Because I'm home alone and bored out of my wits (that was fast...) "30 Days" again!
The family left for a one week skiing trip to Norway that I couldn't accompany them on because a) I didn't know we could go on leave during the probabtional period and b) my knee is still way too fucked up to actually enjoy skiing. Remember, it happened in April last year... and today was the first day I had the feeling I could run more than five meters at a reasonable jogging trot... And here I thought I'd be done with that stupid business by January...
Anyway, enough of the whining (after all, pain is just weakness leaving the body), have another "30 Days" question!
First five (and I should get around linking them all together some day... done!):
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
Next one:
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?
I'm a creature of the night (and I always wanted to say that \o/), so that's when I write best: at night. One of the reasons I'd never make a good professional writer, BTW. If you're a professional writer, you'll have to treat it like a day job (you do, right? Any professional writers on the flist that I know or don't know of experiences differently?), not like something you can only do after it gets dark and on whim. And no, I'm not joking. It has to be dark outside to get me in a real writing mood, which is why I don't really like summer (apart from the infernal heat and the sweating and the fact that it dawns and the birds start to sing way too fucking early, that is).
As to the where... the couch in the living room does nicely, but only when I'm alone (and yes, that includes you, mom... sorry *shrugs). I can write a couple of paragraphs when there's someone else of the family in the room but I just don't feel comfortable enough to launch into a full out bunny killing job with racing through the paragraphs just to get rid of the damn thing. I do need either perfect quiet and aloneness (yes, that's not a word, I know) for longer writing, most of all the difficult parts like killing off people or - even worse - writing their funerals (Windows Media Player scares me... right in the moment I wrote the funeral bit, it started playing Trace Adkins' Arlington which I'd planned to use for the funeral piece for... wait, no spoilers... some people here might actually read my stuff).
It's a bit embarrassing but now and then, I catch myself at bawling my eyes out while writing my own stuff (it definitely happened with The Faith That Cleans The Wound and I'll Carry You Home), and I really don't want anyone around when that happens because I'm a bit on the teary side in general when it's about movies, books and songs (yes, I can be moved very easily with just the right triggers... some of them never fail to get at me) and the family likes to use that against me as often as they can (what, it's true, people!).
Also, I can't stand having to have a conversation while writing. I do do multitasking but I don't do having a conversation and writing. One of them always ends up irritating me and usually it's the conversation when I'm in the mood for writing and have just the right drive (and yes, mom, that means in general, not just you) and the writing when I either want to or have to get something in the doc file but don't seem to have even the slightest bit of inspiration. I hate when that happens.
So yes, a few good reasons why I need to be alone or surrounded by people who don't know me and don't want to talk to me (like on a train... I can write really well on trains for some reason, even when it's not dark outside). As for the question of computer vs. pen and paper... the overwhelming majority of my texts are written on computer. However, I carry around the mighty load of three notebooks (actual ones made of cardboard and paper) in varying sizes in my backpack. The biggest one for large chunks of cohesive text, the middle one for pieces of dialogue und noting down of plot bunnies and the smallest one for single dialogue lines or songs that inspired me. And you really don't want to know what over a decade worth of typing as the major form of getting text written down did to my already scratchy at best handwriting... yes, it's a bitch transfering handwritten text into the laptop and I loathe it with a passion.
But then again, work is kinda slow at the moment and we tend to have a couple of minutes between calls, so I need something to occupy me with and since winter is waning, the knitting is getting a little obsolete and sometimes even I need a break from my compulsive reading... or I get jumped by a plot bunny the size of a small planetoid (one of those even C4 doesn't do anything against) and have to get rid of it right this minute and then the notebooks really do a fine job. I wrote a piece on Lorne and Kemp that way, or at least some parts of it, and a piece on ancient_leah's General Wells at... someone's wedding. Who knew work could have some perks after all?
BTW, if any of you are put off by the amount of swearing in today's post, I blame it all on ancient_leah who succumbed to my incessant nagging and posted a question about swearing in fics on a German forum and John Birmingham who bombed a fictional Berlin to radioactive wasteland with putting three fictional nukes on top of a fictional Heinrich Himmler and will probably get his ass kicked for that after he finished his deadline if I can master up the courage to do so and is a master in the art of using four letter words and their longer friends in written text.
~*~
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of worldbuilding? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?
13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
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!
Anyway, enough of the whining (after all, pain is just weakness leaving the body), have another "30 Days" question!
First five (and I should get around linking them all together some day... done!):
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
Next one:
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?
I'm a creature of the night (and I always wanted to say that \o/), so that's when I write best: at night. One of the reasons I'd never make a good professional writer, BTW. If you're a professional writer, you'll have to treat it like a day job (you do, right? Any professional writers on the flist that I know or don't know of experiences differently?), not like something you can only do after it gets dark and on whim. And no, I'm not joking. It has to be dark outside to get me in a real writing mood, which is why I don't really like summer (apart from the infernal heat and the sweating and the fact that it dawns and the birds start to sing way too fucking early, that is).
As to the where... the couch in the living room does nicely, but only when I'm alone (and yes, that includes you, mom... sorry *shrugs). I can write a couple of paragraphs when there's someone else of the family in the room but I just don't feel comfortable enough to launch into a full out bunny killing job with racing through the paragraphs just to get rid of the damn thing. I do need either perfect quiet and aloneness (yes, that's not a word, I know) for longer writing, most of all the difficult parts like killing off people or - even worse - writing their funerals (Windows Media Player scares me... right in the moment I wrote the funeral bit, it started playing Trace Adkins' Arlington which I'd planned to use for the funeral piece for... wait, no spoilers... some people here might actually read my stuff).
It's a bit embarrassing but now and then, I catch myself at bawling my eyes out while writing my own stuff (it definitely happened with The Faith That Cleans The Wound and I'll Carry You Home), and I really don't want anyone around when that happens because I'm a bit on the teary side in general when it's about movies, books and songs (yes, I can be moved very easily with just the right triggers... some of them never fail to get at me) and the family likes to use that against me as often as they can (what, it's true, people!).
Also, I can't stand having to have a conversation while writing. I do do multitasking but I don't do having a conversation and writing. One of them always ends up irritating me and usually it's the conversation when I'm in the mood for writing and have just the right drive (and yes, mom, that means in general, not just you) and the writing when I either want to or have to get something in the doc file but don't seem to have even the slightest bit of inspiration. I hate when that happens.
So yes, a few good reasons why I need to be alone or surrounded by people who don't know me and don't want to talk to me (like on a train... I can write really well on trains for some reason, even when it's not dark outside). As for the question of computer vs. pen and paper... the overwhelming majority of my texts are written on computer. However, I carry around the mighty load of three notebooks (actual ones made of cardboard and paper) in varying sizes in my backpack. The biggest one for large chunks of cohesive text, the middle one for pieces of dialogue und noting down of plot bunnies and the smallest one for single dialogue lines or songs that inspired me. And you really don't want to know what over a decade worth of typing as the major form of getting text written down did to my already scratchy at best handwriting... yes, it's a bitch transfering handwritten text into the laptop and I loathe it with a passion.
But then again, work is kinda slow at the moment and we tend to have a couple of minutes between calls, so I need something to occupy me with and since winter is waning, the knitting is getting a little obsolete and sometimes even I need a break from my compulsive reading... or I get jumped by a plot bunny the size of a small planetoid (one of those even C4 doesn't do anything against) and have to get rid of it right this minute and then the notebooks really do a fine job. I wrote a piece on Lorne and Kemp that way, or at least some parts of it, and a piece on ancient_leah's General Wells at... someone's wedding. Who knew work could have some perks after all?
BTW, if any of you are put off by the amount of swearing in today's post, I blame it all on ancient_leah who succumbed to my incessant nagging and posted a question about swearing in fics on a German forum and John Birmingham who bombed a fictional Berlin to radioactive wasteland with putting three fictional nukes on top of a fictional Heinrich Himmler and will probably get his ass kicked for that after he finished his deadline if I can master up the courage to do so and is a master in the art of using four letter words and their longer friends in written text.
~*~
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of worldbuilding? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?
13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
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!