Quid pro quo, Clarice.

[sarashina]

So I just came off a hellacious couple of weeks (which I will explain properly sometime soon) and I am feeling FREE AS THE WIND BLOWS. Best part? So many of my mental processes have been freed up, and I've been thinking about writing a lot more than I have been lately. Which feels so, so good.

I was thinking of a simple exercise I used to do with writing partners - I was actually telling moonsheen about it the other day - and I thought I'd put it up here so that we all could play.

Here's how it goes: you ask me a question about a writing project, I answer, and ask a question about yours. Simple as that! It could be about a specific project, or something in general (like, say, "Who is your most ____ character?" or something like that.) And the questions can keep going back and forth for as long as you like.

I've always found that it's easier to get enthusiastic about a project and dive right into it when you can share your enthusiasm with someone else. And there are my ulterior motives, of course - I get to find out about everyone else's writing, too.

Just to remind you all, my big projects are:

Completed:
In Descending Order
Grandmaster Draw

In progress:
Catalyst
The Imperial Guard
The Hungry Ground
Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law

And there are also short stories like "The Mountain Sleeps" (and the not-yet-written universe based around that story), and cowriting and such.

Let's play?

Comments

[sandvich.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if historical urban fantasy is much of a genre, but it is what I prefer to write! I love period settings, alternate histories, and examinations of cultural attitudes from various time periods; I also love zombies, faeries, and world mythology. It's a perfect compromise! ♥ Apocalyptic sci-fi also has a very special place in my heart (and my documents folder) but I have tend to have more fun with my urban fantasy stuff.

Which of your protagonists is your favorite? Why?

[ruffwriter.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of historical urban fantasy, but I think I love it. ♥ I'd love to see some!


Oh man, I love them all for different reasons! But I've been writing with Tuyen from Catalyst and Cat from Imperial Guard the longest, and I think I'm the most attached to them. Out of all my characters, they're the most formidable in terms of sheer determination, which is what I love the most about writing with them, and their quirks and issues are deliciously fun to work with. I really do love all my protagonists, though.


Same question back at you!

[sandvich.livejournal.com]

If I ever work up the courage, I'll post some!

I love all of my babies too, but at the moment my favorite is Sayoko Miyamura. She's a Japanese nurse-slash-impromptu-medium in an alternate 1950s setting, and I'm pretty sure the reason I love her as much as I do is that she's such a change from the type of protagonist I usually write. It's really freeing to test out someone who's optimistic and compassionate and determined to make things better when you've been stuck on the deadpan snarkers-with-secret-soft-sides for so long. (That said, I do love my snarky lady detective Annabel Crane. She's basically a Raymond Chandler-style PI in a retro World of Darkness, so it's fun to throw her into a weird situation and watch her :|-face at everyone involved.)

Have you ever written a character you disliked? Not one you disliked writing necessarily, but one that you would walk up to and punch if you ever met them in real life?

[ruffwriter.livejournal.com]

Definitely need to read this. ♥


HMMMM. I probably wouldn't like Dev much in real life. And as much as I love Cat from Imperial Guard, I would probably alternate between slapping and hugging him if he were real. And, of course, I would hate most of my villains, even if I adore writing them!

Have you ever written a death scene?

[sandvich.livejournal.com]

Hm. I write a lot of ghosts and a lot of finding-the-body scenes, but I think I've only written three actual deaths in detail. One was at the beginning of a story, when the main character dies in a random shooting and becomes a ghost shortly afterward; one was at the end, when the main character's love interest dies of radiation sickness; and the last one was in the middle -- technically the character kills herself at the beginning, but the details don't come until about halfway through. They're all really different scenes, which I'm pretty proud of. ♥

What sorts of romantic relationships do you like to write? How about platonic ones?