Confessions of a Writer Book Tag

Well, this is fun. I was lucky to be tagged by Nicolette in the Confessions of a Writer Tag that she is starting. I’ve never been on the ground floor of one of these before and I’m very honored. It’s been a while since I did one of these so let’s get started

The Confessions of a Writer Tag was created by Nicolette at A Little Bookish, A Little Writerly. It is a ‘get-to-know’ the writer interview tag, dedicated to spotlighting the creative process, works in progress, and connecting to other writers.

Rules of the tag:

• Please link back to A Little Bookish, A Little Writerly’s post, so that the original rules are always accessible to anyone who is curious and wants to participate!
• Acknowledge the person who tagged you in your post.
• Tag your friends and fellow writers – it’s up to you how many!

The Questions:

1. When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?
   I wrote a lot of fanfiction in middle school. I’d say that’s when I started writing. In high school, I took a creative writing course and that’s when I began writing original fiction. I began the process seriously when I graduated from college in 2012.
2. What genre do you write?
   I’ve written in a few. My novels are young adult, historical fiction, and women’s fiction. My short stories are more varied, but most of them are contemporary fiction.
3. Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?
   I have two main novel-length WIPs. The first is a YA Historical Fiction piece. I plan to start my third draft during NaNo this year. I hope to start querying it eventually, but that’s seeming farther and farther away. I began the piece after college, in 2012.
   My other WIP is a contemporary women’s fiction piece that I wrote for NaNo 2013. I’ve done a second draft of it and it’s out to a friend to read it.
4. What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?
   Well, it was fanfiction. I think it was for The Lord of the Rings, about an elf living in modern-day California. I don’t think I ever finished it. I also don’t think I should.
5. What’s the best part about writing?
   Creating something that others enjoy. I love when someone reads my writing and enjoys it and wants to talk about it. Even if they disagree with what I’ve written, I love knowing that it got people thinking.
6. What’s the worst part about writing?
   Solitary confinement and back pain from my writing chair. Ouch.
7. What’s the name of your favorite character and why? (This can be from a book by another author or from your own work. Book crushes are perfectly acceptable here as well.)
   I’ve always loved Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series. “Everyone loves a rebel, Harry.”
8. How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?
   Gosh, I wish I had an answer for this. Between the blog, grad school, and working full-time, I don’t get much. If I’m lucky, an hour. I work best in the afternoon; after my brain is awake but before it gets groggy.
9. Did you go to college for writing? Or if you haven’t been to college yet, do you plan to?
   No, I went to school for business and Spanish. I think the Spanish helped me understand grammar better, but it didn’t help me write any better.
10. What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?
    I look at resumes for a living and I’m most bothered by capitalization errors and unparalleled phrasing. Those two always get me.
11. What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?
    If you write, you’re a writer. It doesn’t matter how much or how good or how often. You can call yourself a writer if you write.
12. What advice would you give to another writer?
    Be bold. Write something someone won’t like. Write something you don’t like and see where it goes. The only way to grow is to try.
13. What are your favorite writing sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips or encouragement?
    NaNoWriMo does a great site and I look at it every year in November. I don’t tend to use many others, I mostly turn to my writer friends and my live-in-person writer groups.
14. Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
    Here is the other reason I don’t have time to write. I’m a triathlete and physical fitness is important to me. I work out five times a week, more in the summer. I also enjoy knitting and (of course) reading. Not so fun, I’m in an MBA program August-May for the next five years.
15. What is the best book you’ve read this year?
    I loved Andy Weir’s The Martian and can’t wait for date night with the hubby when we go to see it.
16. What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?
    I’m not big on movies to be honest. I thought Gone Girl was well done.
17. What is your favorite book or series of all time?
    Harry Potter
18. Who is your favorite author?
    John Irving.
19. What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?
    I have a piece coming out this month and I want to start submitting more stories to Lit Mags. I also plan to do a mini-NaNo-rebellion and start editing my YA story. I’m not sure how far that will go, but I’m looking for progress, not word count.
20. Where else can we find you online?
    See signature block.

Well, there you go! A bit more about me. I’m not going to tag a ton of people, but there are a few I’d love to share this with.

Michelle @ Sidereal Day
Ashlee @ Life {Faith} Tea
Conner @ Wanna-be Writer
Jen @ Jen’s Pen Den

Thanks for reading and if there’s anyone else out there who wants to participate, please do and let me know you did!

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!