Writers Do Lunch Interview Meme -- Part 4

[sun_set_bravely]

The last eight questions! At this point, I think I'm pretty much answering these for my own interest, so God bless you if you're still reading.


21. Are there any writing taboos for you (for instance, swearing or graphic sex)?

Not really. Although when I read a book like "Lolita", I get pretty squicked out trying to imagine how it feels to write that kind of action.


22. How do you avoid stereotypes in your writing and do you feel you are able to capture the truth in characters who are of a different gender or ethnicity?

I don't consciously do anything differently when I'm writing characters with a different gender or ethnicity from me. Of course, my writing is at the point where it's very autobiographical, so I haven't encountered it quite yet. In the screenplay, I often found that the dialogue came first, and then I'd attribute it to a speaker. This technique often ends up in everyone speaking similarly, which can be a weird thing.


23. Are there stories that are so close to you or others near you that you won't write them? If so, why won't you?

No. I might not write about them right away, but time gives me distance from them, I probably will. It's all about processing my experience.


24. How has your writing improved with time?

It's funny, I feel really young answering some of these questions. I don't necessarily feel like I've been writing long enough to answer this with much perspective. But this is probably my own insecurity emerging, so I'll shut up and answer the question already. :) I think my writing has gotten clearer, and less quixotic over time. I've started to learn how to cut to the energy of what I'm writing, rather than ramble in big, empty words that aren't really what I'm trying to say. I've gotten more courageous about the topics I write about.


25. Do you feel that you have found your voice?

I don't think that voice is something you have to find. It makes "voice" something exterior, something elusive that you strive for, and something that you might never find. My voice is my voice. It's who I am, it's a combination of everything I've ever experienced, thought, eaten, said, done, etc. Yes, I am still learning how I can convey my voice in words in the most genuine, honest fashion. And I'm also learning how to uncover the layers of self-protection around my voice. But my voice is something intrinsic; it was never something to be found.


26. What is the most important advice you can give to other writers in 5 words or less?

Live. Love. Hope. Write. Write. In that order.


27. Would you keep writing if you knew that no one else would ever read what you wrote?

I would keep writing in my journal, because it helps me process my experience. But if I knew that no one would ever read my words, I would probably write about my life with complete abandon, without thinking about any future generations who might pick up my words one day. This is a great question because, of course, I ask myself why I don't write with that complete abandon anyway. Hmm...


28. Is there a question that wasn't asked that you'd like to be asked about your writing, writing in general, or writers?

"What do you love most about writing?"

Comments

[blue-by-you.livejournal.com]

I was waiting for this! Thanks for taking the time to do it. So many questions and not easy ones to answer. I enjoyed your answers.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

I'm glad there's at least one reader on these answers. :) I've bookmarked everyone else's answers, because I didn't want to read them before I wrote my own. So now I'm excited to go back and see what everyone else wrote. Thanks for reading, and thanks for asking such thought-provoking questiosn!

[echoboom.livejournal.com]

squicked ?

[freak1c.livejournal.com]

Yah, I have been confused about this word too! But I figured it was a CA thing, Cesar. I first saw it in the journal of your fellow west coast hippie - oceanic

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

I actually learned it from an East Coast-er (schpahky), who has also taught me "squidgy". Very evocative words.

[prosicated.livejournal.com]

I caught them in high school and have since found them in the vocabs of many eloquent intelligent friends. They're surprisingly precise, like onomatopoeia for the sensory pantheon. =)

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

Grossed out.