Writing About Writing, Days 13, 14, and 15

13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?

Amestrian. Seriously, I have enjoyed writing fanfiction for Fullmetal Alchemist more than I've enjoyed writing almost anything else in my entire life, and its people have such a rich world to be my playground that it allows me to do all kinds of thinking.

14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?

No, because I rarely if ever do any mapping. I'm not good at it - I can't draw to save my life, and my spatial understanding isn't always accurate.

15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!

I want to be J. K. Rowling when I grow up. She just seems like she has an incredible amount of fun with her stories and her fandom, and that's what I want for mine. I wouldn't mind her paycheck, either.

Writing About Writing, Days 11 and 12

11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?

Speaking strictly of my own characters, I think Gabe is probably my favorite to write. He's sometimes extremely literal, so I have a lot of fun getting him confused by idioms and slang; for instance, he once looked at a sign that said WATCH YOUR HEAD and complained about how it was impossible to watch one's own head. His much more world-savvy companion, Sarah, rolls her eyes a lot.

Least favorite would have to be Sam Davies, Gabe's antagonist. He's very oily, very cold. He's plenty interesting, but he's hard to write because I dislike him so intensely. Fun fact: in my original outline for the story, he didn't exist. He only showed up when a friend of mine suggested that an antagonist might help the story to flow a bit better. I'm still not completely sure I agree in this instance, only because in my own opinion, the best-written parts are the interactions between Gabe and Sarah. But Sam is proving useful in his own way, and some of his conversations with Gabe are quite illuminating.


12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of worldbuilding? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?

Well, I actually live in the world of Gabe and Sarah's story, so I can't claim to have done much world-building there. I do find world-building a bit difficult sometimes, because I'm not good at mapping and my spatial understanding can sometimes be a bit distorted.

Writing About Writing, Days 9 and 10

9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.

This question kind of amuses me because I don't think I've ever consciously created a character. They have this interesting tendency to show up in my head, fully formed and with complete histories, although they don't necessarily tell me everything about themselves right away. But I don't maintain that I create them at all. I don't feel like I decide who they are or what their personalities are like. They tell me what they want me to know.

To give an example, the protagonist of my novel-in-progress is a guy I call Gabe. He came about because of something my friend Dawn told her friends, about how she was late to work due to a traffic jam caused by a terrible train accident. I tried to imagine how that might have looked...but as I saw the scene in my mind, I saw a person standing there, a tall blond boy in a trenchcoat. It made no sense. And then as I looked at him, I realized who he was and why he was looking at the accident scene, and everything fell into place.

Between ourselves, it was a little freaky.


10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!

Haha. I actually lampshaded this in one of my fanfictions, when I had Tom Sawyer comment to his friends, "Is it me or are our lives getting progressively weirder?"

Some of the time when weird things happen, it's my doing. But more often, it's just that the characters themselves have told me that something weird is happening. In the fic series where I used that question, the narrator stopped talking in the middle of one of her diary entries - in the middle of a sentence in fact - and then it turned out that she'd had to leave off writing abruptly because of an explosion down the hall. Until the very end of the story, I did not know who had caused the explosion or for what reason. They simply didn't feel it was necessary for me to know until it was time to tell the readers, I guess.

Probably my favorite weird situation that I invented myself was in one of my Fullmetal Alchemist stories, in which series protagonist Edward Elric planned to get married only to have his friend, the ruler of another country, decide to crash the wedding and thus turn the whole thing into something of an international incident. It was crazy, it was silly, and it was so much fun to write.

Writing About Writing, Days 7 and 8

7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?

Whether I listen to music partly depends on where I am. If I'm at home, no, I usually don't. Sometimes if I'm in public, I will put on headphones to listen to music in order to drown out ambient noise. I like soft rock, Celtic music, and movie soundtracks.

I don't usually deliberately apply songs to my characters, but sometimes when I'm hearing a song I will find that the lyrics are appropriate to them. Once I did wander around on YouTube specifically looking for songs that suited my novel characters, and actually found a couple.


8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?

My interests are so varied that it's really hard to pin down a favorite. I mean, my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice; I love Austen, and Shakespeare, and Doyle, so you could probably say that my favorite genre to read is classic literature. I also love fantasy, and have a soft spot for fantasy geared toward younger readers. Harry Potter is one of my favorite things in the world, as is Fullmetal Alchemist, although I can't for a moment believe that's intended for kids. In non-fiction, I love history, especially biographies of English monarchs (I'm a bit of an Anglophile, which is probably fairly evident from my other remarks here).

But as to what I like to write...that's pretty much exclusively the impossible. I think I'm slightly bored by reality. :)

Writing About Writing, Days Four, Five and Six

4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!

I actually did this a while ago, when I regaled the world with my sordid confession about my first "published" story involving an evil tube of toothpaste and its dognapping exploits. Please don't make me do it again.

Since four is basically a freebie, I'll throw five in here as well.

5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?

Again, I'm speaking only of original fiction here, not my fanfiction, which would have completely different answers. Age-wise, my youngest character is Gear, the focal character of my currently shelved project Tempus Fugit. He's thirteen. The oldest is Gabe, who is...I have no idea. Very old. I can't even explain how old without giving away the crux of my novel.

In terms of creation, the youngest are Tobiah, Liadan, and Sable, from the upcoming serial fiction. The oldest is harder to identify, because so many characters and stories have come and gone that my memories have become quite fuzzy.

All right, that seems like a freebie too, so I'll throw six in as well.

6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?

Computer, definitely. I type much faster (and more neatly) than I write, and I can accomplish more in a shorter time frame. Or at least, I can if I'm not distracted...which, if I have access to the internet, I am very prone to being.

I actually feel like I do my best writing on my laptop in a place that isn't my house. I like my local Panera or Barnes and Noble best. I'm not completely comfortable, which is good because I stay more alert and focused if I'm unlikely to doze off. I have access to snackage, but since I have to pay for it, I'm less likely to be getting up every five minutes for something else to put in my mouth. The environment is climate-controlled, which is important with my health issues, and I feel like being there forces me to accomplish something because I don't want to feel like I made the trip for nothing.

Writing About Writing, Day Three

Continuing with the questions...

How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?

I usually have a wide variety of name inspirations.

When I want a meaningful name, I'll usually pull up a baby name website and plug in some of the character's attributes. That's how I named Liadan, the central character of my upcoming serial fiction; the name is old Gaelic for "grey lady," which cracked me up because Liadan's formal title is "Lady Gray. Quite literally, therefore, her name is Lady Grey Lady Gray. But I only use names that I actually like, so if I find a name that fits but I hate it, I generally shy away from using it.

Some characters are "born" with their names already attached. Gabe and Sarah, from my novel, had their names from the get-go; I honestly can't imagine them being called anything else, even though Gabe isn't that character's real name. Supporting characters Talia and Sam(ael) required a bit of research. Sarah's mother, Rowena, had her name plucked out of thin air.

Occasionally, I name characters after other characters. In my novel, Sarah's father Alan is named after Allan Quatermain. In my Fullmetal Alchemist fan series, Ed Elric's son Lucas is named after Luke Triton, from the Professor Layton games.

Often, characters get named after my friends. So do places. In the novel, Gabe lives on Jaclyn Court; Jaclyn is a friend who has been mentioned in this blog more than once. I also name places after famous people, though much more rarely and usually more esoterically. For instance, in a writing project that is currently shelved for possible future resurrection, there is a town called Shiger. Most people would not recognize the name, but it's actually named after Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of my favorite video game franchise, The Legend of Zelda.

In some cases, I'm sneakier about naming something after something else. I mentioned in a previous post that Ironboro, in my novel, is based on my own hometown. The name also comes from that same town, which used to be known by the nickname "the iron borough."

Writing About Writing, Day Two

Continuing from the last post, the second question.

2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?

Speaking strictly of original fiction, I have...well, let's see. The novel has two leads, one male and one female, and two major supporting characters, also one male and one female (one of those is the antagonist). The upcoming serial fiction is a bit tricker; there's a main trio of characters, two male and one female, and one of those males is the audience-surrogate. There are quite a few background characters, but most of them haven't fleshed themselves out yet.

I think on some level I prefer males - the narrators of both the novel and the serial fiction are male, and while the female characters are very important to both stories, it's the male perspective in each that becomes my own. I'm not sure why this is. Possibly I have a secret fear of being accused of writing the dread Mary Sue or another equally annoying self-insert, so I shy away from writing female perspectives so that people don't think I can't tell the difference between myself and my character.

Trust me, I know the difference. My characters tend to be infinitely more interesting than I am, for one thing. Also, I have a tendency to write people who can do things that I can't do. Like dance, or swordfight, or see. (That's not to say I've never written a self-insert; show me a fanfiction writer who hasn't written at least one in their day.)

At the same time, though, it should be acknowledged that part of what makes the male characters tick is how they respond to the female characters. This is most literally true of the serial fiction, in which narrator character Tobiah is living a perfectly ordinary life until he gets swept up in the adventures of the actual focus character, the demon hunter Liadan. And Liadan, to a point, is something of a self-insert; we have a lot of the same negative characteristics, but she's a lot more badass than I am, and a lot less generally happy. Tobiah, by comparison, is borderline useless on these adventures and doesn't actually want to be there.

In my novel, the narrator is Gabe, and he is where he is precisely because of the character of Sarah - he's her protector. Unlike Tobiah, Gabe is not useless. He is a pacifist, but he can and will kick the antagonist's ass (so to speak) if he must. Ironically, it's because Gabe is Sarah's protector that the antagonist Sam takes an interest in her in the first place, so Gabe has to protect her from someone who probably would have left her alone if Gabe weren't protecting her.

I've completely wandered away from the original question, haven't I? Oh well.

Meme and Me

The other night, my friend Jess (she of the "partners in crime" designation) posted a meme on Facebook.

(Meme: Noun. A cultural idea or element of social behavior which is transmitted through society in a manner similar to the biological transmission of genes. Pronounced "meem.")

This particular meme was a list of fifty facts about Jess. Since I was "tagged" in the post, my participation was encouraged, so I've been struggling to come up with fifty things I don't mind saying publicly about myself. This is harder than it sounds. In fact, it's variably difficult because there are some things I don't mind saying in a Facebook post (which is locked to my friends) but that I would object to posting here in my blog (which is open to the world for scrutiny and criticism).

This brings up a whole other slew of questions. Is the person I'm willing to be in a public arena, like my blog, all that much different from the person I am in more private settings? And why is there a difference?

Embarrassment, I suppose, is the starting point. The people who are friends with me on Facebook are, as I mention on the FAQ page, people who I'm either related to via blood or marriage, or they've known me for a really long time. So they're pretty well acquainted with my quirks, foibles, talents, and lack thereof. It's one thing to say to people who know me that "I can't leave the house without making sure I have nine red marbles and two black ones in my pocket." It's quite another thing to say it here, where I'm being read by people who have never met me and would doubtless wonder why I'm walking around with marbles in my pocket.

I don't do that, incidentally. It was just an example. Trust me, I lost my marbles a long time ago.

Another reason is simple privacy. Generally speaking, my internet persona really is me. I can refer you to a number of friends I've made online who have since met me in person, and about the only thing they might tell you is different is that in person, I'm a bit more huggable and my laugh is slightly obnoxious. This is who I honestly am. But we all have our secret selves, don't we? Almost nobody knows us as well as they think they do. I'm pretty sure the only person from whom I have virtually no secrets is my husband, and that's partly because we live in a small house and there's no room for hiding any.

It's not only my own privacy I'd want to consider, either. Being too open online can create problems for other people who have taken me into their confidence in one sense or another. I always want to respect other people's boundaries, and sometimes that means reining myself in somewhat.

So it's been a puzzle. But I think I found a good balance -- here's a list of not fifty, but twenty slightly curious, possibly interesting, and mostly un-embarrassing facts about me that don't involve anyone who might not wish to be involved. Enjoy! And if you're reading, consider yourself "tagged" and feel free to respond with your own facts.

1) I don't like coffee. I'm that weird writer who goes to a coffeeshop to write and doesn't drink coffee.

2) However, looking out at the additional nine inches of snow that was dumped on us yesterday, I can't help thinking that some hot chocolate would be nice right about now.

3) I think that deciding to start my blog is one of the better ideas I've had in a while.

4) Someone once said that I must be powered by "caffeine and imagination." I do not deny this.

5) I was born in the Chinese year of the dragon. This tends to surprise no one.

6) I have the same middle name as my mother. It's Kay.

7) I have a tendency to name things. If it's an inanimate object and I have some kind of emotional attachment to it, odds are strong that it will get a name. My car is Tom Sawyer, my laptop is Epona, and my new camera is Zeus (because it's an Olympus).

8) But I have never given anything a more appropriate name than when I dubbed my cat Random. Because he is.

9) The last time I had short hair was when I was twelve years old. Never again.

10) I am very much looking forward to attending Genericon next month with my friend Cat. (I even got business cards with the blog's address to give to all the new friends I hope to meet.)

11) If something ever permanently prevented me from writing/telling stories, I would go mad. There are people in my head and they need to come out somehow.

12) Reading back over that last fact makes me wonder if I sound as crazy as I think I might.

13) I have a paralyzing fear of heights. When we went to the Grand Canyon, it took all of my willpower to get off the bus. I have this irrational conviction that I will either develop an unstoppable urge to jump or that a spontaneous vacuum will develop and drag me down.

14) My fear of heights is exceeded only by my claustrophobia. I can't even think about being in a small space or I'll start to freak out. I saw a movie about a girl who was kidnapped and held in a box buried in the ground, and I almost hyperventilated imagining myself in the same scenario. I think it's mostly the idea of suffocating that terrifies me.

15) I get teased a lot for my love of video games, but the truth is that one of the (many) reasons I love them so much is because they remind me of my grandparents.

16) I have a Buddha figure in my living room. It was a gift from my stepdad's brother Gowri.

17) I have a sort of morbid fascination with tombstone art. There are some really extraordinary gravestones in our local cemeteries from the 19th century.

18) I have only one real celebrity crush. Most of you would not recognize the name if I said it, so I won't. I will, however, say that I just learned he's getting a Facebook account and will be accepting friend requests from his fans, so this can only end badly. (And before you ask, yes, my husband is aware of this. He seems to find it amusing.)

19) My favorite picture in the world is here in my living room. I'm about three years old, asleep in my grandfather's arms.

20) I am so much happier as an adult than I was as a child.

Your turn. :)