10 things about your family.

1. We get along pretty well overall.
2. There’s four in my immediate family: Mom, Dad, Jackie, and me.
3. Both grandparents on both sides are still alive and kickin’.
4. We go on family trips to different places. We used to go to North/South Carolina all the time during spring break.
5. My dad’s a lawyer, my mom’s a pharmacist, both my granddads worked at NASA.
6. My brother’s gonna be a good president some day, just you wait.
7. My parents have a habit of adopting the neighborhood kids.
8. We have a family cat named Nutmeg.
9. My brother is Jack the Third and he plans to have a Jack the Fourth.
10. I’m proud of my family name because I’m proud of my family’s accomplishments.

Where are you most comfortable writing? Use the 5 W’s.

Who: I prefer to write in the company of other people. Writing is usually a very independent activity, and I often get lonely when I write for too long. Because of that, I like to find myself someplace that I can sit with a lot of activity so that I can feel like I’m part of society, haha.

What: I’m most comfortable writing fantasy stories. Particularly fantasy that takes place in an alternate USA, present day. This is mostly because I have so much reference to go off of, and the occasional pop-reference makes me giggle inside and keep things interesting, even if it’s something that I’ll cut out in a later draft. It’s really fun to go back to old stories and watch how technology changes from one story to the next. I have stories where you can figure out what year it is by what kind of cell phone the main character is using.

When: I prefer to write in the afternoon-evening. After I’ve gotten some things done for the day, I like to settle down with my netbook and write for the rest of the day. I feel like the pressure is off in the evening so it’s more fun.

Where: Quite easily, my favorite place to write is at Starbucks. The Starbucks in Rye is perfect for campers. There’s electrical outlets all over the place, lots of comfy chairs or tables if you like. It’s always busy, the employees here are nice, and it’s outside of my apartment where I tend to get lazy. I like to use this place to help get my brain in gear for writing. It’s a location apart from everything else I normally do. Not to mention that I like to treat myself to vanilla bean frappacinos.

Why: Why do I feel comfortable writing? I’ve never asked myself that question. It’s almost like asking someone why they feel comfortable under a warm blanket. Because it’s nice. Writing makes me feel really good because I find storytelling to be incredibly fun, even if I’m not sharing a particular story with anyone. Even if it’s just for myself. Or even if I’m writing an opinion on something I watched or an essay about a book or a research paper about something that interests me. Recording my thoughts is entertaining and gives me a sense of security. Like the moment of enjoyment I’m experiencing right now isn’t going to be lost in the ether of the past. It’s something that I can revisit, something I can make better over time, and something I can use to communicate to others when I feel it’s necessary. I don’t consider myself a good speaker (even in normal conversation) but I do consider myself a good writer. This is how I talk to people.

How: Setting up to write has a bit of a routine. I go to Starbucks, order myself whatever kind of sweet drink I feel like at the time, and then plop down at my choice location, usually a table in the corner where I can watch people if I feel like. I always write on the computer, since I’m a far faster typer than I am a scribbler. Also the computer screen lets me keep my head up- if I write on paper my neck can hurt from looking down all the time. It’s easier to edit on the computer, I can make backups, and I used to use google docs to do all my writing until I discovered Scrivener. Scrivener is an excellent program that helps writers organize large texts. It allows you to write a scene as its own segment, and then you can move that scene wherever you want in the story line. It also allows you to pull up reference of any kind and look at it at the same time as writing. By this point I’ve converted almost all my stories to Scrivener.

5 things you need to say

1. Haters gonna hate. Players gonna play. But if you hate or play with me, I’ll just kick you in the nads.
2. Yesterday was Thursday. Today is Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday.
3. The best part about being a girl is everything.
4. I’m not ignoring you, I just don’t turn on my phone. Try email instead.
5. Peace out.

10 of your favorite foods

1. Baklava
2. Lasagna
3. French fries
4. Cheeseburgers
5. Eggs
6. Fruit
7. Mashed potatoes
8. Chicken
9. Angel food cake
10. Cheesecake

Canes of Peach Brandy

Av did not recoil from the bundle of canes that clattered unceremoniously on his table. The lack of reaction did not surprise Shar. After all, Shar was certain he’d never once seen Av recoil from anything but the mention of a bath. The books Av had been reading, though, that was surprising.

Both men (if Av was a man, Shar was never quite certain) eyed the canes as if neither understood how they’d gotten there. “I’m not much of a thief,” Shar announced, “but when I am, I try for the good contraband.” He gestured to the canes, almost tensely. “You know these, of course?”
“Cains?” Av back-handedly brushed one off his book.

“No.” The cane briskly lifted, pulling Av’s attention with it. “Oriental canes.” Shar tugged on the handle, and it gave way with a wooden ‘pop.’ A small bottle of peach brandy slid into Shar’s palm, and the offering was set before Av. Shar grinned proudly.

Av, however, was not so impressed.

By age, who are your youngest/oldest characters?

Disregarding vampires/immortal characters (of which there are a few.)
My youngest character is probably… Well, I have two eight-year-old characters.

Emma is my character from my senior thesis. She’s an eight-year-old girl who has a lot of big dreams. Her favorite color changes every couple of weeks between pink, green, and light blue. She loves sweets, her favorite animal is a kitten, and she counts her age by months (she’s eight and three months.) Emma wants to be lots of different things when she grows up, which she tends to combine into a string of things, such as- “I want to be a traveling dancer veterinarian nurse horse-riding superhero when I grow up.”

Elspeth is an eight-year-old from a dramatically different story and so has a dramatically different personality. She’s extremely quiet and only talks when she has something important to say. She’s not shy but people sometimes perceive her as such (they can’t imagine why a little girl would be so quiet otherwise.) In truth she just doesn’t have much interest in social interaction. Elspeth is exceptionally good at identifying patterns, so she has a fondness for mathmatics. She gets along better with computers than she does people.

This also makes me think of another character from my first story. His name is Laboosh and he’s nine years old. This story is a scifi that involves different worlds, which is why his name is so odd. Laboosh is a hyperactive little boy, bursting with energy and interest in his world. He lives on the ship with primarily adults, so he’s learned how to keep himself occupied on his own, but since he doesn’t have friends his age he can sometimes be a bit of an attention-hog. As a result, he sometimes gets in trouble just so that people will notice him. He’s a good kid at heart, he’s just misunderstood and lonely.

As for the oldest character I have, that would be Gram from a story called You Too & Stuff. Gram is the main character’s grandmother, and she’s 88 years old. She makes it a point to keep active and sharp. She has a sarcastic sense of humor that can sometimes make her seem cynical but she’s otherwise pretty kind. Gram is a little bit out of touch with the modern generation, which puts her at odds with her grandson, who she’s raising on her own. Sometimes her grandson is a bit tiring or rebellious so she generally lets him do as he pleases and gives him advice when he starts running into trouble.

These characters tend to be the exceptions, however. Most of my characters are currently in their twenties because that’s how old I am. They’re easier to write and more likely to be in the situations that I like to focus on right now.

5 ways to win your heart

1. Flattery always works.
2. Presents do too.
3. Making me laugh is the best.
4. Lend me your jacket when it’s cold.
5. Any combination of the above and I’m yours.