The Motherly Writer's Tag

I'm doing a writer's tag!  I feel so hip.

The amazing, the outstanding Kate of Story and Dark Chocolate tagged me for this a while ago, and I just realized that I can do this.  Because, fam, I am a writer -- or I aspire to be at some point.

Now, the reason I included that little peck of sappiness might be confusing to some of you ("Of course you want to be a writer, Olivia -- you've said as much, so why are you reminding us?"), so, before I begin the tag, a somewhat long but somewhat necessary preamble:

Yes, I've known for a while now that I want to write, but the genre of writing in which I want to work is a different matter.  Most of my writing/my writing plans are for devotional/Christian living types of books.  And I'm happy with that, but, as I'm sure you're all aware, most of my dear blogging friends have all these amazing and wonderful fictional WIPs, full of complex fantasy and actual plots and lovable and eccentric characters.  And me?  I've always felt that I'm a little bit out of the loop as far as fiction writing goes -- heck, up until fairly recently, I didn't even know what "WIP" meant.  (Even now, I had to look it up to make sure that I had figured it out correctly.)  Betas and NaNo and outlining and writing snacks and whatever the heck "plotting vs. plantsing" means -- it's just not my language.  (Not yet, anyway.  It's slowly becoming more familiar.)

Guys, do you know how many fictional stories I have in the works?

Exactly two.  

I mean, sure, I used to write lots of short stories when I was younger, and I'm somewhat interested in expanding some of those at some point, but for now, these are the only ones I have.

BUT, I am realizing that I still have them.  I don't have many and I don't have much, but I DO have stories that I am passionate and excited about bringing into the world.  I do want to see these two finished at some point, and hopefully published one way or the other.  So do you know what that means?

I get to fill out writer's tags and do other writer-ly stuff if I want to.  :)

Okay, inspirational sappiness over.  Let's get on with the tag!  Huge thanks to both Kate and the tag's original creator, Belle Anne!

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How motherly are you to your characters?

Not very: I feel more like an awestruck and somewhat timid bystander sometimes, like I'm butting in on my characters and saying, "Hi, 'scuse me, can I write a story about you?  Thanks."

What sort of a mother? Strict but attentive? Spoiling and soft? Tender but cautious? Or perhaps you are one of those writer mothers who is not so motherly?

Again, yeah, one of those writer mothers who is not so motherly.  Not that I don't want to be motherly to my characters, you understand -- I just don't feel like we're at that place yet.

Do you fret about your characters’ fates? Their dates? Whether or not they get kids of their own?

Of course!  If I didn't care about their fates, what would I be doing writing about them?!

Although I will say that, going off the date thing, I cannot write romance to save my life.  I mean, when I do, it had better be brief and not very involved, because I just can't do it.  And lack of romance will sometimes prevent me from trying/liking a story, so it's very hypocritical of me.  BUT I CAN'T HELP IT.

Are you sad when your characters are hurt? How sad on a level from one to ten are you when one of your characters is injured physically or emotionally? Spiritually? What about if they die?

I mean, sad is a bit of a strong word . . .  I guess ever-so-slightly guilty might be a better one.  But when my characters go through something emotional or spiritual, there's a good chance that it's something I've experienced as well, so it's kind of a cathartic process to write it.

As for characters dying, welllllll . . . . 

#Spoilers.  Can't say.

Are you aggressive or do you retaliate when someone insults or doesn’t like your characters/book? To what extent?

Not really.  I mean, I might (read: probably will) get somewhat offended and crawl into my shell, there to curl up with the pieces of my shattered dreams for writing greatness and be sad, but retaliate, no.  

And, seriously, I know I do and will need constructive criticism for my stories.  Just make it constructive: honest and helpful but not mean or hurtful.  (And also please say something complimentary about something, too.  My self-esteem needs that. *cries*)

Which of your characters do you “baby” the most?

So, as some of you may know, I'm writing a continuation of Susan Pevensie's story (because that sounds better than a glorified fanfiction), and I feel a lot of kinship with Susan and a desire to explore some different aspects of her character that I think might be there.  The struggle is that in so doing, I'm tempted to ignore some of the real, actual sin issues she has, as well as to project some of my own characteristics onto her even when it may not be appropriate.  So I guess in that sense I sort of "baby" her -- it's difficult to discipline myself to explore her flaws when they come from actual sin and pride instead of just insecurities, fears, etc.

Which one of your characters do you let fend for themselves the most?

Hehehehe . . . I just realized that one of my characters is literally a hermit, so . . . I guess that answers that question. ;-P

Do you tend to cling more to your older children and stories, or your youngest ones?

My younger ones.  I'M SORRY, OLDER KIDS/STORIES, THEY JUST NEED/WANT MORE ATTENTION RIGHT NOW.  You understand, right?  It's not like you're chomping on the bit to be reworked, are you?

Do your characters have any habits or styles that you disapprove of?

Of course: like all of us, they have flaws/sin struggles.  (That is, I haven't really gotten to those aspects in one of the projects, but in the Susan story, yes.)

Which of your characters are you most proud of?

I feel like I'm going to be most proud of Susan Pevensie (even though she's not originally mine) or one/both of my protagonists in the other story.

Also, for those of you who are interested, the beginning of this "other story" I keep going on about -- as well as the personality of the main character -- can basically be summed up in this picture:

How many of your main characters have actual mothers?

Living?  Haven't decided. :-P  But probably most.  (At least, at the beginning of the books . . . *ominous music*)

How many of your main characters are mothers?

Other than majorly secondary characters, none, so far. 

Have you ever had pressure to kill off a character? Have you ever downright refused?

No, I don't think so.  Does that actually happen?  Do people actually tell you, "You should kill off this character"??

How many of your characters are children?

A lot of them are adolescents . . . does that count?

Are you loath to kill characters? How much so?

Sort of.  I mean, what I don't want to do is become an author who kills off characters solely for the emotional "feels".  I don't want to be the person who kills my characters if it's not necessary.

(Although, when I was younger, I did rather mercilessly cut down a precious, five-year-old little conduit of sunshine, which was rather uncharacteristically brutal of me.  Plus, I can't decide if it was really critically important.  *blinks*)

Are you biased for your own characters?

Not really.  At least -- again -- not yet. ;)

How well do you care for your characters?

I mean, like I said, I don't know that I can really say that I care for them -- I care about them.  And I'm not planning to turn into a killing machine author, so, there's that.  Right?

And do you intend to be more motherly, or less motherly with your characters in the future?

Couldn't say -- I haven't any plans one way or another at the moment.  I think I'll probably just let whatever happens happen.

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Well, that was really fun -- for me, at least. ;)  Hope you all enjoyed it, too!  Be sure to go check out Kate's blog.  

I'm only officially tagging one other person -- Faith over at I Like That -- but if you want to fill out the tag, please consider yourself tagged!  Here are the questions for copying ease:

How motherly are you to your characters?

What sort of a mother? Strict but attentive? Spoiling and soft? Tender but cautious? Or perhaps you are one of those writer mothers who is not so motherly?

Do you fret about your characters’ fates? Their dates? Whether or not they get kids of their own?

Are you sad when your characters are hurt? How sad on a level from one to ten are you when one of your characters is injured physically or emotionally? Spiritually? What about if they die?

Are you aggressive or do you retaliate when someone insults or doesn’t like your characters/book? To what extent?

Which of your characters do you “baby” the most?

Which one of your characters do you let fend for themselves the most?

Do you tend to cling more to your older children and stories, or your youngest ones?

Do your characters have any habits or styles that you disapprove of?

Which of your characters are you most proud of?

How many of your main characters have actual mothers?

How many of your main characters are mothers?

Have you ever had pressure to kill off a character? Have you ever downright refused?

How many of your characters are children?

Are you loath to kill characters? How much so?

Are you biased for your own characters?

How well do you care for your characters?

And do you intend to be more motherly, or less motherly with your characters in the future?

I close with this picture, because it's relevant and because the bloopers of Once Upon a Time are a gift, as is the cast: