10-24-2015, 02:03 PM
Name: Shawn "let's not reveal any last names m'kay"
Characters: Colonel, Adam Gaite (NPCs: Erik Whitman, Captain Crow)
Writing Experience: I've been writing off and on for over a decade. Probably about 12-13 years if I had to give a number. How much of that qualifies as "experience" is debatable, though.
Is there an Author that influences you?
Influences me....hooo, I really couldn't say. I don't really have many authors I could say I really let myself be influenced by, at least not knowingly. But...there are always a few that come to mind when I think of reasons why I came to enjoy reading and writing as a dual process, and who I try to keep in mind when I write more seriously, I guess. The big ones in that regard would be Brian Jacques, Piers Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Terry Brooks. Obviously none of their particular styles are evident in anything I write, to my own eyes, but it's kind of what got me started on this whole crazy road to begin with, I guess, so they might count as influence.
Also when it comes to Adam (and NPC Erik, to a lesser extent) I suppose the whimsy of Andrew Hussie and the style of Homestuck in general miiiiight play a sort of influencing role...
Is there a genre you emulate?
I....don't really know. I've tried to write a little bit of everything now and then. I'd imagine I do better at some than others, but I don't really stick to any one particular genre or style in my entire works. I do generally try to make an effort to make anything I write readable or understandable by anyone, but I don't know if that counts.
What do you feel defines your work?
I honestly have no idea. From what I've heard people say, I do a good job of getting in my character's head, letting them flavor a scene strongly while remaining outside and third-person? Like I guess I have a strong "color" to my work....if that makes sense. I try to adapt each thing I write to the tone of the character it focuses on, and to an extent the tone and setting, rather than focusing solely on context or the scene as a whole, which I guess could be called the big "thing" I do, or something.
What are your five main rules when you write?
1. Don't force it, you blithering idiot. Trying to force writing to come is unnatural and in my own experience usually produces sub-par, unsatisfying work even if you do push it through to completion. It's why I sometimes take so long to get anything written.
2. When the writing mood DOES strike, don't hesitate. When I sit down to write and I get those first few sentences or whatever done, and the words just start flowing, that's when I know it's time to buckle down and kick into high gear. Don't stop until it's done, or until the flow wanes again. When the chance there, don't waste it.
3. Stay true to character. Sometimes it's difficult for me to do, but I try to keep it together. Sometimes you may not want your character to do something, but it's a thing they would do regardless because it's just who they are. Do it anyway. Don't stray from character just because it's inconvenient or tough.
4. Don't constantly stick to familiar ground. I try to at least occasionally step out of my "comfort zone", as it were, and try new things from a writing standpoint. I won't say what that happens to be, because I'm lame like that. But sticking only to what you already know is no way to expand your horizons and grow as a writer.
5. Keep a watch for grammar. I'll be the first to admit, my grammar isn't fantastic sometimes. It's punctuation and spelling that kill me, and if I don't keep a constant watch out during and after my writing, my posts can end up littered with painfully obvious errors.
Do you have any reoccurring issues you need to work on?
Ahahaha....yeah. Yeah I do. I find my biggest one is description. Describing a scene properly. I tend to gloss over details, leaving out things that are obvious -- to me -- because I already know exactly what I'm describing, when the whole idea is to try and paint a clear, complete picture of the scene in question, not just a rough sketch and outline. I struggle with really forming a cohesive and whole story, at times. It's not always easy to keep things moving in a clear, consistent way and direction, for me at least.
Do you have any posts you're proud of?
Ah, I uh...I don't really have anything I'm particularly proud of, no, not really. I'm kind of proud of some of the stuff I wrote for the Secondary Saga, but I'm not proud of any one post or other on their own. I'm not really confident/proud of anything I write as a whole, to be perfectly honest.
Characters: Colonel, Adam Gaite (NPCs: Erik Whitman, Captain Crow)
Writing Experience: I've been writing off and on for over a decade. Probably about 12-13 years if I had to give a number. How much of that qualifies as "experience" is debatable, though.
Is there an Author that influences you?
Influences me....hooo, I really couldn't say. I don't really have many authors I could say I really let myself be influenced by, at least not knowingly. But...there are always a few that come to mind when I think of reasons why I came to enjoy reading and writing as a dual process, and who I try to keep in mind when I write more seriously, I guess. The big ones in that regard would be Brian Jacques, Piers Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Terry Brooks. Obviously none of their particular styles are evident in anything I write, to my own eyes, but it's kind of what got me started on this whole crazy road to begin with, I guess, so they might count as influence.
Also when it comes to Adam (and NPC Erik, to a lesser extent) I suppose the whimsy of Andrew Hussie and the style of Homestuck in general miiiiight play a sort of influencing role...
Is there a genre you emulate?
I....don't really know. I've tried to write a little bit of everything now and then. I'd imagine I do better at some than others, but I don't really stick to any one particular genre or style in my entire works. I do generally try to make an effort to make anything I write readable or understandable by anyone, but I don't know if that counts.
What do you feel defines your work?
I honestly have no idea. From what I've heard people say, I do a good job of getting in my character's head, letting them flavor a scene strongly while remaining outside and third-person? Like I guess I have a strong "color" to my work....if that makes sense. I try to adapt each thing I write to the tone of the character it focuses on, and to an extent the tone and setting, rather than focusing solely on context or the scene as a whole, which I guess could be called the big "thing" I do, or something.
What are your five main rules when you write?
1. Don't force it, you blithering idiot. Trying to force writing to come is unnatural and in my own experience usually produces sub-par, unsatisfying work even if you do push it through to completion. It's why I sometimes take so long to get anything written.
2. When the writing mood DOES strike, don't hesitate. When I sit down to write and I get those first few sentences or whatever done, and the words just start flowing, that's when I know it's time to buckle down and kick into high gear. Don't stop until it's done, or until the flow wanes again. When the chance there, don't waste it.
3. Stay true to character. Sometimes it's difficult for me to do, but I try to keep it together. Sometimes you may not want your character to do something, but it's a thing they would do regardless because it's just who they are. Do it anyway. Don't stray from character just because it's inconvenient or tough.
4. Don't constantly stick to familiar ground. I try to at least occasionally step out of my "comfort zone", as it were, and try new things from a writing standpoint. I won't say what that happens to be, because I'm lame like that. But sticking only to what you already know is no way to expand your horizons and grow as a writer.
5. Keep a watch for grammar. I'll be the first to admit, my grammar isn't fantastic sometimes. It's punctuation and spelling that kill me, and if I don't keep a constant watch out during and after my writing, my posts can end up littered with painfully obvious errors.
Do you have any reoccurring issues you need to work on?
Ahahaha....yeah. Yeah I do. I find my biggest one is description. Describing a scene properly. I tend to gloss over details, leaving out things that are obvious -- to me -- because I already know exactly what I'm describing, when the whole idea is to try and paint a clear, complete picture of the scene in question, not just a rough sketch and outline. I struggle with really forming a cohesive and whole story, at times. It's not always easy to keep things moving in a clear, consistent way and direction, for me at least.
Do you have any posts you're proud of?
Ah, I uh...I don't really have anything I'm particularly proud of, no, not really. I'm kind of proud of some of the stuff I wrote for the Secondary Saga, but I'm not proud of any one post or other on their own. I'm not really confident/proud of anything I write as a whole, to be perfectly honest.
![[Image: kUpgBYg.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/kUpgBYg.gif)