Meme for Writers!

I got this from Razored Zen. He posted it when I was out of it, cyber wise, so I'm a little behind; let's see if I can catch up.

Your genre(s): Well, I've written poetry (both scifi and non), short stories, fantasy, science fiction, horror-ish stuff, romance, and erotica, and some subgenres in there as well, like folk tales, animal tales, children's, paranormal romance, and maybe urban fantasy. I've always wanted to try murder mystery as well. I might try that in the future some time. But I'd have to be a really good plotter then.

How many books are you working on now: Hmm....I have lots of started things that I put away to work on other things. I have one book that is basically 4 novellas (one about each girl in a band). I have one fantasy I'm currently revising. Then I have a bunch of short stories. AND there's this chick lit idea I've been kicking around for a long time that will probably never get written, but it's fun to toy with.

Are you a linear or chunk writer: I do it both ways. Which ever way the writing decides to come. Sometimes a scene comes to me and I have no idea where it's going to end up; I just grab a pen and try to get it down and then put it aside until the right moment comes along to insert it. And there usually is a right place, though sometimes it just ends up being backstory that I have as material on the character.

The POV you’re partial to: Whatever tells the story best. Sometimes it's first and sometimes third. Sometimes limited third and sometimes omniscient third. I have no idea where this prejudice against omniscient 3rd person came from. It's a method, like any other method. Lots of celebrated authors used it, so I see no reason why I shouldn't if it tells the story best. I suspect a little bit of "literachur's" snooty "standards" have snuck into genre writing. And I've heard writers debate for hours over the correct POV to write in and have been told by editors I have too many POVs trying to tell the story.

Well, if it's a big story, it needs a lot of different POVs to tell the story from! Like I said, whatever works best for that story. We really do more harm than good when we try to put so many rules on our own craft instead of just working on it.

The Tense you use: I guess past, mostly. I could see the effect present first would have on a story, but I haven't yet written a story that needed that.

The theme that keeps cropping up in your books: God, the universe, trying to think outside the box, what you see isn't always what you get, don't assume, kids without dads or responsible parents, having to grow into your calling in life, don't wait for prince charming, parents trying to make things up to their kids, the magic that we forget to see even though it's all around us....I guess there's a lot I like to write about.

How many days a week do you write: Fiction writing or other writing? I work with words every day. Sometimes as a proofreader/copy editor, sometimes as a fiction/poetry writer, sometimes as a reviewer/article writer. I try to do something every day, even if it's just writing in my journal or penning a poem that hits me on the bus. This is what I am.

I used to play the violin as a kid and I remember I was supposed to practice 15-30 minutes a day. I would put it off and then try to practice 2 hours the day before my lesson. My instructor could always tell. I never got around to practicing my violin everyday, though I still have my violin. I did enjoy playing it and still do sometimes, but I wasn't supposed to be a violinist. I was supposed to be a writer. And if I am really serious about this then it's something I need to try to do every single day.

What time of day do you get your best writing done: Either early in the morning (which almost never happens anymore), or from 3 pm on. I tend to do a lot business writing and job/gig searching in between.

Who are your mentors: I've never been able to find an actual mentor. That would have been nice. There are some people I've known I would have liked to have had as mentors, but they weren't that interested in me as a writer and had others they were interested in. So, I guess I'm like Charles, most of my mentors have been books. When I was a tween/teen I was fanatical about finding female role models to live up to. They were: Joan of Arc, Helen Keller, Edith Cavell, Florence Nightengale, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, LM Montgomery, and Marie Curie. If Marie Curie could subsist on radishes in the middle of winter whilst studying at the Sorbonne and working at a lab job, then by golly by gum, I could do it, too. If LM Alcott could write after cleaning houses all day, then so could I.

Other "mentors" of mine include CS Lewis, JRR Tolkein, and Charles Williams. They were willing to research to the nth degree to get to the heart of something. And Charles Williams wasn't afraid of writing about, what to Christians would be considered, taboo subjects.

My favorite authors to read: Including the people above plus, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Andre Norton, Patricia A. McKillip, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Charles DeLint, Rachel Vincent, Vicki Pettersson, Leigh Purtill, Stephanie Rowe, Lilith Saintcrow, Simon R. Green, Charlotte McLeod, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, O. Henry, Damon Knight, Georges Simenon, and lots of others.