Also, this makes us more scientifical without being all brain-dissecty and stuff.
The Chrysalis Experiment Entrance Survey
- What are your current writing habits? Do you have any larger projects in the works?
- Name three things you love about your own writing and three skills that you would like to work on this year. Do you have a list of writing goals for 2011?
- What do you find inspiring?
- What sort of things do you currently do to improve your writing?
- Are you currently looking for a critique partner or beta readers? If so, what qualities would you like in a critique partner or beta reader?
Here's mine:
ReplyDeletehttp://thefarseas.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-is-entrance-survey-people-can-fill.html
And here is mine . . .
ReplyDeletehttp://jenniferkos.livejournal.com/5538.html
And here's mine from the girl without a blog:
ReplyDelete1: I wait all day to get home and write - I don't have any problem forcing myself to do it. I've got a few novels in progress and a couple complete... Working to clean up loose ends!
2: I love that my writing is: i) grammatically a-okay, ii) relaxing instead of stressful, and iii) always something I enjoy editing, no matter how bad draft number one is.
I need to work on (oh god here we go XD):
i) Character development. Where do I focus on my people, and where on the plot?
ii) Flow. Half a paragraph ago we were there; how did we get here so fast?!
iii) Finding my voice again! Oh, voice, oh voice, oh where did you go? Did you jump off a cliff with my floundering flow?
3) I'm inspired by my favorite authors, by quotes that stick in my mind for more than a couple seconds. I'm inspired by things that everyone can appreciate, and I'm inspired by places with a really unique feel to them.
4) I read a lot of writing books (Stephen King's On Writing is a favorite) and look at lots of articles online. But I fear they may be robbing me of my voice as I strip away more and more description in favor of action, like all the YA advice columns say... Ack!
5) I don't think I'm seriously considering another critique partner or group. A beta reader might be interesting, but I don't know if I'd be a good beta reader myself. I have really distinct tastes, and I don't think that'd translate well. I'd probably be a better solely-grammar-based-beta. :D
YAY!!!!
ReplyDelete1. Frankly, none. For November, my habits were to write 1,667 words a day, allowing me to complete my NaNo novel. I write when I find inspiration. But I’m hoping that changes.
ReplyDelete2. I love that half of the time, I don’t know what I’m saying. I think there is a muse living in my head who writes smugly a lot of the time, not bothering to tell me what she’s doing. And she always does a fantastic job. There are quirky things I do in real life and I love when my characters inherit them. It breathes life into them. Lastly, I like how I can come through and write things that please myself. I write for myself. When I’m happy , it’s all good. I’d like to improve my dialogue (it’s not quite clear who’s speaking), watching my tenses, and keeping learning new words so I’m not repeatedly using my favorites. After I finish reading my NaNo novel, I plan on rewriting it, 750 words a day. I also plan on writing a short story a week (obviously) and a poem too. Once I get comfortable, my writing habits may become extreme.
3. Insanity and pain. I find there are so many ways to express them poetically and make them delicate and beautiful. Three Days Grace’s music sums up my interests and is more than inspiring.
4. I write. I need to read more, but I just write to get better.
5. I wouldn’t say I’m serious about a critique partner or a beta reader. I mean I wouldn’t want to enslave somebody to read my writings. I have a few writing friends I keep in contact with to lend a hand when I need it. I mean, unless anyone wants to be my reading minion, I'm good. ^__^
It's nice when beta readers actually approach you, and seem interested, instead of you having to see them out to 'enslave' as you said it :D the former has only happened to me once, but it was pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteMadeline, sounds like you have the right attitude toward writing - just having fun with it and not making it a chore!
And Raeyn's entrance survey:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.digitalglitch.org/chrysalis/?page_id=2
All right, here is the link for my entrance survey blog post:
ReplyDeletehttp://sheeryhall.blogspot.com/2011/01/chrysalis-experiment.html
Thanks Sheery, it's very cool to have you along :D
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could ease yourself into the sharing of work by putting up samples here & there :D Just a thought!
Welcome Sheery! It's going to be a fun year.
ReplyDeleteJesiMarie's entrance survey:
ReplyDelete1. What are your current writing habits? Do you have any larger projects in the works?
-Sparse, sadly. I don't write as often as I should and I'd like to use this as the excuse I need to kick myself in the rear and get going! Gotta get into writing more, I swear.
2. Name three things you love about your own writing and three skills that you would like to work on this year. Do you have a list of writing goals for 2011?
-Three things I love about my own writing: 1. My style/voice. I just love how I've made it so me, and I'm very confident in it. 2. My characters. They're so much fun! At least to me. But that's what really counts, right? 3. How I describe things.
-Three skills I want to work on: 1. Paragraph breaks. Sometimes I feel I put too many in there. 2. Chapter breaks. I'm not so good at those. 3. Writing everyday. Or at least setting aside a time to write, and if I don't write in that time, then I will just sit there and stare at the blank screen, not allowed to do anything else.
-A list of goals? I want to win NaNo this year! And CollabNoWriMo needs to get done (work a collaboration novel in a month). And writing every day.
3. What do you find inspiring?
-Music. Books. Pictures. People. That time when you're laying there trying to get to sleep at like 2am and suddenly your brain is idea central.
4. What sort of things do you currently do to improve your writing?
-Write. And read. And write some more.
5. Are you currently looking for a critique partner or beta readers? If so, what qualities would you like in a critique partner or beta reader?
-I'd like to find a critique partner for my personal work. The person would have to be gay friendly (quite a few of my stories are m/m romances), be ok with sex scenes (m/m mostly, right now. Working on that though), be tough but not mean, and also know how to edit.
Jes's entrance survey:
ReplyDelete*Optional Survey* Now, since I don't have a blog on which to put this, I'm not sure what you would do with this, but either way, here it is, just for fun.
1.) Current writing habits: I may be shaking off a funk but my long standing habit has been daily writing practice of a morning. Larger projects? Mehhh..getting better as a writer is a pretty large undertaking, I'd say. How's that for a wonderfully noncommittal response?
2.) Loves: sense of connotations/word economy, sense of place (in poetry), symbolism
Needing work: conveying humor, subplots/plots/fiction in general, sense of urgency. I get too long-winded!
2011 Goals: Develop writing goals! Ha! No, seriously, to get a working discipline going.
3.) Inspirations: Nature, science, divinity, people--in no particular order. I could really go on and on about these three. There are so many things in the world worth writing.
4.) The one tried and true thing I've found which actually improves my writing is to do more of it...so here I am!
5.) YES! Reading and working together with someone is a great way to get the creative juices flowing for both sides. I look for...someone with a good sense of humor, grammar, structure, creativity, courage, and a personality that can slap me out of a bad bit of writing, lol. And I solemnly swear to do the same.
Caitrin's entrance survey:
ReplyDeleteWhat are your current writing habits? Do you have any larger projects in the works?
* They are basically non-existent. I wrote a lot from middle-school, throughout highschool and into college. Especially during boring classes! But for the past couple years I’ve only been writing down snippets of stories and ideas and spent my time reading or watching geeky programs. This year however I decided I wanted to re-enter the world of writing and make a serious commitment to it. As for larger works, I am contemplating doing my own NaNo in April but I haven’t fully decided if it would be a good idea (no pressure) or bad idea (no pressure) for me. Does pressure help me or not? I need to figure that out.
Name three things you love about your own writing and three skills you would like to work on this year. Do you have a list of writing goals for 2011?
I’ve never really thought about it before. I haven’t gone back and read over my own writing often. Hmm…don’t hold these against me! These are the things I hope come through in my writing:
1. Non-traditional. I like to play with things that I don’t see in the fantasy I read. I want to see more of fantasy that isn’t pseud0-European. I want to see more LGBT, non-white, non-pretty characters and romances. I want to go out of my own comfort zone and challenge myself and my own beliefs/stereotypes/etc.
2. Interesting (to me) concepts and ideas.
3. Characters. It is much easier for me to come up with characters than it is to plot out a storyline.
As for skills? I could name many more than three! My skills need a lot of work. This is why I signed up for the experiment! :D Here are my major needs:
1. Plotting. Taking a story from a to b to c, with twists that can’t be seen a mile away and coming up with an awesome and satisfying conclusion.
2. Dialogue. I feel like my dialogue is too stilted and stiff. I want it to be expressive and natural. I want to learn to put only what is essential to the story so it doesn’t bog it down.
3. Description. It is not natural for me to put in description of the setting or the clothes characters are wearing. My writing looks spartan and I try and go back to put more description in afterward, which makes it feel less natural when I read it.
What do you find inspiring?
* Nature. The nightsky, the ocean, the forests, the desert and so much more.
* Music. It is like oxygen to my soul. Songs often inspire the seeds of ideas, the atmosphere of a scene or even just how I’m feeling and what I want to write.
* My favorite authors. I want to be as good as the authors I love to read. To craft every word like Patrick Rothfuss. To come up with interesting and logical magical systems like Brandon Sanderson. To write romance and religion with the same adeptness as Jacqueline Carey. These are my aspirations. I have a long way to go!
What sort of things do you currently do to improve your writing?
* Not much. The experiment will jump-start my writing and the best way to improve is to sit butt in chair and write, write, write! I also follow a lot of author/agent/review blogs, listen to podcasts on the industry and writing and read lots of books on the craft. I need to put all of those suggestions into practice or it means nothing.
Are you currently looking for a critique partner or beta readers? If so, what qualities would you like in a critique partner or beta reader?
* I would not want to inflict my writing on anyone! Besides, I hardly have anything for them to critique at the moment anyway. It would definitely be something I’d be interested in when I have more work under my belt. I still need to learn how to be a good critiquer and beta reader myself.