It was only a matter of time, really...

[gelbes_gilatier]

until I started my first "30 Days of.." meme, I mean. I really tried to keep away from them, you know, but... oh well. Today I found a "30 Days of Writing" meme in Corinne Duyvis' blog (who said she snagged it from Mercedes M. Yardley) and decided that this was one I could actually do because it allows me to ramble talk about one of my favorite topics of all times: writing. So... here we go:

30 Days of Writing Questions

1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.

Mh... favorite project/'verse changes from time to time. The one I wrote most for certainly is my Lorne/Cadman series Protect and Survive (which, by the way, is named after a Runrig song, in case anyone ever wondered) and yes, I still love that universe because - and I'm a little amazed about that myself - I still haven't tired of all the characters (original and canon) that populate the verse. I think the fact that I like it so much is because basically, it's a family saga, and I really love family saga. I adored Rebecca Gablé's Waringham family saga, spanning over three or four generations of an English nobelman's family in the Middle Ages and managing to teach me a lot about the War of the Roses in the same time and ever since then I really enjoyed stories about families evolving and going through good and bad times alike, and basically, that's what's happening in the Protect and Survive universe.

At the moment, Laura Cadman and Evan Lorne are just at the verge of starting a family but I have to be honest: my beta mackenziesmomma and I have been doing some planning very far into the future and even if those stories are probably never going to be written, I enjoy those planning sessions very much, if just for the fun I have when doing them.

Directly tied to Protect and Survive is my Minor Characters series about a SG team fully consisting of original characters. I started Minor Characters way before starting Protect and Survive but at some point... the logical course of action seemed to be to intersect the stories and since then they couldn't be parted from each other anymore. I like the Minor Characters because they allowed me to do my first steps into Stargate writing, with characters that are fully my own but within a setting I didn't have to invent. It gave me the possibility to concentrate fully on the characters and yes, I love those characters. They frustrate me at times (a certain Sergeant DeLisle especially because it's really difficult to get into his head for various reasons) but I still enjoy writing them very much.

The non-Stargate 'verse I like most is my Jenna's War series. It's Star Wars and based on Soldier, the story of a former beta of mine, joustingforcancer. It's been ages since I wrote anything for Jenna's War but I still really love that 'verse because I love my main character, in all her stubborn, opinionated, self-doubting glory. I also have a feeling I'm not finished with her yet because her story hasn't fully been told yet and maybe I will get back to writing her again.

To close it: I have a lot more 'verses I like to write for (actually, there are also original 'verses among them, and I'm pretty sure I feel a yen for working on my original WWII story again coming up) but those three seem to be the defining ones for me which is why I put them here. I also very much love the Shock and Awe 'verse, the What Made all the Difference 'verse, the Pandora's Box 'verse... but the defining ones were and are Protect and Survive, Minor Characters and Jenna's War and that's why I decided for them for this question.

Edit: Gah, I can't believe I managed to forget one very important 'verse. Ages ago, I started writing a Harry Potter story with rareb that's based on a forum RPG she created and had only OCs as protagonists. The story goes by the name of Haven't Thought of You Lately, and we totally need to get back into writing it and finish this monster of a story, because damn, the story deserves it. That story/project/'verse (since it can be considered AU to the original Harry Potter because we both didnt't like how the Wizarding War in Deathly Hallows played out) is so important to me because it taught me truly co-writing a story with someone else.

Before starting it, I'd always considered myself a solo writer, not made for team work in regard to writing projects but rareb turned out to be a dream co-writer and I hope very much we'll get to finish the story because damn, I love her Orion Yaxley and Lavinia McNeil (the character I'm writing but who isn't really mine since I kind of borrowed her from someone else, kind of like Jenna from Jenna's War who was originally created by joustingforcancer) is a character I'm not finished with yet, either.

~*~

2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of worldbuilding? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?
13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing?
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you’ve never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What’s the most interesting way you’ve killed someone?
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
26. Let’s talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there’s nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!

Comments

[rareb.livejournal.com]

We should really finish (off?) the Monster... I just realised that we have been at it for four years already. Four years! Where has time gone? I think we have had another chapter ready for publication for a long time...

And... I feel flattered that you like our collaboration. I'm very happy about it, too. :D (Even though I seem to be the exact opposite, so far, I have never been able to write on my own :( ... )

Btw. Interesting questions - I'm curious to read your answers!

[gelbes-gilatier.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah, we should finish that one... like I said, the story deserves it ;)

(Even though I seem to be the exact opposite, so far, I have never been able to write on my own :( ... )

Well, to be honest... I never write fully alone, not anymore, anyway. If I'm not working with a co-writer (awesome you, for example ;)), I'm usually working with a beta (the awesome mackenziesmomma) or at least talking to a fellow author (again you or equally awesome ancient_leah). Whoever said writing wasn't a team sport? ;)