Meme. Fair.
Aug. 13th, 2005 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kageotogiI snitched this meme from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
imayb1 because I enjoyed reading her answers and didn't think it would be too hard to fill it out for myself. Unfortunately, the questions took forever for me to answer became my mind decided -- at the most inopportune time -- to draw a blank. Nonetheless...
1) Where do you write?
Anywhere. I prefer to write by hand, although it can be very annoying at times, and I usually scribble down scenes or dot-connectors while I'm in class, at work, in the car (but not while I'm driving -- I learned my lesson with that one very quickly). I find it is easier for me to write in certain Western states -- such as Arizona -- and harder to write in other places -- such as at home, when I'm in front of my computer. All in all, I find it easiest to write when I'm supposed to be doing other things -- such as work or listening to a professor.
2) Do you use/have a laptop?
I do not own a laptop, nor do I wish to do so at this time. I am in love with my computer and wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world. At the moment. I do recognize the convenience of a laptop computer, however, and have used them from time to time, especially during NaNoWriMo or when I've been pushing a deadline for a term paper. I also feel that they are distracting -- something I'll talk about while answering the next question, I'm sure.
3) What distracts you from writing?
That depends. Sometimes I find it easier to write while I'm distracted -- such as when I'm in class or at work -- because then I don't have to listen to my inner editor nag at me. I can get ideas on paper and revise later on, when or if I start typing the work. When I'm writing on the computer and not hand-writing things, everything distracts me. My family. Work. Class. My friends. Music. Television. The neighbors. The shiny looking buttons and lights on my keyboard. The touchpad on laptops (which I despise, but I find them absolutely fascinating when I'm trying to write and need to concentrate on other things). I like to browse the internet and talk to friends on AIM while I'm on the computer and this can distract me from my writing. However, I've recently found that I have an easier time writing term papers and some general works of fiction while I'm rp-ing with people via AIM. Occasionally simply talking to them makes it easier. It's complicated.
4) What makes you write even more?
Good ideas, obviously. On the less obvious scale, I always feel more motivated to write when I am stuck doing other things -- like the laundry or the dishes. I write more if I receive more praise, thus why I have labeled myself a feedback and review whore. This is easier with multi-chapter works but a great deal more difficult for short stories or one-shot fanfics, where I usually don't receive feedback halfway through. I like to know what my audience wants to read, even if I have no intention of giving them what they desire. Certain things are harder for me to write than others, so I tend to write more of the easier parts in stories -- dialogue, for instance, which I find easy -- and I write less when I'm working on the things I find more difficult -- like smut or things that aren't directly associated to the plot.
5) What do you have set up for yourself so that you can write even more?
Sadly, very little. I have a binder of old ideas and story plots that I keep around for reference, in case I'm ever desperate for ideas. I clean the binder out at least once a year -- normally while I'm on vacation -- and always cringe when I realize how much of that stuff was crap. On my harddrive, I have saved a list of quotes or lines I want to reference or use in my stories. All in all, that's about it.
6) What do you do when you're stuck?
I usually feel that I'm constantly stuck. Unless something happens -- such as a trip to Arizona -- I have a difficult time finishing things quickly or connecting the dots on my stories. When I hit severe writer's block, I usually complain. Loudly, to anyone around who can feasibly hear me. My mother and my roommate (sorry, Joan!), especially. I'll also whine to people on AIM, which is the epitome of pathetic, I think. DC has to put up with it a lot and while I feel bad about it, his assuring me that I don't suck as much as I think I do has pulled me out of more than one bad spot in a story. He rules like that.
7) Do you write from beginning to end... or do you jump around as the mood suits you?
It is very, very rare that I can write something from beginning to end. I can sometimes do it with short things, especially if I'm stuck in class and have no other ideas, but I can rarely do it with longer stories. I tend to write a little bit of one thing, skip to a different story, and get back -- or not -- to the original idea later on. When I write longer stories, I usually wait a long time between chapters so I can edit, get feedback, and rethink my original plans (I also have a hard time thinking of ways to begin chapters so that I don't sound redundant, so that often puts my work on hold). While I'm taking those breaks, I'll write scenes for future chapters. When I wrote "Bugged!", I wrote the middle of the last chapter while I was still in the planning stages for the third chapter. I do this all the time and almost always have lots and lots of scenes already written out and ready to use -- as well as alternate scenes, in case I go a different route. I typically write out the scenes with the major plot points or some good dialogue, so when I'm getting from Point A (written scene #1) to Point B (scene written months earlier while in class), I call it connecting the dots.
8) When do you write?
Whenever I can. If I'm writing by hand, as I said, I have an easier time doing it while I'm otherwise occupied. I write in class or at work. Sometimes -- and only sometimes -- I write in coffee shops or in the cafeteria. Wherever there's a buzz of noise and plenty of people from which to pull inspiration. When I'm writing on the computer, I prefer to do so when it's quiet -- so when most of the household or room is asleep -- and I can pull up AIM for sufficient distraction. It doesn't always work, but I live for the moments when it does.
9) If you're a novel-writer of any sort... how do you set up your story, or do you? do you make outlines, write character descriptions, etc? Or do you just start writing?
I write a tentative outline, simply to make sure my conflict level is constantly rising. If a story flatlines due to a lack of motion, that just makes for more work later on, what with rewrites and replanning. I almost always write out my outline, setting out the major plot points not on a chapter-by-chapter basis but on a things-to-happen basis. Sometimes two of my plot points happen in one chapter. Sometimes a chapter won't have a major plot point at all and will just serve to help mount tension. So long as I have that plan, I'm solid. Of course, I often end up changing the plan, but that's okay. The original plan can usually get me started and, by then, I have a good idea of how I'm pacing the story.
10) How do you stay motivated to write... to keep going, even if you've been rejected time and time again?
I keep writing because it's what I love to do. Feedback always helps, yes, and sometimes that's the only thing that gets me away from the television and back with my pen and paper (although I have written some decent shorts in front of the idiot box), but, in the end, I write because that's what I like to do. I write because I hope that someday I'll strike literary gold and end up big, yes, but that's not really a big drive for me. It's nice to have that dream resting in the back of my head, but it's even nicer to write something and know that it's mine. It would be easy enough to steal, yes -- that's called plagiarism, boys and girls -- but it's still mine, dammit, and it was made from my headaches and smiles. No one can take that away.
Hoo. Now I feel like an after-school special.
Moving on.
Went to the fair with Joan and Oak. Had a blast. Joan got to pet cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and ducks. She was thrilled. We hit up the fried dough stand and sawpereppi, who we molested in due course. We decided to go on a few rides and, while waiting at the ticket booth, I ran into Mister Beerman, my high school English teacher. He accused me of slacking on the emails (it was his turn to write, dammit) and scoffed when I told him I'd be graduating in May. *eyeroll* He's doing fine, as always, and it was good to see him. Anyway. Oak and I went on the hand-gliding-thing and he injured his kneecaps. Then the three of us hit up the fast-music-ride-that-I-can't-name-to-save-my-life and all enjoyed that -- the operator was fantastic and sent us on a three-round speed high. When we got off, Joan and I declared that we felt like drunks and the three of us went off in search of cotton candy. Once we found the cotton candy, we went back to my house, where we ate the cotton candy, teased my younger brother, and watched Keen Eddie.
That, ladies and gents, was my day.
slyfox78 has gifted me with her old mouse, seeing as how she bought the Mighty Mouse for herself. I will be sure to hum the Mighty Mouse theme song every time I walk into the room this coming semester.
Um. The end.
imayb1 because I enjoyed reading her answers and didn't think it would be too hard to fill it out for myself. Unfortunately, the questions took forever for me to answer became my mind decided -- at the most inopportune time -- to draw a blank. Nonetheless...1) Where do you write?
Anywhere. I prefer to write by hand, although it can be very annoying at times, and I usually scribble down scenes or dot-connectors while I'm in class, at work, in the car (but not while I'm driving -- I learned my lesson with that one very quickly). I find it is easier for me to write in certain Western states -- such as Arizona -- and harder to write in other places -- such as at home, when I'm in front of my computer. All in all, I find it easiest to write when I'm supposed to be doing other things -- such as work or listening to a professor.
2) Do you use/have a laptop?
I do not own a laptop, nor do I wish to do so at this time. I am in love with my computer and wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world. At the moment. I do recognize the convenience of a laptop computer, however, and have used them from time to time, especially during NaNoWriMo or when I've been pushing a deadline for a term paper. I also feel that they are distracting -- something I'll talk about while answering the next question, I'm sure.
3) What distracts you from writing?
That depends. Sometimes I find it easier to write while I'm distracted -- such as when I'm in class or at work -- because then I don't have to listen to my inner editor nag at me. I can get ideas on paper and revise later on, when or if I start typing the work. When I'm writing on the computer and not hand-writing things, everything distracts me. My family. Work. Class. My friends. Music. Television. The neighbors. The shiny looking buttons and lights on my keyboard. The touchpad on laptops (which I despise, but I find them absolutely fascinating when I'm trying to write and need to concentrate on other things). I like to browse the internet and talk to friends on AIM while I'm on the computer and this can distract me from my writing. However, I've recently found that I have an easier time writing term papers and some general works of fiction while I'm rp-ing with people via AIM. Occasionally simply talking to them makes it easier. It's complicated.
4) What makes you write even more?
Good ideas, obviously. On the less obvious scale, I always feel more motivated to write when I am stuck doing other things -- like the laundry or the dishes. I write more if I receive more praise, thus why I have labeled myself a feedback and review whore. This is easier with multi-chapter works but a great deal more difficult for short stories or one-shot fanfics, where I usually don't receive feedback halfway through. I like to know what my audience wants to read, even if I have no intention of giving them what they desire. Certain things are harder for me to write than others, so I tend to write more of the easier parts in stories -- dialogue, for instance, which I find easy -- and I write less when I'm working on the things I find more difficult -- like smut or things that aren't directly associated to the plot.
5) What do you have set up for yourself so that you can write even more?
Sadly, very little. I have a binder of old ideas and story plots that I keep around for reference, in case I'm ever desperate for ideas. I clean the binder out at least once a year -- normally while I'm on vacation -- and always cringe when I realize how much of that stuff was crap. On my harddrive, I have saved a list of quotes or lines I want to reference or use in my stories. All in all, that's about it.
6) What do you do when you're stuck?
I usually feel that I'm constantly stuck. Unless something happens -- such as a trip to Arizona -- I have a difficult time finishing things quickly or connecting the dots on my stories. When I hit severe writer's block, I usually complain. Loudly, to anyone around who can feasibly hear me. My mother and my roommate (sorry, Joan!), especially. I'll also whine to people on AIM, which is the epitome of pathetic, I think. DC has to put up with it a lot and while I feel bad about it, his assuring me that I don't suck as much as I think I do has pulled me out of more than one bad spot in a story. He rules like that.
7) Do you write from beginning to end... or do you jump around as the mood suits you?
It is very, very rare that I can write something from beginning to end. I can sometimes do it with short things, especially if I'm stuck in class and have no other ideas, but I can rarely do it with longer stories. I tend to write a little bit of one thing, skip to a different story, and get back -- or not -- to the original idea later on. When I write longer stories, I usually wait a long time between chapters so I can edit, get feedback, and rethink my original plans (I also have a hard time thinking of ways to begin chapters so that I don't sound redundant, so that often puts my work on hold). While I'm taking those breaks, I'll write scenes for future chapters. When I wrote "Bugged!", I wrote the middle of the last chapter while I was still in the planning stages for the third chapter. I do this all the time and almost always have lots and lots of scenes already written out and ready to use -- as well as alternate scenes, in case I go a different route. I typically write out the scenes with the major plot points or some good dialogue, so when I'm getting from Point A (written scene #1) to Point B (scene written months earlier while in class), I call it connecting the dots.
8) When do you write?
Whenever I can. If I'm writing by hand, as I said, I have an easier time doing it while I'm otherwise occupied. I write in class or at work. Sometimes -- and only sometimes -- I write in coffee shops or in the cafeteria. Wherever there's a buzz of noise and plenty of people from which to pull inspiration. When I'm writing on the computer, I prefer to do so when it's quiet -- so when most of the household or room is asleep -- and I can pull up AIM for sufficient distraction. It doesn't always work, but I live for the moments when it does.
9) If you're a novel-writer of any sort... how do you set up your story, or do you? do you make outlines, write character descriptions, etc? Or do you just start writing?
I write a tentative outline, simply to make sure my conflict level is constantly rising. If a story flatlines due to a lack of motion, that just makes for more work later on, what with rewrites and replanning. I almost always write out my outline, setting out the major plot points not on a chapter-by-chapter basis but on a things-to-happen basis. Sometimes two of my plot points happen in one chapter. Sometimes a chapter won't have a major plot point at all and will just serve to help mount tension. So long as I have that plan, I'm solid. Of course, I often end up changing the plan, but that's okay. The original plan can usually get me started and, by then, I have a good idea of how I'm pacing the story.
10) How do you stay motivated to write... to keep going, even if you've been rejected time and time again?
I keep writing because it's what I love to do. Feedback always helps, yes, and sometimes that's the only thing that gets me away from the television and back with my pen and paper (although I have written some decent shorts in front of the idiot box), but, in the end, I write because that's what I like to do. I write because I hope that someday I'll strike literary gold and end up big, yes, but that's not really a big drive for me. It's nice to have that dream resting in the back of my head, but it's even nicer to write something and know that it's mine. It would be easy enough to steal, yes -- that's called plagiarism, boys and girls -- but it's still mine, dammit, and it was made from my headaches and smiles. No one can take that away.
Hoo. Now I feel like an after-school special.
Moving on.
Went to the fair with Joan and Oak. Had a blast. Joan got to pet cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and ducks. She was thrilled. We hit up the fried dough stand and saw
pereppi, who we molested in due course. We decided to go on a few rides and, while waiting at the ticket booth, I ran into Mister Beerman, my high school English teacher. He accused me of slacking on the emails (it was his turn to write, dammit) and scoffed when I told him I'd be graduating in May. *eyeroll* He's doing fine, as always, and it was good to see him. Anyway. Oak and I went on the hand-gliding-thing and he injured his kneecaps. Then the three of us hit up the fast-music-ride-that-I-can't-name-to-save-my-life and all enjoyed that -- the operator was fantastic and sent us on a three-round speed high. When we got off, Joan and I declared that we felt like drunks and the three of us went off in search of cotton candy. Once we found the cotton candy, we went back to my house, where we ate the cotton candy, teased my younger brother, and watched Keen Eddie.That, ladies and gents, was my day.
slyfox78 has gifted me with her old mouse, seeing as how she bought the Mighty Mouse for herself. I will be sure to hum the Mighty Mouse theme song every time I walk into the room this coming semester.Um. The end.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-13 06:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-13 03:17 pm (UTC)nanowrimo ... here I come. Slowly.
Date: 2005-08-13 03:13 pm (UTC)Re: nanowrimo ... here I come. Slowly.
Date: 2005-08-13 03:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-15 04:00 am (UTC)*yoink*
(also, please let me know if you can think of a better plan.)
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