Like a Virgin blog hop: all about firsts
Posted: July 14, 2013 Filed under: On the Isla's Inheritance trilogy | Tags: blog hop, fanfic, Isla's Inheritance 21 Comments
I don’t have a manuscript eligible for entry into the Like a Virgin contest—and, even if I did, that ship has sailed. But I thought I’d participate in their “Getting to Know You” blog hop anyway, because: BLOG HOP. 🙂
1. How do you remember your first kiss?
Vaguely. I was at a party and had been partaking of something bubbly and intoxicating. Sambuca may have been involved. The fellow in question had amazing eyes (although maybe that was the bubbles talking).
If it weren’t for the alcohol making me relax, it would probably have never happened. That being said, don’t do what I did, kids. It could have all gone horribly wrong.
2. What was your first favorite love song?
Speaking of horribly wrong… Back in the 1980s, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan (at the height of their Neighbours fame) released a schlocky duet called Especially For You. Yeah, that.
Hey, I was twelve!
3. What’s the first thing you do when you begin writing for the day?
Re-read what I wrote the previous day. I give it a once-over edit and then hunker down. If I could actually write every day I might not but, because I can usually only write once or twice a week, I need to re-read to remind myself of exactly what was going on, to anchor myself in events, emotional context, etc.
4. Who’s the first writer who truly inspired you to become a writer?
Mercedes Lackey is the first one I can recall doing it. I was writing before that, but for a while there I joined a fanclub called Queen’s Own, and discovered fanfic. This was before the internet was widespread; stories got distributed via newsletter.
Old school, my friend.
5. Did the final revision of your first book have the same first chapter it started with?
It’s the same chapter, but it’s significantly shorter than it was. I amputated somewhere between 500 and 1000 words off the front.
6. For your first book, which came first: major characters, plot or setting?
It was a combination of characters and plot. I had the idea for Isla, and for her, uh, “condition”—and I knew roughly what that meant for her.
Interestingly, her name wasn’t Isla to start with. But I had to rename her after an ex started dating a girl with the name that I’d chosen. Awkward.
7. What’s the first word you want to roll off the tip of someone’s tongue when they think of your writing?
“Easy to read” is three words, gorramit! How about “accessible”? I’ve got very little patience for writing that is dense, rambling and self-indulgent, so those are things I try and avoid in my own writing.
Click here to check out the other “getting to know you” blog posts.
Cassandra Page 
Thanks for joining us! Sambuca, scandalous 😉 I remember when Kylie and Jason were still a double act, too. Kristina x
I still love liquorice, but I don’t think I could ever drink Sambuca again. Hurl!
Accesible is an excellent word! What ever happened to Kylie Minogue?
I’m so glad you joined the blog hop! Those answers made me smile and allowed me to tune out the noise of the house being built right next to us for a few seconds, so thanks!
Love your answers! They made me smile.
Also learned something new. I had no idea fanfics used to be distributed by newsletter, or that they were even a thing really. Which is a pretty silly thought, but I’m part of the internet generation. I think the world started when the internet was invented. LOL.
I remember writing a fanfic when I was about fourteen. To my penpals, handwritten. Scary stuff.
Accessible, I like it. I want my writing to be accessible too.
The way I figure it, most readers don’t want to have to work too hard at reading for pleasure – it’s meant to be a leisure activity! (Maybe I’m just lazy!)
I love Mercedes Lackey! Glad to know I’m not the only one who likes to reread previous days work.
I’m a compulsive editor. And often I think what I wrote the previous time was trash, and when I re-read it I discover that … ok, sometimes it is trash, but it’s always been fixable! :p
I’m exactly the same with the writing thing! I just want a story which I can get to the meat of it right away without digging through a bog of dense writing. Give me the action and the story, forget about the flowery language, leave that for poetry.
Exactly. And I think it’s possible to have beautiful prose that conveys an emotion, event or ambiance while still being tightly written.
wow, only 500-1000 words? I cut out probably 7,000 words from my opening chapters. 🙂
and they needed to go…
In editing that entire first manuscript I cut 10k words. It’s just that only 1000 of them were right from the start. Chapter three or four got deleted entirely. :p
Hilarious! Thanks for participating, Cassandra. So nice to “meet” other authors.
That’s the best thing about blog hops. 🙂
Love your answers, especially accessible! I feel the pretty much the same way. I don’t write to sound smart. I write to tell a story.
I remember reading a scene by a fantasy author I quite like, but she’d spent an entire half-page describing the contents of a room. It was a giant list. Awful. (I think she was making lots of money by then so her editors went light on her.)
Gorramit! 🙂 I also reread (part of) what I’ve written before I start writing. I guess that’s the downfall of having too little time to write every day.
I try and tell myself that by editing a little as I re-read, I’ve saved myself some work later. 😉