Questions and Answers, The First

So, do you like the new look for the blog? I'm still not 100% with it, but we're getting there.

Today, I'm answering the first set of questions posed to me in the comments on last Wednesday's post. The Questioner is none other than the wonderful Wulfie! If you don't read his blog, you should; his posts are thoughtful and insightful, and always make you feel better about life after reading them :)

Oooh, questions... where to start? No wait, that wasn't one of them.

I’ll answer it anyway: At the beginning ;) Although, actually, I don’t often start at the beginning for stories, so I guess it depends on what you’re starting. But then again, you could also argue that wherever you start is the beginning…

Which character can't you forgive yourself for killing?

I have come to two conclusions after careful consideration of this question: Firstly, I am not evil enough as an author. Secondly, I am a very evil author.

Lemme esplain:

Firstly, not evil enough. I have, at present, 59 novels sitting in my ‘to write’ folder (including ones I’m working on currently). Out of all of those, I can only name about ten non-filler characters who die. o.O Clearly, I am not evil enough.

On the other hand, out of those ten, I’m not the slightest bit regretful for killing any of them %-) I know Dear Reader will attempt to murder me for at least two of them (at least, if I’m writing it right they will), but I personally am not sorry. It needed to happen. It made the story stronger. And it tortured my dear MC %-) See? Evil author.

Which novel can't you put on the "dusty" shelf?

You mean aside from the 59 on my ‘keep’ list? :S

I’d have to say The Black Gates. This is the first novel I ever worked seriously on alone; and it’s the first novel I ever started, way back in high school with a prologue. It’s the first novel I completed an entire chapter on, and the first novel I ever got past chapter one on.

But it’s fraught with plot holes and inconsistencies, illogical actions and poorly-considered worldbuilding (ironic, since it’s also the home of my most intense worldbuilding). And there are two MCs in it, and I STILL can’t figure out how they mesh, and why. But every time I try to write them into separate books, it doesn’t work.

This book haunts me like a difficult puzzle that I need to solve.

Who is your favorite writer with the last name Wulf? All right, so that one might have been loaded. More seriously, who is your favorite author none of us have heard of?

*grin* Yes Wulfie, you are my favourite writer with the last name Wulf :D hehe.

As for an author you haven’t heard of, that’s tough. Published, or non-published? And I’m pretty sure no matter who I name, at least one person who reads this blog will have read them.

But in the interests of attempting an answer, and being as obscure as possible, I’ll say Kerryn Boorman for unpublished, and Geoff Page for published. Not that I like the book of Page’s that I had to study in university (due to disturbing subject matter), but it is chilling; absolutely chilling. And I will never, ever forget it.

Just one more. Namely, how do I find the Count? Once I do, do I find you again? Once I find you again, how do I escape?

I hear rumours that he lives on a street named after a famous seed. However, given not even any of the people that live there themselves seem to know how to get there, I'm not sure it's permissible to hand out directions %-) And you don't want to find me, because once you do, you won't escape. Bwa ha!


So, that concludes todays Q&A session. Big round of applause for Wulfie and his fabulous questions!

Before I go, though, one more thing: you know how sometimes, every now and then, you read something that you really, really wish you'd written? Yeah. I wish I'd written this poem.

*grin*

Have a happy weekend, everyone!