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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Beautiful People {2} Author Edition



Beautiful People is an AWESOME (monthly) tag hosted by Cait@Paper Fury and Sky@Further Up and Further In. You should definitely check it out. There's a page on Cait's blog that talks all about Beautiful People, and you can find that HERE.

Onwards!

1. How many years have you been writing? When did you officially consider yourself a ‘writer’?

I've been writing for almost eight years. (I started when I was 7, and, needless to say, my writing was horrible). I officially considered myself a "writer" after I finished my first book (which was still terrible) when I was... erm... probably eleven.

2. How/why did you start writing?


'Cause that's what all the cool kids were doing. ;)

I started writing because my sister started writing.

3. What’s your favorite part of writing?

Ooh, probably the same thing as my last favorite part. Discovering all the shiny ideas!!! I love having an idea and creating a world and then being able to put it all on paper. It's so much easier writing what I feel than saying it. 

4. What’s your biggest writing struggle?


Sticking with a project for more than a couple days. I always get super distracted or just stop having ideas. Ohhhh, and finding out when it's time for the ending. I can never force myself to think up an outline so, yeah. Endings are always super hard.

5. Do you write best at night or day?

Day. That being said, I've never really written at night. 

6. What does your writing space look like? (Feel free to show us pictures!)


I write wherever I've got my computer and a place to curl up, so my writing space is pretty much wherever I happen to be when I'm writing.

7. How long does it typically take you to write a complete draft?


Since the last time I completed a complete draft was over a year ago, I have no idea. Okay. It typically never happens. But the two books I have finished that I will actually acknowledge as books were completed (1) in over a year and (2) in eight days.

Yeah.

8. How many projects do you work on at once?


ALL THE PROJECTS ALL THE TIME. Who says you need your sanity?

Right now I'm narrowing down my projects but usually around three with a couple on the side.

9. Do you prefer writing happy endings, sad ones, or somewhere in between?

A little bit of both. I love writing bittersweet endings. 

10. List a few authors who’ve influenced your writing journey.


Erm. Well, Tahereh Mafi and Michelle Hodkin both helped me learn how to write better and more creepily. 

11. Do you let people read your writing? Why or why not?

Only one person ever reads my writing, and that is my sister. Mainly because we're best friends and I tell/show her everything.

12. What’s your ultimate writing goal or dream?


PUBLISH A NON-SUCKY BOOK. That's it. That's all I want.

13. If you didn’t write, what would you want to do?


I've never really thought about it. Writing's all I've ever wanted to do, but recently I've been looking into what I might want to do for a college degree (fascinating, I know) and I think maybe engineering, but I'm not sure.

14. Do you have a book you’d like to write one day but don’t feel you’re ready to attempt it yet?


Not really. I kind of dive into everything head-first so any idea I have that I'd like to write, I just try to write. I don't really think about whether or not I'll be able to attempt it.

15. Which story has your heart and won’t let go?

There's a book I started, like, five years ago, and it's still sitting unfinished in my documents file. It's called Beautiful Ashes (ashes as in burnt objects not burnt people, just in case you're as morbid as my dad) and is centered on four teenage mutant ninja turtles.

Sorry, no.

It is centered on four assassins, though. I've re-written the beginning a gazillion times and I've cut characters out and jammed new ones in and completely re-arranged the plot so many times that I honestly have forgotten the plot of the original one.

But I know the characters like the back of my hand and I love them too much to just not-write their stories.


'Til next time!

18 comments:

  1. I loved you answers. In fact, I was surprised to see that a lot of them were similar to mine. Happy writing.

    P.S. That ending GIF was PERFECT.

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    1. Aw, thanks! I haven't read your post yet, but I'll be sure to check.

      Also, thank you, lol. I'm pretty proud of myself for using it. ;)

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  2. You are incredible. HOW DO YOU WRITE A NOVEL IN EIGHT DAYS. That's just ... beyond words. And you can juggle so many projects. *burns incense and ink on your altar*

    Thanks for reading and commenting on my post!

    P.S.: I have to agree with Dr Sus, the ending gif is perfect.

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    1. To be fair about the eight days, I was on break and wrote literally non-stop and afterwards I couldn't write for over a month. (My brain shut down).

      AND THANK YOU SO MUCH BUT I'M REALLY NOT THAT GREAT.

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  3. "'Cause that's what all the cool kids were doing." This made me LOL!!! I also feel like 'writing' itself became a 'thing' with my friends at one point, when we were at school with loads of time, and most of them dropped off except me and one of my friends.

    Our writing habits are pretty different! I think I write best at night, and in my room. I never write anywhere else. oh, except the workload part. I end up working on loads of different projects at once as well. It must be so nice to have a little sister to read your stuff! (It's rare somebody I know will read my work.) Great post! Wow, everybody has such great answers for their link-up. I'm feeling less and less motivated to do it myself, I just sit here reading everybody else's. XD I hope you achieve your goal of publishing a non-sucky book!

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    1. You should definitely link-up!! I would definitely read it (and offer chocolate and cake).

      Actually, it's my older sister that reads my stuff. She can be pretty cruel about editing, but hey-- at least I'm getting someone else's opinion :P

      For some reason all I want to do at night is either sleep or watch movies. Nighttime=Zero motivation to do ANYTHING.

      I've had that goal for forever and it always seems so far away. But I'm trying to lessen my unorganized-ness and figure out a plan. It's definitely not much, but I'm getting there. ;)

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  4. It's so cool that you have such a tight relationship with your sister. My sister is the only person I know personally who has read my writing. My other Crit. partners I met online. Your story in #15 sounds great! You should stick with it and finish a draft. Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog!

    ~Sarah Faulkner

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    1. I don't know what'd I do without my sis. She's pretty great :P I don't have any other Crit. partners because, well... I'm pretty unsocial. (Think hermit.)

      And thanks! Pretty much everyone in my family knows about B. Ashes (it features actual real live relatives (with different names)) and sometimes they even ASK about it. (The horror.)

      No prob! Your post was awesome :D

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  5. Great post! Thats so great that your sister inspired you to start writing. My younger sister has started writing recently because of me :P It's pretty cool I think. lol :P and as for our writing as children it probably was all horrid, but at the time we were happy with the stories right? and I always like to think of those stories as the spark that started my love for writing and reading so I don't see ALL of them as horrid anymore...I mean some of them really were but yeah...

    (#3) That is really such a WONDERFUL part of story writing. Just seeing the story and the world(s) come to life :) It's really just like magic :D

    (#7) Eight days?! Wow! Thats fantabulous! Good on you! One day I hope to be able to do that! :)

    (#8) You and I ar much alike because the same goes for me :)

    *Looks up authors mentioned in #10*

    Once again, great post! Look forward to reading more posts! :D

    ~Adriana G.

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    1. As a kid, I was so pleased with my writing. I thought it was awesome. I was one of those horse-obsessed girls, so that was pretty much what I wrote about. Beautiful Ashes was the first book I started that had ZERO horses. And it didn't even used to be called that. It used to be called "We're Being Followed." (Stalkers.)

      YES. IT IS MAGIC. I absolutely love the fact that I have whole worlds at my fingertips.

      I was very proud of the eight days myself lol. Now I'm just hoping to get my current project done this year. :P

      I personally admire Michelle Hodkin's style of writing more than Tahereh Mafi's-- something about how she narrates her books are just SO AWESOME. I love how she makes everything connected and layered beyond belief.

      Thanks!

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  6. I finished my first book when I was eleven too! I wish I had that tight of a relationship with my sister. We're as opposite as can be. Good luck on finishing your book. You can do it!

    Stori Tori's Blog

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    1. Reading a bunch of these posts has made me realize that a lot of people actually finished their first books when they were 11~13. It's always cool finding out that I have things in common with other writerly (this is now a word) people!

      And thanks! I need all the luck I can get lol :P

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  7. #12 is so me xD Like, I don't even want a bestseller *liar* but something that's somewhat decent and published would be a dream come true! I'm kind of impressed with you writing lots of projects at once o.0 I can never do that - I don't have that kind of multi-track mind, haha.

    Aimee @ To the Barricade!

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    1. (Yes I lied too I would love to write a bestseller and maybe possibly have it turned into a movie)

      I get bored with projects super easily so I have to work on lots of them to keep myself interested. It's ridiculous, but it works. :P

      Thanks for commenting!

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  8. All of the projects all the time! I used to do that also for a long time, until I discovered, that I wasn't finishing anything :P

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    1. Ah, yes, I have that problem too. I haven't finished a book in FOREVER, but I'm super close with one. *fingers crossed*

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  9. It's so cool to hear more about you and your writing! I can totally relate to the whole getting distracted with all the different ideas thing.

    By the way I tagged you for the "20 things you may not know about me" tag! If you don't want to or can't do it no worries!

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    1. I KNOW. I want to write them allllll.

      And thank you!!! I'll definitely check it out and do a post whenever I find the time :)

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