Wahoo! And a writing meme

[heavenly_pearl]

I just beat Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones Ephraim path! Yay! And I managed to do it with no casualties this time. Double yay!

Go, me!

And now onto a fun writing meme swiped from December.

1. What's the last thing you wrote?

Does it count if it's unfinished? If so, then that would be Search for the Missing Past, my Princess Tutu fic. My last finished piece was something for the .moon Spring Challenge that I can't talk about yet.

2. Was it any good?

I'm rather pleased with my challenge entry this time, in contrast to my winning entry from the Winter Challenge. As for PT fic? Eh...it's okay, I guess. It's my first try at the fandom, so a little sucking can be forgiven. Besides, once I finish it, it'll be the first non-challenge story I've completed in months.

3. What's the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?

Fanfiction-wise? That would be Sweet Dreams, hosted only at FF.net and my writing journal nowadays. If you're talking about original stuff... Hmm, I guess that would have to be a Christmas story I wrote for an assignment when I was in...first or second grade? My mom still hangs it up every year during the holidays. *laughs* (The paper is topped with Santa's head, and has his boots on the bottom, so it doubles as artwork.)

4. Write poetry? 

I did in high school when I was on my school's non-existant literary magazine. (It was a trial class, and I was pretty much the only person who ever actually wrote anything. The six other people in the class just goofed off, so the magazine was never printed.)

5. Most fun character you ever wrote?

For original characters, definitely Kitagawa Izumi from Against the Rules, followed closely by her son Akira and Uchizawa Minoru from Spriti of Fire. The most fun canon characters to write are the Amazon Trio.

6. Most annoying character you ever wrote?

Hmm, probably Yokoyama Yui from Against the Rules, although Tanaka Sayo from Spirit of Fire comes close. Oh, and some people might consider the Chibi-Usa I wrote in Daddy's Little Girl a little annoying, but to be fair, she's only two. (Personally, I thought she was adorable.)

7. Best plot you ever wrote?

Against the Rules, maybe?

8. Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?

I guess I would say Yui going homicidal in Against the Rules. I don't think many people were expecting her to go that far off the deep end.

9. How often do you get writer's block?

I tend to get writer's blues, rather than writer's block. It's not that I don't know what I want to write, I just don't have the confidence to write it, if that makes sense.

10. How do you fix it?

Sometimes I'll work on something else, sometimes I'll just force myself to keep trying until I get over it. If I'm really bluesy, like I have been for months, I just take a break and read other people's fanfiction.

11. Do you type or write by hand?

Type, usually.

12. Do you save everything you write?

Yes. I'll even save scenes I've deleted out of the finish product. I don't know why.

13. Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?

Well, I recently tried to go back to my Only Human idea, but that didn't go very well. :( I also occasionally pull up some of my abandoned short stories (like Three Senshi and a Baby), but I usually just decide that they were abandoned for good reason.

14. What's your favorite thing that you've written?

A tie between Machiavelli's Folly, Hawk's Eye View, and Kiss Me.

15. What's everyone else's favorite thing that you've written?

Based purely on FF.net reviews and fanmail -- Against the Rules, Spirit of Fire, and Sands of Time (Destiny Arrives).

16. Do you ever show people your work?

Not in real life, no.

17. Who's your favorite constructive critic?

I can't think of any specific person off the top of my head.

18. Did you ever write a novel?

If Nano novels count, then yes. (Mothers of the Bride) And, actually, most of my multi-parts are long enough to be considered novel. ATR and SOF are both well over 200,000 words.

19. Have you ever written fantasy, sci-fi, or horror?

Not really. My stories may have some elements to them, but I wouldn't classify them as such.

20. Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?

Sure, quite a few times.

21. What's one genre you have never written, and probably never will?

Probably sci-fi. Just not really interested in it.

22. How many writing projects are you working on right now?

Search for the Missing Past, my Kaleido Star muli-part, Only Human (I still haven't completely given up on it) and a Shigure/Mayuko fic for 15pairings.

23. Do you want to write for a living?

I'd like to, but I don't think I'm good enough.

24. Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?

Well, I was on the staff of my high school newspaper, so yeah.

25. Have you ever won an award for your writing?

For my journalistic writing, quite a few, including a 4th place finish in Editorials and a 5th place finish in Headline Writing at State UIL competition. (To list all my invitational, district, and region awards would take too long, and I don't remember all of them.) For fanfiction, I've won a handful of sm_monthly awards, the Winter Challenge at .moon, and the Holiday Challenge at ASMR.

26. Ever written something in script or play format?

I wrote a play based on the Apollo/Daphne myth for my seventh grade English class, and I wrote another one for my Corona (basically, a social studies class for gifted students) class in fifth grade, but I can't remember what it was about. Oh, and sometimes Iike to write my fanfics by scripting out the dialogue first.
27. What is your favorite word?

Melancholy. Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't know.

27. Do you ever write based on yourself?

Some of my characters have a little of me in them, but nowhere near self-insertion levels.

28. Which of your characters most resembles you?

I hate to admit it, but there's quite a bit of me in Yui, although I'm nowhere near as bad as her. *laughs*

29. Where do you get ideas for your characters?

Nowhere specific.

30. Do you ever write based on your dreams?

Sometimes I'll get ideas in dreams.

31. Do you prefer happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?

It doesn't really matter, as long as it's the right ending for the story.

32. Have you ever written anything based on an artwork you've seen?

Actually, I have, and, coincidentally, it was a Fire Emblem story (The Strange Girl). When we were dating, Samuraiter sent me this lovely piece of Artur/Lute fanart, so for an anniversary present, I wrote a story based on that picture.

33. Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?

It's usually not a problem with me.

34. Ever write something entirely in chatspeak?

No.

35. Does music help you write?

Not really. It's usually just a distraction.

36. Are people surprised and confused when they find out you write well?

I don't know.

37. Quote something you've written.

Man, it’s tough to pick. I guess I’ll just give y’all a little taste of the beginning of Search for the Missing Past. (Warning: This snippet does contain major spoilers for Princess Tutu.)

“No! Don’t take me away! Please, no!”

Rue’s eyes were closed, but she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her, pulling her close. She struggled to break free of the embrace until she became aware of her husband’s soft voice whispering words of comfort. She then relaxed, and her garnet eyes fluttered open.

“Mytho?”

“It’s okay, Rue,” he said, lightly kissing her forehead. “You’re safe with me. You were just having a nightmare again.”

“Oh.”

Rue sighed and snuggled even closer to Mytho, his warm body heat assuring her that she was in fact safe from the evil crows in her nightmare. Her beloved prince would always be there to protect her, as he had proven in the final battle with the Raven, the being she had considered her father for most of her life.

However, he could not stop the nightmares she’d been having ever since that day. That was something only she could do, but no matter how many times she went to bed, determined only to dream of happy things, she couldn’t help but dream of the memory she had seen when the story turned back, the memory of her kidnapping as a baby by the crows from her real, human parents.

She didn’t even know who they were, or, for that matter, her real name. She only knew herself as Kraehe, the name the Raven had bestowed on her, and Rue, the name she had given Mytho the first time they met, but, for all she knew, she could have been a Gretchen, Brigitta, or even a Hilda (though she sincerely hoped not).