The Wisteria Writer Tag

A few months back, I was tagged by blogger Rebekah Eddy in a pair of “tags”, in which I answered random questions. Well, she’s struck again (thanks, Rebekah), and I’m here with another one.

Le tag rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Answer the ten questions asked.

3. Add ten (writing or book related) questions of your own.

4. Nominate people.

            1. What was the title and basic plot of the first story you ever wrote?

Oh dear…. I believe it was “A History of Argoncoth” (I’m sitting here trying not to shudder… whoops, I failed). It was a “story” about this kingdom with this really cool castle and they got invaded by this random evil army and it was basically just this really long siege story. I was eight? (Still shuddering… pardon me for a moment while I try to figure out how to type again…)

2. Which of your characters would you say is the most like you?

Hm. I’d have to say Barnslow, from my novel Barnslow Died. We’ve got similar senses of humor, a tendency to ramble in our thought processes, and a few quirks.

3. Which of your villains is your favorite?

So he’s only like… half villainous, but I’m just going to say it: Caleb from Asher’s Song. He has Dissociative Identity Disorder and he is a special bean and he’s precious.

4. What first inspired you to write?

Childhood insomnia [not sure if it was actual insomnia or not, but whatever]. I’d spend nights lying awake, staring at the ceiling, and I was really bored. So I told myself stories until I finally fell asleep [if I feel asleep at all]. A few years into it, I decided to write the stories down and so my love of writing was born. I can’t say any of the stories are good, because they’re not, but they helped me sleep at night so.

5. How many stories (short or long) have you actually COMPLETED?

Ho-hum, let’s see. I’ve completed six novels, five novellas, and twenty-ish short stories. Which is approximately 680,000 words. Give or take.
6. Have you ever had a book keep you up all night (like past midnight...not literally ALL NIGHT)? If so, what was it's title?

Several, actually. The most recent one was The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievfater. Before that, The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson.

7. Any top favorite book(s) you would like to share with your beloved followers?

Oh dear, I could spend all day listing them. But I’ll give you three: Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson, The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. Go forth and read well (especially since to get to those books you have to read at least one other book in their respective series… sometimes as many as five… whoops).

8. Any words of wisdom from your experiences in writing? Please. We need to hear it. :)

Well let’s see… I sort of have an entire blog’s worth of words of wisdom from writing. =P

So I guess my words of wisdom would be either “check out mah blog because #shamelessadvertising” or else “don’t give up; there’s light at the end of the book”.

9. Planner or panster (a.k.a NOT a planner) when it comes to writing?

Planner. Planner, planner, planner. I plan all the time. Maybe too much. Like two or three outlines too much. Oh well.

10. What current story or book are you working on and what is it about?

Well, I’m currently in the process of outlining/brainstorming two novels: first is Slaves to Prophecy, which is the sequel to my recently finished Agram Awakens (which I like to call a tome because it counts for almost a third of the words in my finished works). I’m really looking forward to it because it’s the first sequel I’ve written in almost nine years, and it’s the story I’ve always wanted to write. The actual writing won’t take place until sometime in January, I’m thinking.

And second I’m researching and brainstorming A Pelican’s Flight, which is a slice-of-life historical fiction about a ship’s crew and passengers who contract leprosy and spend their final days as pirates because – as the modern saying goes – “you only live once”. Yeah. I’m looking forward to this one. I’ll be writing it in the coming months.

Meanwhile, I need to come up with ten questions and tag random peoples. So.

1.      What is your least favorite book, and why?

2.      Favorite Author?

3.      If you could only write one more novel, what would it be about?

4.      What is your favorite genre to write it?

5.      Do you model your characters after people you know, or do you try to avoid it?

6.      How long does it take you to finish a novel?

7.      Do you listen to music while you write? What kind?

8.      How often and for how long do you write?

9.      Current project your working on?

10.   Which of your characters is your least favorite and why?

And now I have to tag people… hmmm.

Brandon at WoodlandQuill

Catsi Eceer at Catsi Eceer Books

Grace Karlson at Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors

Johnathan Trout at Fishing for Ideas

That should do it, because I’m too lazy to go hunt down other friends with blogs at the moment.