Another Tag--The Romance Writer Questionnaire

The evil computer imps are at it again. This time the tag’s optional; Candace Salima tagged all of the LDStorymakers, and who’s gonna know if I don’t accept the tag? But guess what: I’m responding anyway. I like this one because it doesn’t ask me to reveal my top ten most embarrassing moments or anything (embarrassing) like that. It discusses reading and writing and all the good stuff that we’re all here to learn about (right?)

Her list of questions is long, so I’m only going to answer a few right now. For the complete list of questions, and Candace’s answers, visit candacesalima.blogspot.com.

Has there ever been a book you've written, that you wish now you hadn't?

No…but how about books I didn’t write that I wish I had?

For all the Storymakers...if you weren't writers, what would be your dream job?

I would be a sane person…oh, what job would I want? Actually I’ve wondered that for years. No matter what, I’d want to be heavily involved with the written word.

What are your top ten romance novels you would take to the beach?

If I were at the beach, I’d be wave-jumping and building sandcastles with my family. Forget the books.

What comes first, characters or plot? What happens when it's characters first? Does the plot just flow naturally from a discovery of those characters, or do you find it difficult to weave a story together to fit the characters you want to write?

Both. I find that a story really does flow from good characters, but there also has to be a situation that drives them. I try to have a solid picture of both before I begin to write, but they always evolve throughout the writing process.

When you don't want to sit in the chair and write…what do you do to make yourself sit there? Duct tape? Crazy glue?

Sometimes I provide myself with junk food. But then I feel guilty. And fat.

If a person had never read any of your books, which one would you want them to read first and why?

Just the Way You Are. It’s available in stores and my other ones aren’t.

Do any of you work on more than one project at a time? I find myself doing this more and more lately and it's about ready to drive me insane. All these people just keep bumping around inside my head.

Absolutely. I’ve always got several projects going at once. As I’m editing and refining one, I might be writing a rough draft of another one and making notes on yet another.

Do any of you find that having a clear notion (such as a map) of the area you're setting the story in is worth the time it would take to set it up?

So far I have only set my stories in real places I’m familiar with. However, I find a calendar invaluable for mapping out the timing of events. Then I have a visual picture of how soon one event follows another, or what kind of weather the characters are looking at when something happens.

Who are you going to tag now?
Everyone I can think of has been tagged, because Candace tagged everyone at the same time... *sigh* But anyone who is now inspired to take this challenge, consider yourself tagged!