THE 2013 NaNoWriMo SURVEY

THE 2013 NaNoWriMo SURVEY

I got this off the forums on the NaNoWriMo site. They have their new setup, which is sweet and more modern. This year’s theme is video games.
If you want to add me as a writing buddy . . . http://nanowrimo.org/participants/rebekah1213

– What age range are you? 30’s (31 in December)

– Male, female, other? Female, the last time I checked.

– If 1 is 100% Masculine and 10 is 100% Feminine, what number would you rate yourself for your country/background? 6.5 (This is a very bizarre question; I have pieces of me that is tomboyish, and pieces of me that are girly. I am just me!)

– Country and/or Ethnicity (if you are comfortable telling this)? United States/ I’m a Caucasian German/Slovak/English/Scottish

– Myers Briggs Typology? I retook the test and it said that I am an ISTJ, which is so different from what I was in my school days ENTP. (Take test here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp)

– Are you a Highly Sensitive Person? Semi-sensitive (14 or higher was extremely sensitive. . . I was 12) (Take test here: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm)

– What number of years have you participated in NaNoWriMo? 3: I won all 3

– Do you write books outside of NaNoWriMo? Yes, I am always writing.

– Did you write before you participated in your first NaNoWriMo? Yes.

– How long have you been writing fiction for? Give or take 20 years
And if before NaNoWriMo, what forms? Diaries, poetry, short stories, blogs, scripts, and eventually novels.

– Are you published officially (non-local magazines) and books (non-self-published/POD)? I have several interviews on blogs. I have two short stories published in some other works, but I do not have the links yet.

– What genre(s) do you usually write? Horror: paranormal/occult or paranormal-thriller

– What genre did you write for NaNoWriMo? Paranormal/Occult or Mystery/thriller

– Do you treat your characters as real/do they talk to you? Yes, my muses and characters fight a lot.

– Are you an Improviser/Discovery Writer, a Milestone writer (set out certain important events to hit without the detail), an Outliner, or mixed (if so, how?)? I created a basic outline for smaller projects. I will use larger and more detailed outlines and character profiles (sketches) for bigger projects.
b. What method did you use for NaNoWriMo? I start with an outline and then I write notes out before I do my daily word sprints.

– Do you believe in event-driven, character-driven or story-driven?
Event-driven- Events move the story. (Often misnomer as Plot-driven)
Character-driven- Characters move the story.
Story-driven- All aspects of the story are important in turn and can move the story.
90% of the time I am character driven; I feel without the characters you will not have a story.

– In what order do you write? Forwards, backwards, skip around or mixed? I usually start with the scene that is boiling in my head, just dying to get out. Then I work around that. (My vampire series has one book down and pieces of other books right now).

– Do you determine the ending first, later, or when you get there? I usually have a general idea where the ending is going. Ending a story is really hard for me.

– What do you feel is your weakest and strongest point in writing? Middle scenes are my strongest, endings are my weakest, and grammar is my kryptonite.

– What are you best and weakest at: beginnings, middles, endings? Best—middle; Worst—ends, after several weeks, month, even year my projects are like my babies.. . I get scare to see them stand on their own, just causes me to procrastinate my endings.

– What materials/programs do you like to use when writing? Black ball point bic pens, Spiral notebooks college rule if possible, and whatever computer I have it has to have some music and some program that I can save my work as a doc (word friendly).

– How many writing project do you have at one time? Usually I have at least three projects going at once.

– Where do you get your ideas? (The dreaded question writers frequently get.)
I get them from all kinds of places. My boyfriend and I broke up the first time, I got the vampire idea. My mystery book was caused by one of my fears: car accidents.)

– Why do you write? (The other frequently asked question to writers)
I am a story-teller first. (A writer like 8^th, and editor 157^th). To paraphrase Stephen King: I write version A for myself. I write version B for everyone else. I write a story that I think I would want to read. There is much of me in several of the characters . . . and other people I know in other characters, so it about expression as well. (Note: You will see more of me in “A” version of the story if you can get pass all of the grammar errors.)

– Do you research? If so when? before, during or after? If so, how much time will you spend on it? I have to say I do my majority of research before I write the scenes that need it. I also research while writing . . . all I know is that I usually have hours, almost days of research by the time the project is done. Then I continue to research when I edit and rewrite to make sure I got my fact right.

– Do you use primary (people who were there/experienced it), secondary (People who heard about it) or third-hand research (usually books, etc)? or mixed? If so, how much and how do you do it? Well, it depends on the subjects. I am writing a mystery novel that deals with car accident so I have talked to those who have been accidents, friends who are mechanics, and even watched other accidents on TV shows/documentaries and movies.

– For the Speculative Fiction/ Historical Fiction Crowd: If you world build, how much, when and how? I think that whether you make your own world or use history that you main character is in the center of that world. I really angle around the character and how they see the world.

– Are you a hobbyist, or doing this for publication? Or in the crowd of if you get an edited book that you’ll try to publish it? Would you like a career as an author? I do have a few of my book self-published through amazon and createspace.com just search the name Rebekah Wolveire. (These are first editions, because I plan to edit them again.)
I would like to get a main stream for my vampire series and several other book of short stories I am working on.

– Would you publish your Nanowrimo for this year if you got it cleaned up? I do have a version of two of my books through createspace.com because of NaNoWriMo. (Links to my books are at the bottom.)

– What books do you read inside of your genre? (Include authors please)
Genres: Horror: Occult/Paranormal
The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
The Fool’s Journey  by Kay Darling
The Shinning by Stephen King
Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King

Genre: Mystery
Ten Little Indians (And Then There were None) Agatha Christie (It goes by either title)
b. How many do you roughly own/read in your genre in a year? Less than I should. . . I know I should read more. I hate to admit this, but I have read more short stories than I have read novels.
c. What is the oldest book (as in publication date) you’ve read in your genre? Dracula by Bram Stoker
d. What is the one book/author you would recommend to a newbie reading your genre? If you are a true vampire fan Dracula by Bram Stoker and the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. (I have several blogs on how I am annoyed and against Twilight.) If you want to write about ghosts or working with devil, then I would suggest at least one of Stephen King’s books or short stories. (The Shinning, 1408, Riding the Bullet, The Stand etc)

– What Classics have you read and enjoyed and disliked (inside and outside of classes)? Include author please.
Liked
1984
Ten Little Indians By Agatha Christie
Diary of Anne Frank
The Miracle Worker by Helen Keller
Romeo and Juliet, Caesar, Mid-Summer Night Dream by William Shakespeare

– What books do you read outside of your genre? (include authors)
Shakespeare’s works
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Stories from Reader’s Digest

– Would you have written this novel without NaNoWriMo? I’ve started several novels. I have written several novellas.

– And what does NaNoWriMo mean to you? One of the many reasons that I have two finished books: I believe that if I didn’t have the rewards and the extra push from NaNo, I would have not gotten two of my books done. It has allowed me to find groups of great and talent writers whom I can chat with and sprint with. They have been great support.

– What have you learned from NaNoWriMo (so Far)? I can’t just say what I have learned from NaNoWriMo in just a few sentences. (I have a writing blog my link is below. There are a lot of tips and things I have learned from NaNo and having beta readers.)

– Has writing a novel changed how you view authors and read novels? I now understand that a novel is not written overnight. You really need to love, because there are times it feels like work. (There are many times where I would rather soak in the bath or play Sims, but I tell myself I need to finish that scene or chapter. My boyfriend usually has to push me to end my projects.)

– If you were at a book signing and a person said to you, “Hey! I have a great idea for a book–you write it, edit it and all of that and then we go 50/50 on the profits. So what do you think?” What would you say to that person? (This does happen.)
I’ll be honest 90% of the time, I’m usually in the middle of at least 2-3 projects at a time (some my own, some are my boyfriend’s projects). Over half the time, I usually put too much on my plate, so I wouldn’t have time to do more projects.
However I would suggest that they try NaNoWriMo, or Camp NaNo, because they may find writing groups that will work with them. (Hint: when you want to work with someone else or a group, you need to make sure that you don’t have too many “A” personality types. . . aggressive leaders, because there will be too much arguing and not enough process. You also need to agree on a voice and a style and try to be constant or at least do so when editing.)
I also work better by myself. (I tend to get frustrated working with others. My boyfriend and I bump heads all of the time.)

– What’s more offensive to you: prejudiced slurs or the 4-letter and one three-letter swear words? I’m more offended at someone calling someone stupid or saying that they can’t when they haven’t even tried. (I use cuss words, as for prejudiced slurs, we all have some like of slur . . . it’s

– If Chris Baty (who started Nanowrimo) and Chris Angotti (who currently runs the Program Director portion) got into a brawl with each other over an authentic flying pig, who would you vote to win? Keep in mind Heather Dudley (Forum Moderator) is your local electorate… I’m sorry, I didn’t play favorites when my friends or brothers would fight, I am not picking a side now. I’m playing Switzerland.

My links

My Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/RebekahWolveire
My writing blog (I have a lot of tips for writing and NaNoWriMo on this site.) http://RebekahWolveire.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.comRebekahWolveire
Tumblr: http://Rebekah1213.tumblr.com
The Whispering Path E-copy https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/207547
The Whispering Path Paperback http://www.amazon.com/The-Whispering-Path-Rebekah-Wolveire/dp/1463674309/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347202676&sr=8-1&keywords=rebekah+wolveire
Or
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-whispering-path-rebekah-wolveire/1111604749
(If you want to beta read and/or edit my first vampire novel Melzela, please message me.)
Or
https://www.createspace.com/4262311  (Melzela first edition)