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starlit-hopes-and-dreams · 4 months ago

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Writerly Question Tag

I was tagged here by @i-can-even-burn-salad, and I'm actually going to do it :D thanks!

Open Tag for anyone who would like to jump on this. Under the cut bc its loooonng. There's a template at the bottom.

About You

When did you start writing?

Sometime in 2019/2020, before covid started. Late start, I know lol

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

No, not really. I am a fantasy romance girlie (gender neutral) through and through. It's really a rarity for me to branch outside the fantasy genre at all.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

I've not been writing long enough nor do I have a wide enough reader base to be compared to anyone lol. Emulate though 🤔 I don't know. I do know that certain writers leave an impression on me. Or I'll admire their style or how they did some bit of worldbuilding or torture. But when I'm writing, I'm not consciously trying to be like them or to even reference the stuff I was admiring to try and emulate it. That being said... I swear, C.L. Wilson, I was not trying to emulate you. I couldn't even approach the depth and mastery of your epic 5 book fantasy (this one). But I also can't deny the similarities that turned up in my book despite me not having read that series for multiple years before writing it 😂

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)?

My recliner in the living room or my (home) office. My office is the cooler option lol. I have a floor to ceiling built in bookshelf that my desk faces and a pretty ice blue rainbow backlit keyboard. However, I am having issues with both spaces currently. Nobody will leave me alone in the living room. And I'm in my office 8.5 hrs every goddamned day for work and really don't want to continue being in my office when I'm done. At least for a while anyway. It's smth I need to figure out so I can start writing again XD

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Uhhh. I wish I knew. Usually stuff will just hit me randomly and I have no control over when or where or why :')

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Most likely? In that it's just more work for me to write an environment that isn't close to the one I live in. But, it's fantasy, so. 🤷‍♀️

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Outcast/loneliness, finding a place to belong/found family, being enough, finding love without stipulations/compromises ... *deadpan* I'm so super surprised. Oh, and the suffering. We gotta have some of that :)

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Right now, it's probably Carr from Hidden Depths. Carr is so much fun to write. There is smth very freeing about writing a char that really truly doesn't give a shit :)

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

I could be friends with Alaia, but I'd never be able to keep up with her. Carr would probably have no patience for me lol. Kadin would amuse and annoy me and I could probably only tolerate him in small doses. Darian would intimidate me. Maybe Resh? Provided I could learn their version of sign language so I could talk with him.

Which characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Any of the bad guys XD

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

Uh, they come up with themselves 😅

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

Most of them are neurodivergent as fuck, even the ones I wrote thinking I was NT XD

How do you picture your characters?

I don't? 😅 *cough* aphantasia Although, some of those artbreeder pics helped, along with the commission :D

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Because I can! Because I started and I don't want to stop! (current dry spell notwithstanding XD) Because only in writing will I probably ever get the things I want 100%

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Literally any comment. Any indication you read and enjoyed what I wrote. However that may come across, I treasure it :D

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work?

*side eyes this question* People would think of me? Why? I am not the story o.o

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Look, I am terrible at identifying my own strengths XD Maybe characterization? Someone told me I did a good job with that once upon a time <3

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Frequently lol. I need to write more 😂 See above. Apparently I cheated and borrowed from this question. I've also been told I do a good job with descriptions, like in a worldbuilding way. Which is fascinating to me, bc I can't see shit in my mind. I just make shit up and hope it works 😅

How do you feel about your own writing?

Depends on when I'm reading it lol. Honestly though, I can tell I've improved a lot from when I first started a few years ago. Mostly I'm proud of it when I'm not being embarrassed by the thought of someone reading some of the more... interesting... things I've written 😅.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Probably. Only through writing can I fully characterize and flesh out the daydreams. Plus, it's a freaking treat to sit down with your own book and read it and enjoy it.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy?

I'm very influenced. I want to make my friends happy! But I also will write what I enjoy in the parameters of my chosen genre. I just might incorporate things I otherwise might not of thought of. And if it ends up making me uncomfortable down the road, I can always remove it.