Survey Time ... Again.

Hey look! Have another survey that I found here, mostly because I'm still stuck on the voice in The Witch of November and I'm about ready to delete the whole thing and just start over.

(Okay, not really. I have not lost complete control of my faculties. Frustration typically leads me to hyperbole. ;))


What’s the last thing you wrote?

The last thing I actually typed was a couple new paragraphs in the beginning of The Witch of November. But since I'm not happy with them at all, I'll provide a link to my last completed project, a ridiculously fun to write Harper's Island fic called "Hide and Seek."

Was it any good?

You know, I actually think it is. Maybe just because it was so challenging to write (it's a series of events through the eyes of the killer, which clearly is so not me). But at the same time, it was ridiculously fun, and I think I managed to get in a good jolt of creepy at the end.

What’s the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?

On hard copy? A Charmed story called "Strong Belief" that I wrote in 2001.

My oldest story on ff.net is a Sports Night fic titled "Whatever You Do," also from 2001. (I'd link it, but the formatting seems to have gotten screwed and I don't feel like fixing it right now).

The archives on my computer go back to 2002. I lost everything I wrote before that when the floppy I kept everything on abruptly needed to be reformatted.

Write poetry?

Nope. I'm terrible at poetry. Always have been. I don't even like reading it.

Angsty poetry?

See above.

Favorite genre of writing?

Ghost stories. I loves me some ghost stories.

Most fun character you ever wrote?

The killer from Harper's Island, ha! Oh, you mean one of my own characters? Lynn Novak, niece of Casey Novak from SVU and a non-canon character that I created out of thin air. I don't quite know why she's so fun but I adore writing both her and her sister Stephanie (also non-canon).

Most annoying character you ever wrote?

I don't have any characters that annoyed me, personally. Most annoying to other characters is probably Charlie Davis's five-year-old sister. Though Allie adores her, she drives Charlie bonkers.

Best plot you’ve ever created?

I think The Witch of November is probably my best plot. It's given me enough material for a novel, at any rate. Even when I was writing the Supernatural fanfic that spawned the novel, I knew I had something special. And since I'd cannibalized my original ideas enough for fanfic purposes, I figured I was allowed to repurpose the fanfic plot for an original novel.

Removing all the fanfic elements actually made me dig deeper into the plot; after all, I had to come up with a brand-new ending since I couldn't exactly have Allie and Charlie do a salt-and-burn.

Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?

It's not a huge, life-changing plot twist or anything, but there's a development towards the end of The Witch of November that I think is rather cool. It brings the kids a lot closer to the decades-old mystery; literally right into Allie's living room.

How often do you get writer’s block?

I've only had one real period of writer's block where I just could not write anything. It lasted two years and it was freakin' terrible. Most of the time, it's not a block, per se. More like a burnout. Things don't come out right (read: the way I want them to) and the more I try to force it, the worse it gets. That tends to happen every couple of months or so.

How do you fix it?

I either take a break for a couple of days or start work on a different project. Sometimes I even take one of my older (and shorter) pieces and do a rewrite, just to work on something different for a little while. Kind of like using sorbet to cleanse the palate between meal courses.

Write fan fiction?

Oh yes. I pretty much got my start in fanfic (in terms of learning how to plot and pace a story) and I do still enjoy writing it. I haven't had a real fic idea in a while, though. The plotbunnies usually sneak up on me and refuse to leave me alone until I indulge them.

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?

No. I don't think I'd be very good at romance, and I don't even like to read angsty teen dramas. Though to be fair, I don't like angsty adult drama, either. I'm just not big on the heavy angst.

Do you type or write by hand?

I type now, because I type faster than I handwrite. I miss handwriting, though. There's nothing better than flipping through a spiral notebook full of your words in your own handwriting.

Do you save everything you write?

No. Sometimes I regret it, like when I delete a completed but unposted story I didn't like and then think months or even years later that I could have somehow salvaged it. But most of the time, if it didn't work, it didn't work.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?

Only once. I had a Charmed story called "Lost In Time" rolling around in my head for close to three years before I finally got it out on paper. I tried to write it multiple times and it just never came out right. I finally had an epiphany and wrote the whole 10,000-and-change words in like a week.

What’s your favorite thing that you’ve written?

I do have to say that I have a soft spot for the fanfic version of "The Witch of November." I'm also rather fond of the Harper's Island stories I wrote, four in total.

What’s everyone else’s favorite thing that you’ve written?

A massive SVU story called "The Heart of the Matter." I don't quite understand why (I don't think it's anything super special), but I've gotten the best response for that story. Readers were commenting and emailing for me for a couple of years after it was completed, asking for a sequel (which I eventually wrote and titled "Transition".)

What’s your favorite setting for your characters?

Mostly, my characters are kids, so I put them in kid-like settings. Allie and Charlie, for example, spend a lot of time outside, riding their bikes all over town.

Usually, though, I pick small towns, even smaller than the one where I grew up. I find it easier to figure out the geography of small places as opposed to cities.

What’s one genre you have never written, and probably never will?

Romance. I think I would be terrible at it.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?

Right this very second, just The Witch of November. I have a couple of vague notions of fanfics, but nothing actually worth starting and plotting out.

Do you want to write for a living?

It would be so ridiculously awesome if I could, but I don't write fast enough. I'd have to churn out a lot in order to make a living at it, and I just ... can't.

Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?

Nope. I'm a complete amateur, all the way.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?

Nope. I've gotten lots of super-nice feedback, though, which (cliché as it sounds) means more to me than an official award.

Ever written something in script or play format?

I think maybe for school once or twice but it's not my preferred form of writing.

What are your five favorite words?

Persnickety, obsequious, myriad, paramecium, and just for the sheer ridiculousness of it, asshat.

What character that you’ve written most resembles yourself?

Allie Sullivan. Her personality is essentially mine, just taken up about five or six notches. She's geeky, shy, and nervous, and she'd do anything for the people she loves. She even looks a little like me, though her hair is lighter. And she's eleven, so she's a lot younger than me, too, hee.

Where do you get ideas for your other characters?

In all honesty, I don't really know. Sometimes it depends on the character's purpose. Sometimes it depends on how I need them to react to the other characters. Most of Charlie's personality, for example, came about because I wanted him to be Allie's opposite. And then sometimes I start writing, the action and dialogue just flows, and I get a better handle on the character's personality as the story develops.

Do you ever write based on your dreams?

No. I tried once and it was a disaster. There were just too many gaps in the dream logic for the story to make sense, even though it would have been really freakin' kickass if I could have made it work.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?

Happy endings. I do whatever I want to the characters, but I like wrapping things up in a neat little bow. A couple of my Supernatural stories don't really fit that mold, but then again, Supernatural isn't exactly a neat-little-bow kind of show.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?

Yes. I do find small things (and the occasional big thing) in edits, but for the most part, it's all spelled correctly and nicely constructed in the first draft.

Does music help you write?

Yes indeedy. Vertical Horizon is actually quite awesome for helping me focus.

Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop into your mind.

Fury burned in the Witch’s eyes. Jutting out her lower jaw, she gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists. “In my day, children had respect for their elders.” As a self-satisfied smirk curled onto her lips, she raised her arm and held up her hand, palm out, in front of Allie.

The girl dropped to her knees, crying out in agony and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

“Allie!” Charlie knelt down next to his best friend, trying to pry her hands away from her stomach so he could see what was wrong. The Witch lowered her arm and Allie, though quite clearly still in pain, stopped whimpering. “What did you do to her?!” Charlie cried, glaring up at the Witch.

“She’ll be fine,” Lillian replied in an off-handed tone. “To keep a child in line, sometimes a little force is necessary.”