The Book of Lost Tags: Vol. 2

Tag #49

Tagged by: autumn_sunfire

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve wanted to be a writer for about three years; that was about a year after I started writing. More recently it has become an obsession, within the last three months, for me to become at least mildly successful in my writing career. 

How long does it take you to write a book?

That depends entirely on the book itself. Dragon Nymph took nine months for me to complete the rough draft. On the other hand The Black Castle has taken, so far, two years to get where I am at in it now. I do have a new book I started a few weeks ago that is further along than The Black Castle, but ya’ll won’t be seeing that until March, if I get it done by then. However, the book that has taken the longest is Alfýkin. I have spent a grand total of four years on it and counting… counting, counting, counting…  It’s been restarted multiple times and now has taken a back seat for a while.

It really depends on how difficult the book is for me. It can take me anywhere from a few months to several years.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

Write. School. School. School. School. School. SUMMER! School. School. School. I can write and read again! School. School.

Over and over and over again. I don’t have a firm schedule, but I’ve set myself a date to finish a certain project and so far it’s working well enough.  

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Ai! I don’t know. What do you think? Those of you that have read my works. Oh, my hatred of chickens, that usually appears somewhere. On a more serious note, I guess it would have to be the way I do my dialogue. I’ve had a few teachers comment on how natural and smooth the dialogue of my stories is. I love to develop a character by the way they speak and what they say. To me that is just as powerful as their actions. I’m not real good with inner dialogue, but I’m working on it.

How do you get your books published?

Don’t ask me. Ask literally anyone else. I haven’t even begun to be near thinking about that.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

EVERYWHERE! Books, movies, dreams (ask Zyfra), people, speeches, sometimes they come out of nowhere and I spend a few frantic minutes trying to get them down before I forget them, thinking. Sometimes I’m working on world development and I come across something cool and save it for later ideas. Literally anything can give an idea if it is the right moment and place in time.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I was fifteen when I finished Voyage to Narthia: Earth. It is the first and, so far, only book in the Voyage to Narthia trilogy. I had three books planned, but have never begun them again. It’s just quietly sitting there, collecting virtual dust, alone but not forgotten.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I enjoy playing my Horn (sometimes), reading, watching movies, or mothering my African Violets because they like to die in the winter and my house is always cold. I also like hiking, but I don’t have the opportunity to do that very often.

What does your family think of your writing?

Not a single clue. Well, my brother doesn’t give a rat’s tail about anything I do, but then, he’s 11. My sister, eh, I don’t know. She doesn’t read anything but Alfýkin. Eh hem! I know you’re reading this though. And I don’t really want to know what my parents think because so far they haven’t shown a lot of support. It has, however, postponed them from forcing me to get a job, which is nice. Part of it is my doing, I’m not ready to share it with them. I think that when I started writing it came as a shock because I had shown no previous interest in writing whatsoever and then one day they asked me what I was doing, I had been spending a lot of time in my room, and I told them I was writing. Things kind of progressed from there. 

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Other than that I’m good at writing? (Compared to my illiterate classmates anyway) Just in general how much work it is and how I’ve barely scratched the surface of everything I know I can do. Some of the people (characters and real people) I’ve met along the way has also astounded me. I never could have imagined such a large, diverse, colorful world that waited for me to take what I had learned from books and create something of my own. It is the ultimate creative project; to create an entire universe from one’s own fingertips.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I have only completed two, but I have begun many.

The Kliana Empire Series: Dragon Nymph(draft finished) and The Black Castle, plus one more coming soon.

Voyage to Narthia: Earth(draft finished)

Alfýkin

Secret Magic (not on Wattpad)

Throne of Fire (also not on Wattpad)

The Bibliophile

Hand of Silver (I have one chapter done)

The Corsairs of Oros: A Middle Earth Story

My favorite right now is the only one on here that I have not named, I think a couple of you may know a bit about it, but other than that my lips are sealed on the matter. Trust me. It’s going to be epic.

So you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?

Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Seriously. Read more than you write. And don’t forget to just relax every once and a while. Take a break from your goals for the day and just write what you feel like writing, read a book, or hang out with family. Don’t forget to live a little. Despite what some people may say, writing is not everything. Yes it is a lifestyle, but it is not a life. It is a part of your life, not all of it. Keep breathing.

Do you hear from your readers much? What kind of things do they say?

I hear from a few regularly, especially on Alfýkin. They seem to enjoy it. I’ve had a couple good reviews on Dragon Nymph. Dragon Nymph gets lot of the generic responses, reacting to plot twists or something a character says.

Do you like to write books for adults?

I have never actually sat down and tried, but I think, once finished, Dragon Nymph could be for most ages, so… maybe?

What do you think makes a good story?

It is 100% the characters. You can have the most boring cliché storyline, but if your characters are spot on, the story feels fresh and new and exciting. Likewise, you can have the greatest storyline ever, but if your characters are cardboard cutouts, hasta la vista!  

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

Okay, list format because it changed… a lot.

Veterinarian, farmer (briefly), veterinarian (again), forest ranger, dentist, orthodontist (then I got braces), marine biologist, animal biologist of some sort, geologist (I was going through a phase), hermit, crazy cat lady, forest ranger (another phase where I wanted nothing to do with anybody), and now I just want to be alive and writing. It’s actually kind of sad. I had all these plans and then I hit middle school and watched them all fly out the window like so much dust. Except writing. I have found that is something I can do better than all of my classmates, which isn’t saying a whole lot because some of them can barely read let alone write a cohesive paper. But it is something I genuinely enjoy doing. And it’s also fun to be able to do something really well. Yes. I am admitting I can write well on occasion. Sometimes though it feels like I can’t write worth squat. But no sense it claiming all my writing is trash, because one; I don’t believe that. Two; I’d be lying if I said so. Three: It is my God given gift and I will use it as He pleases. Four; I’ve not yet had someone say my writing is bad. Not the greatest maybe, but never bad.

Tagging:

No one because I’m pretty sure it’s been taken care of. You can do it if you want though. Knock yourself out.