Complete in Thee: Writing Tag

Monday, August 16, 2010

Writing Tag

Got this tag from The Novel Pretender! This one is particularly fun. ;-)

Rules: Fill out the tag, and then add two of your own questions!

What do you write your stories on?
My computer, nowadays. I think my imagination works better when I'm writing on paper, but since I'm trying to get my novel ready for publication, and since publishers only accept type-written manuscripts, and since it's easier to backspace and erase on Microsoft Word, well, I'm using Microsoft Word. :-)

What is your favorite kind of character?
You know... I kind of like the tragic type of character. :-) Not sure if that's my favorite kind though.

When you're asked what your story is about, what is your usual reaction?
"Um, uh, yeah, well, uh... it's about... uh... pirates..." I always get embarrassed saying it's about pirates, and then don't know how to give a plot synopsis. :-S

What is your biggest writing pet peeve?
"Show, don't tell; show, don't tell; show, don't tell..." I am convinced that that is the most unneedfully-over-emphasized rule in the rulebook. Ever read any of the great classics? "Pride and Prejudice"? "A Tale of Two Cities"? "North and South"? "Little Women"? All have some (or a lot) of telling in them, and they have lasted. I definitely agree that we show show more than tell, we should show what our characters are like, not just tell, and so on, but telling can't complete be eliminated... sometimes it's the best way to get a point across. And I really don't think the readers care that much. *thump* That was me jumping off of my soapbox.

What is the biggest turn-off for you when reading a book?
Mockery of God, and too many beats-- and short, choppy, incorrect-English sentences. ;-)

Your favorite era in history?
Oh dear, I don't know. Depends on whether you are talking about fashion or events or what. My favorite used to be mid-1800s, prairie. It isn't so much anymore. The Reformation is interesting, the English Civil War era, and I also like the 1930s-40s (for history/events).

How many words on average do you punch out in one sitting?
I try for at least 500. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Are you a fast typist?
Yes, if I already know what I'm writing. More often it comes in spurts as I try to decide how to word something next. If I'm copying something from paper to screen, I can type very fast.

What do you do for inspiration?
Take a walk, ride in the car and look out the window, listen to soundtrack music, read previous manuscripts, or read a favorite author with a good style.

The truest writing quote you've ever heard:
"The first writer I watched at work was my stepfather, E. B. White. Each Tuesday morning, he would close his study door and sit down to write the "Notes and Comments" page for The New Yorker. The task was familiar to him-- he was required to file a few hundred words of editorial or personal commentary on some topic in or out of the new that week-- but the sounds of his typewriter from his room came in hesitant bursts, with long silences in between. Hours went by. Summoned at last for lunch, he was silent and preoccupied, and soon excused himself to get back to the job. When the copy went off at last, in the afternoon RFD pouch-- we were in Maine, a day's mail away from New York-- he rarely seemed satisfied. "It isn't good enough," he said sometimes. "I wish it were better."
~Roger Angell, in the foreword to The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
I said that's the "truest one" because that's just how I am. ;-)

What's your favorite genre to write?
Adventure. Often historical adventure. I can't write daily life stories, and I can write real mystery.

Favorite font to write with?
Times New Roman

New questions:

Do you find listening to instrumental music helpful when you write?
Definitely!! I love my soundtracks. :-)

How many books are you writing right now?
Mainly just MD. I am in the middle of some other ones, but they are currently "on the back burner". Working on just one at a time helps me stay focused. :-)

3 comments:

Sarah Scheele said...: LOL, what you say about "show not tell" is sooo true! This silly cliche makes it sound like they are mortal enemies of each other--when in fact they are both necessary to make a book good.

Jerky, choppy, thin writing is one of my pet peeves. :D; August 17, 2010 at 1:13 PM
Melanie said...: Well put, Sarah! :-D

And I agree about jerky, chopping, thin writing. :-); August 17, 2010 at 2:45 PM
Anonymous said...: How funny, Melanie!! :D I loved the soapbox comment.; August 26, 2010 at 9:20 PM

PRAYER REQUESTS

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

PLEASE PRAY...

* That I would draw nearer to God every day and never allow my relationship to become stagnant ritual; particularly that I would grow in the area of submission, patience, 1 Corinthians 13 love, and wholehearted devotion

* That I might have wisdom as I edit "The Marquis' Daughter"; that the Lord would bless and work through it; and that I might find just the right publisher for it.

* That I would submit to the Lord's work in my life, whatever it may be; that I would take each opportunity He brings me (even the seemingly hard ones) to draw closer to Him and point others to Him

*That our Etsy shop might be successful and that it would be a means by which we can glorify God and share the Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?"

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

"If God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing."

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty."

"Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them."

"And shall I pray, Oh, change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
Ah no, Lord, no, that never could be, rather
I pray Thee, Blend my human will with Thine."

"A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked."

"And as we rest our hearts upon what we know (the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good), leaving what we do not know to the Love that has led us all our life long, the peace of God enters into us and abides. And then we see our light."

[A Practicing Christian]...it means that every single act and feeling, every experience, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be referred to God. It means looking at everything as something that comes from Him, and always looking to Him and asking His will first, and saying, "How would he wish me to deal with this?"

Christ says: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you."

"I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."

"What is saving but taking us out of the dark into the light? There is no salvation but to know God and grow like Him."

"I will not try to convince you of anything about God. I cannot. You must know Him. I only tell you I believe in Him with all my heart. You must ask Him to explain Himself to you, and not take it for granted that He has done you a wrong because He has done what you do not like. Whether you seek Him or not, He will do you justice. But He cannot explain Himself unless you seek Him."

"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes into the life of a peaceful individual, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything is changed. That life is no more what it was. Better it ought to be, worse it may be. The result depends on the life itself and it's response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, it's spiritual weather is altered. But for the one who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophies never come but where they are turned around for good in his own life and in other lives he touches."