xxxvi - Day 06 - Where are and you most comfortable writing? Use the 5 "W"s.

I'm going to interpret this one to mean "Where and when are you most comfortable writing?" Though I have to admit there's a big part of me that finds it funny the author really whiffed on a question pertaining to comfort while writing.

WHO
Unsurprisingly, I'm most comfortable writing when I'm alone. The usual reason applies: not having anyone nearby vying for one's attention leads to a better ability to focus on the task at hand. In addition to concentration, consideration plays a part. Though I'm passably good at ignoring people if I want to, I usually feel terrible for doing it. Being alone eliminates the biggest external and internal roadblocks to my productivity.

WHAT
Most of my writing takes place at the computer. I used to like the feel of writing longhand, in pencil on lined paper, but then I learned to type. The time differential between having the thought and recording the thought is just too great when I try to go longhand, so for anything more than a few sentences my preferred method is to type it out.

I've typically done revisions on printed copies, but I'm trying to break out of that habit. I don't like generating waste paper, but I find it quite helpful to be able to break out of the ritual of writing, and do edits on work breaks, etc. Even a few dozen sheets of paper are more portable than my laptop. Some of what I need to do can be accomplished now that I've got an e-reader and a decent epub converter. On my next story I'll see about making digital draft versions instead of physical ones.

WHERE
The "where" isn't hugely important, as long as it's comfortable and allows for a sufficient level of isolation.

Currently, there's a desk in our middle bedroom that serves as a writing space. It's a pretty simple set up. There's a chair, a desk lamp, enough desk space for a computer, a place to write notes and a few candles. I have this romanticised vision of a writer, hunched over a typewriter in a dark room with just a small lamp or candle providing illumination. So, though my own candle may not be bright, I try to live the metaphor.

Of course, most of my writing in the last several weeks has been at work, on lunch or break. Like I said, the "where" isn't of prime importance.

WHEN
Left to my own devices, writing comes most naturally in the later evening, going into the night. I am a night owl, and feel most alert when the sun goes down.

Recently I've come to realise my job provides a great deal of motivation to do something more creative, so I find I'm able to put stuff on paper during the day, during the aforementioned breaks and lunches. If something comes across my desk I'm not keen on having to deal with, taking a 10 minute mental break to put down some words definitely helps me deal with issues with a cleaner slate.

WHY
At first I thought I'd have a hard time answering this one, but it turns out I won't. The reason my ritualised process exists is because, as an activity I feel is worth taking seriously, and one worthy of being one's life goal, writing deserves special treatment. Rituals are a time-honoured way of showing reverence or respect.

On the other hand, but also because it is a task worth doing, it's also worth trying to take time out from the normal flow of the day to try to fit it in, and thus the "stolen moments" approach.

xxxv - Day 05 - By age, who are your youngest/oldest characters?

Coincidentally, both my youngest and oldest characters, at least for now*, are from the same setting.

The youngest, whom I've yet to gift with an actual name, is the protagonist's nephew in my latest manuscript.

I'd like to interject and say at this early stage, it seems strange to admit I've got the better part of two novels drafted. Not ready for publication by any means, but the structures and major players are all in place. Anyway, back to the question.

In the backstory for my latest novel, the nephew's mother disappears. The protagonist - her brother - feels a great deal of guilt for his part in the events that lead to her vanishing. That guilt drives the main subplot in the story, with the kid serving as a reminder of what the protagonist has lost. The idea is to use him only sparingly, but make those appearances count.

The oldest, Ira Mastema, is a major player in the same story, and at the time the events in the novel unfold, a friend and trusted mentor of the protagonist. He very much fits the "wise elder" archetype, but with a twist I hope proves to be interesting. This isn't a straight-up Obi-Wan or Gandalf type character, but one with his own motivations, and goals that don't necessarily line up with the protagonist's. Still, his influence is instrumental in the hero's story arc.


* In the fatasy setting I developed, the resident gods/demi-gods interact with mortals, taking a page from the way gods interacted with humans in Greek mythology. One of them makes an appearance in the first book, but I haven't nailed down her age. Though one of the ideas I have for a fantasy setting is to have godlike beings with mortal life spans, I'm not sure if I'll implement it in that story.  So, for now, it's safe to say Mastema is my oldest character.

xxxiv - Day 04 - Your first stories/characters

As with many budding authors, my first stories were by and large fan fiction.  I've already mentioned the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings short stories I wrote in high school.
 
There was also the not even thinly veiled rip-off of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy I wrote in eighth grade.  Imagine, if you will, the story re-written, with exactly the same characters - they had different names, of course - by a thirteen year old kid.  Don't try too hard, though, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.  Let me just say it was pretty bad.

A high point was an original short story I wrote in Grade 10, set in Japan and based on Japanese myths.  The main character was a Lone Ranger styled ronin who wandered the countryside righting wrongs.  In this story he comes to a village beset by misfortune at the hands of a cruel daimyo.  The ronin traces the root of the trouble back to a group of mischievous imps (though I can't for the life of me remember what they were called).  He rids the daimyo of their influence, the villagers rejoice, etc, etc, and then he wanders off into the sunset.

xxxiii - Day 03 - How do you come up with character names?

It depends on the importance of the name itself within the story.  Some characters will get special hand-picked names if I want there to be special significance or symbolism attached to the character.  In these cases that special characteristic is integral to the character and by extension some facet of the story, so it's not hard to match the character with the name.  Sometimes I'll play around with a few different variations on a theme, but eventually one stands out as the better choice.

For characters' whose names aren't noteworthy in and of themselves, I use a combination random name generation/hand picking approach.  I've got a few applications that mash together lists of names based on what kind of theme I need (e.g. first/last names pulled from a phone book, syllables suggesting a particular flavour, etc.), from there I'll pick the names that have the most resonance.  Most of the time it works well, as by the time I'm giving characters names I've got a good grasp of the character concept.

xxxii - Day 02 - How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?

That first question is a strange one.  I would imagine anyone who's been writing for more than about a year has "lots" of characters.  "Lots" meaning a boatload of nameless extras, fewer but still numerous secondary characters, and a few (dozen) main characters.  Average it up for each story and it looks like a pyramid.  One (ish) protagonist at the top, tons of one-throwaway-line supporting cast at the bottom.

Let's say I have 15 short stories under my belt, as well as the 1 3/4 drafts for two novels.  Ignoring those one-line characters with no speaking parts, it's safe to say there are 6 main/secondary characters per short and 12 per novel, on average.  That might even be a conservative estimate for the novels.  At any rate, that puts us at 90 characters in my short stories and 24 more in my novels.  So, over a hundred.

The second question makes more sense to me, but it's harder to answer.  I'll bypass the obvious smart-ass response.  I don't have a preference when it comes to writing males vs. females.  I do tend to really sink into my characters when I'm writing them, which means a lot end up being male by default rather than by design in the first run through a story.  That usually sorts itself out as I concentrate on intra-character interactions on subsequent passes.