Hey bookworms! Miss Grace at Pens and Castles On A Cloud (can we take a moment to appreciate her blog name?) nominated me for the wisteria writer tag. I was so excited; the questions look so fun. Thanks for tagging me, Grace!

The Rules: 

• Thank the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the ten questions asked.
• Add ten (writing or book related) of your own.
• Nominate ten people. (I’m cheating and nominating seven!)

Do you write for yourself or for others? Myself! Sometimes I struggle to share my writing with others (if it’s something I’ve spent a long time on – school assignments are a bit different) because my stories are near and dear to my heart. For me, writing has always been a coping mechanism. Most of my stories even mirror things I was going through in the point of my life when I wrote them. There are several storylines I’ve been working and expounding on for years; I like to think that the characters grow with me and become my friends.

Who has helped you improve your writing? My parents (even though I’m too often picky about their constructive criticism) have always challenged me and stretched my abilities in writing. I’ve also spent two and a half years with one of my favorite authors Rachel Coker (whom I get to meet next month!) doing writing lessons through email. She’s become a mentor to me and has advised and challenged my writing sometimes to the point of frustration. But I’ve learned so much through her and simply having a mentor like herself has taught me so much about the writing process, editing, and truly refining a piece of work.

Name three books that have been central in your writing (as in, they inspired you to write, or write a specific story, etc.) Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards, The Family Tree Series by Ann M. Martin, and Interrupted by Rachel Coker. Each of these books have a certain writing style and story telling that I aspire to. They all have similarities in the way that I hope to tell stories. The fact that I’ve read them all more than once and still feel inspired and touched each time by the stories makes me dream of my own writing someday living up to these books.

What is your least favorite genre and why? I’m going to answer this question assuming it’s asking what my least favorite genre to write is; in which case that would be anything other than historical or contemporary fiction. I can’t say I’ll never write anything else, but I’m a bit too terrified to venture out into fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian/etc. I don’t read enough of other genres to feel qualified writing them.

If you could, would you try to change the landscape for young adult novels of this generation? How? (if this question is confusing: the norms of young adult novels today are pretty obvious–would you want to change them with your writing and how?) Absolutely! Yes, yes, yes. Frankly it makes me sick to look at what the young adult genre has become. Don’t get me wrong: reading is becoming more popular among teenagers as the genre widens and there are thousands of books made to be appealing to that age group, which is new to even the last two generations. I think that’s amazing. But a good majority of YA books make it sound like all that appeals to teenagers is getting physical, swearing, and making adults out to be hypocritical, misunderstanding idiots. I have to read a content review on practically every young adult book I pick up.

I would love to be able to write literature that challenges a young adult’s thinking past what social media and the world is pushing us to conform to. I want to write age-appropriate books for teens. That’s not to say my books will shy away from the world’s tragedies but that they will not be focused on vulgar, unnecessary content that doesn’t need to occupy young people’s minds.

If you could write/collaborate on a novel with one author, who would it be? Jane Austen. I know, I know! It’s going to have to wait for Heaven (which will feature a library a thousand times bigger than in Beauty & The Beast and ten dozen independent coffee shops for all our writerly needs.) But with our sarcastic humor, avoidance of humans, and romantic sides I feel like we’d be best friends and a hilarious writing duo. Beyond that, c’mon, she’s Jane Freakin’ Austen. Who *wouldn’t* want writing advice from her?

What’s your writing process? Ahem. As follows: Grand idea! Must write it! This sucks. Let’s plan! Write some more! Ugh, more planning. Writing! This is the best thing ever! Writing. Planning. Burnout. Break. Plan. Write. Repeat. I’m a planster. I’m not a panster or plotter. I go for it and then do minimal outlining, and go for it some more. I think people might be surprised by the fact that I despise outlining for rough drafts considering I like detailed plans for everything else in life, but writing is the one thing I do by the seat of my pants.

What do you do to get out of writer’s block? I have absolutely no advice regarding writer’s block. I’M STILL FIGURING OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT DIS. My problem is I never get this thing people keep calling “writer’s block.” Oh no. I get a total burnout. It’s a complete disaster. I work on a story for three, five months max. It’s the best thing to ever be written; my characters are the bomb.com. I’m a creative master mind. And then I hit a brick wall that I never get through. So I’m still trying to learn how to handle this and complete my novellas.

Do you like to listen to music when you write? Why or why not? Absolutely! Music can put me in any mood depending on the song; nostalgic, happy, angry, sympathetic, wintry. (‘Wintry”s a mood hush.) It’s the perfect solution to let myself fall into the world I’m trying to create. I even make playlists for each story I write. Sometimes I do overthink and can’t focus with the beat of the music. In which case, I use rainycafe.com for either a thunderstorm or cafe background noise. (Either way, I can’t ever work in complete silence. I need noise.)

How has writing changed your life (if it has–and it’s OK if it hasn’t!)? Oh my goodness, what a question. I’ve been writing fictional stories since I was little and keeping a journal for four years. Through writing (or even just jotting) things down, I’ve learned to observe people. I like to think that it has given me a sense of patience. Crafting words to keep memories, tell stories, or share feelings is a wonderful outlet and vital skill. I think everyone can do it. 🙂

Nominees, here are your ten questions!

1. When did you start writing?
2. What do you use to document inspiration and ideas?
3. What is your favorite part of the writing process?
4. What genres do you like writing best?
5. How do you begin the outlining of your novels? (Characters, plot, etc.)?
6. Can you share a snippet of one of your current pieces of writing?
7. What authors or books inspire you?
8. Who do you trust to edit/critique your writing?
9. Where do you hope to be as a writer in ten years?
10. What advice do you have for other writers?

TAG, YOU’RE IT! Izel // Katie // Jonathan // Abigail Hayven // Olivia // Amanda // Grace

When did you begin writing? How has it changed your life? All things I must know – to the comments! See you there. 😉