I am a 24 old big boy (well, not *that* big, though)
- What type of writer are you?
I am not a writer, per se. I write because I have something I want to put down on paper, once in a while.
I write because I am interested in "creating stuff", be it painting, scultping, coding, writing, it doesnt matter. What matters is that I can get it out of my system and sometimes other people will enjoy it as much as I do
- Do you concentrate on characters, plot, worldbuilding?
Well, it all depend which circumstance I am writing in. My two most common cases are when I want to describe a background for a roleplaying scenario. I like to describe characters, their story, motives for being there, what they want from life, etc. Instead of making a nice drawing, writing a little vignette or some sort of profile is a good exercise for me, and although I can draw, in this case I prefer the thousand words to the picture (the picture describes the looks, but the writing describes the personality).
Sometimes I''ll go ahead and write some sort of scenario, but rather than focus on the plotting and intrigue (which I am not very good at), I''ll focus on the world.
The writing is a part of a bigger thing. I cant conceive a scenario without visually depicting the environment. For instance I''ll write something about the daily lives of some race I thougt of, and then I''ll draw pictures of their huts, or a village, the clothes they wear, etc.
It all goes hand in hand.
- When a story idea comes to you, what form does it come in?
Well, like I said above, it all goes together.
Say, I visited this cool village in Alsaz last month and I had all those vivid ideas of 15th century Black Forest in my head.
It stays there for a long time, "marinating" with all the other little ideas that I pick up here in there watching TV, reading books, surfing the web...
at somet point, some fully formed idea emerge, and I have to put it out, usually on paper, written really really small
- How do you go about turning an idea into a story?
Well, like I said above, it happens almost on its own after a "gestation" period, of sorts.
Then I just tinker it until I am pleased with the results. I usually am
- Any tips/tricks you''d like to share?
errr... that would be extremely arrogant. Besides I was never taught how to write "artistically", so I just go at it like a hobby. Although I do know that a method is a useful thing and it doesnt take off of the artistic value. I just never came across any such thing. (well, we had the choice between a few artistic topics in school, but I hesitated between architecture, drawing and writing... you cant have everything, I guess)
- What do you write?
Well, short stuff, for a start.
Possibly stories (the last to big things I wrote were just that, separate scenes on the same two characters talking).
Usually the writing is an excuse to get some sort of idea across. In the same vein that those uber cool little vignettes you get in RPG books (Vampire the Masquerade, for example)
- What genre(s) do you write?
I guess I feel comfortable with fantasy. There is something really nice about it, a sense of adventure that seems hard to put across in other periods. The flavour of fantasy really depends on what kind of atmosphere I want to create. I have a fascination for the late medieval, early Renaissance period, which has room for darkness (the Plague, the war between Catholic and Protestants in France, the Inquisition, etc) as much as purely heroic stuff (the New World, Leonardo da Vinci...)
I particularly like having magic but in a "realistic" fashion, such as it would have been practised in those days (that is, no fancy fireballs and lighting, but curses and talismans).
Space Opera (think Star Wars) is an interesting genre as it allows for almost anything to happen.
I like the idea of Steampunk, too. There is something delicious about the concept. Look at Escaflowne for an idea of why I would like that (steam powered mecha armours in a fantasy world?) or at the Hawkmoon series by Moorcock.
- What are your goals in writing? Describe your ideal piece of fiction, and why each of its aspects are important, what you want to teach your audience.
I think answering this question would require more technical knowledge on my behalf, so I''ll ask to be excused on that one
- What examples of others'' writing do you think are great, ideals to be emulated?
Err... I have a total fascination for Terry Pratchett writings.
I have read *anything* and everything ever since I could write; I have read some brilliant novels (Tolkien''s being amongst those), but rarely have I read someone like Pratchett. This guy not only writes a cool novels, with vivid characters, "picturesque" locations and interesting plots (although some people might argue that parodying well known works might cut his work...)
But he does that while passing some deep ideas about life, relationship between people, and criticising aspects of our modern society; oh, and of course he manages to do all that while being hilarious at almost every page. He manages to make jokes that are so concise, so short, and yet translate in a few words what takes me ages to explain to someone else...
Pure Joy
- What character archetypes, tropes, motifs, themes, and character dynamics are your favorite?
Well, I have to agree with adventuredesign on that one.
I believe that no matter what, we try to put ourselves in everything we write. And how could it be otherwise if you write, well, "artistically" (what I mean is, if you have the same motivation than the painter creating a new work).
The young boy learning is me showing my love for learning new things, the old man teaching him is me trying to transmit the few things I have learned to other people who are interested, the women are the kind I would look for (but not fantasize about) or be friend with, the bad guys would exhibit traits I have that I dont like, or would be based on people I dont like.
I dont think it''s a bad thing, as I believe you will do this eventually, conciously or not. So you might as well know about it, accept it, and control it to moderate the effects.
Similarly, anything I do will be based on my previous experiences, readings, favourite actors, movies, books, and so on. Which is why I have the resting period between the time I acquire a new material that can be used for an idea, and the actual writing down of the idea.
I want my stuff to be original. The fact that works of other will be incorporated is IMHO inevitable, conciously or not. By knowing it, I can take steps to turn something already done into something *new*, which is much better than writing a story which is a patch of your favourite hero/favourite story/favourite world, or fan fiction *ahemm* (if you are reading this S&S, I think this explain my dislike of fan fic
)Anyway
Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !
