I haven’t done one of these for well over a year, so I don’t mind these tags. They’re kind of fun, and I hope you learn something more about me than you did before.
The Rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog and Twitter in your post.
2. Answer the questions that the blogger who nominated you has provided.
3. Nominate up to 10 other bloggers or Twitter followers
4. Create ten questions for your nominees and notify them of their nomination.
So, thank you, Kelly Barr for your tag.
Kelly Barr’s Questions:
1. Who are your top three favorite authors?
Mary Connealy, DiAnn Mills, and a tie between Sandra Byrd and Lynette Eason for 3rd.
2. Are you a plotter, pantser or something in between?
Something in between. I always have a general short plot outline, kind of following Randy Ingermanson’s “three disasters and an ending.” I know how my story starts, I know where it goes, and how it gets to the end, and yet, when I write it, a lot of wonderful surprises come out. I don’t plot out every little scene in advance, just the main points. Half the fun is letting the story go where it wants to. Hopefully it will be better than my feeble attempts to make it go where maybe it shouldn’t.
3. Where do you do most of your writing? At a cafe, a room in your house, etc.?
In my office, at my desktop computer. I have been known to write on my back porch on my laptop if it’s a beautiful day outside, but generally speaking, it’s my home office.
4. What’s the biggest writing challenge you are currently facing?
Discipline to do it. Even though I’ve mapped out a “routine” for myself, depending on what’s going on with my ACFW work, (which can get in the way at times), and whether or not I’m in “the mood” to write, I deviate from my “plans.” But I’m OK with it. Unless I’m under a deadline, there’s no rush. I’m at a point where I’m going to enjoy my life, not feel like I “must” do something.
5. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?
I love a deathly quiet room, hearing only the sounds of the keys clicking as I type. It helps me to concentrate. However, I also talk to myself a lot. Saying what I’m going to be typing out loud. It’s only me in the house during the day, except when my hubby is home for lunch. Then, I take a break with him.
6. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate – on a cold day is just the most wonderfully comforting thing I can think of. I don’t like coffee, and it’s a rare day if I drink tea. I’m an ice water guzzler. Although in the summertime, I’ll occasionally drink lemonade, not too sweet, not too sour.
7. If you could ask any writer, past or present, one question, who would the writer be and what would you ask?
Oh my goodness, I have no idea. Well, maybe Taylor Caldwell. How did she get the idea for her two books The Listener and No One Hears But Him. I first read those while in high school or college. Even though they’re somewhat dated, the issue each story deals with is still pertinent today.
8. How do you get past being stuck in your writing?
I rarely get “stuck” for any amount of time, but when I do, I usually put the writing away for a short time, and go do something else, read a book, play the piano, watch an old movie or classic TV show.
9. What do you do to relax?
Read a book, fiction or non-fiction, watch TV, play the piano. I’m out of practice on my other instruments.
10. What is your favorite movie that’s based on a book?
I have several, can’t pick just one. I’ve talked about the first two on my blog. Ivanhoe, the 1982 version. Ben-Hur, either the silent or the Charlton Heston version. There’s actually one movie made I prefer over the book, and that’s Robert Whitlow’s The Trial, because the movie puts the protagonist in danger, which I thoroughly love, rather than a secondary character from the book. Whitlow’s The List is also very excellent, both book and movie.
I now tag: (and you can answer these questions, if you’d like, and add anything
