Beautiful books is a blog linkup hosted by Cait and Sky. You can read my last BB post here.
1.Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations?
My books always defy my expectations. They’re wily like that.
2. What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?
Since the book I’m working on is kind of 2 books in one, I’ll give you the first line from BOTH POV’s (Aren’t I so generous!).
Sidekick: Hunter Wright re-appeared the day before my first ever mid-term exam.
Hero: I shivered as I stared up at William Hall from behind a clump of half-dead bushes.
3. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out.
I am what my friend Tracey (go check out her blog here) likes to call a planster. Meaning, I plot somewhat, I’ll have a few notes or a general outline of where I want the story to go, and some very key plot events that I know need to happen along the way, and then I’ll start writing. Generally when I start writing I realize my plans were all totally silly and useless and my characters would never do this thing, or that would totally be impossible with the new rules I just made up. So the plans go out the window, and I fly by the seat of my pants until I get stuck. Then I pull out my trusty old notebook and draw up a shiny NEW plot, with new key scenes to get me from wherever I’m stuck to whatever the end goal is, and then I start writing again and the process repeats in a big looping cycle until eventually I reach THE END.
4. What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?
What is this word, “reward”?
Just kidding. I generally like to reward myself with something that is not writing. If it’s a smaller goal, I’ll take a walk or play piano or pet my dog or some other small thing that makes me happy. If it’s a bigger goal, I’ll give myself a bigger reward, like watching a movie or baking cookies or reading a book.
5. What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?
Ah, names! Something I am so bad at thinking up! Sometimes a character will come with a name from the start (like Hunter and Sydney), which is always very nice, but other times I will spend WAY too much time on babynames.com searching up various names and meanings and related names until I finally pick one (or two (heh. Indecision)) that works.
6. What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?
Beginnings are definitely my least favourite part to write – so much pressure to find the *perfect* start! I like middles because you get to really explore your characters and all the “fun and games” happens in the middle. And endings are wonderful a) because the climax is the scene that I have been building towards for the entire book, so writing it is like eating that ice cream cone you’ve wanted all summer and b) then you’re done, and finishing a book is one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve ever experienced. 😀
7. Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?
Sydney, hands down. I find him hilarious. So much snark and sass.
8. What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)
I actually have done very little research for this book *hangs head in shame*.
But! I have researched some strange things for the novel I finished last summer. Like that one day I spent on Wikipedia learning everything I could about how bats and dolphins use echolocation. (Even though echolocation didn’t even end up in the most recent draft. o.0)
9. Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?
Alone, and secret. Something about sharing my writing with others can be very scary, especially if it’s a piece that I really put my heart and soul in – what if they hate it? Then they’ll hate ME! AUGH!
10. What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!
I’m very good at the preliminary procrastinating ritual. Got that part mastered. 😛 Aside from that, I kind of do whatever floats my boat that day. Sometimes I make myself a cup of tea because it makes me feel very “author-y” to take sips of tea between paragraphs, but usually having a mug of liquid beside my precious laptop is way too nerve-wracking and so I generally don’t eat or drink when I’m writing. Sometimes I listen to music, often a movie soundtrack, or something I can tune out, like songs that I know really well. And as for the time of day – whenever I can squeeze in the time is a good time to write!
What about you, wonderful readers? Do you also find tea and computers a terrifying combination? If you’re a writer, what are your writerly quirks and tricks?
November 10, 2015 at 9:14 pm
I do drink tea and other liquids while I write, but I do worry about spilling something on my laptop. A planster, that’s interesting I haven’t heard of that one yet.
I like your first lines.
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November 11, 2015 at 5:00 pm
You are a brave soul, drinking tea with your laptop! 😛
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November 11, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Tea and computers are the best, but definitely not together. nope. Ooh, I love how the sidekick gets a spot in the limelight too — that sounds exactly like the type of subversion I adore. The first lines of both are fantastic, too 😀
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November 11, 2015 at 5:01 pm
Hee hee thanks Alyssa! It’s been quite fun so far writing from a different perspective than I’m used to.
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November 11, 2015 at 3:26 pm
I definitely work with tea not-too-near the computer AND the piano. But I drink it too fast, which leads to a bathroom break, which can lead to getting completely sidetracked. 🙂
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November 11, 2015 at 5:02 pm
Tea, or Caf-Lib. :p
My problem with drinking tea at the piano is I forget about it and then it gets cold and sad.
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November 15, 2015 at 7:31 pm
The more I hear about your hero/sidekick story, the more I want to read it! 😀
Yay for middles! And endings. And even beginnings. Ack, I’m indecisive on this one. I love EVERY part of a story, but they all come with some downsides too. Beginnings are hard because you’re orienting yourself in a new place and trying to pin down the tone; middles are hard because you have to keep things from slowing to a halt; and endings are hard because all those subplots you so cleverly started now have to be properly wrapped up. >.< AND YET EACH PART IS AMAZING. Anyway. That was a much longer ramble than I intended to make.
Tea. Yes. I almost giggled out loud at your remark, because I consider it to be quite authorly too. XD I do drink it (or coffee) while writing sometimes, but I try to be cautious. I guess I figure that if I can balance a full mug while walking down the stairs to my room, I should be able to keep from spilling while in a sitting position. Hopefully. 😛
(BTW, thanks for the linky mention! ^_^ Although I have to admit that I didn't come up with "plantser." I think I read that on some other blog…)
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November 18, 2015 at 11:12 pm
Hee hee thanks, Tracey!
There really isn’t much to read of it right now… 4000 words max? Though I’m hoping that will change over Christmas break. 😀
Hold on while I sip my tea and contemplate how best to kill of this character… *evil laugh* So long as I don’t think so hard I spill it. :p
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November 30, 2015 at 4:24 pm
So I have a sassy character named Sydney, who is also my current favorite to write about too! Granted, that seems to really be the only thing he has in common with your Sydney (as far as I can read between the BB lines here) That cracked me up ;P
So your book is about superheroes/sidekicks? COOL! I love dual POV too, so I am very intrigued 🙂
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December 1, 2015 at 1:33 pm
Haha that is the best! I’m glad you like my Sydney, too. 😛 And dual POV – this is the first time I’ve tried writing a story from two different perspectives, and it is hard!
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