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Q: Have you ever published anything?A: Yes and no. I have a few essays, articles, poems
and a short story published, a few contests won, but nothing big yet. Please see my Writing Resume for more details. I am still writing many things, and have a lot of little tentacles out there. I am working very hard to
be more prevelant. Q: How long have you been writing?
A: Since I was
thirteen or thereabouts, so for a good many years. But seriously (with intent towards publishing/career) maybe the last 4
or 5 years.
Q: What kind of things do you write?
A: I like novels the best, but I'm
growing into short stories. Genre-wise, I am pretty much literary mainstream, with hints of YA (young adult), romance, and
fantasy/sci-fi, but I would like to write Christian novels, and maybe a little bit of mystery. Don't ask me how any of that
ties together! Surprisingly, poetry seems to be my most prolific area of writing (and publishing), so we'll see how it all
goes. Q: You're going to college. Are you majoring in creative writing?
A: Er, yes and no. I'm a double major in 1)English/Creative Writing (creative writing itself isn't a large enough program
to be it's own major at my school) and 2) Anthropology.
Q: Where do you get your inspiration?
A: Ha! (I hate this question) From life, mostly. I read a lot, so many times a small detail in another book turns
into plot for my own. Or the over-heard conversation becomes plot. Or just something I see. As a writer, I deal in "What
if..." questions a lot. So an overheard conversation about, say, two boys on a swing talking about ... um, dinner the
night before (this is a really bad example, sorry!) becomes a "What if the one boy had to cook dinner for himself? Why?
What did he cook? Did he even know how to cook?" That's a little how the process goes. A little. It's way more convoluted
and weird in my head.
Q: What is your favorite book, and does it influence your writing?
A: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, no question. And there's no question about the influence- looking back I think
her writing style has always crept into my own speaking and writing style. I would like to think the basis of my structure
lies in the same direction. I really admire how Austen conveys detail without being overly verbose. For poetry, I adore Wislawa
Szymborska. Her works touch me like no other poet has manage to do, and really is the entire reason I write poetry at all.
Q: What made you become a writer?
A: Ugh. (I hate this one too.) Like most authors,
I don't really have an answer. I guess you have to be born with the interest, even though that sounds elitist and exclusive.
But notice, I said you had to be born with the interest, not the ability. Ability, like most things, can be cultivated into
talent.
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Q: Do you have a writing schedule?
A: I didn't at first, but I've realized that I can't exist
without one. I have a quota of 500 words a day, but one which I may or may not meet. It's a very small number, in comparison
to some established authors that have quotas of 3 or 4K, but I've just started to schedule and plan my time, so I intentially
started small, especially with college and homework. Hopefull, I'll get in the habit quickly, and will be able to increase
the number some. Also, I have my daily blogs that I write every weekday. Those I consider under a personal deadline, but I
admit I get lazy sometimes. Q: Do you have a specific writing style?
A:
Yes, I believe so. I'm growing into it, so I'm not finished, but I tend to deal a lot with fragments and abrupt, condensed
sentenses balanced by longer ones. I also like short paragraphs that then have a "one-liner" twist at the end. I
would say my tone is conversational, with lyric overtones.
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