30 Day Writing Meme: Days 6-8
Hmmm...I seem to be not so good at the everyday posting. Shocking.
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol' pen and paper?
I pretty much write on my laptop, either sitting on either the couch upstairs or the couch downstairs, or sometimes at the desk upstairs when I realize that sometimes sitting upright in a chair is actually more comfortable. Sometimes I start stories or write a scene or two in notebooks when I am away from my computer, but mostly, it's the laptop. My typing is much faster than longhand for keeping up with my thoughts (although, sometimes that's why it's good to write longhand.) Time of day is iffy. I think I do best if I start in the morning and just keep working until lunchtime, or start just after lunchtime and work until dinner. I can't seem to really do much after dinner, despite that fact that I could stay up all night if I wanted to, frittering time away doing other things. Also, my partner is usually home for dinnertime, and then it's harder for me to do anything that doesn't even tangentially involve her.
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
Sometimes. I've been kind of obsessed with the Doctor Who soundtracks lately, and I love the Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Also Passion by Peter Gabriel. I mostly listen to orchestral scores and movie soundtracks and other songs without words, because if they have words, either I listen too closely to the lyrics and they distract me, or the songs fade into the background and later on I am annoyed that they've all passed without my really listening to them. Either way, it doesn't work. I have a ton of songs that I relate to my characters, however, that I listen to when I'm not writing, like when I'm walking around Cheesman Park, so I'll have to post those later. It'll take a while to compile a list, but I've never really thought about doing so before, so I think it'll be a fun project.
8. What's your favorite genre to write? To read?
I read speculative fiction, mostly fantasy, with horror coming in second and science fiction in third, both young adult (as I'm a teen librarian) and adult. I write more horror than anything else, however, often psychological horror involving ghosts and/or mad delusions. I have lots of fantasy novels started, one of which keeps popping up in my brain right now when I'm trying to write other things, but the horror stories are the ones that get finished; I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because they are short stories and not novels. I think my fantasy ideas almost always turn into novels, where my horror ideas are much tighter and focused on one or two specific events/ideas. Almost all of the stuff I write is character-driven, however, and those are also my favorite stories to read. Without at least one character that really grabs me and holds me tight, I can't get into it, reading or writing, no matter how cool the idea or excellent the execution.
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol' pen and paper?
I pretty much write on my laptop, either sitting on either the couch upstairs or the couch downstairs, or sometimes at the desk upstairs when I realize that sometimes sitting upright in a chair is actually more comfortable. Sometimes I start stories or write a scene or two in notebooks when I am away from my computer, but mostly, it's the laptop. My typing is much faster than longhand for keeping up with my thoughts (although, sometimes that's why it's good to write longhand.) Time of day is iffy. I think I do best if I start in the morning and just keep working until lunchtime, or start just after lunchtime and work until dinner. I can't seem to really do much after dinner, despite that fact that I could stay up all night if I wanted to, frittering time away doing other things. Also, my partner is usually home for dinnertime, and then it's harder for me to do anything that doesn't even tangentially involve her.
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
Sometimes. I've been kind of obsessed with the Doctor Who soundtracks lately, and I love the Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Also Passion by Peter Gabriel. I mostly listen to orchestral scores and movie soundtracks and other songs without words, because if they have words, either I listen too closely to the lyrics and they distract me, or the songs fade into the background and later on I am annoyed that they've all passed without my really listening to them. Either way, it doesn't work. I have a ton of songs that I relate to my characters, however, that I listen to when I'm not writing, like when I'm walking around Cheesman Park, so I'll have to post those later. It'll take a while to compile a list, but I've never really thought about doing so before, so I think it'll be a fun project.
8. What's your favorite genre to write? To read?
I read speculative fiction, mostly fantasy, with horror coming in second and science fiction in third, both young adult (as I'm a teen librarian) and adult. I write more horror than anything else, however, often psychological horror involving ghosts and/or mad delusions. I have lots of fantasy novels started, one of which keeps popping up in my brain right now when I'm trying to write other things, but the horror stories are the ones that get finished; I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because they are short stories and not novels. I think my fantasy ideas almost always turn into novels, where my horror ideas are much tighter and focused on one or two specific events/ideas. Almost all of the stuff I write is character-driven, however, and those are also my favorite stories to read. Without at least one character that really grabs me and holds me tight, I can't get into it, reading or writing, no matter how cool the idea or excellent the execution.