I was tagged. Now you are too.

Stephanie Thornton of Hatshepshut fame tossed me a tag on this survey, and if you're reading this, you can feel free to fill it out too... Or not. I won't twist your arm or anything.

1. What's the last thing you wrote? What's the first thing you wrote that you still have?
Helen is the latest thing I wrote--well, and also a 1000 word exercise on the word Fatuous over at Penny Arcade's The Writers Block.
The first thing I wrote that I still have is probably from fourth or fifth grade, and it's Star Wars fanfiction with the insertion of my mary-sue telepathic alter ego. Woo!

2. Write poetry?
Not anymore.

3. Angsty poetry?
When I was in middle school. But those days are thankfully long past.

4. Favorite genre of writing?
fantasy with a splash of history.

5. Most annoying character you've ever created?
Eve's little sister, Mia, ticks me off, but at the same time she steals the show. It's a love-hate relationship.

6. Best Plot you've ever created?
I'm pretty proud of my Helen/Theseus plot, but the best is definitely Adam and Eve. You'll see.

7. Coolest Plot twist you've ever created?
Geez. If I could answer it without giving it all away, I would, but...

8. How often do you get writer's block?
Not so often anymore. After disciplining myself to write daily, I don't have much trouble with it. Sometimes a scene here or there is agonizing to put down the way I want it, but I wouldn't call it a block.

9. Write fan fiction?
When I was a kid I did, without realizing it. Then I got older and stopped. Then I wrote it when I couldn't write anything else, but it was my secret shame. I do engage in some star wars roleplaying though, text based, which could be perceived as fanfiction, I suppose.

10. Do you type or write by hand?
I type for the most part, but if I'm without my laptop and struck with an idea, or I'm sitting in the car waiting for someone I'll scribble stuff down. I don't go anywhere without pen and paper.

11. Do you save everything you write?
Yes. It makes throwing out old notebooks a nightmare. I have stories written in the margins of my notes for my old math classes and science classes, and I don't want to part with them, so they're sitting in boxes.

12. Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it?
Yes. Sometimes it's actually incredibly successful, too.

13. What's your favorite thing you've ever written?
The Book of Generations story. It's heartbreaking and wonderful. But I also really enjoyed the not-yet-of Troy letters I wrote for GeekaChicas.

14. What's everyone else's favorite story that you've written?
I've been getting rave reviews from Generations. Hope they keep up. Hope agents feel the same.

15. Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
When I was a teen, yes. As an adult, no.

16. What's your favorite setting for your characters?
I kind of love Asgard, as a physical setting, just because it's so rich. As a period setting, I'm kind of obsessed with the Bronze Age.

17. How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Revising The Book of Generations (hopefully for the last time) and letting Helen rest. But I'm prompt writing daily, if that counts.

18. Have you ever won an award for your writing?
In high school I submitted a short story to a competition and won second place--with a prize of 250 dollars, my story published in the collection, a copy of the book, and a plaque. Small potatoes now, but it was a big deal to me then.

19. What are your five favorite words?
I don't know. I like Latin words the most, I guess. I love the variety of meaning, and the juxtaposition of concepts that we don't put together the same way today. But I don't have specific favorites.

20. What character have you created that is most like yourself?
In my novels, I guess Setta, but she isn't really that much like me. She has a lot more patience and a lot more nerve. We just both happen to love animals.

21. Where do you get ideas for your characters?
Mythology, lately.

22. Do you ever write based on your dreams?
No. But sometimes my dreams are based off my writing.

23. Do you favor happy endings?
I don't like making my characters suffer without cause, and without the hope for redemption or peace, but generally I don't know where they're going until they get there and I'd say that my happy endings have a good amount of dubiousness to them. Maybe a happy for the moment, but not a happily ever after.

24. Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Spelling absolutely. Grammar sometimes gets shafted until revisions.

25. Does music help you write?
Yup.

26. Quote something you've written. Whatever pops into your head.
hehehehe... I've been waiting for an excuse.

She craned her neck to look up at him, over her shoulder, and tried to imagine him wielding a sword or a battle axe or the hammer carved into the door and riding to war on a chariot drawn by goats. Goats. The idea seemed ludicrous, comical, and she tried not to smile.

He glanced down at her, and their eyes met. His seemed to sparkle as though he recognized the humor. “They weren’t normal goats. Not like the goats here. They were…” He made a face as if he struggled to find the right word, and then he shrugged. “They were magic goats.”