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coffeeandcalligraphy · 7 years ago

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21 Questions Tag!

Wrote this up a couple days ago but a quick update on my whereabouts: currently going through finals, submitted a final assignment, and am now taking advantage of my free time!

I was tagged by @leannao! :)

1. Short stories, novels or poems?

I primarily write novels, but recently completed a short story with @sarahkelsiwrites and @imdisappointed and had a lot of fun! Short fiction is definitely a form I’ve yet to break into, but I plan on doing so as soon as I can! Short stories are really satisfying to look back on I dunno why.

2. What genre do you prefer reading?

Contemporary is my jammm.

3. What genre do you prefer writing?

I prefer writing contemporary also, though 5/8 books I’ve written are a veryyyy soft dystopian. @sarahkelsiwrites and I were just talking about how weird my dystopians are? The FOSTERED books are kind of straight up contemporary at this point with dystopian elements. lol.

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

This really depends! I’m currently planning a few projects, whereas I’ve pantsed all of my novels besides I’M DISAPPOINTED (which was half pantsed lol). Though, when I’m writing, I like to have an idea of the scene I’m going into, so I do a bit of both.

5. What music do you listen to while writing?

Sometimes I don't listen to music while writing (which has become increasingly more common lol), but since my house is usually a very loud place, I’ll put on either the book’s playlist, or Daughter (particularly Music From Before the Storm since it’s primarily instrumental). My favourite bands that are on these playlists: Current Joys, The Strokes, Daughter (bless), Surf Curse, Ed Sheeran, Whitney.

6. Fave books/movies?

Oooh. My favourite book since I was 11 has been The Host by Stephenie Meyer. The atmosphere in that book always gets me lol. I haven’t read it in a couple of years, so I’d have to see how I’d fair at this point in time (a re-read this year is probs coming via audiobook), but reading that book always felt like going home! The Darkest Minds trilogy is also one of my all time faves, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews gives me so much life, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven has impacted and improved my quality out of life by 250%, and Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore is so blessed (the audiobook is EXCELLENT). (I re-read it twice in the span of like 4 months??) As for movies, my favourite movie of life is the adaptation of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (the screenplay is 10/10, the cinematography is 10/10, the colour grading tHO). Across the Universe also steals my heart, and is in a close second place!

7. Any current WIPs?

Yep! I’m currently having a *very* hard time finishing the last book in my behemoth FOSTERED series! I’m also outlining this series’ spinoff (and have been doing so for a year lol)! I’m also (very slowly) planning a contemporary called SIXTEEN CENTS (tho this has been a thing for almost three years so progress is snail pace ha).

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

I love this question so much. My standard outfit is literally the angstiest angst outfit, @sssoto has seen proof ha. For the winter my go to angst outfit is:

- A black t-shirt from value village

- Black jeans also from value village

- A black trench coat that reaches like mid-calves from my mom

- A black beanie i got from the dollar store

- Black gloves if I need ‘em from walmart HA

- Knockoff black doc martens that I got from the thrift store for 8 bucks bless

(do you see the trend)

^^^ This

like everything is black I'm an amorphous blob I am literally a vortex I am a black hole I love this??

The summer version of this is pretty similar it goes like:

- A black t-shirt

- Black jeans

- Any sort of grungy jacket from the thrift store (I have a bit of a jacket obsession, literally can’t exit Value Village without a new one thrifting is life)

- These shoes my mom gave me:

The topmost sneakers are me, the lit oxfords are @sarahkelsiwrites’ staple and in this photo we are hanging at a Surf Curse show ha (picture is also Sarah’s).

9. Create a character description for yourself:

Oh myyyyy. I’m going to do this list-style because I feel like I’ll do a really bad job if I actually write one lol

- Could be your local cashier at Hot Topic

- “Local edgy goth kid smoking a skinny cigarette at the corner store.” --@imdisappointed)

(tho I don't smoke)

- Kind of clunky and awkward

- Shoulder length blue hair that sometimes clashes with her skin tone and makes her look like an Oompa Loompa

- Lopsided face tho it’s kind of charming sort of

- Wears black square-ish glasses of which always fall off her face, hence face is always semi scrunched up to anchor said glasses to face

- Eyes always are shut halfway so she always looks unamused/uninterested/pissed off/contemplating life

^^^ Example A do you see the eyelid thing HA and this is my ��trying to model well’ face so I mean, I guess it’s worse IRL? oh my i have resting angst face

When did this become a roast yourself, lolz

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

No, I don’t usually! This obviously still occurs subconsciously, so a couple of my characters will most likely have qualities of people I know. The most notable of these would probably be my best friend Ashley @imdisappointed, and @sarahkelsiwrites! I don’t think many other people make subtle appearances in any of my books. For example, Ash has inspired maaaaany attributes of characters (@ Ben’s sarcasm and memey life, @ Darren’s hugs and excellent listening skillz, @ Harrison’s humour, @ Sydney’s eyes @ Sydney’s love for puns), and Sarah has inspired a ton too (@ Harrison x Lonan’s Mom of the Group vibes, @ Lonan’s Get to the Point attitude/Girl You Better Have Some Facts To Back Up Your Point Cuz Actually spirit, @ Spencer’s style/Spencer).

Though I wouldn’t say these attributes were taken directly from these two amazing people and put into my books, since I don’t actively do this (unless I’m like, naming a random side character and want to give them shout outs). Funny though, I did say yesterday that I’d really like to base a character off my dog Liuna (pronounced LUNA don’t ask lolz), because she would be this hella amazing confident character? Like? Liuna human needs to happen?? She would?? Actually?? Be?? Lonan?? Though? Did I base Lonan off my dog??

Liuna: left, Samson: right.

(so real quick cute story Luna the name [minus the i] means moon and Samson means sun and we adopted Samson so i mean if this AINT MEANT TO BE)

11. Are you kill-happy with characters?

Ha, 12-year-old Rachel would’ve said yes because apparently a book wasn’t a book unless someone died?? I now rarely kill off characters, though. The last time I killed off a character was in FOSTERED #4 ha.

12. Dream job?

It’s sort of ironic that I’m not going to say writer for this, because that is what I plan to study in uni and what I do spend all of my life doing. I just don’t think (right now at least) that I could be a very good full time writer/use that time productively. I think it would take a ton of time to adjust to writing full time, and hasn’t ever really been my endgame. I know a lot of people I know in real life assume I know what career path I’d like to go down, when in actuality, I don’t really know! Anything creative, I guess I’m lucky in that way, where I have a lot of creative outlets I’m passionate about. I’ve been saying I’d like to work in film for a bit, so maybe that?

13. Coffee or tea while writing?

Okk, so I figured this was a perfect opportunity to confess something lol: I don’t like coffee.

*ah*

*but why*

*ur account is called coffee and calligraphy ahh what**

I used to really enjoy coffee when I was veryyy young, and again when I was 12-14 (around when I created this blog ha), but I’m not a huge fan anymore. I don’t have anything against it or anything, and if I’m going to drink it, I’ll usually like it because I’m not picky (but I can’t do it with homemade coffee anymore ah) so I guess saying I dislike it is sorta untrue. Though I will gladly drink store bought coffee! GREEN TEA on the other hand. Green tea is my *bitch* yes. Love me some green tea. I drink like 15 cups of that shit a dayyyy fam. I’m a green tea connoisseur I’ve been tasting green tea my whole liiiife fam.

14. Slow or fast writer?

I used to be a fast writer, but now I’m pretty slow. I used to write 2.5 books a year that were of substantial length (like 100k+?), but now I can’t do that. It’s taken me almost four months to draft 25k of Rewired lol. Though I shouldn’t say this because I’m sure my pace will slow down even more. I’m not mad about this particularly though because the quality of writing has sky-rocketed since I slowed down!

15. Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

This is a fun question because right now I’m v/ uninspired… So it’s making me think! I’ll draw inspo from music mainly? Maybe television shows/movies for mood and tone. Nick’s lyrics in Current Joys inspires me to think about Clifford (and then make fun of Clifford because that’s my favourite thing to do lolz). Photographs are nice, though I guess I don’t really draw inspiration from too many things!

16. if you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

@sarahkelsiwrites and I were talking about this in math class and I decided I would be the annoying peasant who talks too much and does nothing helpful to resolve the world’s various problems until the end where I accidentally do something that actually helps!

17. Most fave book cliche? Least face book cliché?

I really enjoy the sassy best friend or lowkey sassy best friend lol. My least favourite cliché would be insta-romance probably? Insta-romance often kills my ability to enjoy the book because the romantic subplot progresses wayyyy too fast which affects the main plot oftentimes and so then the pacing feels very off/like I missed out on 50% of the book.

18. Fave places to write:

My kitchen table! It was actually super uncomfortable to sit at my table until we recently replaced it, but it’s always been my fave, just because there’s a huge window to my right and I loooove sunlight. I can’t really write anywhere else, ha. The kitchen table is also around two feet away from the kettle, so endless green tea.

19. Fave scenes to write?

I’ve recently been writing a lot of developing friendship scenes ft. character flaws, so that could be one. I also enjoy scenes with any sort of tension which is broad, but if my MC is conflicted, it’s a yes from me. Romantical happenings are also fun lol.

20. Most productive time of day for writing?

After 7PM

21. Reason for writing?

I literally love the answer @leannao put for this:

Constantly daydreaming and thinking about imaginary people without writing would feel like missing the best part of my life.

I like giving characters stories. I think all of them have lives of their own, and if I didn’t write their stories, I’d prevent them from having their home. Also when I find a really great verb or adjective and the sentence clicks into place and it’s blessed—that’s a huge source of ahh life is blessed this is why I write for me.

This was super fun! I’m going to tag @sarahkelsiwrites, @sssoto and @shaelinwrites to do this if you haven't already!

--Rachel

#Writing #writerblr

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