#TheWriter'sTag: Organized Mass Chaos

I love writer's tags.  Most other tags I'm not fond of, but writer's tags speak to my soul.  I believe this one originally came from Cait Paper Furious, via the fantastic penslayer Jennifer Freitag and my dragoness Mirriam.


1. WHAT GENRES, STYLES, AND TOPICS DO YOU WRITE ABOUT?

Genres:
*steeples fingers and stares at the wall meditatively*
I've tried a wide variety of genres and genre-crosses, from urban fantasy fairy tale retelling to political psycho-thriller to East Asian historical fantasy.  That said, I definitely have my favorites... and least favorites.

Favorites:
High fantasy, historical fantasy, science fantasy, historical fiction, political thrillers, military sci-fi.
Least favorites:
Contemporary Christian romance (it was a soldier story dare from a sister and I poked the unfinished mess into a corner to quietly die in shame), pretty much anything contemporary unless it involves fantasy, and anything involving too many rules I have to pay attention to during the writing process.
Genres I don't write:
the e-word, horror, paranormal.

Styles:
*blinks* 
Third person with as many POVs as I can cram in without confusing readers... too much.
Complex 'big-picture' tapestries with as many colors of the rainbow as will fit.
Ideas that make my family (and a lot of friends) scratch their heads and wonder what planet dropped me on Earth.
I don't know, man, this is a hard question.  I like to try to make people think.

Topics:
These range all over the known globe but there are a few constants:
Loyalty
Friendship
Common Sense
Power plays and their effects on people
Manipulation
Politics
People who actually use their brains


2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?

I was.... seven or eight when I first picked a pencil to tell a story.  So nearing two decades, give or take.


3. WHY DO YOU WRITE?

If I tell you, you might meet a bloody death in my novel.  Are you sure you want to know?


4. WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO WRITE?

O.o  Gosh, when isn't??????

I do most of my best writing in the afternoon when I know I have a few uninterrupted hours or late at night when inspired with maniacal fervor.


5. PARTS OF WRITING YOU LOVE VS. PARTS YOU HATE?

Love:
Creating worlds and watching them come alive
Releasing stress and internal cogitation via the written word
Writing something I know is going to make people raise their eyebrows at me
Hopefully writing something that is going to make people feel deeply on all levels

Hate:
Never having enough time to write all of the ideas that come
The length of time it takes for something I've written to become presentable
The near-constant self-doubt


6. HOW DO YOU OVERCOME WRITERS BLOCK?

Take a walk
Take a shower
Switch to writing something else for a day or two
Watch Korean dramas
Eat something sugary
Challenge Mirriam to a writing contest of some sort

If all else fails, then I bury myself in a book or Pinterest and growl at anyone who tries to un-bury me.


7. ARE YOU WORKING ON SOMETHING AT THE MOMENT?

Yes! I'm finishing up plotting for my East Asian historical fantasy novel Wings of the Tiger.  (Intro post coming on Saturday.)


8. WRITING GOALS THIS YEAR?

Begin the first draft of Wings of the Tiger
Work toward finishing the first draft of A Certain Darkness
Revise Queen Beauty and the Beasts
Write a fate worse than death for my enemies
Edit Queen Beauty and the Beasts
Make someone cry with something I wrote
Pooossibly publish or query Queen Beauty and the Beasts


Now it's your turn.  Take this tag over to your blog posthaste and answer it and then leave me a link in the comments!  (Alternatively, you can answer it /in/ the comments.)