"And if I don't make it, know that I loved you along..."
So, I totally stole this whole post concept from 
owlmoose, but I gave credit, so it's okay! ... Right? >.>
Anyway, I had my newest fic ("Be My Escape," a Tifa/Elena fic that I'll put up August 2nd) analyzed, and I got...
I write like
Stephen King
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
And yet, whenever I have my big bang fic analyzed, I get:
I write like
Oscar Wilde
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
And, as
owlmoose pointed out, it segues nicely into my "30 Days Of..." list. I'm not normally for these, but I really would like to journal more, so hopefully, having these specific questions will actually help me with that.
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you've worked with and why.
Well, in fanfiction, that would probably be a toss up between Final Fantasy VIII's universe and Star Ocean: The Second Story's universe. I love FF8 because of it's heavy focus on "modern" life with miscellaneous quirks (such as no live TV; everything is recorded), and it can be fun to write scenes and really work to make them feel otherworldly. For SO2, it's much the opposite. That one has such a fantastical universe that it can difficult to find things to ground it with. Either way provides a wonderful challenge that I love to work with.
In original fiction, that's easy. I have a steampunk universe that I like to play with, and while I've never managed to actually write anything of substance set there, it's like my favorite playground. Sometimes I don't want to build sandcastles, sometimes I just want to sit in the swing and look around. And steampunk universes tend to be so drastically detailed that you can just sit and look and world build for hours at a time. I call it my "pirates" universe.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
Oh man, I write too many characters to count. Even in my original stuff, I have a list of at least fourteen, seven of which are fully fleshed out people to me, and the rest are like good friends, even if they only have a minor part.
As for which I prefer writing... men. Easily. I always feel like my female characters are little more than charicatures, stiff imitations of my male characters. I'm not really certain why I find it so much easier to write as a male either. I'm not an overly masculine person or anything. I just identify with them. Probably why most of my writing is slash, or my het pairings tend to focus more on the man's POV than the woman's.
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
Well, to be perfectly fair, I tend to use names based on location. So, for example, when I was working with my Aion characters (all Elyos), I decided that I needed to use Greek/Latin sounding names. That meant time to look up nice Greek and Latin names that I liked, maybe recombine a few until they suited the character. But when I'm actually just making up fantastical names (for example, my 'Elven' names in my OYaaD universe), I have the habit of simply picking a sound I like and making noises around it until I find something I like, then typing it out.
Good example of this is Elrohir, from OYaaD. I liked the "Elro" sound, and I just played around with it until I decided I liked the "here" sound at the end. Then it was just a matter of figuring out how to spell it. I came up with Telperiën (the Elven home world) the same way. It was just a matter of figuring out sounds that went well with "peri." Kind of strange, but that's how I think.
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
The very first short story I finished was a vampire story featuring a character I fondly named Victoria (never wrote another word with her either). She was pretty two-dimensional now that I look back on her, but given the fact that I was about ten at the time, I would hope I could be forgiven. Hard to believe that was over twelve years ago!
My first fanfiction, on the other hand, is actually still up. I wrote it back in 2001, and no one can lie to me and try to tell me that it's good. I keep it up because it's a reminder, a badge of courage that I want sewn to my profile for all eternity. It's my own personal mile-marker, so that on those days that I feel like complete crap and I feel like every word I choose is wrong, I have something that I can look at and remind myself how far I've come. I suppose, in all honesty, that it's why I can like what I write now.
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
Youngest is easily Leon D.S. Gehste, from Star Ocean: The Second Story. He's twelve. My oldest, by age, is Reeve Tuesti (thirty-five during the events of Final Fantasy VII). As far as the "oldest" in terms of how long I've been writing them, probably Reno, of the Turks in Final Fantasy VII. My newest character is Agatsuma Soubi, from Loveless. I only picked him up a few weeks ago.
In the original character bin, my youngest is probably Julien, a fifteen year old boy in a story that I never finished. Oldest is easily Elrohir, but that's kind of cheating, since he's not human and has lived for thousands of years. Excluding anyone who lives by some artificial means, it's Jaxon, who is twenty-eight. She's a mage character that I created for a roleplay scene. Longest original character that I've had is Myghin Min Adalon, a plant mage that I based pretty heavily off of the magic featured in Tamora Pierce's "Magic Circle" series. I've been writing stories with her since I started writing really. My newest original character is Freeman, a paranoid Virtual Adept that I made around the same time I refigured Jaxon for the roleplay scene.
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol' pen and paper?
Well, this is a bit of a trick question. The truth is, it all depends on what I'm doing. My absolute best writing, as far as the actual process goes, occurs between two and seven in the morning. Sadly, this means a lot of friction between myself and the rest of my family, as I tend to sleep afterwards, and only get good sleep after a lot night of writing. I have been making an effort to write earlier in the evening, but all of my prose seems so forced. I think it's because in that window of the morning, I'm sleepy enough that my inhibitions are lowered, and I trust my instincts more. Also, actual writing only occurs on the computer for me. I need to comfort of that endless white word document and the security of the 'delete' key!
As far as all other "writing" stuff (plotting, character notes, etc.), I tend to do those in the middle of the day and late evening. Oddly enough, I do all of my plot notes and my character concepts on paper. I have several notebooks, and I tend to switch notebooks as I switch fandoms. I like to do my plot notes curled up on a couch or stretched out in the bed with my boyfriend (drives him crazy, but I get the best ideas that way).
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
Yes. All the freaking time. Really, I can even have trouble with a scene if I don't have music to accompany it and sort of set the mood for me. It's a terrible drawback, but I think it comes from visualizing my scenes as sequences in movies, and what is a movie without it's soundtrack? I could easily compile soundtracks for each piece I've written; although, on my one-shots, I generally write them with a single song on repeat.
Currently, I have a few songs that apply to specific characters/pairings, such as "Gunslinger," by Avenged Sevenfold has become my theme for Dias Flac/Ashton Anchors, and "The Bottom Line," by Depeche Mode is Squall's theme.
8. What's your favorite genre to write? To read?
Personally, I love to write romance. I'm a complete sap, and admittedly, I write romance because I can see it (on screen)/(in print) in places that "normal" people don't. It's really quite sad, but ah well, right? When given the chance, I like to curl up with a good action/adventure novel instead, although I do read a lot of romance myself. Mostly the graphic word porn (Christine Feehan!).
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
Really, it isn't that I go through any sort of actual process making my characters. I might spend a few hours filling out a character sheet for them, particularly if I feel like there's some sort of piece to the character that I'm missing, but generally, I try to figure out what motivates them and write according to that rather than my perception of their actions. Honestly, I'm not entirely certain that even makes sense to anyone other than myself, but, hey, whatever. I included a sample character sheet for those interested, if you click on the question.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
Well, to be perfectly honest, I haven't had that many "weird" situations. Most of mine tend to be either romantic or serious. I suppose that the strangest situation I ever wrote was the one where Alistair was turned into a girl by Morrigan (Dragon Age: Origins, unfinished fic). That was fun to write, although I froze up on the sex scene that goes with that story! ... That's sad, isn't it?
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
That's a tough one, honestly. I enjoy writing tons of characters, and sometimes my favorite character isn't one of the ones I actually write a whole lot with. I suppose, if pressed, my favorite character to write ever would probably be a tie between Irvine Kinneas (FF8) and Reeve Tuesti (FF7). I mean, I have ten years of headcanon that goes with each of those two characters though, so that might be a large portion of what makes them fun to write.
Least favorite is just as difficult, if only because I struggle with so many characters. I hate writing Cid (FF7) though, and honestly, I have yet to find another character that gives me that much trouble.
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of world-building? Any side-notes on it you'd like to share?
Easy question, yay! I have two original stories in particular that I did a lot of heavy world-building (OYaaD and my Pirates 'verses), and while I am proud of both, I am well aware that my Pirates verse has a far more in depth explanation. It's all of my favorite themes in one giant squishy package: vampires (sort of), magic, regency England (dress), airships, pirates, post-apocalyptic... Mm. If you're interested in the details, I already made a pretty in depth post (friends-only though, because I don't like posting the details out in the open for just anyone to view).
13. What's your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
This meme is so full of hard questions (and I've gotten so bad at answering them regularly). I loved writing (and this might be a little obscure and specific, but whatever) as Zevran Arainai, because of the culture shock. He's Antivan, think Spain, and stuck in Ferelden, think England in the dark ages. So he's lost so much: pasta, warmth... and then there are the actual cultural differences that he has to learn to deal with, such as the concept of loyalty in Ferelden, or the fact that Fereldan nobility actually fights alongside and for their people. So, I guess that would mean that I love writing the Fereldan culture, but specifically, from an outsider's perspective?
14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing? ;)
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story-from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
26. Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there's nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!
owlmoose, but I gave credit, so it's okay! ... Right? >.>
Anyway, I had my newest fic ("Be My Escape," a Tifa/Elena fic that I'll put up August 2nd) analyzed, and I got...
I write like
Stephen King
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
And yet, whenever I have my big bang fic analyzed, I get:
I write like
Oscar Wilde
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
And, as
owlmoose pointed out, it segues nicely into my "30 Days Of..." list. I'm not normally for these, but I really would like to journal more, so hopefully, having these specific questions will actually help me with that.
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you've worked with and why.
Well, in fanfiction, that would probably be a toss up between Final Fantasy VIII's universe and Star Ocean: The Second Story's universe. I love FF8 because of it's heavy focus on "modern" life with miscellaneous quirks (such as no live TV; everything is recorded), and it can be fun to write scenes and really work to make them feel otherworldly. For SO2, it's much the opposite. That one has such a fantastical universe that it can difficult to find things to ground it with. Either way provides a wonderful challenge that I love to work with.
In original fiction, that's easy. I have a steampunk universe that I like to play with, and while I've never managed to actually write anything of substance set there, it's like my favorite playground. Sometimes I don't want to build sandcastles, sometimes I just want to sit in the swing and look around. And steampunk universes tend to be so drastically detailed that you can just sit and look and world build for hours at a time. I call it my "pirates" universe.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
Oh man, I write too many characters to count. Even in my original stuff, I have a list of at least fourteen, seven of which are fully fleshed out people to me, and the rest are like good friends, even if they only have a minor part.
As for which I prefer writing... men. Easily. I always feel like my female characters are little more than charicatures, stiff imitations of my male characters. I'm not really certain why I find it so much easier to write as a male either. I'm not an overly masculine person or anything. I just identify with them. Probably why most of my writing is slash, or my het pairings tend to focus more on the man's POV than the woman's.
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
Well, to be perfectly fair, I tend to use names based on location. So, for example, when I was working with my Aion characters (all Elyos), I decided that I needed to use Greek/Latin sounding names. That meant time to look up nice Greek and Latin names that I liked, maybe recombine a few until they suited the character. But when I'm actually just making up fantastical names (for example, my 'Elven' names in my OYaaD universe), I have the habit of simply picking a sound I like and making noises around it until I find something I like, then typing it out.
Good example of this is Elrohir, from OYaaD. I liked the "Elro" sound, and I just played around with it until I decided I liked the "here" sound at the end. Then it was just a matter of figuring out how to spell it. I came up with Telperiën (the Elven home world) the same way. It was just a matter of figuring out sounds that went well with "peri." Kind of strange, but that's how I think.
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
The very first short story I finished was a vampire story featuring a character I fondly named Victoria (never wrote another word with her either). She was pretty two-dimensional now that I look back on her, but given the fact that I was about ten at the time, I would hope I could be forgiven. Hard to believe that was over twelve years ago!
My first fanfiction, on the other hand, is actually still up. I wrote it back in 2001, and no one can lie to me and try to tell me that it's good. I keep it up because it's a reminder, a badge of courage that I want sewn to my profile for all eternity. It's my own personal mile-marker, so that on those days that I feel like complete crap and I feel like every word I choose is wrong, I have something that I can look at and remind myself how far I've come. I suppose, in all honesty, that it's why I can like what I write now.
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
Youngest is easily Leon D.S. Gehste, from Star Ocean: The Second Story. He's twelve. My oldest, by age, is Reeve Tuesti (thirty-five during the events of Final Fantasy VII). As far as the "oldest" in terms of how long I've been writing them, probably Reno, of the Turks in Final Fantasy VII. My newest character is Agatsuma Soubi, from Loveless. I only picked him up a few weeks ago.
In the original character bin, my youngest is probably Julien, a fifteen year old boy in a story that I never finished. Oldest is easily Elrohir, but that's kind of cheating, since he's not human and has lived for thousands of years. Excluding anyone who lives by some artificial means, it's Jaxon, who is twenty-eight. She's a mage character that I created for a roleplay scene. Longest original character that I've had is Myghin Min Adalon, a plant mage that I based pretty heavily off of the magic featured in Tamora Pierce's "Magic Circle" series. I've been writing stories with her since I started writing really. My newest original character is Freeman, a paranoid Virtual Adept that I made around the same time I refigured Jaxon for the roleplay scene.
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol' pen and paper?
Well, this is a bit of a trick question. The truth is, it all depends on what I'm doing. My absolute best writing, as far as the actual process goes, occurs between two and seven in the morning. Sadly, this means a lot of friction between myself and the rest of my family, as I tend to sleep afterwards, and only get good sleep after a lot night of writing. I have been making an effort to write earlier in the evening, but all of my prose seems so forced. I think it's because in that window of the morning, I'm sleepy enough that my inhibitions are lowered, and I trust my instincts more. Also, actual writing only occurs on the computer for me. I need to comfort of that endless white word document and the security of the 'delete' key!
As far as all other "writing" stuff (plotting, character notes, etc.), I tend to do those in the middle of the day and late evening. Oddly enough, I do all of my plot notes and my character concepts on paper. I have several notebooks, and I tend to switch notebooks as I switch fandoms. I like to do my plot notes curled up on a couch or stretched out in the bed with my boyfriend (drives him crazy, but I get the best ideas that way).
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
Yes. All the freaking time. Really, I can even have trouble with a scene if I don't have music to accompany it and sort of set the mood for me. It's a terrible drawback, but I think it comes from visualizing my scenes as sequences in movies, and what is a movie without it's soundtrack? I could easily compile soundtracks for each piece I've written; although, on my one-shots, I generally write them with a single song on repeat.
Currently, I have a few songs that apply to specific characters/pairings, such as "Gunslinger," by Avenged Sevenfold has become my theme for Dias Flac/Ashton Anchors, and "The Bottom Line," by Depeche Mode is Squall's theme.
8. What's your favorite genre to write? To read?
Personally, I love to write romance. I'm a complete sap, and admittedly, I write romance because I can see it (on screen)/(in print) in places that "normal" people don't. It's really quite sad, but ah well, right? When given the chance, I like to curl up with a good action/adventure novel instead, although I do read a lot of romance myself. Mostly the graphic word porn (Christine Feehan!).
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
Really, it isn't that I go through any sort of actual process making my characters. I might spend a few hours filling out a character sheet for them, particularly if I feel like there's some sort of piece to the character that I'm missing, but generally, I try to figure out what motivates them and write according to that rather than my perception of their actions. Honestly, I'm not entirely certain that even makes sense to anyone other than myself, but, hey, whatever. I included a sample character sheet for those interested, if you click on the question.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
Well, to be perfectly honest, I haven't had that many "weird" situations. Most of mine tend to be either romantic or serious. I suppose that the strangest situation I ever wrote was the one where Alistair was turned into a girl by Morrigan (Dragon Age: Origins, unfinished fic). That was fun to write, although I froze up on the sex scene that goes with that story! ... That's sad, isn't it?
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
That's a tough one, honestly. I enjoy writing tons of characters, and sometimes my favorite character isn't one of the ones I actually write a whole lot with. I suppose, if pressed, my favorite character to write ever would probably be a tie between Irvine Kinneas (FF8) and Reeve Tuesti (FF7). I mean, I have ten years of headcanon that goes with each of those two characters though, so that might be a large portion of what makes them fun to write.
Least favorite is just as difficult, if only because I struggle with so many characters. I hate writing Cid (FF7) though, and honestly, I have yet to find another character that gives me that much trouble.
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of world-building? Any side-notes on it you'd like to share?
Easy question, yay! I have two original stories in particular that I did a lot of heavy world-building (OYaaD and my Pirates 'verses), and while I am proud of both, I am well aware that my Pirates verse has a far more in depth explanation. It's all of my favorite themes in one giant squishy package: vampires (sort of), magic, regency England (dress), airships, pirates, post-apocalyptic... Mm. If you're interested in the details, I already made a pretty in depth post (friends-only though, because I don't like posting the details out in the open for just anyone to view).
13. What's your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
This meme is so full of hard questions (and I've gotten so bad at answering them regularly). I loved writing (and this might be a little obscure and specific, but whatever) as Zevran Arainai, because of the culture shock. He's Antivan, think Spain, and stuck in Ferelden, think England in the dark ages. So he's lost so much: pasta, warmth... and then there are the actual cultural differences that he has to learn to deal with, such as the concept of loyalty in Ferelden, or the fact that Fereldan nobility actually fights alongside and for their people. So, I guess that would mean that I love writing the Fereldan culture, but specifically, from an outsider's perspective?
14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing? ;)
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story-from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
26. Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there's nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!