Birthdays, flist and writing meme!

Nov 18, 2009 04:58



Hiii guys!! So, it was my birthday on the 15th of this month and well, I turned sixteen. Not that I'm not happy about becoming one year older (hell yeah, only two more to go before I become a legal adult!), but... why do people keep making such a big fuss over the 'sweet sixteenth'? *confused* I mean, I don't feel any different - in fact, I didn't even realize it was my birthday until a friend called me up at freakin' 11 am, effectively waking me from my slumber, and shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOST!!" Ow, I swear he blew my ear off.

Also, did I mention my girl friends think they apparently have a great sense of humour? See, they gave me a lot of small trinkets and stuff - most of which happened to be jewelry. Which I hate. Which is exactly why I got so many of them. I don't even have my ears pierced. XD Is it weird I appreciated the guys' presents more? Because, they actually gave me a lot of my favourite anime soundtracks - AND an Ouran High School Host Club CD, complete with the latest episodes. Squeee~ No more youtube for me! But seriously, I'm so lucky to have people who care - this Thursday, best friend's taking me out on a drive to an awesome bunglow/resort in Manikganj where I'm going to spend the night with her family. It's like a mini vacation - it's been over three years that I've known her family, and I still can't figure out why they dote on me so much. They spoil me!

But, you know the best part? I checked my LJ inbox this morning... and found a horde of birthday msgs from my flist waiting for me! Guys, I feel so loved!! Thank you!! And the highlight of my day was when underhandycat0 offered to write me a fic of my choice - ohh, she's written me two fics already and I feel so bad for asking her for yet another one! Even though I'm secretly ecstatic and not in the least repentant XD

Writing meme - stolen from istne_pieklo

Here goes:
1. When did I start writing?
I... can't remember, to tell you the truth. It was about six years ago, I think. Back when I was in grade five. Back then, I'd read a detective piece (usually Agatha Christe's works) borrowed from the library, and afterwards, when nothing went as I expected, I used to think, "Hm, What wouldn't have happened if I changed this? Or if I altered that even to take place after the murder? Or---?" and so on. I just used to think about stuff like that - but only ever wrote them down when the teachers assigned me to write short stories, or for the annual school magazine.

And then came grade six when I was introduced to Shakespeare's works - I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare, no offense, but there was this girl in class who was pretty good in Literature, and I guess, she sort of inspired me to do better. And sometime later, I discovered fanfiction and was introduced to Harry Potter, and that pretty much decided it for me - I started writing seriously, and ever since, I've become sort of attached to the English language.

2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed or some combination?
Combination, I'd say. I usually jot down the key points for ideas I have floating around in my head on paper. It helps me keep track of things - I get easily distracted when I type, so having a piece of paper in front of me with my ideas carefully arranged in them, helps a lot. When I start typing something, I have a notebook/piece of paper at my side, and I keep glancing at it from time to time - otherwise, I tend to bounce off different tangents. My fingers fly off faster than my mind.

3. Do you keep any kind of notebok, or writer's journal, and if so, what kind of things go into it?
Well, I can't say I actually keep a specific notebook - or writer's journal (well, I do have a sort-of diary to jot down vague, depressing original ideas), but I often use my old homework copies because seriously, all those pages are going to waste! (environmentally friendly, aren't I?) And what sort of things go into it, you ask? Well, mostly ideas for stories I want to write but don't have time to plan out. Oh, and ideas for requests as well, and how to incorporate prompts into a particular setting. When I jot down ideas, I usually use this format:
Pairing: XY. Genre: AB/CD. Summary: Blah, blah, blah (must be limited to 100 words). Material descriptions: Rusty, wooden floorboards; rivers, trees. Key Points: {Opening sentences}, {second/thrid para}, {important events} etc, and finally a track of all the scenes in my head in sequence: Cupboard scene, Lost Cat scene, Investigation etc.
Also, I have this other copy where I write down the meanings of interesting words (nerdy of me, but what can I say? I love learning new words!) - and as soon as I do, I sit down in fron tof my PC and type up a a few nebulous sentences using that words. that way, I sort of remember it.

4. Do you set and quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc)? Why or why not?
Never. I've tried doing it, in order to finish request!fics in time, but all they serve to do is stifle me with the limitations!! If I want to write something, then it comes freely to me - and when I'm not in the mood to write, forcing myself just results in rising frustration. Setting quotas is a bit... restricting, if you know what I mean. And besides, even if I did set quotas, I'd never have the time to follow through with my goal for the day - I believe writing should come naturally, and setting quotas sort of hinders that for me.

5. Are you comfortable with short stories, novels, or something else?
I suppose I'm comfortable with writing long stories and short stories - both have their ups and downs. With long stories, I can focus more on the character development, and there's a stedy build-up to the climax without rushing. On the hand, clear-cut, to-the-point short stories have their merits as well - I don't need to fret over every single detail since I know that I've paid attention to it, and as long as paranoia doesn't set in, I'm totally relaxed. It's a different story with long stories - there's not just enough time for me to go over every single thing - and sometimes, I lose track of what I'm supposed to write. Actually, I guess, I'm more comfortable writing medium-lenth, concise stories... although, as a challenge to myself, I sometimes write a few short entries I don't bother posting, and try to be as wordy as possible.

6. What's your favourite kind of story to write?
Descriptive stories, although I don't really get the chance to be as wordy as I'd like since I have very little time for writing these days. Writing description is something I indulge in from time to time. But most of my stories are pretty concise since they take up less time to write. I guess I also like writing character driven stories - I just love painting the characters' emotions with similies/metaphors. Also, I like writing stories which put a lot of weight on the atmosphere - I've written a few of them for practice, but I never had the motivation to post them. There are just a few little scenes I like to keep to myself, because I feel the need to preserve my own perception of that certain scene, and keep it private.

7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why.
There was a set of InoShika music drabbles I did for hungrytiger11 that was extremely easy to write. It was so easy (and fun) that I surprised myself - when I started writing it, I intended the genre to be Romance/General. WHen I started writing, I didn't realize that I was writing Romance/Supernatural/humour. Yes, humour - I have problems with writing humour because, I'm so stressed all the time - and all the studying's snuffed every bit of cracktastic!humour right out of me and left me dry with, well, dry!humour. The reason it was so easy to write, I think, was partly because I had no idea what to write, especially with how my music player kept changing the song every five minutes. I guess, when I'm faced with the unpredictable, I somehow make up something on the spot - it's like sititng for an exam and racing against time, or talking my way out of trouble - I'm particularly good at that. XD Also, I didn't what was wrong with me back then, but now I realize that what I wrote was partly Fantasy as well.
And difficult to write stories? Define 'difficult'. to tell the truth, I don't find writing anything difficult at all. Really! That's mostly because I jot down brief summaries/premises for ideas I get on paper instantly, as a reminder. I plan what I'm going to write and let the ideas accumulate and I wait for them to manifest into a drive that makes me want to write it out. I never force myself to write anything - and that's probably why I don't find writing difficult - it's so enjoyable! Sometimes, I surprise myself with what I write - I mean, after I complete a chapter and I go back and read, I can't believe I wrote so many words!
Although... sometimes, I find it really difficult to write certain scenes between Sasuke and Sakura in my stories - their relationship was never defined in the manga. Naruto was Sasuke's best friend, Kakashi was his mentor and Sakura? It's not defined, but they did care about each other a lot, as shown in the pre-Shippuden series. So, I know that even though the caring feelings are there, I'm not often sure how to portray them. Pre-shippuden!Sakura-Sasuke interaction is easy for me to write, but post-Shippuden!Sakura-Sasuke interaction is tough, since there has been little to no interaction between them in the second series.

8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your work to date?
I'd say... Team Seven - Sasuke, Sakura and naruto. Mostly because I've had the most experience writing those three. I find sasuke very easy to write - it's fun to pla around with his emotions... wait, that didn't come out right. What I meant is that I like the process of such an emotionally stupid person gradually opening up. And writing Sakura is too easy for me - mostly because I can relate to her. And her character's very flexible - unlike Sasuke's, who'd seem OOC character if he was outright grinning, or naruto, who'd really be OOC as well if he curled into himself and became a misanthrope. WIth Sakura, I don't have to worry about that. And I find naruto easy to write because... I don't know. Writing him comes really easily, because I actually want to write him. He;s such a great guy, and there's this desire in me to give him a curtained maturiy when I write him, you see. Um, ok, This paragraph is getting very long - in conclusion, I relate to Team 7 most because I - voluntarily and involuntarily - spend a lot of time thinking about them and their dymanics. Hell I even DREAM about them at night.

9. What work are you most proud of right now?
Nothing really - I think I've mentioned (a million times) that I'm never satisfied with my own work. But, there's this one small music drabble collection I'm very proud of - the SasuHina music drabbles. I had no idea how I'd pull it off. I can usually see a chemistry forming over time between two quiet people - whoever said that opposites always attract? - that's why I support ItachixKonan, and reading this fic called Blind by Obsidian sickle made me a die-hard shipper of that pairing, no matter how cracky it may be. So yeah, I'm a person who likes a slow build-up of chemistry between quiet people. But even I was sceptical about SasukexHinata at first - I didn't see any chemistry between them at all. But then the music came on and the player kept me on my toes, err, fingers adn before I knew it, I had written ten medium-sized drabbles for SasuHina - and I can proudly say that none of them were OOC despite the fact that it was the first time I ever wrote SasuHina. I felt so accomplished after I wrote that!

10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer?
Strengths: The fact that I can write description in a to-the-point manner, if that makes any sense. Any description, scenic or emotional, I write is concise most of the time - I don't bother to paint it with colourful words. Also, I'd say spontaneity - I never manage to write exactly what I think I'm goingn to write. While for some people, this may pose a problem, for me, it's a blessing. Usually, my initial ideas are very drab, but when I start typing, my fingers, of their own volition, throw in little details here and there that fit in perfectly with the scene I had in mind. And then there are some huge events/details/scenes that never enter my mind before typing, but once I start, they sort of sneak in and ebfore I know it, they're a major part of my stories. I'm good at writing mindless, pointless fluff... really, I don't know why, but it just happens. I guess as much as I love angst, sometimes, just sometimes, I need to something fluffy and happy, and that desire is reflected in my writing.
Weaknesses: Humour. I can never write humour if I set out with the intention to write humour - it's not something that comes to me naturally, and when it does come naturally, it's rare (eg, the InoShika drabble). But yeah, humour and I are... not exactly on the best of terms. Also, sometimes I have problems with dialogue because I overthink my characters' reactions - dialogue is what moves the story forward, and my perfectionist tendencies are usually at war my dialogues. As a result, some of the character interactions I write are really... odd. Not OOC, just odd - I've heard some people say it's original, but to me it's... not. I can't write tragedies... at all. I've had a particular aversion to that genre ever since I (was forced to) read Romeo and Juliet back in Grade six. Also, I have this problem with writing on paper, which is not really favourable for my English exams. I prefer typing everything out, because on paper, my thoughts never flow as fast as I want them to.

11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way.
Writers have never specifically influenced me - just my works. And okay, perhaps my mentality - people often say I sound like a forty year old woman and I need to lighten up. But most of those who say that are just mindless teenagers-- oh dear god, I DO sound like a forty year old. Whatever. Anyway. As for the writers who influenced my work: Gabriel Garcia Maquez - I can only ever hope to write like him. His stories are always, always driven by.. not dialogue, not plot, not characer, but DESCRIPTION, and that in itself is a feat I can never hope to achieve. Another writer would be Arundhati Roy - I love her simplistic way of writing. Her metaphors and similies are amazing - and they have a sad quality to them. So I guess you can say I got my descriptive-writing tendencies from reading Mr. Marquez's works, and my similie, metaphors and concise writing style from Arundhati Roy's. Being descriptive and concise is a weird mix - but middle ground suits me just fine. Also, there's this Turkish writer called Orhan Pamuk - reading his works taught me something called patience. It took a while for me appreciate his works, but all that time spent ruminating over hidden meanings and envying wonderful details was worth it.

12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason.
Ohohoho! Except for the stories that I keep private, I find everything I write really embarrassing. WHen I go back and read my works, there are so many mistakes glaring at me that's it not even funny. And every time, I wish I would have done something differently - maybe then, it'd be a bit less embarrassing.

13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing.
My earliest story? I don't remember actually. But the first piece of fanfiction I wrote was a SasuSaku named Catching a Runaway Train. I've only written three chapters for that story, so I'm keeping it private for now. And then there was this oneshot about Sasuke teaching Naruto about ballroom dancing. Don't ask.

14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write?
A war story, involving male protagonists. Yaoi. I'm still gathering some essential details and letting all my ideas accumulate until I feel the drive to write.

15. What inspires you?
Music, like nothing else. I'm always listening to music - and sometimes, unexpectedly, a snippet of the lyrics catches me off guard and I think, "Hey, this song's perfect for such and such!" All my music drabbles, I have to say, went pretty well because well, they were music based. And recently, staring at the sky from the rooftop's become a habit of mine - it inspires me a lot. I especially like the sky during sunsets, and when it's a black void without stars. All the colours of the sunset remind me of certian characters, and I start making up drabbles in my mind about those characters when I stare at the sky. And staring at teh night sky, I feel so liberated somehow - my thoughts flow easier when I do that! Another thing that inspires me is silence. I love the peaceful atmosphere when I'm by myself and everything is silent, yet I feel this lazy tendency to feel the silence with silent words - and that's when my mind starts conjuring up different ideas.

16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once?
Normally, I work on a central project that takes priority to any other. But sometimes, when I feel like I need a change, I work on a few drabbles and oneshots here and there as practise for the main one.

17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group etc.?
My friend AmberIce-zlkh used to read my works, but she's busy now with O'Levels like I am. And currently, no one reads my works, but I have recent;y had the good fortuen to stumble upon Guttersnipe on ff.net - we're keeping correspondence with mail, and I'm hoping to send my re-written drafts and new chapters for 'For A Friend' to her by this month.

18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?
I, as you all know by now, listen to music a lot. Seriously, I can't live without music. I barely have any time to myself these days, but I like lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling adn letting my mind wonder as it wishes. And sometimes, I go out for walks in Ramna Park which is near my house. I like sitting under the shade of the secluded areas a lot, surrounded by green and more green. It's relaxing. I like sleeping well past noon, but sometimes, waking up before the sun does isn't so bad either. I read the papers a lot - and well, I read any book I can get my hands on. I guess I'm a quiet person and usually like my privacy. My idea of fun is feeling peaceful. But sometimes, I need some noise, and that's where music and my best friend comes in.

19. Advice to other writers?
O.O *blinks* Um... what? Me giving advice to the writers on my flist? That's laughable, really - all the writers I'm acquianted with are freakin' brilliant. Seriously. All the advice I can give them is to keep the end of a chapter/story in mind before they start writing. I've seen a lot of writers suddenly lose inspiration for a story because they hadn't previously set a goal - and suddenly, they don't know how to end the story, so they quit. So yes, keep the end in mind and work towards it. Because, I'd seriously cry if you guys quit writing something just cuz you don't know what you were trying to achieve in the first place.

20. What are you currently working on?
I've taken a small break from FAF since Guttersnipe and I willbe discussing the specifics of the story before I resume writing. I'm working on multiple oneshots/drabbles actually. There are these two request drabbles - SaiSaku and HanabiKonohamaru - that I've had completed forever, but I still need to work out the kinks. That said, I'm currently working on a KakaGai frienship piece, a NaruSaku with a lot of smut, and another one which will be my first venture into Romance/Family genre. Then I'm working on a small SasuSaku oneshot in an attempt to capture a quiet moment between them. Also, I have a SasuNaru in the works with the prompt 'bedhseets'. And last but not least, a fluffy SasuNaruSaku fic.

21. Share three sentences of a work in progress.
The colour of blood...
, Sakura ponders with a detached, saturnine sort of fascination, reminiscent of a shinobi hardened by war. Her grip on the polished wine glass tightens and she peers down into it, watching her own distorted image on the surface of the crimson liquid as it sloshes around gently. Transient ripples spread out, ebbing away just before they hit the the edge of the spherical enclosure; and when she tips the glass just so towards the light of the bar, the liquid shimmers softly, like elegant pearls, and changes colours from a deep tangerine to a light vermillion and finally a concentrated red.Well, that's it for now guys. This meme was surprisingly fun, and it put a lot of things into perspective for me. If any of you do this meme, then tell me! I'll know to look out for it then. ^_^

writing, flist, meme, birthdays

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