A bridge over a beautiful waterfall

A bridge over a beautiful waterfall
Nature brings magic

Saturday, October 9, 2010

30 Days of Writing - Day 20-25

20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?


I love when my characters are talking.  I enjoy writing dialogue.  I'm actually ok at it, though I'm far from perfect.  I spend a lot of time having characters spin tales to entertain each other, weaving the histories of their lives and homes into a drink by the fire or at the space pub.

21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?


Reidar has a daughter named Shalla.  Shalla goes from young child to adult during the course of the books, so I get to write a broad spectrum of ages for her.  It's not easy because it's been a good many years since I was a little girl.  But I rely on my friends who have children, and my own experiences with children in my family, to figure out how she acts.  I've got families in my stories but very few children.

22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.


I've written erotic scenes between some of the characters of all my stories.  This is where I learned that I really suck at writing sex scenes, so I gave up on that.  I might have one or two lurking about but I got rid of them as quickly as possible.

23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?


An entire story?  *falls over laughing*  If it's a short story, it generally takes me two or three days to get the whole thing written out.  A novel?  Well, let's just say I'm very good at procrastinating.  The last novel I finished writing took me two years to write.  I've finished novellas in November, but none of them have ever produced more than a germ of an idea for a later project.  I also don't plan much of anything I write.  I have a basic idea, I do my research, I get a vague idea of the beginning and end...and then I write.  I write until I get to that end and either keep going because the end has changed, or I move on to another project.


24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What’s the most interesting way you’ve killed someone?


I have no problem killing my characters, if their deaths are important to the story.  I actually end one of my series with the deaths of the male and female protagonists as a manner to end a centuries' long war.  Not in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way, though.  More along the lines of, "We're dying anyway.  Let's take as many of our enemies as possible so the war stops." kind of thing.  Most interesting way I've killed someone...he was eaten from the inside out by the acidic venom of a dragon fang.


25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.


I don't think any of my characters have pets.  Most of them don't have lifestyles that would lend themselves to any kind of animal companion, except maybe Sal.  But her raven is more a burden than a blessing, since it's also her familiar.


(I know I'm kind of out of it these days...sorry, everyone! I've been putting in crazy hours at work and dealing with some kind of massive cold/respiratory bug that my husband just had to share with me.)

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