Where are you?

I was reading through this post over at the Write Anything site and came across the following list of questions at the end. They really made me think. So through the magic of copy / paste, I bring them to you now.

• Do you have space eked out that is yours, and yours alone to write? If no, why not?

I tried to eke out a space, but in all honesty it just didn’t work. One of the spare bedrooms in my house I had transformed into an office space when I found myself laid off a few years ago and decided to start my own business. Being that I immediately went to work for a competitor, my office space went unused and when I started writing again, I tried to make it my official writing studio. I wrote all of Seven Days of Terror in there, but having to shut the door to keep out the ambient noise so I could concentrate on my work grew old. I found the office environment too institutional, probably because it was just another room in my house. As a result, I no longer have a specific place set aside for my writing.

• Where are you, when you write most productively?

This is an easy one. There is a state park located between home and work and during my daily lunch breaks from my day job, I like to sit on a bench in the park with my laptop and let the content flow. If not there, it’s in the lounger out on my deck. Something about being outdoors clears my head and lets the floodgates open.

• Is your writing space a fun space or a work space?

Seeing as how I do the majority of my writing outdoors and I am in love with nature, I find it extremely fun. Writing indoors pales in comparison.

• What would your ideal writing space look like? How can you emulate it in the space you do have?

Ideally, I would like to build a studio in the woods in my back yard. I already have it planned out; four sides glass so I can look out into the woods with nothing in it but a big, comfortable recliner.

• World building – before or after? Your eyes or their eyes? Or is it important at all?

I don’t specifically set out to build a world. They get built as my stories progress, evolving as the characters and situations evolve.

• Where do your stories come from? Do you create them? Or are you a conduit?

I tried to create stories at one time and found I never could finish them. I’ve found over the years that if I just sit down and start typing, my stories will build themselves. I am more a conduit than a creator.

• Where do you want to be published? Why?

I won’t lie. While I self published my first book, I would love to be picked up by an actual publishing house. What author wouldn’t?

• Do you allow friends and family to read your fiction? How does it influence what you write?

I have a very strict rule on this subject. No one, and I mean no one, reads my work until it’s done. In the beginning, I would let my wife read works in progress and more recently I’d catch her sneaking peeks over my shoulder. I don’t know the whys or whats about it, but having someone read my work before it’s done ruins it. I either have to scrap the story or start all over again.

I can’t say for sure that letting friends and family influences my work. Maybe on a subliminal scale it does, but I don’t actively think of their opinions while I’m writing.

• What word length do you regularly write in? When was the last time you wrote something in a dramatically different word length?

My stories usually average two-thousand words. Those are my monthly shorts. My longest piece yet is an eight-thousand-plus piece that is the start of a novel I’m working on.

• Do you belong to a writers association? What might/do you gain from belonging to one?

I don’t belong to one and honestly, I’ve never thought of joining one. Although, it might be something to look at.

• Where were you this time last year? What were you writing? Where are you now? What are you writing? Where do you want to be this time next year? What will you be writing?

This time last year I was pushing the release of my book six months prior and not paying much attention to my writing. I was still writing though, through my monthly short story installments. Today I actively write each week. While I’ve stopped writing the monthly shorts, I do write a story each week for Fiction Friday. Fiction Friday for me is a way to hone my craft, a stepping stone if you will. I don’t plan on leaving Fiction Friday when I start writing bigger and better things, but I am eager to move on. I’ve gained many great friends through this writing exercise that I can’t just up and abandon. As for the future (in the next year or two) I hope to find myself completing my novel and shopping it to a publisher.

That was quite the interview, wasn’t it? I’m glad I took the time to do it. It gave me time (and forced me) to sit down and think about where I want to go with my writing.

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