Writing meme
Meme taken from awritersfantasy:
1. Do you write fiction or non-fiction? Or both?
Well, I do a lot of non-fiction writing for my job. But I suspect that isn't what this question is asking. Mostly I write fiction when I write for fun.
2. Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?
Well, I keep my writing in a members-only LJ community, Skylar Town. I've also accumulated a huge number of writing journals over the years, all of them filled with partial stories, finished stories, poems, notes, world-building stuff, etc. I don't put much into actual paper notebooks or journals anymore. I do everything on the computer now.
3. If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? Do you find books on plotting useful or harmful?
I know some basic stuff about the character: their background, where they are emotionally, mentally, etc. at the beginning of the story, and a general direction I want them to go in. The more specific stuff comes as I write. As for books on plotting, I find them a little tedious because they always say stuff I already know. I would love a recommendation for books on plotting that don't assume the reader is a first time writer who doesn't know anything about crafting a story. Are there like intermediate level books somewhere?
4. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
That really depends. If I have a deadline looming and I really don't want to write, I'll procrastinate for as long as I can. If I have a deadline and I feel inspired, I can't wait to get started. Same thing even if no deadlines are involved.
5. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
Again, it depends. Hours at a time, though, hasn't happened since I finished a novel a few years ago: I wrote all night, finished at 5:00 in the morning, and wrote 10,000 words in one sitting, because that particular novel took me forever to write and I was finally so close to the ending I was determined not to stop until it was finished. Usually, though, I'll write for one or two hours at a time.
6. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
That depends entirely on when I get inspired. Probably more of an afternoon/night writer, just because I'm not a morning person at all.
7. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
Sometimes I'll listen to music, which is actually a new thing for me: it used to be that I needed mostly silence in my general vicinity. I could stand instrumental music occasionally, but anything with lyrics distracted me too much. Now I'm better at tuning it out and I can write to most music. Background noise such as people talking or a TV being on in the next room usually doesn't bother me unless it's really loud.
8. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
Now all of my actual writing is done on the computer. I'll usually write notes or world-building longhand in journals. I like writing down ideas and then crossing them out or modifying them on paper, because then they're still there if I decide later on I like them better. On the computer I would just delete stuff and not think about it ever again.
9. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One? Or do you let the story evolve as you write?
I'm terrible with endings, but I have to have some idea of an endpoint, even if I don't know the exact ending. I need some kind of goal to work toward. Otherwise my characters just sort of wander around aimlessly in the middle while I try to figure out what to do with them.
10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
Not really. I write stories based on ideas I have that I think would be interesting to write about. I have thought about market influence: what I write would not be popular at the moment, because urban fantasy, YA fantasy, and paranormal romance are the BIG genres right now and while I do have a YA novel that's kind of on the backburner at the moment, it's actually more science fiction than fantasy and it's very subtle science fiction. It probably wouldn't even get classified as sci-fi. So I don't really write anything in the current best-selling genres, but that's not so much a concern. Market tastes change, and I'm not at the point where I would seriously start considering sending out manuscripts right now, anyway.
11. Editing/Revision - love it or hate it?
A lot of the time I love it, actually. I used to hate it until I found out what worked for me. My problem was that I was always trying to go back and edit earlier chapters before I'd finished the novel. What works better for me is to have an entire first draft before I start editing, because the revision is easier and more fun when I have a fully functional backbone to hang it on. I can better draw threads together and fix inconsistencies, and I really love it when things that might have given me trouble before fall into place.
1. Do you write fiction or non-fiction? Or both?
Well, I do a lot of non-fiction writing for my job. But I suspect that isn't what this question is asking. Mostly I write fiction when I write for fun.
2. Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?
Well, I keep my writing in a members-only LJ community, Skylar Town. I've also accumulated a huge number of writing journals over the years, all of them filled with partial stories, finished stories, poems, notes, world-building stuff, etc. I don't put much into actual paper notebooks or journals anymore. I do everything on the computer now.
3. If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? Do you find books on plotting useful or harmful?
I know some basic stuff about the character: their background, where they are emotionally, mentally, etc. at the beginning of the story, and a general direction I want them to go in. The more specific stuff comes as I write. As for books on plotting, I find them a little tedious because they always say stuff I already know. I would love a recommendation for books on plotting that don't assume the reader is a first time writer who doesn't know anything about crafting a story. Are there like intermediate level books somewhere?
4. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
That really depends. If I have a deadline looming and I really don't want to write, I'll procrastinate for as long as I can. If I have a deadline and I feel inspired, I can't wait to get started. Same thing even if no deadlines are involved.
5. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
Again, it depends. Hours at a time, though, hasn't happened since I finished a novel a few years ago: I wrote all night, finished at 5:00 in the morning, and wrote 10,000 words in one sitting, because that particular novel took me forever to write and I was finally so close to the ending I was determined not to stop until it was finished. Usually, though, I'll write for one or two hours at a time.
6. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
That depends entirely on when I get inspired. Probably more of an afternoon/night writer, just because I'm not a morning person at all.
7. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
Sometimes I'll listen to music, which is actually a new thing for me: it used to be that I needed mostly silence in my general vicinity. I could stand instrumental music occasionally, but anything with lyrics distracted me too much. Now I'm better at tuning it out and I can write to most music. Background noise such as people talking or a TV being on in the next room usually doesn't bother me unless it's really loud.
8. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
Now all of my actual writing is done on the computer. I'll usually write notes or world-building longhand in journals. I like writing down ideas and then crossing them out or modifying them on paper, because then they're still there if I decide later on I like them better. On the computer I would just delete stuff and not think about it ever again.
9. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One? Or do you let the story evolve as you write?
I'm terrible with endings, but I have to have some idea of an endpoint, even if I don't know the exact ending. I need some kind of goal to work toward. Otherwise my characters just sort of wander around aimlessly in the middle while I try to figure out what to do with them.
10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
Not really. I write stories based on ideas I have that I think would be interesting to write about. I have thought about market influence: what I write would not be popular at the moment, because urban fantasy, YA fantasy, and paranormal romance are the BIG genres right now and while I do have a YA novel that's kind of on the backburner at the moment, it's actually more science fiction than fantasy and it's very subtle science fiction. It probably wouldn't even get classified as sci-fi. So I don't really write anything in the current best-selling genres, but that's not so much a concern. Market tastes change, and I'm not at the point where I would seriously start considering sending out manuscripts right now, anyway.
11. Editing/Revision - love it or hate it?
A lot of the time I love it, actually. I used to hate it until I found out what worked for me. My problem was that I was always trying to go back and edit earlier chapters before I'd finished the novel. What works better for me is to have an entire first draft before I start editing, because the revision is easier and more fun when I have a fully functional backbone to hang it on. I can better draw threads together and fix inconsistencies, and I really love it when things that might have given me trouble before fall into place.