FIRST THINGS FIRST: This lovely tag came from Kate @ the goodness revolt. so go check it out. :)
second things: this was supposed to be a vlog, but i'm a rebel and a scaredy-cat, so no vlogs for me yet. maybe later.
THIRD THINGS: the tag. if you write, you're it. :D
now let's get down't to business.
WRITE FUEL: WHAT DO YOU EAT/DRINK WHILE WRITING? i will eat anything from edamame to ice cream to regular old dinner and usually only drink tea in unbelievable quantities. (i really really really love earl grey. like, if earl grey were a person, it would be a man, and we would be married.) (either that or this weird vitamin c tea that my mom makes that's like, lemongrass and rose hips and hibiscus. its actually quite lovely.)
WRITE SOUNDS: WHAT DO YOU LISTEN TO WHILE WRITING? absolutely nothing. see, my brain works best when there is little to no noise. so, you can usually find me barricaded within a fortress of silence, violently typing away at my keyboard. sometimes my iPod is even banished from the room. even when it's off. just procedure, principle, whatever you wanna call it. NO NOISE.
WRITE VICE: WHAT’S YOUR MOST DEBILITATING DISTRACTION? my mother. i love my mother to death. she's amazing; you would love her. BUT - i can be in my little zone, and she'll walk into the room and start talking and i kid you not my brain shuts off. it's like "oh mom is in the room and she's talking. EVERYBODY GO HOME UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE." hence the barricading inside the fortress of silence discussed in the question above. so yes, my mom is rather distracting.
WRITE HORROR: WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE WRITING? i once wrote a paper for an English class that was quite possibly the best piece of first draft ever written by my hand, except i had typed it, and my computer crashed and didn't save it (#327 of why i hate technology) and i had to rewrite the whole thing. but it wasn't the same. really guys: it was beautiful the first time around. i almost had a funeral for it.
WRITE JOY: WHAT’S THE BEST THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED WHILE WRITING OR HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE SMALL VICTORIES? usually its just a small line of something really beautiful that i really really like. for example, from my book, when my main female character gets kidnapped:
"and then he sprays something in my face and it feels like fire and then everything goes blacker than the night sky above us."
i don't know why but i REALLY love that line. so basically my small victories are really good sentences, and i celebrate by walking around with a stupid grin on my face. (i swear i'm not proud.)
WRITE CREW: WHO DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH OR NOT COMMUNICATE WITH WHILE WRITING? Jana and Jacob. Jana because she sings my praises (lol, she's also my cranky editor...). Jacob because he's not afraid to tell me when its terrible awful and i need to throw certain chapters away. and he's got really grand ideas usually. (there's always a few that i'm like "no. just no.")
WRITE SECRET: WHAT’S YOUR WRITING SECRET TO SUCCESS OR HIDDEN FLAW? write without ceasing. although its not actually possible. so do the next best thing: write in your mind without ceasing. practice your page voice. when i think, i think as far outside the rhetorical and cliche and the box as possible. when i notice smells, i think of what they remind me of, and when, and how it makes me feel, and i write two sentences in my mind. when i notice people, i fit their body to a voice, and their voice to a personality, and the personality to an adventure and voila, you have a story. i think the way i want to sound. i think the way i write. sometimes, i even try to write with voice inflections. (you may notice the excessive italicized and caps-lock usage.) and of course, sarcasm. i don't think i could live without sarcasm, so i try to add it to writing. sometimes. as in, when i'm feeling adventurous.
i heard something on the radio that i think actually could apply to writing really well: they were talking about how to be a good listener. and to practice being a good listener; so, listen to something on the radio or audio book or something, and then turn it off and talk to yourself about it. literally have a conversation with yourself. i think as a writer, because we are all of the characters and all of the scenes and all of the heartache and joy and EVERYTHING, its important to have the ability to play multiple parts. so its okay to practice that. just like its okay to make faces at yourself in the mirror. just like its okay to sing in the shower, or squeal at the slightest little things, or have any weird quirks. idiosyncrasies are our blood. be flexible. practice that.
WRITE-SPIRATION: WHAT ALWAYS MAKES YOU PRODUCTIVE? a good nights rest and a story that is going to drive me insane. sometimes arguments get me in the mood, or even just a 10 minute walk outside to get the creative juices flowing.
WRITE PEEVE: WHAT’S ONE THING WRITERS DO (OR YOU DO) THAT’S ANNOYING? Any writing perspective not done well. For example, first person perspective ("I went and did this, felt this way, she looked at me, he glared at me, etc.") done from two different character's views, but you can't tell the difference. when it sounds like the same voice, the writer is doing it wrong.
or, third person perspective. a person has to be INCREDIBLE at third person perspective to keep me entertained. i have to feel like i'm in the story, which is why i tend to favor books from first person perspective. but if its done right, you feel as the characters do. you see the same things, fight the same battles, etc. etc., even in third person. if done right, it is an exquisite balance of dialogue, description, and swashbuckling debonair. (ie: it will sweep me off my feet.)
WRITE WORDS- SHARE ONE SENTENCE FROM A PROJECT. PAST OR PRESENT.
i can't do it. only one sentence? i already did that.....how about a whole paragraph? you're welcome. :)
ll
Going back to my
barracks, I stop by the watchtower. They watch everything outside and inside
the base, so they’ll know if Nick left or not.
“Hey, Joe. Has anyone
come out of Barracks 9?” I know the watchman. He’s usually on this time of
night. We’ve talked a few times, and he always flirts, but he smells of engine
oil and his hands are always dirty. He’s a Machine Specialist in the mornings.
“Well, look at you, all
ready for war. Who is it this time? Did your boyfriend leave the toilet seat
up?” Even though he can’t see my weapons, Joe knows that I’m basically an
assassin. My jacket must be bulging from the handgun. Joe is trained to notice
these things, though, the little things that no one else would notice. That’s
what makes him a Specialist. He fixes the things no one else will, just like I
take out targets that regular soldiers can’t harm. Joe leans across the counter
into the open air, his scarf falling forward from his jacket. He frowns at it
and stuffs it back into the unzipped portion of the leather coat. It’s falling
to bits. I can’t believe his Sergeant hasn’t made him get a new one.
I roll my eyes at his
audacity to suggest that I have a boyfriend, and ignore his question. “Uh-huh.
Has anyone come out?”
“Only your boyfriend,
about 5 minutes ago. Why?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.
He’s my target.” I slide a bill across the counter. Standard procedure. He
gives me information, I pay him.
“Keep it, sweetheart.
What say you and I go get drinks this weekend instead?” He’s smiling a little
bit, but the light is coming from behind him, and while his face is a little
hard to see, I know mine is fully illuminated. Right now he knows I have murder
on my mind. I leave the bill.
“No.” And then I stalk
off into the night. And back. “Which way did he go?”
“Drinks,” he says, and I pull a knife from the back of
my collar.
“Where did he go.” It
comes out as a demand, not a question.
Joe smiles. “That way,”
he points to the left, in the direction of the gates. I start off. “See you
Friday!” he calls. Idiot, I think.
ll
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE SNIPPET. oh, and do the tag. please please please do the tag....
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