Thirty days of insight, explanations, nostalgia and excerpts from my writing life.
I came across a thing on Twitter the other day that looked too fun to pass up: The Thirty Day Writing Challenge (#TDWC). It asked 30 questions about your writing, and you were supposed to answer 1 question for each day of the month.
Here are my answers for the questions Days 8 – 14!
#8 Your least favorite character out of all the characters you’ve written?
At the moment … Mr. Augustus Rutt, the Registry official in charge of Una Duo in my current novel PRIMUS. Ugh. That guy. He turned out so damn cruel. Aside from him, probably my least-liked characters are the Old Republic Navy officers from way back in my Star Wars: KOTOR fanfiction days. 😉 I did not paint a wonderful picture of the military in those stories … (or in the Mass Effect fanfiction, come to think of it…)
#9 Your favorite character from a book not written by you?
Oh, definitely Amelia Peabody from the Peabody Mystery series by Elizabeth Peters. I LOVE that woman. OMG. LOVE HER. Also Ampris from the aforementioned Alien Chronicles series by Deborah Chester. Two fantastic female characters that I can never get enough of!
#10 The first sentence of the first chapter of your WIP?
The rain poured down in sheets, nearly drowning them as they ran.
#11 The last complete sentence you wrote on your WIP?
Well, I’m editing right now, so the last complete new sentence I wrote on it was (okay fine it’s 2 sentences):
Well done, Sokolov. At least the Preemo was proving to be useful at something.
The last sentence I wrote on the initial first draft was:
“Welcome to the beginning, boys.”
(I happen to like that one a lot and hope I won’t have to change it in edits!)
#12 How would your writing habits change if the Internet no longer existed?
Well, when I started writing we didn’t really have the Internet. But these days, I’d probably get a lot more done! I’m much better at focusing now, I use the Promodoro technique a lot to keep me on-task. But it did used to be so much easier to commit hours and hours to just writing. Now, after 20 solid minutes I get a little itchy and want to switch to something else. Back in the day when I was handwriting in a notebook, nothing could pull me away! I was writing while in line to get into a Star Wars exhibit at the Smithsonian (an artist in line even sketched me sitting on the sidewalk writing in my notebook, I wish I knew where that sketch was now! :P). I was writing on the boat during a sunset dolphin watch tour off the Virginia coast … my notebook got wet from the ocean spray, but that didn’t stop me. I did, however, pause long enough to actually see the dolphins that showed up off the bow, but then went right back to writing … 😛
#13 A writer you admire?
At the moment, I’m in awe of Nick Stephenson. And Joanna Penn. They are both where I eventually want to be. They have a series of fiction books out, but also help other writers find their way with their nonfiction works, webinars, and courses. I love doing both. They are both indie authors, so they manage TWO businesses, basically. They handled everything … and can now hire other people to help them handle everything … but I am impressed by their ability to stay sane, on top of everything, and still produce quality fiction to boot! They are rockin’ it right now!
Also, I’m gonna say George R. R. Martin. Because I have *never* read an author that can get me to both root for AND root against the same character in a book. I’ve read or watched some villains that aren’t wholly hate-able, and that are even relatable to some extent, but I’ve never really read a book where I legitimately was hoping for a character’s gruesome demise … and then later was fully on that character’s side wanting them to burn down the world … and then later wanted them to die a horrible death again … and all of that done without breaking the character’s personality or the world rules! Bravo GRRM!
#14 A random sentence from your WIP?
If I’d taken them straight to Flea, no one would have died.
(From Chapter 18, the chapter I’m currently editing.)
That is all for today! If you are a writer or reader, feel free to comment with your own answers!
And stay tuned for more throughout this month!
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Oh wow, 12 hit me hard! Literally was just lamenting these last few days how easy it was for me to just sit in my room, notebook on my lap, and write all day, without fear of anyone seeing it before I wanted them to, or fear of it being bad, or thinking about what other people were doing. I think it’s time to go back to that — an hour of computer a day, and then spend the rest of my time creating. My constant internet access really screwed me up, but now I have a choice in taking that time back!
That is true. Though you could still write on the computer without anyone seeing it. 😉 Personally I prefer to type, because I can write faster and it doesn’t make my hand cramp up. Lol. But there is still something to be said about hand-writing stories, for sure. Yes, there is less easily accessible distraction that way, but also our brains work differently on computer vs. paper. Sometimes if I’m really stuck, I’ve found that hand-writing helps untangle things. These days my time is so scarce, when I get on the computer to write, I’m pretty good at just sticking to writing. I use http://www.marinartimer.com to keep on-task for at least 25 solid minutes at a time! 😉