![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misslj_authorIt's been cold here lately which makes all my joints hurt and makes writing difficult if not impossible. Which is why this batch of meme answers are rather overdue. Four days worth beneath the cut. Oops? Let's just say that joints are evil.
Day Twenty-three: How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
It depends on the story. Plotting, writing and editing of something under six thousand words doesn't take that long at all, usually about a day for me to finish the first draft, then another day to self-edit, then however long it takes my wonderful editors who are very busy women, to edit for me. A second pair of eyes is enormously helpful and a good editor who is willing to help you before you send a piece for submission is worth their weight in gold. Once that's done, then it depends on how long the submission process takes, from submitting to final date to the publication getting back to you. I have been known to write one-hundred thousand words in a month, so I can, when the weather doesn't affect my joints to the point of being unable to work, get my stories down reasonably fast.
Day Twenty-four: How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
Oh, very willing. One story had an Archangel killed by a cackling Lucifer who stabbed him through the side and twisted his sword so the weapon speared his soul as well as his heart. Generally, killing characters involves a battle of some kind, so there's alwas some form of weaponary involved, usually swords or knives or daggers. This is largely due to my love of medieval history and the history of medieval military styles and warfare.
Day Twenty-five: Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
In The Order of Shadows, Christian and Blaise have a horse that has become more of a friend and companion than a beast of burden. The horse is named Fred and is as loyal to them as they are to him. I don't think my characters tend to own pets, largely because the narrative doesn't call for it or their locations aren't practical for pet ownership. A space station in stationary orbit around Jupiter isn't exactly a prime environment for owning a pet!
Day Twenty-six: Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
I wish I could draw people, because the number of times I've lamented that I'd love some art of my characters I've lost count of. The more I work with a character, though, the more their appearance develops in my head. Often, I'll explain to people who ask about the story that this or that character looks like this or that actor or actress. For example, in my head, Archangel Gabriel looks like Daniel Craig, Archangel Raziel looks like Hans Matheson, Skeld looks like Stellan Skarsgård, Stefan looks like Mads Mikkelsen, Ellina looks like Amy Lee. I could go on for a very long time and bore everyone into a coma, so I think I'll stop here!
Day Twenty-three: How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
It depends on the story. Plotting, writing and editing of something under six thousand words doesn't take that long at all, usually about a day for me to finish the first draft, then another day to self-edit, then however long it takes my wonderful editors who are very busy women, to edit for me. A second pair of eyes is enormously helpful and a good editor who is willing to help you before you send a piece for submission is worth their weight in gold. Once that's done, then it depends on how long the submission process takes, from submitting to final date to the publication getting back to you. I have been known to write one-hundred thousand words in a month, so I can, when the weather doesn't affect my joints to the point of being unable to work, get my stories down reasonably fast.
Day Twenty-four: How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
Oh, very willing. One story had an Archangel killed by a cackling Lucifer who stabbed him through the side and twisted his sword so the weapon speared his soul as well as his heart. Generally, killing characters involves a battle of some kind, so there's alwas some form of weaponary involved, usually swords or knives or daggers. This is largely due to my love of medieval history and the history of medieval military styles and warfare.
Day Twenty-five: Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
In The Order of Shadows, Christian and Blaise have a horse that has become more of a friend and companion than a beast of burden. The horse is named Fred and is as loyal to them as they are to him. I don't think my characters tend to own pets, largely because the narrative doesn't call for it or their locations aren't practical for pet ownership. A space station in stationary orbit around Jupiter isn't exactly a prime environment for owning a pet!
Day Twenty-six: Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
I wish I could draw people, because the number of times I've lamented that I'd love some art of my characters I've lost count of. The more I work with a character, though, the more their appearance develops in my head. Often, I'll explain to people who ask about the story that this or that character looks like this or that actor or actress. For example, in my head, Archangel Gabriel looks like Daniel Craig, Archangel Raziel looks like Hans Matheson, Skeld looks like Stellan Skarsgård, Stefan looks like Mads Mikkelsen, Ellina looks like Amy Lee. I could go on for a very long time and bore everyone into a coma, so I think I'll stop here!
