#gah basic tags my detested

[alj4890]

20 Questions Writing Edition

I was tagged by the awesome @fullbeaumonty

Respond to the following writing questions and tag me in your response! I look forward to hearing your answers as I’ve always been curious about these!

1) When/what age did start writing?

I think it was most likely in high school. My junior literature arts teacher encouraged all of us to try writing. My first story was a description of a field on my family’s land. I remember how everyone loved my expression of the “moon caressing the field with its beams”. The teacher said it showed I had a sensual side, which caused me to be totally embarrassed.  It did get me some attention from some of the guys I thought were cute in the class, LOL.

2) What inspired you to start?

First, it was because it was a class assignment. Now, I have so many ideas running through my head at night about the Choices stories that I’m pretty sure I am driving everyone mad with my postings.

3) Where and when does inspiration usually strike you?

At night while I am doing mathematical equations of how much time I would get sleeping before the alarm goes off. Then the ideas come and I struggle on whether or not to get up and write it out or hope I remember it in the morning.

4) Where and when do you usually write? Morning? Late at night? On the bus? In bed?

Late at night and early morning. Usually in bed, sometimes in a recliner in the living room.

5) Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what genre/playlist?

Yes. I actually have a playlist on my Amazon Music account that I have labeled TRR. I have no shame. It is filled with songs that remind me of the characters. Oldies, 80′s, current hits, pop, classical, etc. are all in the mix.

6) Which category do you like best? Angst? Fluff? NSFW? Other?

I have become a sucker for the fluff. All the love and humor makes me melt.  Which is weird, because I detest romance movies. Give me a good action movie or comedy any day.

7) Which category do you find most challenging to write?

NSFW. The two I did made my face look like I had been sunburned. I can picture it, just writing it out for the world to see makes me feel exceptionally self-conscious.

8) If you had to pick your favorite Choices book, which one would it be and why?

Oh this is a tough one. I love TRR. But, I have fallen for Hero (I’m a nerd), Bloodbound, and Perfect Match. There is also a soft spot in my heart for Red Carpet Diaries. 

9) If your Choices LIs were real, which one (and only one) would you personally want to be with?

Another incredibly tough choice. I would probably, most likely pick Maxwell. Gah, I almost typed another name. Oh the guilt.

10) Do you share any physical characteristics with your Choices MCs? Pics/Selfies optional

I do try and pick some of the same physical aspects that I have. I wish I looked as pretty as my MC looks in It Lives Beneath.

11) Which MC do you share the most personality traits with?

Hmm. I have the sarcasm that the MC has in Perfect Match. I have the shock and yet still goes with the flow that the MC has in Bloodbound (thanks to living with my sons and husband), and I have the cheerleading optimism that the MC has in TRR (once again, due to living with my men. they always require me to say how great they are and everything is.)

12) Which Choices character do you feel you have the best grasp of in terms of personality?

I don’t know. That is up to whoever reads what I wrote. I think we all have a certain way of looking at the characters and how they would respond out of their books. 

13) What’s your favorite Choices pairing to write for?

I really enjoy writing for Maxwell X Amanda and Rashad x Hana. Rashad might be one character I love to write for the most. His thoughts are what I get the biggest kick out of while writing.

14) What is a pairing(s) you hope to start writing for?

Hmm. I would like to write something for some of the Red Carpet Diaries’ characters. I don’t know if I will ever get around to it. TRR has so far captured my complete focus. 

15) What do you hope to improve in your writing?

Is there an all of the above option? Everything! Story, dialogue, character development, etc. I need improvement across the spectrum.

16) Any pet peeves related to writing?

When I type too fast and have to go back to correct the messed up spelling. 

17) Are you inspired by any IRL experiences when you write? Care to share?

Yes! I have included some in my fictions. When Maxwell gave Amanda the ring, that was literally word for word what happened when my husband did the same thing. The ‘make my butt bigger pie,” is what my icebox chocolate pie was dubbed by my in-laws. Now everyone refers to it that way. The not knowing your friend is in love with you, happened a few times to me. Amanda’ s questioning to Drake about why he woke her up early is one I have had with my husband. Basically, I have used so many of my real life experiences, LOL.

18) Is there any particular piece of work you consider to be your ultimate writing goal? Something so amazing you hope one day you’ll be up to that standard?

Wow, there are so many that I have read and I’m like, “Here’s my childish piece.” LOL. I do not even belong in the same fandom with all the talent here. Is there a beginners only one I can join? 

19) Did/do you write for any other fandoms? If so which ones?

No. This is my first.

20) In your spare time (when you’re not writing) what other hobbies do you pursue?

Reading, sewing and crocheting, watching movies. 

Tagging: I’m not sure who has or hasn’t been tagged, so sorry if you have. @krsnlove @umccall71 @hopefulmoonobject @annekebbphotography

writing

long post

[pirate-patton]

Title: Curiosity Killed the Cat; Satisfaction Brought Him Back Tag List: @undertakershairline @mewsicalmiss @romananalogicality @rose-gold-roman @thegoldenmink @the-prince-and-the-emo @theawesomestofsauces @jellyjam24 @sabriel-fanboy-83 @the-sanders-sides @amazable01 @milk-withtwosugars @bbcanimefangirl @analogically-prinxiety @asexual-trashbag @calz-craze @gayfagg @gracefullyinsanedancingunicorn @phandemoniumclub @virgils-anxiety @natalie-wheres-the-tampons @hrtnsolofytube @greymane902 @ashrain5 @fandom-screamings @mira-jadeamethyst @cefmua56 @colie7700 @madd-catter @leesacrakon @a-blog-just-for-sanders @doesdanielhowelisgay @viva-la-nordics @just-fic-me-up @justanotherpurplebutterfly @thebeautyofthomas

Virgil had a notebook.  A kind of worn out, once black notebook with purple pen scratches all across the front.  The others rarely got to see this notebook, but they were well aware of its existence. For the most part, no one dared to ask what it was for or if they could see it.  No one, not even Patton, was curious enough to risk the little bit of trust and confidence building between them and the anxious side.  

That is…until Virgil got more confident and trusted them more.

The notebook made its way out of his room more and more, finding its way onto the coffee table, dining table, the counters, and the sofa much more often.  Every now and then one of them would catch Virgil with his knees to his chest scribbling away in the book, and just seeing it drove them crazy.

To say that Logan wasn’t dying to know what was in the book would have been the biggest lie ever told in the mind palace.  As the logical side, he was also the side that enjoyed learning the most.  Learning, observing…dying of curiosity.  Secrets were not his thing.  They were not his “jam.”  What was his “jam” was figuring out why Virgil hid the notebook when he was using it.

And now, he had an opportunity.

“Be right back,” Virgil mumbled.  The anxious side hopped up from his spot on the other end of the sofa and dragged his notebook into his spot.  Logan watched him leave and round the corner to his room, and it didn’t take long for all of that curiosity to come rushing to the forefront of his mind.

What could be in this mysterious notebook?  Drawings?  Logan thought of all the possibilities for Virgil Drawings.  From a Tim Burton-esque style all the way down to an Invader Zim style. Mainly monsters or gore…or possibly he’d be full of surprises and fill the notebook with drawings that calmed him? Kittens, puppies, maybe a few koalas or red pandas?  Or maybe he was a classic early 2000s emo child and filled his notebook with stitched-up, bandaged-up, and bleeding hearts?  

Perhaps the notebook contained his thoughts.  What a trip that would be.  Thoughts and analyses of ever scenario Thomas encountered.  It’d probably be a mish-mash and assorted lists of words indecipherable to anyone but Virgil.

But then…Virgil had said before that he wrote.  Sonnets, at least.  Could this notebook be his writings…?

Logan caught his hand gravitating toward the book, and he snatched the offending digits back against his chest.  No, he couldn’t.  He would not be the first to break.  Virgil would share the contents of the book when he felt he was ready, and Logan would just have to respect that.  

…But he wouldn’t even know if Logan took a quick peak just to see what Virgil used the notebook for…

…But that would still be abusing Virgil’s trust.  He left the book there out of trust.  

…But-!

“I’m back,” Virgil announced, throwing himself down on top of the book.  He pulled it back out from underneath himself and opened it up to wherever he’d left off. “Needed a different blue.”

Ah.  Drawings. Had to be.

…Right?

Logan’s curiosity had yet to die off a week later.  All four of them sat around the dining table for breakfast, and after eating they all stuck around the kitchen, taking the day as a lazy day.  Virgil stayed sat at the table hunched over his notebook, a purple pen in his hand this time.  

Logan watched him, barely paying attention to Roman as the creative side spat off about whatever adventure he’d been on the day before and how he’d hurt his neck rescuing some…royalty, Logan assumed.  No matter, it wasn’t like there’d be a quiz.

“Are you even listening to me, Logan?!” Roman whined.

“What?” Logan turned to face him, holding back laughter at the frustrated look on Roman’s face.

“While you simply read about these kinds of adventures, I’m living them!” Roman exclaimed in that whiny voice of his that Logan so detested.  “Why, you’re more interested in whatever Wednesday Addams over there is doing than my actually interesting story!”

“Falsehood, I was paying neither of you any mind!” Logan insisted.  At this point, Virgil had looked up, squinty-eyed as ever, to figure out what the heck was going on with these two.  Logan looked over at him when he heard a snicker, and he caught sight of lines and lines and lines and lines of words.  So, he didn’t draw in the notebook; it was for writing.

…But writing what?!

Before he could figure it out, Virgil flipped the book shut and got to his feet, tucking the notebook in his jacket.  “I’m gone; you two are way too noisy.”

“Look what you did, Roman.”

“ME?!”

“Alright, you two, who wants to help me make muffins?!” Patton called as he bound into the dining room holding up a recipe book.

Now Logan was just getting frustrated.  He’d been so good up to this point!  Now he had a glimpse of the inside of the notebook and all of its overwhelming amounts of blue and purple and green writing, and he desperately wanted to read it.  Unfortunately, the unmade muffins were getting the brunt of his anger.  

“Logan, be careful stirring the blueberries!”  Patton’s increasingly shrill concern snapped Logan back, and he looked down at the bowl before deciding that, yep, he’d done a good job mixing.  “I will take that…” Patton said, slowly removing the bowl from Logan’s hands.

Logan groaned and dropped his head onto the counter, gently banging his forehead against the corner.  He couldn’t take this anymore.  He was going to lose it.

“Is there any reason you’re suddenly so grumpy?” Patton asked as he scooped the muffin batter out into paper liners.  

“It’s…nothing…” Logan said.

“Now you and I both know that’s not true.  Has it got something to do with Virgil’s notebook?”

“You’ve noticed…”

“Well, it’s not every day you lose control of your curiosity, Mr. Calm and Collected.”  Patton had a point, Logan supposed.  Why did Logan care so much?  Before this point he’d chalked it up to him being naturally curious as apart of who he was, but now…  “Why don’t you just ask Virgil if you can read it?”

Logan shook his head rapidly, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter heavily.  “Curiosity killed the cat, remember,” he said.

“Ah, but satisfaction brought it back.”  Patton smirked and gave Logan a wink, nudging his side to make Logan move away from the drawer he needed in.  “If you don’t want to ask him, fine.  But I’m sure he’d share…”

“Why do act so confident about that?”

“No reason…”  The grin on Patton’s face was more than concerning, but Logan could only take one obsession at a time.

Logan stood in the doorway to the commons room just watching Virgil scribble away in his notebook.  He had to ask, just say something to end this yearning.  But…why was he so nervous?  His stomach felt off, not sick, but wrong, the longer he watched Virgil write.  

Virgil moved and rested his cheek in his right hand, and wow now it looked like he was doodling.  Logan covered his mouth to fight off a smile, wondering why in the world Virgil was so cute like that.  This was all too much; Logan had to put an end to it.  Ugh.

“Verge – Virgil,” Logan called, making the anxious side jump.

“Just use an air horn next time, why don’t you!”

“My apologies,” Logan said, moving farther into the room. He gingerly took a seat not too far from Virgil, just an arms’ length between their knees, and he looked at the notebook.  Virgil followed his eyes and snatched the book, slamming it shut.  “So…” Logan started, daring himself to just ask already, “…what is it that you fill that mysterious notebook of yours with?” he asked slowly.  Finally, finally the words were out and the answer, be it rejection or truth, was right in front of him. Hallelujah.

“What does it matter to you?” Virgil asked, guarding the book with his knees.

“Well…”  Think of a good reason!  “As we are all making a better effort to get to know you and include you, I should think that a good way to do just that would be learning about what you can and do put to paper.”  Nailed it.

“Ummm…”  Virgil’s eyes darted back and forth, never landing on Logan.  He concentrated them on his socks eventually, going silent. Logan could watch the gears turning in that nervous mind, and his heart ached to know what was going on in there. Gah, what was wrong with him?!  “I –“  Oh? “I guess there’s some stuff you can look at…”  

…Satisfactory.

Logan watched as Virgil flitted through the pages, scanning quickly yet carefully each one until he found one he was willing to share. Virgil handed the book over and dropped his face so only his eyes were visible over his knees.  Logan greedily looked over the page, taking in every single thing about it.  

The page was very brittle, very fragile.  How old was this notebook?  So many things on the backside of the page had been scratched out and scribbled out, to the point that holes poked through to the side he read.  Navy blue ink filled his page, which was good because at least he could comfortably read navy blue.  Then, with the page absorbed, he could finally read.

…Poetry.  Huh. And not sonnets.

Keeping me grounded must be an awful job, Though you do it well. I’m whiny, insufferable, and unbearable, But you take on my personal Hell And give me a minute at most in your Heaven.

“OK, that’s enough!” Virgil snatched the book away, face red as could be.  

It wasn’t enough, it couldn’t be enough.  Five lines that read like that was basically a cliffhanger, and it wasn’t fair.  But, Logan had to respect Virgil’s boundaries. No matter how frustrating they were. Maybe…maybe he could test his limits? “You are a very good writer, Virgil,” he said.

“Thanks, I guess…” Virgil mumbled, tucking the notebook back into his jacket.  

“You must write from experience?”  There, Logan threw out his line, and he hoped Virgil hooked on.  

“Yeah, what else would I have?  Roman’s the creative one…” Virgil said.  His sleeve found its way into his mouth and he looked at the ground. Great, he was anxious and uncomfortable, and he was making Logan feel bad.  

Just.  Not bad enough.

“Who were you writing about in that poem?” Logan asked.

“…It doesn’t matter.”

Oh, but it did.  It very much did matter who Virgil was writing about, because it was killing Logan.  He was sure he’d burst any minute and now he understood exactly how those curious cats felt when they were ready to just die.

“Well, it must matter if whoever it was does so much for you,” Logan said.  

“Don’t worry about it!”

“And that is supposed to make me not?”

“Really just – it doesn���t matter, Logan!”

“Then why do write them to mean so much?!”

“Because I just felt like it!”

“Well if you felt like it, then you must believe the words you put down, which means –“

“Would you stop!”

Logan shut up.  Clamp – jaw screwed shut – no more talking for him.  He really wanted to ask why it was big deal, but he refrained.  An angry Virgil was a dangerous Virgil. Possibly.  None of them had ever seen him truly angry.

“Look…” Virgil took a deep breath and brought back out his notebook.  “Everything in here is really personal.  I just…I dunno why I even let you look at it at all; I guess I trust you, but…maybe not for everything.”

Well, just rip out his heart and stomp on it.  Not like Logan wanted that useless thing, anyway. “You can trust me.”

Virgil bit his lip, nearly tearing a hole in it if his force was anything to judge by.  God, why couldn’t he just trust Logan with all of his secrets, PLEASE Virgil!

“It’s you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The poem, you idiot!”

Oh.  Oh!  Oh. That explains a lot.  “May I read the rest of it, then?” Logan asked, hoping with all his hope that Virgil would say yes.  

“I…nu-uh.  Not – not yet.”

He should’ve assumed that answer.  Of course, Logan still had to be there for Virgil.  He had to live up to the poem and be what Virgil saw in him. His anchor, the one that grounded him. The one that gave Virgil a piece of Heaven.

“I will not pry any more, I promise,” Logan said, pretending his useless hunk of heart didn’t leap when Virgil gave him a smile.  “So, would you want to watch a movie?”

“Wanna watch Scooby Doo?” Virgil asked.

“If that is what you want, then yes.”  

It didn’t take long for the two to get comfortable on the sofa, Zombie Island starting on the television.  Virgil slumped against Logan, resting his head on the logical side’s shoulder.  Logan rested his head on top of Virgil’s, and he now realized what was exactly meant by the end of that famous phrase.  No, he didn’t get all of his answers, and he still had questions, but for the moment he was happy with what he knew.  Virgil trusted him with a little snippet of his mind, and nothing could be more satisfying in that moment than that.

A/N: HA YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA MACK ON EACH OTHER DIDN’T YOU maybe one day. this is so long. i haven’t written something this long in forever. my brain hurts