So I found an interesting meme online, and figured I'd fill it out.
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.
Dream World, hands down. It's not only been the biggest positive influence on my life in everything from psychology to religion, but it's made me a better person and has opened my mind and heart to so freaking much it's amazing.
It's impossible for me to assign second place to any one series, because they all hold equal importance to me.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
The last time I checked, I had 708 characters (it's probably increased slightly since then), 622 of whom are nonhuman. As for the gender ratio, I have 343 girls and 372 guys, which is no surprise to me. As a kid, there was an absolutely huge male majority, and my female characters were virtually all tomboys (although the ladies held the major roles). As I grew older it became hard for me to write females at all and so I began to switch all my focuses to the guys. This played major havoc on the development for some series where the main characters were female (E*Girls, Mage Angels), as I wasn't able to put myself in their perspective as well as I once could.
Honestly, though, I've only recently been able to come to terms with my own gender identity-- no thanks to family, religion, therapists, and socially inflicted roles-- so that was probably a major reason as to why it was so hard for me to write for others in that respect. I'll definitely be putting my all into fixing what I unwillingly neglected as a result of that.
3. How do you come up with names for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?
As a kid, I'd quite literally get the names either from thin air, or by making clever references or puns. Nowadays I still have thin-air namers here and there, but I'm infamous for often taking hours to name characters because I consider the name to be an incredibly important aspect of an individual. I also try to give all of my characters one-of-a-kind names if possible, which can be very difficult, especially when working with family histories.
Places really haven't been a concern yet, as I either write about preexisting places or places that really have no 'professional' names (i.e. most locations in the DW as of now). This will likely skyrocket as a priority once I get further into development for series like vo!t@ge.
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
I've had characters in my mind since I was first able to think, no kidding. The oldest ones showed up around 1993-1994, and were a ragtag bunch of musically inclined animals who I never wrote a story for, but who always hung out in my head... Cobra, Fans, Unisalia, and Batty. Man but I loved 'em.
Zimbo the alien showed up around '95, and in 1st grade I drew and wrote about him constantly. He was my first 'random storyline' character, in that he never had a solid plot assigned to him, but was always having spontaneous adventures not unlike those in old cartoons. He's still very dear to my heart so I plan on giving him a worthy storyline as soon as I can.
Preludove, my main muse, showed up in '98, and with her both my life and storytelling methods changed drastically.
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
Concerning biological ages, the oldest (and currently alive in their storyline) are Opal and Sage, who are both about 83 years old in the current timeline. The youngest is heavily debatable, as my series have individual time progressions and characters do age in real time within them... but I suppose Anu comes close? I'm not sure. I know that if I step out of the current timeframe I can definitely name some very young characters, but I don't want to drop any spoilers, so.
As for creation times, Cobra is by far the oldest-- he's at least 17. The youngest is debatable; my 'newest' characters are actually 'realized' individuals that have played major roles in their canon up to this point without being defined... and there are several 'shade' characters (completely 'unseen' and undeveloped) lurking around as we speak, so you never know.
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?
I'm the most comfortable writing at the local Borders, and if I'm there I can quite literally sit and type for 8 hours straight. I made incredible progress on my storylines last year thanks to my constant access to the place. My home atmosphere is poison and so it is virtually impossible for me to make any progress here whatsoever. Ideally I start typing early in the morning and go straight on until at least 5PM. I type better in the mornings, as it's quiet.
I started typing my stories when I was 10, and have done so ever since. I have a problem handwriting correctly sometimes, just as I have a problem speaking, but when that gets converted to a keyboard it oddly becomes much easier (it slices the time in half too). Up until age 10 I wrote stuff in notebooks, but never got much done due to the written accuracy problem.
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
I can only listen to emotionally-relevant instrumental music when I write, if anything (At Borders I just let the background noise work as 'static'). Otherwise I get deeply distracted and lose my train of thought.
If I'm not actively typing, but do need to 'identify' with a certain mood or character, I will also listen to fitting music (Hokthai = disco, E*Girls = JPop, etc). My Last.fm listening charts are often a dead giveaway of this, especially when I have one song by Masashi Hamauzu on loop for 5 hours or something. That, children, means I am working like a maniac.
So yes, I have many songs assigned to both characters and stories, for various reasons. For example, I've always associated Keane's "Black Burning Heart" with Justice & Revenge, and Imogen Heap's music has some very deep ties to the Oneircia storyline.
8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?Concerning reading, I tend to only read books that I feel will have relevance to me, and so far I've known how to pick them. My favorite books include Catch-22, 1984, The Green Mile, A Wrinkle In Time, Fahrenheit 451, Damned If You Do, The Giver... basically, if it makes me think for a very long time afterwards, I will like it.
I also have a heavy weakness for unusual fantasy/sci-fi series, especially those with supernatural and/or 'monster' elements: Young Wizards, The Seventh Tower, Deltora Quest and Animorphs are all favorites. I actually cannot stomach certain genres (western, medieval, victorian, etc.) due to odd phobias on my part. As for comics, JTHM, Captain Estar Goes To Heaven, and Watchmen hold the top spots.
Lastly, I will not hesitate to research something if I feel I must. Heck, throughout my entire school career I've been known to read through entire textbooks within the first few weeks of a semester. I'm a bit of a knowledge addict.
As for writing, I am frequently thrown in with the 'fantasy' genre because, although I stick to modern and realistic settings, I always keep a serious touch of the unusual in my work (Dream World is by far the most striking example of this). Hokthai has cyborgs, Halcyon Days has aliens, Puppetstrings has magic, E*Girls has superheroines... you get the picture. Whether it be a weakness or a strength, I am unable to take that element out of my writing, and honestly do not wish to do so. However, I do try to ground all of my concepts and theories in reality, or at least explain them in a very plausible manner.
Subject-wise, I avoid horror and romance, but have a deep fascination with psychology, philosophy, and religion/ spirituality, and so frequently write such topics into my work, in both subtle and direct ways. If a controversial subject comes up, I will deal with it. I also enjoy writing redemption/damnation themes as I am fascinated with emotional development, as well as how individual moralities and world perspectives impact ones personality.
Overall, I mostly deal with taking the mundane and lifting it above that drivel into something deeply affective.
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
I don't, actually. They are born and grow on their own, and if I try to have any say in that, it can potentially damage them permanently. Seriously, if I need a character for a storyline (E*Girls being a major example), I will focus on what qualities they may or may not need, but then I just have to wait for them to show up. This can be frustrating concerning time constraints but it is ultimately worth it. If I'm in an inspired state of mind, though, people can show up all at once, which I love.
I will admit to seeing individuals in places such as floor patterns and inkblots (the Halcyon aliens and many J-Monsters, respectively), but although this defines their appearances, their personalities invariably follow with little to no effort on my part to construct them whatsoever.
Lastly, it is not unusual for characters to literally be stuck in 'development limbo' until I verify a certain aspect of them. Names and appearance details are huge; if a certain individual does not yet have a full name, I often cannot write for them whatsoever, and if I am unsure of their visual details, this becomes downright impossible. Hosea was the first example of this I encountered, as I had no awareness of his story at all until he was named, after which it hit me like a tidal wave.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Every thing from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
As I previously mentioned, I am virtually incapable of writing 'everyday life for an average joe' stories, so 'weird' is relative. I would give you some examples here if I wasn't absolutely paranoid about giving away spoilers.
Concerning memes, though, there was that one time Tox had to marry Sapphire, and Delphi ended up with far too many chainsaws than should be legally allowed... fun stuff.
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
This varies wildly, depending on which characters I can connect to at what times-- I do write from a first-person perspective in some storylines. Still, I truly enjoy writing for 'extreme' characters, such as Justice & Revenge (morally conflicted), Hosea (manic-depressive), Volt (incredibly naive), and Vezerai (psychologically damaged). I also love writing for the entire cast of Halcyon Days, and I will always have a special spot in my heart for M, as she was the only character I really wrote for as a kid.
I can't say I dislike writing anyone, but it is incredibly difficult for me to write 'typical' relationships (thanks to being an asexual schizoid), so whenever that comes up my job becomes highly frustrating, haha.
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of world building? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?
Dream World, no contest whatsoever. It is quite literally my life's work. Second place would be Roses, thanks to the absolutely insane ideas I am currently developing for it... and third place is Oneircia, due to half of it taking place in a literal dream world.
Most of my stories do take place here on Earth so there's not much world-building to do there, but Halcyon Days, Event Horizon and vo!t@ge all have very heavy connections to alien cultures, so I know I'll be doing some more heavy construction with them in the future... and series like Puppetstrings and Hokthai involve some heavy variations on modern culture (magic and cyborgs, oh my), so I'm probably seriously underestimating the amount of work I have there!
13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
I adore writing the Jewel Monster culture. Although it is based on human culture (long story), it still has several huge differences that I have not only spent years researching and refining, but that I relate to much more strongly than I do anything here.
14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
Unfortunately, I haven't done this yet, as it is an absolutely daunting task and I don't have the entirety of my locations planned out the way it is, although I do have vague mental maps. That will likely be my next big project.
15. Mid way question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
I can't say I admire any specific writers as a whole (well, maybe Stephen King and Alfred Bester). I can read one book by a person and love it, then read another by them and be absolutely repelled. As a result of this I don't feel I can give any honest answers.
Writing styles, however, are a bit of a different story. I'm a big fan of symbolism, abstract writing, and 'first person' perspectives (in which the character themselves narrates). More than anything, I love being able to see into the minds of characters. On this note, I also enjoy when personality shines through in dialogue (altered spelling, grammar, etc. to show vocal style and mood) and described actions. I'm a very visual person-- if I can't clearly 'see' who I'm reading about, I'm going to be highly confused and likely frustrated. Lastly, I do get bored easily by long paragraphs of unnecessary information, especially if it is delivered in a very flat manner that seems detached from the story itself.
So yeah, I got a little off-topic there but I hope that answers the question.
16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing?
I've mentioned this before; I really despise 'normal' relationships and am psychologically unable to write them.
However, I do have quite a few couples across the board despite this. The most important aspect of this fact is that they are virtually all 'abnormal' in some sense-- there is an overwhelming trend for interspecies relationships in my stories, as well as non-romantic and/or asexual individuals.
I do NOT go 'far' with my writing, ever, for both the above reasons and also the fact that I am a severe and highly traumatized genophobe. Ironically, Dream World is the huge exception to this rule, as their 'relationships' are drastically different than the human sort (on both emotional and biological levels), and as such I can deal with those without too much trouble.
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
I have to say M takes this spot. I LOVE her, but I will admit, I haven't given her anywhere near as much attention as she deserves lately (mostly thanks to the chronology-jumping I've been doing in her series). Regardless, her role in her story is absolutely huge and she is a beautiful individual. I really can't express how much she means to me.
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
This is a tough one... especially since I love twisting roles and keeping people in morally gray areas. I can't rightly answer this without ruining plotlines, so you'll have to deal with it.
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove themselves into the spotlight and why!
I'm tempted to say Vezerai. Seriously, when I first 'met' him I assumed he was little more than a fleeting side character, and so I didn't bother with him... but about a year after that, his importance literally skyrocketed, and now he is one of my dearest characters. However, as he is far from a minor character now, listing him would be cheating.
My problem, though, is that I don't consider any of my characters to be 'minor.' Even if their role is small, it's still a role, and it's vital. So I honestly have no idea who else to list.
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
I like writing interactions in general, seriously. Still, if something comes up where two characters have a higher sort of emotional attachment, I'll likely obsess over it. This is because these interactions involve a great deal of mental communication as well as verbal, especially if motives are being hidden or disguised. As I mentioned earlier, Justice & Revenge are incredibly interesting to write because of the conflicting emotions that are constantly present between them.
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
A great deal of my main characters are children in the age sense, so by virtue of their parents existing I would have to answer yes to this. As for the children of main characters, there are several of those as well, although with chronological progression most of them are adults in the current canon. I have written for these individuals in their childhoods, though, and it is incredibly interesting to see how their lives progress.
22. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
Complete? What is this strange concept you speak of?
Seriously, I'm like freaking George Lucas here. Even if I did manage to get the main stories written and completed in that sense, the 'extended universe' information would not stop, ever. Finding a happy medium between the two in terms of what I should be writing into the 'main' story is my biggest problem.
23. 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 don't kill my characters. I have neither the desire nor the power to do so. However... if someone does die, I can't do anything about that either. So I have lost children to that before.
The most interesting death had to be... well, I can't tell you anything specific, but I'll just say it was a murder and leave it at that.
24. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
I've never liked or been able to identify with having pets myself, so at the moment I'm unaware of any in my stories. I'm sure some of the human families I write do own some, though, so I'll have to check that eventually.
25. Let’s talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of them!
I taught myself how to draw BECAUSE of my characters. Seriously, that's the only reason. I'm still incredibly unskilled at art, but I do draw whenever I can find the nerve to.
I have received a modest amount of giftart on dA for my Parnassus series, which is the only one I openly publicized as it was originally a NiGHTS fanseries. Other than that, I have received a few pictures for Dream World, Hokthai and Puppetstrings, one for E*Girls, and one for vo!t@ge.
Aaaand now I'm just going to link you
over here.
26. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
I am an aesthetics maniac. Honestly, even when I try to make characters look 'ugly' in a non-appealing sense, I cannot do it. I need to work on this.
On a more general note, appearances are very important to me. Not only am I very visually oriented, but most of my characters are also inhuman. As a result there is triple the amount of work in trying to accurately represent them in writing.
In terms of the actual design process, I put my heart and soul into that. I can 'see' characters in my mind at any given moment, but my mental sight is so vague that it may take me years to figure out how to get an individual's likeness down on paper. This is highly frustrating.
27. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there’s nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
Oh geez, I have several. The most well-known ones (in terms of publicity) are Cherie, Vezerai, and Tox-- Cherie is crippled in her left leg, Vezerai has PTSD as well as some other mental disorder that I am still trying to pinpoint, and Tox's immune system is completely shot, which causes him some serious issues.
28. Final question! Tag some one! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!
I don't really know who to tag, so feel free to do this if you want.
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