OK, so I’m totally just ripping this off from the fabulous Gear Up To Get An Agent contest currently being run by writer Deana Barnhart, but I’m not participating in the contest itself because I already have my own wonderful agent and I got jealous when I saw everyone’s posts, so I decided to do one of these anyway!
Where do you write? At my desk in my guest room/office.
Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? Already there, and the answer is a water bottle and wheat crackers. Usually it’d be a style sheet for one of the publishers I copy edit for, though!
Favorite time to write? Nighttime. Insane hours of it, sometimes.
Drink of choice while writing? Water, but I wish it were something sexier like bourbon.
When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? Music, almost always. Usually Pandora with a combination of my Nirvana, Pretty Reckless, Weezer, Offspring, Hole, Florence & the Machines, and Vines stations.
What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? My latest novel is a contemporary YA redux of the biblical book of Esther, so the inspiration’s pretty obvious. I sat through more than one megillah reading thinking “This would be amazing if I could figure out how to turn this story into YA,” and then this past Purim, it totally came to me, which was just the greatest feeling.
What’s your most valuable writing tip? I feel like I’m a broken record with this one, but ALWAYS WRITE FORWARD. It’s OK to have your first draft be really first draft-y. That’s what revisions are for. It’s not OK to get bogged down in chapter two and never finish because you think everything must be perfect on the first shot. Just keep going and then revise the hell out of that thing!
Meeting you through GUTGAA! What a nice way to meet! Love your water and crackers, too!
Dr Margaret Aranda, Author
http://www.drmargaretaranda.blogspot.com
Thanks foe supporting all of us un-agented newbies!
Great to meet you!
I love how writers, both agented and unagented, are so supportive of others’ efforts! Glad you joined in the fun!
I love your inspiration for your book! The Book of Esther was very instrumental for me when I was deciding to reclaim my soul’s birthright as a teenager. Purim is one of my favorite holidays after Yom Kippur and Simchat Torah.
Maybe that’s a good thing you prefer water over Bourbon, it’s much cheaper!
Yes! Great advice. Get the crap down on the page. Worry about making it pretty later
Very nice to meet you!
I thought this was fun too. Don’t know that I’ll do the pitching stuff, but had to grab the linky and do the M&E. Nice to meet you!
Ahh! I love your inspiration and am so intrigued with how you wrote that redux! I’m crossing my fingers you get an agent so I can read it someday
Hello from GUTGAA!
BAH! ohmygosh Way to go Juliana for not reading the beginning of the post. I should rephrase, *I’m crossing my fingers your book gets published soon so I can read it!”
*blush*
Well, you’re not too far off, because my agent still hasn’t seen it, so I’ll take all the crossed fingers I can get – thank you!!
Dahlia,
I love that you did this just for the fun of it. Some of us are still in the trenches. Still, glad to know you’ve got a similar writing thing going on. I like the sound of your WIP. Mine is over on my blog and of course, my GUTGAA post has all the juicy tidbits. Thanks for joining in!
Write on!
Warm regards,
Don
Hey Don! Thanks for stopping by! Went and said hello over on your blog too! Good luck!
Hi! Nice to meet you! And I really could learn from that advice.. It’s so nerve-wrecking to see my baby-manuscript all unpolished and stuff, but it’s true. That’s why revisions are for.
Make sure to stop by and say hi!
http://johanalvera.blogspot.com/2012/09/meet-and-greet-gutgaa.html
Nice to meet you too, and good luck!
Nice to meet you! You will have to be a first-round judge with us next year!
Nice to meet you too, and I’d certainly love to!
Ha! Some of us agented writers are judges. Hope my agent doesn’t see the post and think something’s up. ^_^
Ooh, think of the potential drama!
Hi Dahlia! You are awesome for putting up this post even though you’re not in GUTGAA. A++ for enthusiasm!
Man, I so wish you were one of the judges.
Thanks for the awesome “always write it forward” advice, and in case you’re bored and in the mood for some insane rambling, here’s my GUTGAA post
Ha, thanks, Kristy! Just checked yours out and basically died laughing.
Yay for insane nighttime hours and Florence + The Machine!
One of the most apt things I’ve ever heard (i.e. read a tweet about, probably) about the writing process is how dangerous it is to write with Florence playing in the background, because it makes you think everyone one of your lines is EPIC.
Nice to meet you. I like that “revise the hell out of that thing”.
Nice to meet you too, and thanks! Trying to take my own advice as we speak….