1: What type of writing do you do?
I mostly do novels; though I have recently started attempting short stories. I have also done some journalism about spirituality and crystals in the past. I do on very rare occasions attempt poetry, which quite often ends in disaster and many torn pages in the bin.

2: What genres and/or topics do you write about?
It’s pretty much always been fantasy fiction and magic for me when it comes to writing a novel, they’re two things I’ve always had a fascination about. Though lately, I find myself leaning into paranormal and steampunk as well, with a few elements of horror and romance are thrown into the mix.

3: How long have you been writing?
I can’t remember a time I wasn’t writing, pretty much immediately after I learnt the skills of reading and writing, I was creating my own worlds and stories… maybe five or six? So…23 or 24 years? Oh god, what happened to my life. I’ve been seriously writing since I was 23 though; before then it was as a hobby and I never really contemplated anyone reading my work seriously.

4: Are you published?
I have been published. I had A Dawn of Dreams (previously Sykajume) published through Amazon Createspace in 2015, and Dancing Shadows (previously Vaejume) published in 2017, also through Createspace. I took both down in August as I’m re-editing them due to plot holes thrown up by the fifth book, and also because of the title change. I’m currently editing the chapters and putting them online more as a web-novel for now.

5: What was the first story you ever wrote?
. . . I can’t remember what the first story ever might have been! The first one I remember, and possibly because it was the first time I wrote something to the end (and had a reasonable word count) was about a pack of wolves that were displaced by humans encroaching into their lands. They had to cross the entire country and pass many dangers to find a new home and safety…Which considering I was nine or ten at the time, that suddenly seems pretty deep for a kid. I think two of the pack were killed off as well. Damn, I was screwed up. No wolves have been killed in the writing process since.
Bonus fact: wolves have always been my favourite animal and I practically live in a shrine to them these days – my cat lives a confused life.

6: Why do you write?
Why does anyone breathe? It’s hard to answer this in a way…I write because to not write drives me mad. When I can’t write because of ill health, my mood becomes really depressive and dark (I am possibly entirely cantankerous to boot). If I’m going through a patch of ‘numbness”, I feel even more detached from reality. I guess writing is simply my life, and to not write is to, in a way, cease to live.

7: How do you find time to write?
I used to steal time… (If only!) When I was in school, I used to “loose” my textbooks and request another, and then I’d sit writing away completely unnoticed, and just switch to my textbook when I needed to write something else down or if the teacher was coming around. When I got a job in retail, I would pinch receipt paper and write down ideas and fragments of story between serving people. I’m never sure how I got away with any of that…

These days, I’m signed off long-term sick due to disability, so I have ample time even if my health itself disagrees. I try to do a few hours twice a week on average, and if I get a good patch, I do as much as I can when I can as I never know when I’ll come to a total halt – which happened this time last year. I barely got anything written at all until around July, and it’s still really difficult for me.

8: When and where are the best times to write?
Whenever I have the energy….Though I find nighttime is the best. I’ll be flagging all day, get to about 10 pm and just be like ‘HELL YEAH IMA WRITE EVERYTHING NOW’. I do sometimes contemplate just switching to nocturnal mode.

9: Favourite food/drinks while writing?
COFFEE. I think that counts as food too? Pizza is definitely the go-to food for writing sessions, and any other finger food. I do make a conservative effort to be healthier when editing as I can structure my time much better than when possessed by the first draft. I drink a lot of fruit smoothies and try to avoid eating while working so I can throw something healthy in the oven before or after. Always the coffee though, even if it is 2 am!

10: Your writing playlist?
This varies an awful lot. Right now I am obsessing over Mannavegr by Danheim which really fits the mood of my current WIP. I do have a generic writing playlist on YouTube which I’ll often stick on shuffle when I’m pantsing or editing and contains any song that I find inspirational – so, 723 videos as I write this and possibly a few duplications by this time (this could pretty much be a topic for an entire post.)
I also have a playlist full of fantasy/RPG/ambience compilations for when I want to be a bit more specific – I love writing to Jeremy Soule’s TES: Oblivion soundtrack when I’m working on The Sirin Chronicles.

11: What do family/friends/loved ones think of you writing?
I think my parents found it quite funny when I was younger, especially when I was trying to write in fountain pen whilst my dad was driving around Cornish country lanes. As a teenager, I don’t think they were fully behind it and I was always told to pull my head out of the clouds and stop daydreaming. These days, I’m officially labelled as The Writer or The Storyteller by my dad in particular and I get to argue that daydreaming is a part of my profession.
I didn’t really have friends through school, but the friends I have now are really supportive and encouraging, as are my family. There have been a few times where I’d have completely jacked this all in if not for them ♡

via GIPHY

12: Parts of writing you enjoy the most?
I can’t really choose a favourite part to writing, I enjoy all parts just as much, though maybe it helps that I sort of compartmentalise the different processes so I don’t get conflicted between world building? I guess slightly ahead of everything else, creating a new world to get lost in. That’s certainly the most liberating part of the process when you have total free reign over everything.

13: Parts of writing you find challenging?
The start has always, and will forever be, the absolute WORST part of the writing process. Just getting any words to start flowing on a new page or document can take hours sometimes, and I don’t know why! I find first drafting the middle can go a bit awry, especially if I just jumped right in without a plan.

14: What do you write with and on?
These days, I tend to do most of my writing on my iPad with Evernote so I can get it across all of my devices, and then transfer it to Scrivener for editing. Any notes when I’m researching or planning go onto whatever paper is available and becomes a total shambolic nightmare – I’m currently training myself to use one notepad, though even then I’ve got loose pages all over the place.

I used to write in fountain pen and paper all the way through the first draft, and I really miss doing that! It’s not that possible with my health though as I get a lot of pain in my wrists, hands and fingers and struggle to hold a pen for too long. I still do my planning this way though, I find the story flows so much more easily when writing by hand.

15: How do you overcome writer’s block?
I’ve learnt to just turn the computer off, put my notebooks and iPad away and just focus on something else entirely until it goes away. I don’t think writer’s block is entirely “creative drought” in my situation. I will do some gardening if I can, or binge watch something if I can’t – I’ve recently finished Versailles for the second time. I also love playing the Elder Scrolls games if I’m really stuck in a rut. Pure escapism if nothing else!

16: How do you motivate yourself to write?
I’ve never really had to motivate myself to write. Either I am writing, editing or taking a slight break – I always have Christmas as pure downtime regardless. Or, my health is too bad to be writing. It’s taken me a good five years to stop hating on myself when that happens, and even then I’m usually jotting ideas down or researching something.

17: Authors who inspire you as a writer?
This could become a ridiculously long list as I find any author I fall in love with inspires me as a writer, so I’ll keep it to just those who started me on my writing career for real – J RR Tolkien. Those who have inspired me to create a richer world, a stronger plot, to be thought-provoking and to educate the reader in someway – Lian Hearn, George RR Martin, Reki Kawahara and Isuna Hasekura – I became really fascinated by the merchant trade because of Spice and Wolf.

18: Books that inspire you as a writer?
Since JK Rowling didn’t get a mention in Q17, Harry Potter? There are a lot of books . . .

19: Best advice you’ve gotten as a writer?
Write about what you know and question what you know. Right the story you want to read, and something that means something to you. Right with passion and honesty, and always keep to your individual voice. My absolute favourite and I feel really bad because I can’t remember who came up with it: “If life gives you melons, you need a proofreader.”

20: Writing goals this year
I’m doing this a bit late into the year I guess? Rolling from 2018 into 2019, I’ve got my work cut-out. I have two novelettes that I’ve just started work on – The Lost Chapter and The Edge of Darkness – to work my way through. I also have quite a lot to do with The Sirin Chronicles; editing A Dawn of Dreams and Dancing Shadows, finishing off Fallen Star and Ghosts and then writing The Last Carnation. I’ve also got another book to write at some point, but I feel that might have to wait until 2020 or beyond. If anyone sees my sanity, please let me know?

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Also tagging all of you who read this and want to give it a go!

Original article: The Writer Tag: 20 Questions.