I haven’t had a lot of time for Top Ten Tuesday. It’s all about books, and…well…I just don’t have as much reading time anymore. #sadtruth
But I love—love—memes. Especially wholesome ones. (If you follow me on Twitter, this is old news to you. I’m all about wholesome memes and cute puppies.) So, this month, I thought I’d jump on board the Beautiful People meme. It’s hosted by Cait (aka Paper Fury), whose blog I adore, and Sky (aka Further Up and Further In), whose blog I…haven’t read yet *cringes*.
I’m so excited to jump into something new! So, without (much) further ado, let’s get into this month’s questions, which are all about…drumroll, please…
ME.
As all the best questions are.
- How do you decide which project to work on? I’m a very stubborn writer—I’d sooner disavow my precious son, Harry James Potter, than give up on a novel. I start working on whatever’s calling my name and let my stubbornness propel me across the finish line.
- How long does it usually take you to finish a project? Ever since I became a plantser (I was a hardcore pantser back in my young and foolish days), the process has gotten significantly quicker. Nowadays, I like two or three months to plan, one month to draft, and an eternity to edit. A N E T E R N I T Y.
- Do you have any routines to put you in the writing mood? I used to sit down and write after I got home from school every day. It was great…until I graduated college. However, I’m moving to England and starting a new life as an academic hermit in the fall, so hopefully I’ll be able to get back into that routine.
- What time of day do you write best? I’m an afternoon writer. 4:00PM is my ideal start time.
- Are there any authors you think you have a similar style to? If I’m honest, I write like a mashup of Cassandra Clare and Rick Riordan. I’m less aggressively angsty-romancey than Clare is, and my jokes are quieter than Riordan’s, but i can see similarities in the way that we construct sentences and organize chapters.
- Why did you start writing, and why do you keep writing? I started writing because…and I’m not as ashamed of this as I should be…I was fifteen and had too many Twilight feels. I’ve since moved beyond fanfiction because, after writing quite a bit of it, I got a good enough grasp of story structure and character creation that I felt confident enough to try my hand at something original. The first book was a mess. I’ve since improved. And I love it.
- What’s the hardest thing you’ve written? I’m doing my darndest to kick my depression and anxiety, and I thought that writing about it might help, so I submitted to a mental illness anthology a few months ago. was so very wrong. Writing about my experiences made me feel so much worse. So I won’t be doing that again.
- Is there a project you want to tackle someday but you don’t feel ready yet? SO MANY. They include a high-flying, action-packed sky pirate adventure (but I’m bad at action scenes), a fantasy starring a genderless shapeshifter (but I’m barely versed in Gender Theory 101), and a whole series about the hilarious ongoing rivalry between two schools (but how will I ever manage to construct enough ridiculous yet plausible shenanigans??).
- What writing goals did you make for 2017 and how are they going? I only made one: Finish the novel by November 2017. Wrap it up, put a shiny bow on it, start lobbing it at agents. Getting into grad school hasn’t changed this goal…yet.
- Describe your writing process in 3 words or a gif!
If you want to join in the fun, check out the Beautiful People meme! It runs all month, every month, and everyone is welcome.
