Questions taken from AO3 Comment of the Day.
16. If you could only write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?
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At the same time, though, this is something of a trick question, isn’t it? Thinking about the answer does get me reflecting on my writing, but I can’t imagine a reason I’d ever be limited to just one pairing for the rest of my life. I might be restricted from continuing to write certain pairings, but there are always others.
17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?
When writing, yes, I usually draft from start to finish.
But when I’m pre-writing, the answer is definitely no. Many of my stories have started with a single scene that popped up in my head. From there, I try to figure out what would have led up to that scene as well as what might follow it.
18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?
Except for shorter fics that often only have one or two scenes, yes, I do. I’m definitely on the “planner” side of the planner/pantser spectrum, and for longer works it’s almost always a safe bet that I have an outline. I’ve also used various worksheets from time to time as appropriate, in order to help me work my way through sticky situations or develop background information that I probably won’t ever put into the story.
I have some guidelines that I have developed for myself, but they’re tools and I treat them as such.
If I sit down to a blank page without a plan, chances are very good that I’ll still have a blank page when I get up. So, by the time I get to drafting, I try to know how the story will go. (This also means a lot less work during revision.) During pre-writing and outlining, though, I’ll let my creativity have its head. In addition, my outlines aren’t hard-and-fast. In fact, I can’t think of a single longer story I’ve written that strictly adhered to the outline.
19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?
I used to joke that my muse was Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager (the character, not the actor). Truth be told, though, I don’t have a muse so much as I have a tendency to get into knock-down, drag-out arguments with my characters. This is because I have a tendency to want to crawl around inside of their heads and understand them from the inside out, versus the outside in. I even do this with my antagonists, though it’s important to keep in mind that I don’t believe in good guys or bad guys. We’re all the heroes of our own lives, and if I understand someone’s motivations, I can write them authentically. I don’t have to agree with them to be able to do that.
20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.
At risk of sounding boring, I’ve discovered that an ergonomic work station really is important. I’ve had days when my hands were swollen and achy because I’d written so much, and caring for my body can mean the difference between being able to write 1,500 words in a day versus 5,000 or more. That goes for my eyes, as well; I’m old enough now that it makes a difference to blow the screen up to about 125% if I’m on the laptop by itself. When I’m using my peripheral monitor, though — I use an ultrawide to emulate two screens — I still set it at 100%. Even at the smaller resolution, it’s still larger simply because of the difference in physical size. In addition, I use a wireless keyboard and mouse which lets me move things around a little more.
I have discovered, through trial and error, that I actually write better either in silence or with music that does not contain vocals. Music with vocals tends to distract me, and I absolutely can’t write at all if there’s a television on in the room. As such — and because I also work from home — I like to have a dedicated office space. It doesn’t have to be much, but it does need to be in a place where I can close out the sound of others’ electronics.
Beyond that, if I’m properly supplied with liquids and a working Internet connection, I’m able to write as much as I like — and can.