I can’t remember how long ago it was, but I mentioned wanting to do a Questions and Answers blog post where I answered some questions about my writing journey, reading, and more! I’ve had the questions for awhile now and am finally ready to answer them! And if there are any questions that weren’t answered in this post and you want to know, please leave me more questions and I’ll do another one in the near future!

Question 1: When did you discover you wanted to be a writer?

I had to think long and hard about the answer to this question because I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember (and even longer than that according to my mom).

Question 2: Was there a certain book that made you go, hey, I could do this!?

My first memory of this feeling came in 8th grade. We were doing a whole unit on Edgar Allan Poe and it was after I read the Tell-Tale Heart for the first time. I remember setting the book down and thinking “I want to do this. I want to write like this.” It took me a really long time to actually get to the point where I truly believed I could do this though!

Question 3: If you could meet two authors for dinner, who would they be?

Edgar Allan Poe without a doubt. I’ve been a huge fan of his writing since I was twelve and as you can see from the answer above, he’s a part of the reason why I became a writer. He has also heavily influenced my writing style, so he’s an obvious choice for me. As for the second writer… it’s a hard choice because once upon a time, the second writer would have been J.K. Rowling because she was a huge influence on me during my formative years. But after everything she’s said about the transgender community and other remarks she’s made, I no longer would choose her as my second author to dine with. And honestly, there aren’t too many other writers who have influenced me the way Poe and Rowling have… except for one other. So for my second author, I would choose my dear friend and mentor Charles F. French. Charles has always been in my corner and has always supported me and my writing. Not only is Chuck one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met in my entire life, he is also compassionate, encouraging, and inspiring. So it would be an honor to share a meal with him and Edgar Allan Poe.

Question 4: What’s your favorite genre to write?

Supernatural Fiction with elements of Gothic thrown in. I also like to write Dark Fantasy rooted in folklore or mythology.

Write 5: What genre would you like to attempt to write?

I think it might be fun to attempt Historical Fiction at some point. I’m not too big into History as a whole, but there are certain Historical time periods or events that I think would be interesting to write about, but with my own spin on them.

Question 6: What genre would you never write and why?

I think with writing saying “I will never write (insert genre here)” is a bold statement for any writer to make. The reason I say that is as we gain more experience with writing and life, our tastes can change. What I like to write at twenty-nine might not be what I like to write at fifty-nine! But to answer the question, I don’t ever foresee myself writing Western novels because I have zero interest in that genre.

Question 7: When writing, do you freehand or type?

I go back and forth between the two. With my blog posts, I find it easier to type them out because it feels more in the moment, raw, and honest when I do it that way. With my novel and other writing, I try to freehand as much as possible and then type it up later. But a lot of times with that, after I type up what I freehanded, I end up just going to type/write until I run out of steam! So I’m a bit of a hybrid with my writing!

Question 8: Do you outline your novels? Or are you a discovery writer?

I have always hated outlining! When I had to do outlines for papers throughout my time in school, I would get cranky because I felt like it was a waste of time (and most of the time I already had the paper written). So now that I’m not forced to do outlines, I don’t outline. However, as I get ideas, I will write them down and put them in some form of order. But it’s definitely not an outline… more like a list of ideas I don’t want to lose!

Question 9: Do you edit as you go? Or do you try to hold off until the end of a draft?

I used to be an edit-as-you-go writer, but I’ve been told doing that makes it harder to get anything done (and I’ve found that to be true, hence why none of my novels are done). So thought it’s been hard to change my ways, I’ve gotten better about not editing as I go. However, if I typo, I HAVE TO EDIT IT! I can’t leave a typo behind. No lie, but one time I left a typo go, telling myself I could fix it later on in the editing phase… I ended up not being able to sleep until I fixed it. It physically pains me to leave behind a typo (unless I don’t realize I made it in the moment, then I’m fine).

Question 10: What’s your writing process like?

I don’t really have a process. I’ve always been the I-have-an-idea-and-I-need-to-get-it-out type of writer. Anytime I’ve tried to have a process or a set way of doing things, it’s never seemed to work, so I’ve given up on having one.

Question 11: Do you require a certain kind of writing space?

The main thing I require when writing is no distractions. I can’t have someone talking to me or trying to get my attention when I’m writing because it makes me lose focus and then I lose my ideas, which sucks! Beyond that, I don’t have much else I require when writing. I can write almost anywhere as I long as I have something to write with and no distractions.

Question 12: How do you deal with writer’s block?

Poorly, haha. In all seriousness, I’ve gotten better at dealing with writer’s block. I shared my tips for combating writer’s block almost a year ago, but it might time to do an updated version! One thing I’ve learned about myself recently is that I don’t face writer’s block due to lack of ideas, I get writer’s block when I’m at my worst mentally and emotionally. When my thoughts and feelings are negative, when I’m feeling extremely overwhelmed and stressed, or when I’m feeling disconnected and hopeless, that’s when my writer’s block kicks in. And I don’t even think it’s necessarily writer’s block, I think it’s just not having the mental capacity to write due to an overwhelm of emotions. I could be wrong or I could be right, either is possible!

Thank you to everyone who asked me questions. If there are any questions you want to know the answer to that weren’t asked here, leave me a comment and I’ll answer them in a future Q&A! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!