Tagtastic

Thank god. Tere Kirkland tagged me. This saves me from having to, y' know, THINK.

This meme is about writing, so I figured what the bleep. I'll give it a try.

1. What's the last thing you wrote? What's the first thing you wrote that you still have? The last thing I wrote was the first two pages of my next book. Whee! Of course, now I'm in the obsessive-edit-two-pages stage, where I read and reread every blinking word in an effort to make it "perfect," all the while knowing that I'm being an idiot and perfect is unattainable unless you are Richard Simmons. The first thing I wrote is a book called "The Beautiful Butterfly" in Kindergarten. It got a special award at the Young Authors Conference and solidified my geek status for all eternity.

2. Write poetry? I used to. One of my killer poems was "Slumber Party with the Pope." Fer real.

3. Angsty poetry? *hangs head in shame* Yes, I used to do that too. I should probably note that "Slumber Party with the Pope" does not fall into this category. Neither does "Paeon to Wobbly Hamsters," although it would be funny if it did.

4. Favorite genre of writing? Young adult, natch. This would explain why I WRITE IT. Durr.

5. Most annoying character you've ever created? Probably Tickle Bits from the No Pain sequel. Yes, you read that right. Tickle Bits. If you think that's bad, you should have seen her original name.

6. Best plot you've ever created? Well, there's this vampire, see, and he glows in the dark, because sparkles are so overrated. And he falls in love with this girl who actually has two left feet; it's a birth defect or something. It's a romance. A very romantic romance.

7. Coolest plot twist you've ever created? Did I tell you she had two left feet?

8. How often do you get writer's block? Not too often. I find that writer's block only comes when there's something really wrong with my plot. It's my subconscious' way of saving me from having to rewrite half a book.

9. Write fan fiction? Dudes, he glows in the dark. She has two left feet. Do I need to get any more blatant?

10. Do you type or write by hand? I've written a few short stories by hand. Revenge of the Mucus Shovel Fairy was actually written in a notebook while I was on vacation. But generally, I'm a typist.

11. Do you save everything you write? Only the good stuff. Which means yes.

I am very modest.

12. Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it? Absolutely! Actually, No Pain went on the back burner for about three months, because my plot didn't work. One morning I woke up and said, "Eureka!" or something equally inspirational but not quite so lame. That day, I picked it back up, finished it within about a month, and the rest is history. Or at least it should be.

13. What's your favorite thing you've ever written? Um... have I mentioned that No Pain sold to Delacorte? Nuff said.

14. What's everyone else's favorite story that you've written? I don't know. I'm hoping it's one that they read. It may or may not have glow-in-the-dark vampires in it.

15. Ever written romance or angsty teen drama? Um, have you been listening? Glow-in-dark. Two left feet.

But really, most of my books have some romantic element in there.

16. What's your favorite setting for your characters? I tend to gravitate towards modern suburbia. I like the idea of all these wacky things happening in my hometown.

17. How many writing projects are you working on right now? Two. I'm doing edits on the No Pain sequel and slowly but surely starting Fangirls, my next book. I don't like to draft more than one at the same time, because my mind is chaotic enough as it is.

18. Have you ever won an award for your writing? I'd call publication a pretty freaking awesome award. But if you're talking real awards, I have to go all the way back to "The Beautiful Butterfly." Le sigh.

19. What are your five favorite words? Snarf, publication, snarfy publications, and publication-snarf.

20. What character have you created that is most like yourself? Probably Kate from No Pain, but I'm a lot sillier than she is. Really.

21. Where do you get ideas for your characters? I hate questions like this. I'd like to sic a rabid dog on them. I get ideas by doing this strange thing called "thinking." I wish there was some magic answer, but there isn't.

22. Do you ever write based on your dreams? No, but I sometimes dream about my books, which is kinda fun except when you're writing a lot of scenes with puking in them. Srsly.

23. Do you favor happy endings? I favor realistic endings. If it's realistic that the characters are happy, that's fine.

24. Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write? Obsessively. I edit as I go. For god's sake, I edit emails.

25. Does music help you write? Nope. I end up singing and dancing. It's hard to type and do that at the same time.

26. Quote something you've written. Whatever pops into your head.

Ready?

The.

Hey, that's what popped into my head.

Okay. Finally done. Now here's the deal. I'm going to ask you a simple question? Do you know what you're posting on your blog next? If not, you're officially tagged. You're welcome.