Member Of The Month for September, 07

1. When did you first begin to write? - I first began to write in high school... it was fan fiction about Duran Duran (Gasp!!! how dreadful!!!)

2. Do you prefer to write poetry or prose? - They each have their qualities, but I would say I prefer prose because I can do so much more with it.

3. Fiction or non-fiction? - Fiction, all the way. With non-fiction, there are pesky things like facts always getting in the way.

a. Non-fiction: What is your favorite genre? (Mystery, crime, biography, romance, celebrity, etc). - I love a nice celebrity crime mystery.... something that makes my life look like a slice of heaven.
b. Fiction: What is your favorite genre? - Science fluff/fiction. To me, reading a story that is not bogged down with technical information is a pure pleasure.

4. Have you published anything? If so where can it be found? I have three books published at lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/barbdegenstein . I also have a haiku in the second Allpoetry journal, and a lot of stories at various eZines.

5. When are you most likely to have a great writing idea? For me it is in the shower or while running the vacuum - I try to write it down. If I can't, then I pull out my cell phone, and use the voice memo function.

6. What is your reaction when the muse visits? Drop everything and write it down or tuck it away in memory and write it later? - I try to write when the muse hits. Heck, I try to write when the muse doesn't hit. I just try to write all I can! Sometimes when I don’t' feel like writing, I try anyway, and usually after a few lines, I'm up to full speed, tying away.

7. Do you consider yourself a spontaneous writer or do you tend to plan things out in advance? For my short stories, I do spontaneous...I only planned one once, and that was for a short story class on here (which, if anyone gets a chance to take, I'd highly recommend it!) I also impulse my novels... writing out of nothing more than a general idea, making it up as I go along. I write fast, sometimes not even understanding what I've put down until I run it through the spellchecker. I've also done a description and summary first, and then written. For one story, I wrote the last chapter first, and then had to get to that point. I always have my last chapter, or at least last couple paragraphs done before I'm half way through the story.
I've done general layouts for characters, usually thinking what they look like, who they are, and any issues they may have (issue are important! Can't do a story without at least one issue-laden character)

8. How does reading other authors affect your writing skills? - Reading others allows me to pick up certain issues and feelings that I may be missing in my own writing.

9. When you sit down to write something is it fun or work? - The moment it starts to be work, is the moment I stop writing.

10. How do you get past writers block? - I beat it into submission. Sometimes it won't go quietly, but I have perfected the half-nelson.

11. What feeds your desire to continue writing? The people who read what I write. They give me the encouragement to continue. I have some loyal readers, and I love that I can create well enough for them to want to check out newest additions.

12. Who are your influences? I'd love to say that the masters of writing and the people I studied in school were the biggest influence, but... that would be wrong. My high school English teachers (two of three, since the third was a waste of teaching space, she was), always gave us student some lee-way with reports and such. They graded not only on the basics (grammar, sentence structure), but on creativity. If the project was about a desert island, then placing it on a desert island in an alternate universe would gain a few extra points.

13. How do you know when your story is finished? Since I always have the last paragraph finished, the story is done when I can bridge the events in the finished portions to that already written ending.

1. Hobbies? - Reading, writing, walking, painting, cooking...I'm actually kind of boring.

2. Pets? - Do dust bunnies count?

3. Talents? I can touch my nose with my tongue. Jealous?

4. Jobs? Currently unemployed on the paying front, but I'm a single mother with a 7 year old boy, and a 6 year old girl, so I have many jobs.

5. What advice would you give to growing writers? - 1) Don't give up. If ten people read your story, and three tell you that it sucks... just remember that 7 liked it. And in reality, that's a darn good average! 2) Take criticism to heart, but don't dwell on it. Take a look at WHY those three said your story sucked. Could they be on to something? Nothing is every publishable on the first draft... 3) Don’t' give up. 4) Read. Read. Read. Read the 'greats', read the 'trash', read the darn cereal box... just read!! 5) Don't give up. (See the trend???)

6. Anything else you can think of. - Yes. My arm hurts after typing all this

On the side note :
Thank you Barbara for the incredible work that you do everyday here on Storywrite. You put a lot of time and effort in this site and it shows. Thank you very much.