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Today my first article comes out at the Let The Words Flow blog, entitled Learning to Trust Your Instincts, Or, Writing as a Mental Disorder.

EXCERPT:

If you’re a writer, and I mean a Writer, then you are probably somewhat insane. Consider the following quotes for context:

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn’t wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O’Brien

First, find out what your character wants. Then, just follow him. ~Ray Bradbury.

Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum. ~Graycie Harmon

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

When I first began writing Antebellum (formerly known as Woman’s World), all I had was a premise: What would the world be like if women had been the dominant gender throughout the ages, not men? I wondered if there would be peace or war, slavery or freedom, what the government would look like, who would raise the children, would children even be important, and what would men’s roles be? I wanted to examine this world, our world, in a different light. Ultimately I decided men would be kept as slaves: menial workers and companions, both holding the nation and families together as caretakers and the working class, leaving women to pursue knowledge, science, and art.

I began with a female character about to take her first slave. I didn’t know her name, or his name, or anything about their society at all. But as the sentences began to pile on top of each other, it became clear that my characters knew everything I didn’t. I followed them as a tourist, stalking them through my keyboard, learning about their customs and responsibilities, their emotions and struggles. They wanted things, and would fight for what they wanted. I was enthralled.

I also thought I was a little crazy. In school I was taught that the writing process had definite steps; first there was a brainstorming session, then a rough draft, then three re-edits until you had a final copy. In elementary school, this was the way writing was done, and there was no room for negotiation. In fourth grade, I knew I wanted to be a writer, and loved the creativity of just going at it on paper, but hated this drafting/editing process and knew I would never be able to take being a writer if I had to do that nonsense all the time.

Continue reading this article at the Let The Words Flow blog

What’s the last thing you wrote?

An email to the group at Let The Words Flow.

Fiction-wise? I’m helping a Client edit his book to self-publish.

My own fiction? An article for LTWF. Or the first bits of A Clear and Beautiful Lie. Yeah, I haven’t written much original fiction lately.

What’s the first thing you wrote that you still have?

Stories that I wrote in first grade. I have all my elementary school stories in a tub out in my garage. They remind me of how far I’ve come.

Write poetry?

Yes.

Angsty poetry?

Absolutely not. Angsty poetry should be shot.

Favorite genre of writing?

I write in many genres, but my favorite would have to be regular fiction or speculative fiction.

Most annoying character you’ve ever created?

Some minor characters from Antebellum (Since deleted). But as for characters that stuck around, probably Laina from Antebellum. No one seems to really like her.

Best plot you’ve ever created?

Antebellum, definitely.

Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?

I’m really fond of surprise deaths, but I’m not sure how ‘cool’ that is.

How often do you get writer’s block?

Lately I get a thing I don’t really call writer’s block, but more like miscarriages. I fail to bring ideas to term.

Write fan fiction?

I used to write Animorph fan fiction, but I justified it by saying that at least I wasn’t writing Harry Potter fan fiction, lol. I love HP fan fic though. The older I get the more I love it, because it’s inexhaustible.

Do you type or write by hand?

I mostly type (I’m so wicked fast at typing it’s not funny), but I think writing by hand is a more honest experience.

Do you save everything you write?

Absolutely. That hard drive crash I suffered this summer really hurt me. I knew a writer once who updated his lj one day with this simple sentence: I just deleted everything I have ever written.

That was years ago, but I still remember the shock I felt, and then the admiration. I could never be that strong. I could never just start over like that.

Do you ever go back to an idea after you’ve abandoned it?

All the time. It never works out.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

The newest version of Antebellum is pretty kicking, but I love Go Look There, and I have some pretty badass poems too.

What’s everyone else’s favourite story that you’ve written?

Probably Antebellum, though my friend Jaden Nation compares Go Look There to Fight Club, and carries it around with him on his phone always.

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?

Antebellum is technically considered a Romance. I love angsty fiction, and I read fan fic for my share of that.

What’s your favorite setting for your characters?

Their usual setting. I like them to be in their homes, or where we would usually find them because that’s the blank slate. They can do anything.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?

I have two contracted projects, the LTWF blog, and I need to be working on rewriting Apostasy.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?

I won the Halloween Horror Story Contest in my Creative Writing class. Does that count?

What are your five favorite words?

I love many, but my most favorite is flutter.

What character have you created that is most like yourself?

The very, very first time I wrote Antebellum, the Poetess was an idealized version of myself, but she quickly became her own character (thankfully)

Where do you get ideas for your characters?

They are their own people, coming to me like spirits.

Do you ever write based on your dreams?

The idea for Of Coffee and People came to me as I was trying to sleep, but that’s the closest I’ve gotten.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings or cliff-hangers?

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?

Absolutely. However, I’ve turned off my spelling/grammar check when I write because seeing those red and green squiggly lines really annoy me, so I’ve just done away with the whole thing altogether.

Does music help you write?

Absolutely not. I can’t stand to have music or the television playing when I’m writing, because their voices get mixed up with my own or I pay them attention instead of whats going on inside my head.

Quote something you’ve written. Whatever pops into your head.

“…and you and I, shorn, running swiftly into the night.”

Just letting you know that LTWF has officially launched today!

I was so excited when my new writer friend Sarah J. Maas invited me to join a blog collaboration she and her friend Mandy Hubbard, author of Prada and Prejudice, were putting together: Let the Words Flow.

LTWF is a blog by Fictionpress writers who are published, have agents, or are working hard to get an agent! I remember posting on Fictionpress when I was just a freshman in high school, and it’s so amazing to see how rewarding that experience was and how it just keeps giving back to me as time goes on. LTWF is going to be an amazing collaboration; I’ve written two articles for it already, to be posted throughout November, and we’re coordinating interviews from established authors such as Elizabeth Naughton and the reclusive Fictionpress group for authors who have been violated by plagiarism: Plagiarism Haven.

So come by and check out Mandy’s article on THE CALL (you know THE CALL… you get it from an agent offering representation, or from a publisher offering to sell your book!). My article on inspiration and writing as a mental disorder comes out next Monday!

Thanks to all the Fictionpress supporters; you guys have always been and will always be the best.

-Savannah