Happy Hard Hat Riot Day!!
Well, I brought it on myself.
1.
Do you outline?Very rarely; seeing the guts of a story spread out for examination kills the mood.
2.
Do you write straight through, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?Usually straight through, although I have seen the ending of a story before the middle congealed out of random brain-flatulence.
3.
Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?By computer--my penmanship is atrocious.
4.
Do you prefer writing in first person or third?First person. I have yet been able to properly capture the scene from outside the protagonist's p.o.v.
5.
Do you listen to music while you write?Very often. I'm a fan of the Chemical Brothers and the Crystal Method, and John Scalzi has made me an addict of the band Muse.
6.
How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?A combination of word-play and names plucked from the phone directory. For example, the protagonist of
TSOJIW is named John Littleton, which is word-play on his height (5' 9").
7.
When you're writing, do you ever imagine your story as a television show or movie?Often. I usually see scenes play out in my head before I ever write then down.
8.
Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn't want him/her to do?No. To be honest, I'd be pleasantly surprised if they did.
9.
Do you know how a book is going to end when you start it?Sometimes, but not often.
10.
Where do you write?Anywhere I have peace and quiet, and a flat surface.
11.
What do you do when you get writer's block?Grouse, grumble and worry.
12.
What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the fic as a whole)?I try for a steady 500 words per day, but I often fall short.
13.
How many different drafts did you write for your last project?Just two, and I should have done more.
14.
Have you ever changed a character's name midway through a draft?No, but I have done so when outlining.
15.
Do you let anyone read your story while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it?No. 2nd or 3rd drafts are for review and/or critique.
16.
What do you do to celebrate when you finish a draft?I'll celebrate when I'm published. Anything else is an extravagance unearned.
17.
One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?One at a time. Ideas get written in the margin or on a piece of scrap paper, and transcribed later.
18.
Do your stories grow or shrink in revision?They grow. Editing is harsh work, but it has to be done.
19.
Do you have any writing or critique partners?No. I do it all solo.
20.
Do you prefer drafting or revising?Drafting. Revising is hard.
