rai_ryu

This is my first post directly on Dreamwidth, and I'm wasting it on this survey instead of actually writing stuff! Ha Ha Ha

01:When did you first start writing?
I remember actually beginning to write stuff in grade 4 or 5.

02:What was your favorite book growing up?
Go Dog Go (when I was very young), then Into The Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville, and The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (these are still on my list of favourite books)

03:Are you an avid reader?
I'd say so! Although HOW "avid" depends on what I'm reading - if it's really dull, I tend to try and avoid it.

04:Have you ever thrown a book across the room?
I wouldn't say across the ROOM. I've definitely thrown a book down on the bed, and shoved a pillow over it for good measure. Writers are the worst sometimes.

05:Did you take writing courses in school/college?
I took creative writing in highschool, which had a lot less fiction than you'd expect. Then I took a business writing course in college, cause it was required.

06:Have you read any writing-advice books?
Yes, I had to for an assignment once. They are as such:
The 28 Biggest Writing Blunders (And How to Avoid Them)
This one wasn't bad, but most of the blunders were things I would never have tried to do, or things I already knew.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
I enjoyed reading it and it had a lot of excerpts from good books. I don't... actually remember much of it's advice though because I read it so long ago ^^'

07:Have you ever been part of a critique group?
Not really. I feel like a lot of times when people try to start "critique groups" what they really mean is "I want someone to critique my novel but I don't want to read/critique other people's writing", so the group soon falls apart.

08:What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten?
"It seems more like a Western than a Fantasy"
I can't say if this is really the BEST piece, but I think it's the sort of thing I'm looking for. If I'm really missing the mark I want to be aware. And my first reaction was to think "Of course it's fantasy, just wait until the end of the novel when someone becomes immortal!" But then over the years I started to think, if it's not obvious from the beginning then everything's gonna look out of place. I need to find a way to work magic into the world before the last chapter.

09:What’s the worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten?
"IT'S PERFECT DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING"

10:What’s your biggest writer pet-peeve?
Weirdly specific description, obligatory romance.

11:What’s your favorite book cover?
Uhg, there's so many that I like!
The first cover of Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan is beautiful, as are the UK covers of her Demon's Lexicon trilogy. I really like the covers of the Eternal Sky trilogy by Elizabeth Bear. And there's a special mention to Black Helicopters by Caitlin R. Kiernan. (I've probably left out something lovely!)

12:Who is your favorite author?
Tamora Pierce, Sarah Rees Brennan, Scott Lynch, Kenneth Oppel, Caitlin R. Kiernan.

13:What’s your favorite writing quote?
I can't think of any off the top of my head, but probably just something simple like "Writer's Write".

14:What’s your favorite writing blog? c;
I like to follow the blogs of authors like Sarah Rees Brennan, Malinda Lo and Elizabeth Bear. They're not exactly "writing blogs" but they provide insight sometimes, to how different writers do things.

15:What would you say has inspired you the most?
Being very lonely and having ample time to use my imagination.

16:How do you feel about movies based on books?
Usually... they're not good. Or not AS good. But my favourite book was turned into the Worst Movie Ever, so I'm very bitter.

17:Would you like your books to be turned into TV shows, movies, video games, or none?
I don't really know if they would work as such. Although, the story I'm working on now would make an interesting video game, I think.

18:How do you feel about love triangles?
They're so tiring and overdone! Even if someone tries to do like, a subversion of one, it tires me out right away.

19:Do you prefer writing on a computer or longhand?
I used to prefer writing by hand, but I have wrist problems so now I have to type everything out.

20:What’s your favorite writing program?
I just use MS word, ahah

21:Do you outline?
It looks like I tend to outline AFTER my first draft.

22:Do you start with characters or plot?
Almost always, it's characters. I have a lot of characters that I don't yet have a plot for.

23:What’s your favorite & least favorite part of making characters?
I like backstories and figuring out why characters act like they do, and how they'd respond to certain things. I dislike finding the "little things" about a character - if I look for them, they seem forced, if I don't look, they might not show up.

24:What’s your favorite & least favorite part of plotting?
My favourite part is when things all fit together, my least favourite part is MAKING THINGS ALL FIT TOGETHER. And also trying to figure out if things are "believable"

25:What advice would you give to young writers?
Edit AFTER you write.

26:Which do you enjoy reading the most: physical, ebook, or both?
Physical books. Ebooks don't feel real to me, and screens are hard to pay attention to.

27:Which is your favorite genre to write?
Fantasy.

28:Which do you find hardest: the beginning, the middle, or the end?
I usually start off with an ending in mind. Maybe I'll have a beginning scene. But I always have to really work to connect them together.

29:Which do you find easiest: writing or editing?
I actually enjoy editing, but it always leads to more writing anyway. Editing is definitely less frightening than writing.

30:Have you ever written fan-fiction?
Yes, and it was not good.

31:Have you ever been published?
A couple of short stories.

32:How do you feel about friends and close relatives reading your work?
Friends can read it, relatives are embarrassing because I always feel like they'll look for a hidden message in what I'm writing.

33:Are you interested in having your work published?
I'd like to.

34:Describe your writing space.
It's my bed... which is apparently a bad place to do it :P

35:What’s your favorite time of day for writing?
Mid-day or at night, I think.

36:Do you listen to music when you write?
Sometimes - but it needs to fit the mood of things.

37:What’s your oldest WIP?
I started it in 5th grade and I'm going to re-write for the 4th time this November.

38:What’s your current WIP?
"current" haha. Well, it's a sci-fi story (trilogy) that I've been working on for the past few NaNoWriMos. I've also got another short sci-fi story that I'm working on. I mostly have it written out but I need to re-write some scenes to fit the mood.

39:What’s the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had?
There's probably been weirder but "eccentric millionaire builds and android and wipes his memory, gets him addicted to drugs, and watches him suffer for fun". Why??????

40:Which is your favorite original character, and why?
I like them all and they all have a special place in my heart!!
But I do really like my roleplay characters and I feel like I've done a lot of work with them and they've got all those little character details down.

41:What do you do when characters don’t follow the outline?
See if where they're going is better than my first idea.

42:Do you enjoy making your characters suffer?
In some ways yes, in some ways no. I feel like suffering can become a bit too much. However, in my current novels, the main character gets injured a LOT, and I enjoy that.

43:Have you ever killed a main character?
I don't actually think I have. I don't think you need to, or at least, I've never needed to.

44:What’s the weirdest character concept you’ve ever come up with?
Uh, I feel like I have a lot, but there's one that I don't even know what I was thinking... "Alien crash lands on earth and is taken in by a priest who makes him a religious zealot". But also "Anthropomorphised drafting compass that has a genetic disorder which causes her to murder people uncontrollably". I'm sure there have been even stranger than that.

45:What’s your favorite character name?
In fiction, I really enjoy the name "Scarborough Pentecost" from Caitlin R. Kiernan's Threshold.
Of my own, I like the classic "Carmine Red", but I'm currently enjoying "Lambda" (I mean, it's a code name, but still).

46:Describe your perfect writing space.
Maybe like a futon, something that offers lots of different seating arrangements. I like sunny places in general and places with lots of plants. Mostly I just need a space where I can write comfortably on a laptop so that I don't completely kill my wrists.

47:If you could steal one character from another author and make then yours, who would it be and why?
Nick from The Demon's Lexicon, because he's so simple on the surface but has a lot of depths. I like the struggles he has with connecting to people and also with violence. I think it's something I tend to use a lot in my own characters, too.

48:If you could write the next book of any series, which one would it be, and what would you make the book about?
I feel like if I continued any of the series I like, it'd just be a fluff piece about all the characters living on to do the things I want them to :P

49:If you could write a collaboration with another author, who would it be and what would you write about?
I don't know if there are any authors I read whose style is really similar to mine, but it'd be cool to write a dark faerie tale or something with Bruce Coville or Kenneth Oppel. One of the things I really enjoyed about reading them as a child was that, although they wrote children's books, their stories had really dark themes to them as well, and they didn't leave them out for the children's sake. So the stories that I wrote at that age turned out the same way.

50:If you could live in any fictional world, which would it be?
Tortall! But it'd also be cool to live as one of the Old Ones in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence.

Today I woke up with Linkin Park in my head, so that's all I'm listening to apparently.

I had a strange dream where I dunno... I had a babysitter who was Pocahontas but she got accidentally killed and I had to bury her in my mom's basement, but then because she had died I had to move back in with my mom? (I'm 22 :/) Then my mom took us "out for dinner" to McDonalds, but they were closing soon so the only thing they had left was a steak sandwich which would be really gross coming from McDonalds so I told my mom I would just eat when I got home, and she got really pissed off (how surprising). That's all I remember, other than a part which took place on a roller coaster.

My book came in the mail yesterday and I'm really starting to worry that all my stories are terrible and now two of them are actually published and being inflicted on the world and it is really worrying. That's why I can't let myself read them when I get my copies of the books, because if I SEE them and they suck, then I'll know just how much of my idiocy is out there for the world to see. There are a lot of other really good stories in those anthologies! How will I ever cope when I eventually get a novel published?

I've done absolutely nothing this week, and it feels weird. I should be working on costumes for any of the 4 or 5 cons I'm going to next year. Only I don't have all the materials I need for that yet... or at least not for the parts of the costume I WANT to make. And my costume for the winter cons... I dunno what I'm gonna do about that. I'm cosplaying a genderbend of Abbey Bominable, but I'm trying to decide if I should buy a whole bunch of kids costumes and sew the costume from that (insanely expensive) or if I should paint my own fabric. Then there's the whole problem of finding tights and stuff. Gaaaah. So many things I can't really make on my own for that costume. (And I just spent like an hour looking for certain things to buy... another problem with this costume). Anyway yes, unproductiveness!

I go away on the 25th to BC to see FUN.! my favourite band ever <3 (no seriously) (I have to look at their faces every day)

This has been a pretty pointless entry, but I wanted to post something cause I haven't posted in so long.

Alright LJ, I guess you're just deciding not to work in either rich text editor OR HTML editor. Sure. Whatever.
:/
Maybe I'll fix it later.

I need to go to the dollar store today so that I can work on the final parts of my costume. But WILL I? It won't even be a long trip. I'm just all iffy about leaving the house at all. Story of my life, etc.

I sort of started a new story last night. I just kind of went with it, rather than spending too much time planning of which point of view something would be from. I think I'll keep just going with it, and see how it comes out.

My room is really messy, and I know I probably should clean it before Anime North. But just not noooooow.

I'm supposed to go with my Baguette to a neurology appointment tomorrow, which should be interesting.

I really thought that I had something to say but it seems like I don't :/

I'm a fan of online "quizzes" or "surveys". And I'm also a fan of rambling about my characters. So it kind of goes without saying that I find filling out character sheets a very appealing idea.
However, a lot of sheets that I've found don't apply to quite a few of my characters.
Now sometimes, I can attribute it to not being far enough along in their individual character building to answer some of the questions. I don't know their taste in music, or their favourite food, or how they feel about their hometown. It's hard for me to not to just fill in the first answer that comes into mind for those questions (Or else all my characters would be into radio music, bread and stew, and be indifferent about their hometowns). Those are the situations where I need to think about this character in depth.

But other times, the questions really don't apply.
For instance, my characters who are currently slaves aren't in the position to have a taste in music or a favourite food, and they've probably moved around too much and been kept in such a controlled area that they have no notion of a "hometown".
Other times it is more in-depth questions that don't apply to my characters. I've gained a new character lately who has a past she's trying to get away from. I realized that when I came to the conclusion she was living under an assumed name (Because really, nobody would name their kid Riven Riviera).
She's one of the main characters, so I need to have her pretty much down. Character sheets, right? Wrong.
I can't answer any questions about her past. It isn't that I'm too lazy to think it up. She doesn't want to tell me; as far as she's concerned, she has no past. So I can't push, or else I feel I'll be contriving something.
The other main character of the story was created artificially as an adult (though she doesn't know it). She can't recall much of her past, maybe a few passing memories but nothing concrete. No experiences, no family ties or christmas mornings. Certainly not a hometown. She just thinks she has a bad memory. But there really is nothing to fill out.

Still, other times, the information is impertinent. Sometimes it doesn't matter what someone's favourite food was. And the deep sexual desires of characters are frankly never involved in my stories. Not that all of my characters are asexual, but any information about what they prefer or not in the bedroom just isn't relevant.

So I'm stuck for ways to try to get to know them. To me, it seems that character sheets are best for giving you ideas of what you need to learn about your character. I always find them more fun to fill out when I already KNOW a character.

Right now I am trying to write some behind-the-scenes stories featuring Miss Riven Riviera so I can see what she's like in day-to-day life. Then, hopefully, I can write her as an individual within the setting of the story.

My sewing machine is fixed! I had to sop up all the oil the guy added to it, but it is in just as good a working order as it was before it broke. I guess it stands to good reason that it jams so much because the inner workings are all plastic.

In any case, I finished the fly for my pants. I completely improvise with how to do it, and think it turned out as it should have. Very good for my first time, at least. Waistband got on with only minor problems, but I didn't have to stitchrip it (although I did accidentally sew the fly closed at one point, and had to fix that ^^'). They are slightly loose, I suppose. But with a belt it should be fine.
Tomorrow I will work on belt loops, or possibly attaching the button to the front (Or both?!). I think I've found a way to make the buttonhole function on my machine actually work. At least, with it newly repaired, it's as good a time as any.

Realized I might have to seriously re-order things in FMM and it's making me feel overwhelmed. I feel I introduce a certain important event too early, but maybe not. If I could get someone to read it and tell me what they think, that would be helpful. But like that will happen!
So yes, I am taking a little break and writing some short stories and focusing on just writing for myself, without worrying if things are in the right order :P

I just started chapter 2 of Villains By Necessity by Eve Forward. Very pleased so far. It's worth the 40.50$ I paid for it, in any case. Better than the 70$ I originally saw it priced as. But I am striving to take very very good care of it, because it does count as a rare book.

I have school tomorrow, and I do believe that none of my clothes are clean. Ah well, I will figure something out.
I have had the urge lately to get a mohawk again. In related news, I'm trying to think of my drag persona (or if I even have the courage to do a drag performance on my own!). Trying to think of how to construct a believable fake goatee, that can be easily applied and saved for another use. I have some hairs left over from when I first cut off my emo bangs way back when I first shaved my head.

I feel like I am so many different people, but I don't know how to be all of them at once :/

So, I already have my one goal for this year: Get my jacket finished by the end of January, and get the rest of the costume finished by AN (of course).

But...should I be so bold to...have the goal to finish this draft of my novel by 2012? Sh-should I be so bold?
Considering the substantial lack of progress I've made on it lately, it seems not probably to be achieved, but if I made the goal, perhaps it would motivate me?
I need to dedicate some good time to thinking about this fricken' story first. I decided I wanted it to have more plot points, since the first one is much too short and there's not enough buildup. However, when I made this plan, I forgot to specify what these plot points were. Thinking, thinking and envisioning things is required.

In other news, I keep going to bed far too late. I'm surprised I woke up before noon today.

I'm waiting for a book in the mail. It had better come. I finally caved and bought a copy of Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward.
But I have bad luck with having things delivered to me...

Costuming today. Think I will finally make the epaulets. Maybe the rank bar too. And then writing tonight - because it really just is procrastination.

You know something I hate? When websites are SO CONCERNED for your account safety that they force you to add crazy combinations of capital letters, symbols and numbers into your password. The result is something you could never remember, and would have to write down anyway - taking away any percieved benefit to account security! I'm sorry, website, but I really don't care THAT much about my account, although you seem to.

*ahem*

I said I was going to do things today but now that it is today, I don't know what to do. I want to write, but I am not sure about it. I don't want to turn out some more crap (though if I actually start writing, chances are it will turn out fine).
I am thinking of submitting something to a new magazine which is starting, but I am also unsure because I don't know which pieces of mine are applicable or good enough to go. A writer who I admire/am a big fan of actually replied to my comment concerning this, so I feel I must at least give it a try.

I finally finished Genesis. I'm hoping there will be less offspring-lists in the following books, but all in all I enjoyed it. Usually when I start reading something, the bookmark moves through the pages with great speed. Not really so with the bible. I have read so much and made very little progress at all!

My arms hurt because I was cutting things up all yesterday. My bottle seems to have been stuck at the same level for ages, though I've increased my quota. Filling the last little bit is always the hardest, because it doesn't mix as well, and the contents keep settling.
I've already started collecting stuff for my next bottle. I don't know if I'll go back to using small ones, or keep up with the giant bottles. The small ones are easier to store, but I worry it will not feel as satisfying after having one as big as my forearm.

People have suggested that after this one I start making a bottle of each colour. It sounds interesting, but it is really hard for me to cut things of the same colour up over and over.
I told myself I wouldn't cut things today, so I need to find SOMETHING else to do!

I cleaned my room a little today, but it doesn't look much different. I DID however, find the notebook in which I am writing my novel.

I've kind of been ignoring it for a long while because, I just wrote a passage that is really, really crappy.
As bad as I am at writing battle scenes (in my opinion, at least), I thought it was going well. But then I switched over to Jeice's POV. It is the first time I've written him in battle, but it is not the first time he's BEEN in a battle situation. Unfortunatly, I seemed to have forgotten that.

Now I get that battle is chaotic, and that within this battle Jeice has to deal with his best friend getting horribly injured. But somehow, I managed to stray from Jeice's character and make him terrified of everything.
He loses his cool. He freezes up and gets confused at everything around him. He hardly even fights. Uhg! It grosses me out so much!

When I ran into this problem with Enre, I physically got into character as her, and acted out the scene in question to find out how she really would react, and how she would feel.
And I would do this with Jeice.
But I am so reluctant to go back and read that passage I wrote! I should just cross it out, and start all over. But I'm afraid of staring at my own failure on the page. Of having to read it over to understand what scene I'm at. I know I will HAVE to, just, when will I bring myself to actually do it?

I'm also worried because, there are so many things I want to explore in this new version of the novel. I just worry I will not have the space to put them, or I will not be able to expand the plot enough to allow a moment for them. I worry that once this version is done, I will have to come out with a THIRD.

Sometimes I wonder if I should let this one rest for a while, and start up another novel I've been meaning to write. But I look at the others on my list and realize that I'd be more lost trying to start those than I am trying to work through this one. So that's what I'm left with.

I do however, enjoy writing vignettes of my characters' lives. And if they suck I don't even have to post them online!

Other than that, still playing Lux-Pain, which I am still enjoying very much.
Also, I am almost finished watching Evangelion. It got...really weird. I am simultaneously enjoying it and not enjoying it. Although, I want to see Kaworu expanded more, so I'm thinking of reading the manga.
I know he is supposed to be creepy but I think him and Shinji are really cute together.

I'll stop rambling on, maybe go do something.