The Infamous MEME

Carol over at Carol's Prints was nice enough to tag me in a "meme". Now, I'm still new to blogging, but from what I've gathered from the blogs I read, a meme is basically a questionnaire. So, it's my turn to answer the meme, and tag someone else...

So-- Kayleigh, tag, you're it!

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

The first thing I wrote that I still have was called CFC vs. Bad Boys. In my defense, I was ten years old at the time. It was about two rival, gang-like clubs; your typical good vs. evil scenario. The bad club was always trying to bring down the good club. The big climax occurred when the Bad Boys kidnapped the CFC leader’s girlfriend and he had to save her! Yikes.

Write poetry?
The last time I wrote a poem was for my nana when was nine. It pretty much sucked.

Angsty poetry?
I’m not good at poetry. Sorry.

Favorite genre of writing?

Paranormal Romance or its subcultures.

Most annoying character you’ve ever created?
I love all of my characters; they all have a piece of me in them, but…a character in an old PNR I wrote really got on my nerves. Dara: needy, insecure, jealous, selfish, evil. That pretty much sums it up.

Best plot you’ve ever created?
My current WIP has a pretty awesome plot.

Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?
Hmm. Everything I write is a plot twist in its own little way.

How often do you get writer’s block?
I don’t so much get writer’s block so much as I lack the motivation to sit down and type out a scene.

Write fan fiction?
Once upon a time…

Do you type or write by hand?
I do both. I generally “write” out scenes because it helps me to get down the meat of it without dealing with OCD over grammar and spelling. After I hand write the most of it, I type it up and add the mashed potatoes and gravy….and obsess over grammar and spelling.

Do you save everything you write?
Yep. I obsessively control/S every few seconds whenever I type. I back up all of my files on an external drive also. I once lost the MS I was working on because my computer crashed. I was at the halfway mark…

Do you ever go back to an idea after you’ve abandoned it?
I don’t like the word “abandoned”. Every “unfinished” piece I have gets filed away. I usually find my way back to it in time, after fresh ideas make it workable again.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?
I’m not entirely sure. I love all of my books, but I think I’d have to say my current WIP because of how organized I was when plotting. Everything seems to be paced pretty well and makes sense (so far).

What’s everyone else’s favourite story that you’ve written?
My current WIP “Book 1” of The Immortal Series is my fiancé’s and my CP’s favorite. But isn’t ‘newer always better’?

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
Of course. Who hasn’t? Really. Tell the truth.

What’s your favorite setting for your characters?
No preference. They go where the story takes them!

How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Too many. I’m working on 3 series. My main love, a PNR, is an open ended series, of which I’m currently writing in 3. So, including my other series, I have a total of 6(ish) WIPs.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?

Only A’s on English papers. I haven’t even submitted any of my writing into an contests—until now, I wrote strictly for myself.

What are your five favorite words?

Good question. I love curse words, of course—they just add such emphasis—but I won’t list those. I use “usually”, “tend to”, and “though” a lot, but I can’t think of any words I particularly like. I enjoy using strong verbs and adjectives.

What character have you created that is most like yourself

Kate (Immortal Series) is actually based off of me. She’s much stronger though and could totally kick my butt in a fight ;-)

Where do you get ideas for your characters?
They come to me actually, silly as it sounds. I’ll be writing a story and some “voice” will pop into my head, like Hello, what about me? You can’t write this story without me! Hmm, that definitely makes me sound a little nutty…

Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Oh God—all the time. As a matter of fact, most of my novels have been based (on some level) from some weird dream I’ve had, which ironically makes me feel like I’m violating some copyright law...

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

I figure there are too many sad endings in real life to justify putting them in fiction. Obviously some scenes require sad endings and some novels just lead to one, but on principal, I only like sad endings in poems and short stories. 

But seriously-- I can’t stand committing myself to a book (whether reading it or writing it) and ending up with a crap-tastic ending. It makes me feel so…tricked, like someone’s laughing and pointing fingers at me while taunting “ha ha! I got you!”

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Unfortunately, yes. It’s a bad habit I’m trying to break. I tend to take FOREVER to write 500 words because I’m too consumed with “does that comma go there?” and “semicolon or period?”  Write or Die can usually help me avoid the grammar checks but then I get mad later when I’m reading over it and I see all of my mistakes…

This is why I am the world’s slowest writer.

Does music help you write?
I’m like Carol; I use music and lyrics to help me plot out scenes in my head, but I can’t listen to it when I write because it distracts me. Sometimes I can listen to piano music, but that doesn’t always work for me.

Quote something you’ve written. Whatever pops into your head.
“The TV was on and a commercial advertised for the Real Housewives of someplace-or-another.”

Wow, that was a lot of questions! I didn't think I'd ever finish. Some of the questions really embarrassed me...like #1. Yep, that was the worst of them.

My next blog post will be back to "normal" and will be posted either Thursday or Friday. Have a great day everyone!