Frequently Asked Questions
When and why did you become a writer?
I don’t remember a distinct moment when I decided that I wanted to become a writer. It just sort of happened. A few specific moments stick out, but it was more a steady realization for me than an epiphany moment. My whole life, well, maybe since fourth grade, I’ve been writing poetry, stories, and would-be novels. It really just makes sense that I would be a writer. It’s the only constant in my life, other than God.
I will say, though, the book that made me WANT to be a writer is Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt (yes, the lady I stole the “EAQ” idea from). That book is the first one I empathized with, the first book I read in which the imagery drew me to tears, the kind that release pent-up emotions and lead to healing. I wanted to make other people feel the very same way. I still do.
How would you define your writing style?
Honestly, I’m a bit long-winded, as you can plainly see from looking at my blog posts. I am very much a flowery writer, in pretty much every sense of the word; although, I’m learning more and more with everything I write how to get around that and convey my meanings in a much more concise way.
As far as concepts go, I try to stay away from overdone concepts. I have a few novel ideas that seem quite world-changing to me, and I can’t wait to see them through to fruition.
Finally, I try to end every piece of writing with encouragement. It’s hard to find healthy positivity in this world. I have learned that life isn’t always rainbows and unicorns; I’ve been through a lot in my now-thirty-years of life, but I believe the hope I write about might be just the thing someone needs to hear to make it through the day.
What kind of writing do you enjoy doing the most?
All of it.
I honestly enjoy writing in every form it comes in: prose, poetry, technical writing…all of it.
I can clearly see myself writing all sorts of things in the future. I’ve recently started working on a novel of the most beautiful variety, as well as my second volume of poetry and short stories. I am also looking forward to maybe ghost writing a book for someone.
Do any of your stories/characters come from real life?
In fifth grade, I wrote a story of only people I knew in real life. I decided later on that this was not a good idea for me, mostly because along the years, I forgot who half of those people were, and also because these characters were portrayed exactly as I saw their real-life counterparts. Super awesome for my good friends, not so great for the villains. Although, I am very proud to say, the couple I chose to be my king and queen are now very happily married and have a beautiful baby girl.
I will put certain names in my books in the future, simply because of the effect those people had my life, and one friend asked to be a villain and will honored as such, but real people in my books will be few and far between.
Where do you see your writing 5-10 years from now?
This is really hard for me to answer. I still have a few miles to go before I complete the goals I had for year 25. Right now, I am simply taking steps in the right direction. I get extremely discouraged if I think about how many things I haven’t done yet, but how can I complete the next step? That, I can do.
Maybe, five years from now, I will actually give myself grace instead of sitting in my corner, stewing angrily about all the things I did not do on time. Maybe, in five years, I will take a breath, realize that failure is how I find success, and get on with it.
My long-term goal as a writer is to be seen as the head of my field and known throughout history, but really, whose isn’t? As far as how long it will take me to get there, I’m not entirely sure, and I’m up for whatever happens. For now, I’ll just keep writing and see where that takes me.
Will you become a teacher?
If you were to ask me this question a couple of years ago, the answer would have been a resounding “NO,” but the current answer is: “Not right now.”
I’m trying to keep my options open; as a person, I’m a lot more fluid with what I allow to happen in my life. Because I have learned that chips are going to fall where they will, and bad things always happen, I now know that anything can be a good thing that happens. Just because I never thought about doing something doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen or that I won’t want to in the future.
Coaching, on the other hand, working one-on-one with people to make their dreams become reality? That sounds quite a lot like a dream.
All in all, I really enjoy helping people with their writing. Being a teacher might happen at some point. Anything can happen.
EAQs
(Eagerly Awaited Questions, a concept stolen from Cynthia Voigt)
What is the best advice you can give me for my writing?
Just write–everything takes practice, and everyone starts somewhere.
Know your audience.
Make sure your writing is clear about what’s happening.
Don’t say something in a page that you could say in one sentence–that’s just annoying.
Do you prefer editing to writing?
To some degree, I do. As much as I love writing, editing comes as first nature to me. Working hard on a solid fixer-upper is actually relaxing for me. Writing feels more like work than editing does.
Are you looking forward to people making movies of your stories?
If it’s going to be like “Eragon,” then no. If it’s going to be like The Book Thief, then sure.
It all depends on how true they stay to the text. Sure, there are parts they took out of The Book Thief, but the movie itself is long enough as it is, and they didn’t get rid of the core values in the book by leaving out the things they did.
What is your least favorite idiom?
I actually have quite an aversion to idioms and cliches as a whole, regardless of how easily they can say something you don’t have words for. One specific teacher I had in college hammered that into my mind. She’ll count off five points if you use one. Besides, people want to know what you have to say, not what other people who are dead and buried have to say.
I guess if I had to pick one specific one, I’d go with “I couldn’t care less,” mostly because people always get it wrong and say they could care less, which means the exact opposite.