Beautiful People — Author Edition

I just found this link-up and decided to take part. It’s about writing, not reading, and I’ve been meaning to draw more of my writing life into this blog, so this was a fortunate find!

Beautiful People is a monthly linkup hosted by Paper Fury (details here) that helps writers get to know their characters and their writing. This month is a special Author edition focusing on the writer instead of the writing.

1. How many years have you been writing? When did you officially consider yourself a ‘writer’?

Though it sounds cheesy, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I think I officially identified as a writer when I started my first novel WIP, which was fourth grade? Ish?

2. How/why did you start writing?

I’ve always been a reader, so I think being a writer was a natural transition. My mom also writes so I had that as a model. Once I started, I never really stopped.

3. What’s your favorite part of writing?

My favorite part of writing is when I start a scene and I don’t really know what is going to happen and then the characters just kind of take over and awesomeness ensues. Some of the best things I’ve ever written have happened accidentally.

Building off of that, I love meeting the characters I create. I usually have an idea of who they will be when I start to write, but they evolve into their own people as the WIP progresses.

4. What’s your biggest writing struggle?

Finding time and energy to write. I’m a high school student, and when I do have free time, I’m usually too tired to sit down and commit myself to writing. It sucks and I’m trying to fix it.

5. Do you write best at night or day?

Late at night or early in the morning. I really love writing at night when everyone else is in bed and it’s just me and my laptop.

6. What does your writing space look like? (Feel free to show us pictures!)

Anywhere my laptop is? On my couch. I don’t know. I write everywhere.

7. How long does it typically take you to write a complete draft?

Wow, I have no idea. I can’t even answer this question. I’ve finished drafts of novels, but I have no idea how long it takes me. My writing process is extremely drawn out because of school.

8. How many projects do you work on at once?

I’m writing one novel right now. I have other ideas but I can’t imagine trying to split my limited time between two WIPs. I write short stories that sometimes become novel-esque, but I usually drop them (to come back to at a later time) when they get that long so I can go back to my current project.

9. Do you prefer writing happy endings, sad ones, or somewhere in between?

Again, I have no idea. Overly happy endings bother me, as do overly sad ones. When I write an ending, I just want it to tie up the story, and if that happens in a happy or a sad way, then that’s what I’ll write I guess.

10. List a few authors who’ve influenced your writing journey.

From Ally Carter I get a love of ridiculous plot lines. From Libba Bray I get the bravery to write candidly about sensitive societal subjects. From Megan Whalen Turner I get a love of intricate details that you only notice the third time you read a book.

I get a slightly new writing style from every book I read, I think. Sometimes, I just pick up a turn of phrase or a cool way to describe something, other times I come up with a whole new way to write character voice or structure a plot. It depends.

11. Do you let people read your writing? Why or why not?

Only my sister (if it comes to my WIP).

For lesser stuff (poems, short stories) I’ll have either my sister or my mom read it, and then I’ll post it to my blog.

12. What’s your ultimate writing goal or dream?

To be published. And to have my book be successful, but really that’s less important to me. I’d love to be published before I leave high school, or right as that happens–but there is probably no way that happens.

13. If you didn’t write, what would you want to do?

Um…I have no idea? Probably I’d learn to draw. Or paint, or something artsy.  And I’d cook more.

14. Do you have a book you’d like to write one day but don’t feel you’re ready to attempt it yet?

Probably. I have a lot of ideas for other novels, but I definitely think I’d write them better if I were older. Basically, I need to actually life a little before I write about it–you know?

15. Which story has your heart and won’t let go?

My old WIP After We Waited for Ever. It was middle grade fantasy and I dropped it when I started reading YA and wanted to write something in that age range. I still love the characters and the story and plan to come back to it someday.

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What about you? Are you a writer? What is your approach to writing?