Confessions of a Writer Tag!

I was tagged by the lovely Breeanna Pierce to do this super fun, rather difficult tag! :p Here goes nothin’! Haha!

Rules:
The rules are listed on A Little Bookish, A Little Writerly, who created this wonderful tag!

Questions:

1) When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?
When did I start writing? That’s a rather vague question, don’t you think? I mean, technically I started writing in like… first grade when they taught me to write the alphabet. (Apparently I wrote all the letters using the wrong strokes and they had to tell my parents that I was weird. :p I started young on that one! Haha!)

Okay. Serious time. I have honestly been writing since I learned to write. Cliche, I know, but I actually still have stories from when I was in elementary school and even my scribbles from middle and high school(maybe I’ll post them up some time if anyone’s daring enough to read the dreadful thing I called writing at the time). I’ve never finished anything, though. So, I guess 2012, with the help of NaNoWriMo, was when I told myself that I needed to sit my butt down and write and finish a novel. (I’m still working on it).
P.s. I aspired to be a vet when I was younger. ^.^ However, the smell of burning teeth makes me pass out so… that didn’t work.

2) What genre do you write?
I write a few different genres that kind of all overlap with each other: dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and science fiction. I’d really love to get into fantasy because of the amazing world-building that goes into it, but for now I’ll stick to the things I know. ^.^

3) Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?
My current WIP? Which one? :p I like to have lots of things going at once so that I always have something to work on and they’re all in different stages.
Sota Radiation(science fiction): beta-read stage.
Reeducation(dystopian): re-written and waiting to enter edit stage. {My oldest started in 2012}
Inferiore(science fiction): Re-writing stage.
Stratagem(dystopian): First draft stage.
Divers(post-apoc): Plotting stage. (To-be-started during NaNoWriMo 2015!).

4) What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?
Ha! My first piece I remember writing is actually a story that I still have buried in one of my thousands of tiny notebooks I wrote in as a child. I don’t know what age I was exactly, but it’s horribly spelled, if that’s any indication. The story’s about a mermaid with dolphin friends and a magical whistle. :p (I wrote much prettier, happier stories when I was younger. Haha!)

5) What’s the best part about writing?
The best part of writing? Besides getting all of my swirling ideas out of my head and onto the page? Sharing. I write because I want to share my worlds and stories with people so that they can read and have a place to disappear to even if for a while.

6) What’s the worst part about writing?
Editing. Ugh! Wouldn’t it just be fantastic if you could write a single draft and have it be perfect? Like all the words just spilled out in the proper order and filled out every plot, setting, etc correctly? Yeah, that’d be awesome, but it doesn’t work that way. So, I dislike editing. However, it’s a necessary element for writing and extremely helpful! Everyone should edit.

7) What’s the name of your favorite character and why? (This can be from a book by another author or from your own work. Book crushes are perfectly acceptable here as well.)

8) How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?
I work a super odd schedule (7 days on/7 days off) so my writing schedule is super messed up. However, I do my best writing at night. I always have and probably always will. There’s just something about the silence and darkness of night that stimulates my brain, allowing the words and ideas to just pop up and flow more easily than during the day. Sometimes I can do mornings, but it has to be like sunrise time.

9) Did you go to college for writing? Or if you haven’t been to college yet, do you plan to?
Ha! No. :p Writing’s always just been a hobby for me and something I never really took seriously (because I’m amazing at starting, but terrible at finishing). Actually, I went to college for a bachelor’s in genetics. Frankly, I love it! And it has inspired and molded every world I use in my novels. So, I think it was a great choice! Which is why I’ve applied to grad school and I hope to start working on a PhD next fall(2016).

10) What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?
*sigh* I had to think about this one because frankly they all annoy me to no end. However, I’m settling on being a grammar snob. It’s what stands out most to be me when I read, like when people use the wrong form of there/their/they’re and etc. That just irks me!

11) What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?
There are only twelve stories in the entire world. The difference is how you tell the story.

12) What advice would you give to another writer?
Write courageously. Put your heart and soul onto the page and don’t think about anyone else.

13) What are your favorite writing sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips or encouragement?
To be honest, I don’t think I have any. I’ve gone for so long without touching social media or the internet in terms of writing help, tips, or encouragement that I don’t really have any. Though, I’ve found that the world of Twitter and the Blogosphere are fantastic places to find encouragement. People are extremely nice and really try to include everyone. I never would’ve known had I not started this blog. ^.^ I want to thank each and every one of them.

14) Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
My hobbies are vast and numerous. :p I play the violin and piano. I run, bike, hike, and ice skate. I love clubbing and dancing. I enjoy acting and cosplaying(I’m learning to make my own costumes! Ee!). I’m a geek when it comes to board games and I play the occasional video game (but I suck at these. I was that kid playing Halo who ran in circles because I couldn’t figure out the controls :p).

15) What is the best book you’ve read this year?
This is so sad! I’ve only read like 4 books all year. >.> I have to say that my favorite is probably ‘A Game of Thrones’ from ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series by George R. R. Martin because I absolutely adore the world building!

16) What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?
Best movie I’ve seen? Well, that would require me to remember the movies I’ve actually seen this year… >.>

17) What is your favorite book or series of all time?
Rawr! Why you make these questions so hard?! Ugh… I can’t say that I have a favorite. Favorites are subjective and change constantly. So… I don’t have one! Ha! How you like them apples?! 0.0 (If you want a list though, I’d be happy to provide. :p)

18) Who is your favorite author?
Can I not have a favorite author? Mine is always changing because my interests and the things I read are always changing. Not to mention I love different authors for different reasons.
Fantasy World Building: George R. R. Martin
Ingenious Plotting: Suzanne Collins
Science Fiction Elements: Scott Westerfeld
Character Development: Tamora Pierce
Unique Writing Style: Lois Lowry
I will always come back to the Brothers Grimm, though. They’re my probably my all-time favorite because of their dark tales and not-happy endings.

19) What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?
Edit: Reeducation.
Re-write: Inferiore.
Write during NaNoWriMo: Divers.

20) Where else can we find you online?
Uh… lots of places. :p Twitter. Goodreads. Facebook. Figment. Fanfiction.net, (but no one’s allowed to look at the middle school trash I wrote there :p Haha!)

Nominees

1) J. R. Frontera @ J. R. Frontera | speculative fiction with a side of love story, and sometimes poetry

2) Solveig @ Solveig Werner | collective, multilingual…

3) Caroline @ Carolinepeckham | YA Fantasy Author

4) Susanne @ Susannevalenti | YA Dystopia Author

5) Ashley @ A.M. Ruggierello | NA Speculative Fiction Author

6) Madeleine @ Madeleine D’Este | Speculative fiction writer