GUTGAA Meet 'n Greet

Hello, my name is Hope, and I'm addicted to writing.

I've written a few WiPs now, but it wasn't until my latest I felt comfortable claiming the title of writer. Mostly, because I wrote Birds of a Feather in five weeks. But also (and probably more important) because I'm no longer afraid of not having another idea worth writing.

I've conquered the doubt!

Okay, maybe not entirely, but enough to say . . . Yes! I am a writer!


And now for the GUTGAA questions :) I should probably admit to my addiction with smiley faces too :) :) :)

-Where do you write?

My laptop sits on my desk in our loft. This is where I do most of my online stuff, edits, and quick bursts of writing. If I have time, I take my laptop to my bedroom, shut the doors and fall into whatever world I'm creating.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

Hmm, it's a bit messy and I don't like mess, I'll clean up soon :) Okay, there's a thesaurus and other writing-craft-books, pictures of my family (two from when my husband and I first got together--man do we look young!), my planner, a dry-erase calendar on the wall below the shelves of crafty stuff, silver nail polish and a pink pipe cleaner in the shape of a heart (thank you Quynn), a scratch-off lottery ticket (thank you Cort), a Mason jar (almost time to can peaches again), my phone, stackable filing tray-thingies, my scissors that don't belong there (thank you Harlan), and a my easel with a blank canvas waiting for me to paint a big pink horse on it for my niece's birthday :) Yep, I need to clean!

-Favorite time to write?

I'm sporadic, but I'm finding between 6pm and 9pm becoming the best time to hide away and get creative. It falls in line with husband getting home, finishing dinner, kids settling in, and all that jazz.

-Drink of choice while writing?

COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With peppermint or Italian sweet cream , mmmmmmm :) I need my third cup now, I'll be back in a sec...

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

My last WiP, I had a soundtrack playing. My current WiP, it's silent. So I guess it depends on the story.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

A rejection on a full request of my last WiP. I read the email, opened a Word document, and started typing. The first couple sentences were my own feelings, then a character was created and her story began. I had no idea what I was writing or what her journey would be until it showed up on the screen. 

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

Critique partners--can't live without them!! And I like the idea from Stephen King too--draft with the door closed, edit with the door open. I'm sure I'm botching that up pretty bad, but just get your thoughts down and your story out without worrying what it sounds like (door closed), then edit with input (door open). I think that's the gist of it :)

Hopefully you're all still awake and don't think I'm too Looney-tunes after stepping into my writing space :) I look forward to learning more about all of you!

THANK YOU DEANA for doing this blogfest! 

It's amazing and the amount of work you've put into it and continue to dedicate to GUTGAA is astounding! THANK YOU!

If you haven't signed up, hop over to Deana's blog and get on the linky list! And don't forget to meet and greet your fellow bloggers and GUTGAA participants below :)