Writing Questions (Contest)

What inspired you to begin to write?1

I started making up stories before I could write. My mom read to me when I was tiny, and I started reading to myself very early on, so creating stories seemed like a very natural way for an only child to let go of some of her plentiful imaginings. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve stopped and started writing on and off, for various reasons. Always, I’m inspired to begin again because I have something to let out, and writing is the best way to let the story out. 2

What would you say is your main inspiration for writing?3

Life, in general, is a wonderful source of inspiration. In an acting class I took, we were taught to always play a “what if” game with ourselves, taking in the world around us and thinking of ways it could change, ways things and people could be connected. Most of my stories began with me looking at something extant and thinking, “Well, what if x happened? Then what?” 4

I’m also a word junkie. As an actor, I pay a lot of attention to people – how they talk, what they say, what they mean or don’t mean by it. Sometimes I get bits of conversation I’ve heard stuck in my head, or I make up bits of conversation, and then I’m compelled to think about who might say them, what situation they might be in, etc.5

What method/s, do you use when writing? Do you have a time, a place? Do you like writing while sipping on coffee or are you do you prefer cool drinks?6

I don’t have any particular rhythm – I write when I have time, and when it pleases me. I do most of my plotting and planning at my laptop in my dorm room, curled up in my chair with a bottle of water, because that’s all we keep in the room. Most of my writing gets done in my creative writing notebook or between pages of class notes during class, depending on where I am at any given point in time. I wrote during my math and public speaking classes last semester, because I knew everything from both of them already, but I don’t think that’ll be happening this semester. Ideally, I like some sort of busy, low-calorie snack, like ice or carrot sticks or pomegranate – just something I can munch on rather mindlessly while I’m thinking. I also like to listen to music.7

What Genre/s do you prefer writing about?8

I tend to lean towards your general young adult slice of life / romantic fiction, but I’ve dabbled in fantasy, and I plan on doing so a bit more sooner or later. 9

How do you choose a name for your characters?10

Sometimes I just use names I like, but more often than not, I pick names that have a meaning that has something to do with the character – something about their personality, or past, or something. Their last names are generally people I know, or combinations of people I know.11

How do you create your characters? Do they stem from a name? Do you dream about them? Do they appear out of nowhere? Are the inspired by people you know?12

My characters are almost never based on people I know. Generally, I have a bit of an idea of what sort of person I want from the plot and bits of dialogue I already have from the story, so I’ll find a name and a picture for them. Once I have those, the rest tends to fall into place, and I can fill out a little biography. If I have trouble getting them, I’ll drop them into a situation – getting a cup of coffee, pumping gas, whatever – to hear their voice and firm up the details, and make sure that what I think is true really is. I’ll research anything about them I’m not familiar with to make sure I have it right, and then I’m good to go. Since I’m an actor, I don’t really have any problem dealing with the characters – slipping in and out of others’ heads is my life. 13

Are you a pantsy writer or do you outline before, while or after you have written? 14

I’m assuming you mean pantsy as in “by the seat of one’s”? It depends on the story, really. I almost never outline, but I really should – I never get anything done, otherwise. I outlined my current project very, very loosely before starting, and I’m actually finding that it’s more trouble to keep trying to flesh out the outline than to just go with it. I think I’d benefit more from writing an outline once I’ve gone as far as I can with an idea’s first breath.15

Do you have any objects around you that inspired you to write?16

No, not really – objects don’t do a lot for me, and they don’t play a prominent role in my stories. My writing is always very, very character-driven, mostly because it’s always on the verge of standing up into the third dimension and becoming a play.17

Describe your writing space.18

It varies. My bedroom at home is a brown futon mattress on brown Berber carpet with cream walls, a plain wooden chest, and a pink chair in the corner. I sit or lay on the futon mattress to write. My dorm room is roughly the size of a postage stamp, and a folding chair is wedged into the corner behind my desk. My laptop sits on the pull-out bit of the desk meant for a keyboard, so I can close it and push it under when I’m not working. My school is a big hill, with lots of benches and grass and rock gardens everywhere, so I sit outside when it’s warm enough. I have lots of different writing spaces. 19