It’s tag day! I was tagged for the Writing Community Award by Kristianne over at Whimsical Wanderings. Definitely go check out her blog and give it a follow! And with that being said, let’s jump into the tag.
Rules
1. Display the award logo on your site. (See above)
2. Link back to the person who tagged you. (See above)
3. Answer five questions.
4. Tag three blogs (they have to be writing related blogs, not just any blogs) and ask them five new questions.
5. Follow as many blogs with this award as you can.
Questions
1. Who is the audience that you write for?
Blog-wise, I write for (mostly young) Christian spec fic authors, and often those intending to self-publish. Some of my content goes beyond that, but that’s who I mostly try to keep in mind as I write.
Books-wise, I write for Christian teen/young adult speculative fiction readers. So… there’s a lot of overlap, lol. I mostly write for readers who are tired of being unable to find clean, edifying YA fantasy on the shelf and want books that are going to encourage them and sometimes challenge them and books that are going to mostly line up with their own worldview.
2. Are you a pantser or a plotter?
Usually somewhere in between, but I’ve been plotting more and more in recent years.
3. Which comes first when you get a story idea: characters, plot, or setting/world?
Almost always the characters. Stories set in Deseran are often an exception to this rule (usually I’m most inspired by the world, in those cases), and occasionally I’ll get a plot idea first, but it’s usually characters.
4. What genre is your favorite to write and why?
Fantasy! Fantasy gives me free rein of my imagination, there are very few limits, and I’ve found it’s an excellent genre in which to explore different worldviews in a very focused and intentional way, which I find to be a lot of fun.
5. How do you handle criticism and rejection in your writing?
Usually I welcome it. Assuming it’s constructive feedback. I appreciate when people help me to identify areas where I could grow or improve a piece, and I see it as an opportunity to strengthen my writing. Sort of like working out tears down muscles to build them up stronger, constructive criticism tears down your writing so you can build it up stronger.
As far as criticism that doesn’t aim to be helpful, I try not to pay too much attention to it. If I can’t do anything about it, and someone was just tearing down my writing to tear down my writing, then it’s not worth listening to.
While I usually don’t have too much trouble with criticism, there have definitely been times I’ve taken it too much to heart. I once sent in a short story I really loved to get feedback on it, and when I got the feedback I threw it all out and thought the editor who had looked at it had been too harsh. When I finally came back to that feedback years later, though, I could see it was all really good input and I used it to strengthen the story. So I’ve definitely gotten too close to my work before, and criticism has hurt more.
Nominees
- Maple at Maple Quill Penning Magic
- Farren at The Starry-Eyed Dreamer
- Allie at Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins
New Questions
- What do you most enjoy about writing?
- What’s something you want to work into a story one day? (A trope, a character, a situation, a worldbuilding element…)
- Do you listen to music while you write?
- Do you enjoy or dread the editing process?
- Who’s your favorite of your own characters?
Oooh, you did the tag too!!!!!!!! SOOO COOL!!!!!!!! *high-fives* I LOVED reading your answers!!!! And can really relate on the criticism thing!!!!!! And like you I mainly write for people who want good clean stories!!!! ‘Cause I personally know how hard it is to find them especially in the YA market. Which is really sad. 😢 Anyway, AWESOME POST!!!!!!!
Thank you!
I loved reading your answers! Fantasy is also my favorite genre to write, and characters usually come first for me too when I get a story idea. Thanks for taking the time to answer!
Awesome! Fantasy is great. Thanks again for the tag! :)