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nilesdaughter · 6 years

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Writer Process Meme

I was tagged by @galadrieljones ^_^

I’ll tag @aurianavaloria, @battlefox, and @thevetranyxs, as well as any of my other writing mutuals that want to fill this out.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

As a fanfiction writer, my forte is definitely in short stories; it’s been a very long time since I’ve written a longfic and while I would love to start a new one, I have my reservations about doing so.

Outside of fanfiction, I have a handful of abandoned NaNoWriMo projects. At some point, I would love to get something published, but I really need to finish one of my drafts before I can get to that point. Aside from that, I also write a lot of poetry (though not nearly as much as I used to), because I often use it as a medium to vent.

What genre do you prefer reading?

I am definitely a fantasy person; I’ve been reading high fantasy and urban fantasy for so long. I also really like historical fiction.

What genre do you prefer writing?

For my personal, non-fanfiction work, I tend towards high fantasy or urban fantasy. I also have one project that’s evolved into a historical fantasy piece when the original premise had been purely historical fiction.

For fanfiction, I am almost exclusively a romance writer. Whoops?

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

I have always been an impulse writer. I don’t think I’ve ever started a project where I planned out what I was doing beforehand, at least plotwise. I definitely plan out characters, because I love character creation, but other than that, I write as I go.

What music do you listen to while writing?

My music selections usually depend on what I’m writing. For just generally getting pumped up enough to write, I’ll listen to the Hamilton soundtrack or Top 40 playlists. In other instances, I’ll play something that sets the mood for what I’m working on. And if I’m ever in the mood to listen to music without lyrics, I’ll throw on some Celtic or Pagan instrumentals or video game soundtracks.

Fave books/movies?

I tend towards series of books rather than individual novels, but--surprise, surprise--my favorites tend to fall within my favorite genres, such as the Harry Potter series and The Shadowhunter Chronicles. Outside of that, some of my favorite novels actually fall outside of my preferred genres a little bit, such as Esperanza Rising, The Joy Luck Club, and The Secret Life of Bees.

My movie interests are a bit broader than my reading ones, though they are still definitely similar. Overall, I like fantasy and supernatural/paranormal topics, but I also enjoy animated/children’s films, some action movies, a lot of rom-coms, and old movie musicals (i.e. Grease and My Fair Lady).

Any current WIPs?

We don’t talk about the number of WIPs I have. Granted, a majority of them are thankfully (or unfortunately?) oneshots, so they’ll be completed sooner rather than later.

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

To be honest, it would probably be flip-flops, capri shorts, and some sort of fandom/graphic T-shirt.

Create a character description for yourself:

A hot mess™ lol

But in all seriousness, I usually just describe myself in all my social media account bios as, “A nerdy college girl trying to survive real life.” This is honestly the best way to sum me up right now. But if I were to be introduced as a character...

“In truth, she’d almost been overlooked, tucked away in a corner of the room like she hoped no one would notice her if she stayed there. She was pretty, but in the way that some would say was a homely kind of pretty, all curves and no angles. She had light brown skin and dark hair tied back in a knot at the top of her head, revealing an undercut beneath. When she was looked up, there was a faint smattering of freckles across her round cheeks. And while her eyes were simply a dark brown--nearly black--they exuded a warmth and intelligence that seemed to draw you in.”

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

Typically, yes. Granted, I used to be pretty blatant about it when I was younger. Nowadays, I try to create new characters that are inspired by my friends, as opposed to just straight-up writing a fictional version of them.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

Oh, jeez, no.

Coffee or tea while writing?

It does depend on my mood, but I’m actually more of a water or energy drink kind of writer.

Slow or fast writer?

This is also dependent on the situation. If I’m inspired enough, I can whip out a oneshot in an afternoon. Typically, however, I’m a pretty slow writer; it takes a few days to even just get out a handful of paragraphs.

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

I draw a lot of inspiration from all the media I consume, to be perfectly honest, but I am definitely influenced by the fantasy genre and by mythology the most. (And no one is surprised.) Fantasy has just always been one of my interests, even as a child, so I can’t really imagine having a project that doesn’t draw on it in some small way.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

I would definitely be a hedge witch, no doubt about it lol

I also wouldn’t be 100% human, because I am far too in love with the idea of being a magical being that’s only half-human, at most.

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

I don’t know if this counts as a cliché, but I do like stories that focus on a “Golden Trio” as the main characters. In general, however, I really have no preference/knowledge of what is or isn’t considered a cliché, so I don’t really have a good answer for this.

That being said, I really hate when there are love triangles, a lá YA fiction.

Fave scenes to write?

I really love writing downtime activities and romance scenes, though the two are typically intertwined when I tackle them. I’ve just always having opportunities to show that the heroes of the story are still regular people, so I like to explore what they do when they have some time to not worry about the Big Bad™.

Most productive time of day for writing?

I am a notorious night owl, so my usual productivity times are 7 PM or later. Even on nights when I’m supposed to going to sleep at a decent hour.

Reason for writing:

I would say that my biggest reason for writing is really just to give me something to do with my free time and with my emotions. I don’t think I’m particularly eloquent when I speak, so I use writing as a means to express my emotions, whether it’s to vent through poetry or to imbue a particular scene with whatever I am feeling at the time of writing.

But I also write to tell stories about people like me. I am a queer WOC that grew up in a world where the majority of stories have casts of characters that are predominately cis, white, and straight. As I’ve grown as a writer and as a person, I have created more and more characters that are like me so that I can tell other people that it is possible for girls to be heroes, for colored people to be valid love interests, for LGBTQ+ people to simply exist in the narrative.

So, while I may write more for my own amusement, I hope I’m changing the way media is viewed in some small way.

#tagged #tag meme #writing is hard

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