes. Sorry. I’m not much for angst, but teen romance is a favorite of mine. I favor slow-developing romance, the sort based on a friendship and shared experiences and not just “zOMG U R LIK SO HAWTT!!!” …Please excuse me while I shudder.
How many writing projects are you working on right now? Oh dear, lots. In All Honesty, Duchess Tales, Dragon’s Flower (sort of), and countless more.
Do you want to write for a living? Yes!
Have you ever won an award for writing? Actually, yeah. I placed in the top ten for my state in a writing contest sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English! I also wrote the best “Fake Writing Contest” for a writing contest by Grace Tierney.
Ever written something in script or play format? Not really. I’ve tried, but never finished much. I’ve never felt quite inspired enough.
What character you’ve written most resembles yourself? Honesty, probably. I’d love to be her sister Livy, but Liv’s a little more talented than I am.
Where do you get the ideas for your characters? Sometimes it starts with the name. Sometimes I think of a reaction, or a situation, and go from there. Sometimes I see a picture and think, “I want to write her.”
Do you ever write based on dreams? Oh, yes. Many a time.
Do you favor happy endings, sad endings or cliff hangers? I love endings with joy, but without all the problems having been magically solved. The characters have to have something to do with the rest of their lives!
Have you ever written based on an artwork you’ve seen? Of course.
Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write? Very. I typically catch things right away, as I write, or as I reread. I reread a lot in order to remember where I was and where I was going.
Ever written anything entirely in chatspeak (How r u)? No.
Are people surprised and confused when they find out you write well? Hm, one of my college teachers was a little shocked. She said she looked at the 40 pages I’d handed in as my semester project and groaned. Then she was surprised by how non-awful it was, that it went quickly and she wanted to keep reading. I really enjoyed that.
Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop in your mind. “The War Between Renland and Narthania,” a story written about a young battlefield nurse who decides to put an end to a war.
“Captain,” the girl asked, her chin raised so she could look into his eyes as he answered, “why is there an enemy infantryman dying over there?” She was sure he was not the only one, but he was the first she’d seen. It had surprised her.
The officer smiled indulgently, and she saw immediately that his would not be an answer that she would like. “Because our soldiers did their duty on the battlefield, milady.” He regarded her with fond amusement, as if she were a very young daughter who had just asked a child’s question. Perhaps in his eyes she had.
She sighed and shook her head. He did not understand. “No, Captain. That is not what I meant. My question was why he is dying alone.”
