10 Questions

So, this was one of those Liebster Awards, but I already did one, so I’m just going to answer the ten questions that my nominator, Emily June Street (Twitter), wrote for her victims:

1) What was your dream career when you were a kid?

I wanted to build robots. Short Circuit was my favorite movie. I used to build little Johnny 5s out of Legos. Even when I grew older, I still loved to consume media like I, Robot and Battle Bots (which was a TV show pitting real robots people built in a fighting arena). I went for an English degree, but if an engineer came over and asked if I’d like to spend a day in his robotics lab, I would go without question.

2) What is one physical activity you want to do before you die?

I want to go skiing. I have never been. I almost went this month, but then everyone backed out on me.

3) What is your favorite trip or vacation you’ve ever done, and why?

When I was 10, my mother took me to Disney World in Florida. I know that isn’t as grand as some of the places I’ve gone, but I was ten and I ate Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles every morning and swam in the water-park every night. That might have been one of the best weeks of my life. 

4) Do you dance?

Yes. I was a part of a show choir in HS, so I danced them. I like dancing, except at weddings. I guess that’s my one pet peeve. I think weddings are stupid and predictable, and the music is always awful. Maybe I’m just jaded for some odd reason…

5) Editing or drafting?

It’s all good to me.

6) Your favorite myth or fairy-tale and why?

Fairy tales and myths kind of bore me, so instead I’ll answer Jules Verne. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days were my favorite childhood stories, and they were the closest things I had to myths growing up.

7) Where (and when) did you grow up and how do you think it shaped you?

Belleville, IL. My shape came from two places: a theatre group and the local band scene. I used to perform as a singer/guitarist for a few bands (check it out). I wrote almost every song that I played during that time, and that is how I became interesting in writing/composition. One revelation I had was that I’m great at composing, and not just music, but art. I can see how small aspects form together to create big ones, which is why I’m trying to become a novelist. I think most people say that they have a great attention to detail, but I consider myself a big picture guy. I see a scope of details that will become a finished product.

My theatre background is what shaped my personality. I think I learned more social skills backstage than anywhere else. I did a group that wrote, practiced, and performed plays in a 24 hour period in a big festival of sorts. I might be getting back into that soon, actually. When I do that, I always direct.

8) You have $100 that you must spend on yourself by the end of the day. What do you buy?

A drawing pad and a set of Faber-Castell art pens, any remainder on coffee beans.

9) Pick any three objects or people to be stranded with you in a lost space ship.

Michael Phelps
A saddle
a gold medal strung to the end of a stick

OK, so that’s actually what to bring when stranded on an island… (but I love repeating that joke (I did not write it)).

Assuming I cannot pick objects that can send me home (teleporter, a satellite beacon for messages, etc.) and that I am not in immediate need of life support (such as food or air), I would pick… a loaded Kindle, a computer with Skyrim, Minecraft, and Microsoft Word installed (to get my mind off the ship), and a piano.

10) What’s your favorite piece of music and why?

Incubus is so much more than the few songs that have been on the radio. The song I picked is just like me… mellow, forward thinking, and weird. Also, I sometimes accidentally make it rain frogs.

11) Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Both, equally. I write a rough plot, and then allow my characters to do whatever they want. I don’t stick to my plotting. I often rewrite the plotting to accommodate for characters that decided to invent themselves along the way or spots where my leads took a wrong turn. The plotting is a mental activity, not a roadmap.   

Thanks again to Emily June Street! She’s awesome, so go check out her blog!

pic unrelated; I just drew this recently