21 Questions: Writing Edition

Hello and welcome to the second of my 21-themed posts. My birthday is coming up (on 1st September) and it’s a special milestone, so I’ll be doing a few posts based on the number 21. This time, it’s related to writing. I think all of us have heard of the 20 Questions Game. This is basically a spin on that, except all of these questions are related to writing.

I actually wanted to do some kind of writing tag but I didn’t find one, so I just came up with this. If there’s anyone who would like to do this tag, please please do because I would love to read your answers. Just make sure to link back to this post :))

NOTE: WIP stands for work in progress

Q1) YOUR MAJOR WRITING INFLUENCES/AUTHORS YOU LOOK UP TO
Leigh Bardugo, Rick Riordan, Holly Black, Adiba Jaigirdar and more…these are the authors that I really look up to and have influenced my writing in some way or the other. There are other authors as well, but if I started to list them, this one question would take up half the post.

Taylor Swift’s music is also something that influences my writing. Nearly all of my writing related playlists have a Taylor song on them

Q2) FAVOURITE TIME/PLACE TO WRITE
I write my best at night, when I’m fueled by coffee and a will to get the words out. I don’t have a specific favorite place, but I like to write on my bed or on my desk or on the living room sofa. I alternate between these three.

Q3) WEIRDEST PLACE YOU HAVE GOTTEN INSPIRATION FROM
A random question on a French exam, back in high school. I remember thinking the idea would be pretty cool, but I didn’t note it down and by the time I got out of the exam, I had completely forgotten what it was.

Q4) PLOTTING OR PANTSING
A little bit of both. I’m majorly a pantser because I think outlines tend to limit me. But for my current WIP, outlining and plotting things out has really helped me and especially helped me when it comes to dealing with writer’s block.

Q5) DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST STORY YOU WROTE?
Yes. All I remember is that it was something to do with a magical sword or a diamond and I just deleted it because it was too horrendous and no one should ever have to read that. Ever.

Q6) WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE WRITER’S BLOCK?
I just forget about writing. I step away from whatever I’ve been working on and I try to distract myself by doing other things I enjoy, like watching anime or watching some of my other comfort shows. Listening to music also helps sometimes. Completely stepping away from your WIP and coming back to it later helps you look at it through a different perspective and that can work wonders for your inspiration.

Q7) PAST TENSE OR PRESENT TENSE
Past tense, because that’s what I’ve always written in. I’ve dabbled in present tense, but it wasn’t really something for me. I would definitely love to give it a try though.

Q8) FIRST PERSON OR THIRD PERSON
Third person, because that just feels a lot easier to write and it allows a lot more room. You can use multiple view points and show situations from different point of views. First person feels a little limiting for me, personally, but I do love reading books written in first person.

Q9) BEST WRITING TIP YOU’VE RECEIVED
Said is not dead. You are free to use said as many times as you want. You don’t have to use fancy words all the time. Said is okay to be used.

Q10) WORST WRITING TIP YOU’VE RECEIVED
Said is dead. I really do not like this tip, because, personally, I think it forces you to use rather fancy words which often end up making things sound so flowery. I love flowery and descriptive language, but at the same time, I think using simple words is the best thing to do. It also makes your writing more accessible.

Q11) DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILE WRITING? IF YES, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SONGS YOU LISTEN TO?
I listen to music sometimes when I’m writing very specific scenes. For example, if I’m writing battle scenes, I tend to listen to really epic and cinematic sounding music such as songs by 2WEI. I also listen to anime OSTs along with openings and endings because they really fuel my imagination.

Q12) FAVOURITE TROPES
As a writer, my favourite tropes to write are enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, there is only one bed and maybe knife to the throat, if that counts as a trope. I’d also love to write a kissing-in-the-rain-scene sometime, though not for my current WIP.

Q13) FLUFF OR ANGST
A lot of angst; just so much angst that it’ll hurt your heart, but eventually, it’ll be a fluffy, happy ending

Q14) HANDWRITTEN OR ON A COMPUTER
I write mainly on a computer. But, in case I get a random idea and I don’t have access to my phone, I use a random notebook to jot it down. Or I just use a random piece of paper, that I keep very carefully.

Q15) IN THREE WORDS/PHRASES, DESCRIBE YOUR WIP(S)
My high fantasy WIP (the one that has been temporarily shelved): rivals to lovers, forced proximity, mythical
My dark academia fantasy WIP, inspired by Jujutsu Kaisen (the one I’m working on right now): very scary monsters, annoying siblings, ancient powers

Q16) YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE FROM YOUR WIP
From my high fantasy WIP: “That’s the problem with wearing white. It stains too easily.”

From my dark academia fantasy WIP: “It was as though someone had placed a golden halo around the devil’s head.”

Q17) CHARACTERS OR THE WORLD? WHICH COMES FIRST FOR YOU?
Characters for sure. I always come up with a character and their personality, then I name them. And after that is done, I slowly build around them and things just go from there.

Q18) HOW DO YOU NAME CHARACTERS?
Honestly, I have the most random naming sense. Sometimes, I use sites like Nameberry or I use a random name generator. Or I’ll just see something and I think ‘hmm, that will be a good name’. Coming up with names for my dark academia WIP, though, I will say, is a lot more harder than I thought it would be. But hopefully, I can find the perfect names for my main character.

Q19) USING 3 CHARACTERS FROM OTHER MEDIA, DESCRIBE THE PERSONALITY OF THE MAIN CHARACTER IN YOUR WIP(S)
For this question, I’m gonna focus on one of my main characters from my dark academia book. If I had to sum up her personality, it would be this:

(from top to bottom)

Rosa Diaz – Brooklyn Nine Nine
Buttercup – Powerpuff Girls
Inej Ghafa (played by Amita Suman) – Shadow and Bone (TV series), Six of Crows

Q20) IF YOUR MAIN CHARACTER(S) HAD TO PICK 3 FICTINAL CHARACTERS TO INVITE TO DINNER, WHO WOULD THEY PICK AND WHY?
Again going to be go with my dark academia MC; she’s kinda grumpy and doesn’t really like to be around people. But I think she’d choose to have dinner with someone like Gamora (from Guardians of the Galaxy) just to learn how to be more efficient at fighting; or Leo Valdez (from Heroes of Olympus), who would annoy her a lot but she’d eventually get along with him; or probably someone like Oikawa Tooru (from Haikyuu!!) because they are both perfectionists. (very odd mix of characters, isn’t it? 😆 )

Q21) IF YOUR MAIN CHARACTER(S) EXISTED IN REAL LIFE, WOULD YOU GET ALONG WITH THEM?
Again going with my dark academia MC; I would get along with her but I wouldn’t call her a friend because she would just intimidate me with her powers and her fighting skills.

And that’s it from me; I hope you enjoyed this little tag of mine.

What’s your favourite thing about your WIP? Let me know in the comments!