it's only wednesday--someone kill me
Jun. 9th, 2004 01:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tommygirlIs this week over yet? It feels like it's dragging. Of course, that could be because last week I only had to work three days. Oh, the evils of a 9-5 banal job to pay the bills.
**
What better way to avoid writing than by doing a survey on writing! So that’s what I’m doing…because I’m lazy and full of procrastination and I feel the need to disabuse anyone on my friends’ list that I am a disciplined sort of writer. For I’m not. I should be by now, but alas, no.
What's the last thing you wrote?
I wrote a Harry Potter drabble entitled “Envy”. Not much to it.
Was it any good?
I don’t know. It was written for a writing challenge that was about free writing for fifteen minutes, so seeking greatness isn’t really the motivation of doing one of those.
What's the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
When I was in fourth grade, I had an ongoing book I kept entitled, “The Lost Cave” about two friends who stumble upon a cave filled with treasures. It’s horrifyingly bad, but I still have it.
Was it any good?
By what standards? By fourth grade writing standards? I think so and my classmates all enjoyed reading it. Now? I’m terrified of it—hopefully I’ve improved drastically since then.
Write poetry?
I dabble and not much recently. For some reason all my poetry comes out pseudo-pretentious and I’m just not very good at it.
Angsty poetry?
Of course. I was sixteen, wore all black, and read Sylvia Plath. What do you think?
Favorite genre of writing?
I love a good coming of age story that is filled with wit and humor, but still realistically portrays the characters.
Most fun character you ever wrote?
Just one? I loved writing Davey in my one script because she is just very aware of things and always quick to mock those around her. In my fanfiction? I’d say that I loved writing Laney the most. She’s smart yet so stupid where certain things are concerned.
Most annoying character you ever wrote?
Hhhhmmm…I don’t know. I’m attached to almost every single one of my characters, but I guess Justin can be the most difficult to write at times because he’s so damn dramatic (especially in Trouble In My Head) and it’s hard to balance it without him coming across ridiculous.
Best plot you ever wrote?
I’m not so much a plot girl. I’m a character girl who has her plots sort of unfold from the way her characters react to life.
But…
Regular: my untitled Natalia novel—this is what having an actual outline ahead of time does.
Fanfiction: A New Journey (also known as the “maria story” from Roswell) because it’s something I’ve undertaken writing to work on plot.
Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?
Probably in It’s Like This. Everyone thought that the girls were the ones being used but it turned out to be the other way around.
How often do you get writer's block?
Too often for my liking.
How do you fix it?
Well, you’ve got to push through it. Write something else, do a drabble, a character biography, an outline…skip to another part of the story. But push through it. If none of that works, then maybe I’ll step away from the computer for a night—read a book I love or watch a great movie to refresh my creative juices.
Write fan fiction?
Hee-hee. Yes, too much sometimes that it can interfere with my regular projects. It’s the evil plot bunnies, I tell you.
Do you type or write by hand?
Both. I prefer writing first drafts in one of my notebooks—with lots of scrawl all over the place—and then as I type it up I make the first round of corrections to it. Sometimes though, like at work, it’s easier simply to type it out.
Do you save everything you write?
Yes, even the crap because it’s all a part of my journey to get better—and while it can be cringeworthy to find that story with “the Gregger”, it’s also reassuring to see how much I’ve progressed with my writing since then.
Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
Yeah. Once. And it didn’t go too well. I wrote this young adult novel when I was eighteen and, at the time, I had been told to tighten it up and it would be good—but by the time I got around to doing anything with it, my style had drastically changed and it kept out very, very badly.
What's your favorite thing that you've written?
Regular – I wrote a short story called “The Facts” which I love.
Fanfiction – completed: Reinventions because it was a stretch for me as far as getting into the character’s head and I think I worked hard on description (which is a great weakness for me) incomplete: Whatever. I love it. I love the lead character, I love the premise, and I love the style I wrote it in.
What's everyone else's favorite thing that you've written?
I think that would be Rhythm and Blues. People love that story for some reason. I think it’s the whole best friends end up together storyline—or maybe my movie obsession that worked its way into the characters’ relationship.
Do you even show people your work?
Of course. I have an editor, a writing advisor, my sister and a friend that doesn’t worry about sparing my feelings, and a few betas for the fanfiction pieces.
Who's your favorite constructive critic?
My sister. Because she’s not afraid of hurting my feelings or holding back. She’ll tell me flat out what doesn’t work. Sometimes, even with the best betas, they hold back on you slightly because of fear of hurting you.
There’s also my writing advisor because he’s blunt but still finds that nugget in everything I do. Like he’s been known to tell me to scrap almost an entire story except for this secondary character that he likes…it really does help and he’s usually right.
Do you have a web site for your writings?
Yep. The White Room hosts almost all of my fanfiction. A few of my regular fictional pieces are up but with publishing stuff and such, you usually can’t have it up on the web anywhere.
Did you ever write a novel?
Yep. Only one that I’ve really taken seriously as a possible publishable piece.
Have you ever written fantasy, sci-fi, or horror?
Yep.
Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?
I am the queen of teen angsty drama. It’s something I love writing—I so have unresolved high school issues. Heh.
What's your favorite setting for your characters?
Young adults facing every day issues and dealing with them.
What's one genre you have never written, and probably never will?
Straight out romance. It’s not my thing. I don’t enjoy reading it and therefore not only would I not know how to write it properly, but why would I want to?
How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Too many…I think my fear of commitment has transferred to my writing lately. I have a script, a regular novel, and a few different fanfiction pieces all on canvas at the moment.
Do you want to write for a living?
I would love, love, love for writing to be the only required source of income—but most published writers that I know still have jobs...hence the reason I plan to prepare other upcoming writers by teaching english/writing in college once I have my masters finished.
But really…if Hollywood gets its act together and realizes my untapped genius? I’m more than willing to sell out for the right price. Artistic suffering is great for those that don’t have rent to pay.
Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?
Yes, I have.
Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Yeppers! A few different things, but the one that means the most was this award I got back in eighth grade for this story that I wrote. It was the first time I felt validated in my writing abilities.
Ever written something in script or play format?
Yep.
What are your five favorite words?
Huh? Does this mean words that I love to work into pieces? Or just words I love?
Vilified, superfluous, exhilarating, achromatic, inane.
Do you ever parody?
Me? Never. Okay, maybe a few times.
What's your favorite thing to parody?
Um…it’s either based on a tv show/movie/book I love or bad fanfiction written by those that don’t think its bad, but rather genius.
Do you actually like that thing, or are you spitefully making fun of it?
Both.
Do you ever write based on yourself?
Well, I wrote myself (or an exaggerated version of myself) into my Stalker Trilogy comedies because originally that was written for the amusement of myself and my friends—I didn’t expect others to like it.
Usually, don’t write myself. There are pieces of me in all my characters though…little nuances that I take from myself and those I know usually find their way onto the page at some point.
What character that you've written most resembles yourself?
Laney from Rhythm and Blues.
Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
People I know, other characters I’ve read about or seen that get twisted around in my head, people I’ve noticed while eating lunch at the food court, etc...all over the place. A lot of the times, I have a general idea and the character molds herself/himself.
Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Occasionally, if the idea has stuck with me and seems plausible in a storyline.
Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliffhangers?
It depends. I’m a girl who allows her characters to set the pace and finish line of the story. Sometimes it goes as I expected, sometimes it’s completely different. It has to fit the story you’ve told and the way the characters have developed—sometimes the main plot device can be resolved but in the great scheme of things, there is still that unresolved feeling…that’s the way it goes. All I’m doing is attempting to get my characters from point a to point b without it sucking too bad.
Have you ever written based on an artwork you've seen?
Off photographs.
Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
I’m always concerned with grammar…but I try not to focus when I’m handwriting the first draft—as I type it up, that’s when I start making changes.
Does music help you write?
I need music to write usually. It’s a great soothing force to me.
Are people surprised and confused when they find out you write well?
People are more confused when I refer to myself as a writer. Because you can’t be that by most people’s standards. It’s a hobby, not a profession to perfect.
The only person that’s every seemed really surprised is my brother who read a novella that I had written in a notebook that he found in our living room. He didn’t tell me, but he told my mother that it was a good story. Very odd.
Quote something you've written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
THE HANGOVER (yeah, what I could realize use a tutorial on is creating invocative, or even decent, titles)
Where was I last night and how did I end up on an ugly, tattered olive couch in my best friend's apartment? I groaned, trying to make some semblance of the morning as the sun shone in through the shadeless windows, and reached for the quilt that I had made Jacob for Christmas last year. I was broke, per my usual, and emboldened by a Martha Stewart special, decided to get creative and make something for Jacob myself. After burning three batches of cookies and my mother's new kitchen curtains, I decided to stick with what I knew, what was passed to me from my mother and grandmother and I had learned through the womb or genetics or something like that.
I pulled the quilt up to my chin. It smelled like Jacob, Marlboro Lights and aftershave. It filled me with an atypical feeling--nausea--as I rushed for the bathroom, finding the lord and then the toilet. I wiped the saliva from the corners of my mouth, removed the crusty bits of sleep from my eyes, and vaguely recalled shouting the words, "Fuck me or Kill me, baby!" over and over last night.
I groaned as the lights flicked on and I was inundated with the smell of eggs, scrambled eggs, burning scrambled eggs. I looked up, expecting to see Satan himself standing there to relish in his successful hangover hell, but found Jacob standing there with a lecherous grin and a frying pan in his hands.
**
Must write. Must write. Must write.
Must finish Chapter Six. Must finish chapter six.
**
What better way to avoid writing than by doing a survey on writing! So that’s what I’m doing…because I’m lazy and full of procrastination and I feel the need to disabuse anyone on my friends’ list that I am a disciplined sort of writer. For I’m not. I should be by now, but alas, no.
What's the last thing you wrote?
I wrote a Harry Potter drabble entitled “Envy”. Not much to it.
Was it any good?
I don’t know. It was written for a writing challenge that was about free writing for fifteen minutes, so seeking greatness isn’t really the motivation of doing one of those.
What's the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
When I was in fourth grade, I had an ongoing book I kept entitled, “The Lost Cave” about two friends who stumble upon a cave filled with treasures. It’s horrifyingly bad, but I still have it.
Was it any good?
By what standards? By fourth grade writing standards? I think so and my classmates all enjoyed reading it. Now? I’m terrified of it—hopefully I’ve improved drastically since then.
Write poetry?
I dabble and not much recently. For some reason all my poetry comes out pseudo-pretentious and I’m just not very good at it.
Angsty poetry?
Of course. I was sixteen, wore all black, and read Sylvia Plath. What do you think?
Favorite genre of writing?
I love a good coming of age story that is filled with wit and humor, but still realistically portrays the characters.
Most fun character you ever wrote?
Just one? I loved writing Davey in my one script because she is just very aware of things and always quick to mock those around her. In my fanfiction? I’d say that I loved writing Laney the most. She’s smart yet so stupid where certain things are concerned.
Most annoying character you ever wrote?
Hhhhmmm…I don’t know. I’m attached to almost every single one of my characters, but I guess Justin can be the most difficult to write at times because he’s so damn dramatic (especially in Trouble In My Head) and it’s hard to balance it without him coming across ridiculous.
Best plot you ever wrote?
I’m not so much a plot girl. I’m a character girl who has her plots sort of unfold from the way her characters react to life.
But…
Regular: my untitled Natalia novel—this is what having an actual outline ahead of time does.
Fanfiction: A New Journey (also known as the “maria story” from Roswell) because it’s something I’ve undertaken writing to work on plot.
Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?
Probably in It’s Like This. Everyone thought that the girls were the ones being used but it turned out to be the other way around.
How often do you get writer's block?
Too often for my liking.
How do you fix it?
Well, you’ve got to push through it. Write something else, do a drabble, a character biography, an outline…skip to another part of the story. But push through it. If none of that works, then maybe I’ll step away from the computer for a night—read a book I love or watch a great movie to refresh my creative juices.
Write fan fiction?
Hee-hee. Yes, too much sometimes that it can interfere with my regular projects. It’s the evil plot bunnies, I tell you.
Do you type or write by hand?
Both. I prefer writing first drafts in one of my notebooks—with lots of scrawl all over the place—and then as I type it up I make the first round of corrections to it. Sometimes though, like at work, it’s easier simply to type it out.
Do you save everything you write?
Yes, even the crap because it’s all a part of my journey to get better—and while it can be cringeworthy to find that story with “the Gregger”, it’s also reassuring to see how much I’ve progressed with my writing since then.
Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
Yeah. Once. And it didn’t go too well. I wrote this young adult novel when I was eighteen and, at the time, I had been told to tighten it up and it would be good—but by the time I got around to doing anything with it, my style had drastically changed and it kept out very, very badly.
What's your favorite thing that you've written?
Regular – I wrote a short story called “The Facts” which I love.
Fanfiction – completed: Reinventions because it was a stretch for me as far as getting into the character’s head and I think I worked hard on description (which is a great weakness for me) incomplete: Whatever. I love it. I love the lead character, I love the premise, and I love the style I wrote it in.
What's everyone else's favorite thing that you've written?
I think that would be Rhythm and Blues. People love that story for some reason. I think it’s the whole best friends end up together storyline—or maybe my movie obsession that worked its way into the characters’ relationship.
Do you even show people your work?
Of course. I have an editor, a writing advisor, my sister and a friend that doesn’t worry about sparing my feelings, and a few betas for the fanfiction pieces.
Who's your favorite constructive critic?
My sister. Because she’s not afraid of hurting my feelings or holding back. She’ll tell me flat out what doesn’t work. Sometimes, even with the best betas, they hold back on you slightly because of fear of hurting you.
There’s also my writing advisor because he’s blunt but still finds that nugget in everything I do. Like he’s been known to tell me to scrap almost an entire story except for this secondary character that he likes…it really does help and he’s usually right.
Do you have a web site for your writings?
Yep. The White Room hosts almost all of my fanfiction. A few of my regular fictional pieces are up but with publishing stuff and such, you usually can’t have it up on the web anywhere.
Did you ever write a novel?
Yep. Only one that I’ve really taken seriously as a possible publishable piece.
Have you ever written fantasy, sci-fi, or horror?
Yep.
Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?
I am the queen of teen angsty drama. It’s something I love writing—I so have unresolved high school issues. Heh.
What's your favorite setting for your characters?
Young adults facing every day issues and dealing with them.
What's one genre you have never written, and probably never will?
Straight out romance. It’s not my thing. I don’t enjoy reading it and therefore not only would I not know how to write it properly, but why would I want to?
How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Too many…I think my fear of commitment has transferred to my writing lately. I have a script, a regular novel, and a few different fanfiction pieces all on canvas at the moment.
Do you want to write for a living?
I would love, love, love for writing to be the only required source of income—but most published writers that I know still have jobs...hence the reason I plan to prepare other upcoming writers by teaching english/writing in college once I have my masters finished.
But really…if Hollywood gets its act together and realizes my untapped genius? I’m more than willing to sell out for the right price. Artistic suffering is great for those that don’t have rent to pay.
Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?
Yes, I have.
Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Yeppers! A few different things, but the one that means the most was this award I got back in eighth grade for this story that I wrote. It was the first time I felt validated in my writing abilities.
Ever written something in script or play format?
Yep.
What are your five favorite words?
Huh? Does this mean words that I love to work into pieces? Or just words I love?
Vilified, superfluous, exhilarating, achromatic, inane.
Do you ever parody?
Me? Never. Okay, maybe a few times.
What's your favorite thing to parody?
Um…it’s either based on a tv show/movie/book I love or bad fanfiction written by those that don’t think its bad, but rather genius.
Do you actually like that thing, or are you spitefully making fun of it?
Both.
Do you ever write based on yourself?
Well, I wrote myself (or an exaggerated version of myself) into my Stalker Trilogy comedies because originally that was written for the amusement of myself and my friends—I didn’t expect others to like it.
Usually, don’t write myself. There are pieces of me in all my characters though…little nuances that I take from myself and those I know usually find their way onto the page at some point.
What character that you've written most resembles yourself?
Laney from Rhythm and Blues.
Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
People I know, other characters I’ve read about or seen that get twisted around in my head, people I’ve noticed while eating lunch at the food court, etc...all over the place. A lot of the times, I have a general idea and the character molds herself/himself.
Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Occasionally, if the idea has stuck with me and seems plausible in a storyline.
Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliffhangers?
It depends. I’m a girl who allows her characters to set the pace and finish line of the story. Sometimes it goes as I expected, sometimes it’s completely different. It has to fit the story you’ve told and the way the characters have developed—sometimes the main plot device can be resolved but in the great scheme of things, there is still that unresolved feeling…that’s the way it goes. All I’m doing is attempting to get my characters from point a to point b without it sucking too bad.
Have you ever written based on an artwork you've seen?
Off photographs.
Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
I’m always concerned with grammar…but I try not to focus when I’m handwriting the first draft—as I type it up, that’s when I start making changes.
Does music help you write?
I need music to write usually. It’s a great soothing force to me.
Are people surprised and confused when they find out you write well?
People are more confused when I refer to myself as a writer. Because you can’t be that by most people’s standards. It’s a hobby, not a profession to perfect.
The only person that’s every seemed really surprised is my brother who read a novella that I had written in a notebook that he found in our living room. He didn’t tell me, but he told my mother that it was a good story. Very odd.
Quote something you've written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
THE HANGOVER (yeah, what I could realize use a tutorial on is creating invocative, or even decent, titles)
Where was I last night and how did I end up on an ugly, tattered olive couch in my best friend's apartment? I groaned, trying to make some semblance of the morning as the sun shone in through the shadeless windows, and reached for the quilt that I had made Jacob for Christmas last year. I was broke, per my usual, and emboldened by a Martha Stewart special, decided to get creative and make something for Jacob myself. After burning three batches of cookies and my mother's new kitchen curtains, I decided to stick with what I knew, what was passed to me from my mother and grandmother and I had learned through the womb or genetics or something like that.
I pulled the quilt up to my chin. It smelled like Jacob, Marlboro Lights and aftershave. It filled me with an atypical feeling--nausea--as I rushed for the bathroom, finding the lord and then the toilet. I wiped the saliva from the corners of my mouth, removed the crusty bits of sleep from my eyes, and vaguely recalled shouting the words, "Fuck me or Kill me, baby!" over and over last night.
I groaned as the lights flicked on and I was inundated with the smell of eggs, scrambled eggs, burning scrambled eggs. I looked up, expecting to see Satan himself standing there to relish in his successful hangover hell, but found Jacob standing there with a lecherous grin and a frying pan in his hands.
**
Must write. Must write. Must write.
Must finish Chapter Six. Must finish chapter six.
