Natasha Fondren

I’m still in bed. Working. It’s 3 p.m. And the funny thing is, I’ve been working on two projects so much, I only actually slept an hour last night. Sometimes I wake up early and work in bed until 5 or 6pm, then realize I haven’t eaten. I’ve also been on the phone all morning, which is best done when it’s  handy to pull the covers over my head.

Janna has a really fun writer’s meme up. I’m playing because I’m STILL sitting on hold. (Phone use today is over 6 hours, and you all know I don’t do the phone.) But two more pieces of the path-less-trodden puzzle just fell into place. Phew. I think. I hope.

What was the last thing you wrote?
Chapter 13, the end of a 42K novella.

Was it any good?
It was an experiment. I wrote it in an old-fashioned voice that matched the character. I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure anyone else will.

Write poetry?
Bad haiku, once in awhile. I LOVE poets. I think they are gods and goddesses. I’m certain they’re smarter and deeper thinkers than I.

Angsty poetry?
Haiku. Yes, I write haiku when I’m upset. Is that silly or what?

Favorite genre of writing?
Any genre. I love genre. Um, fantasy seems to be my greatest hit. I’m all over the place when reading, so same with writing. I love any fiction with a capital F. I’m not into realism much. I like my disbelief to be effectively suspended. I like their to be disbelief that must be suspended.

Most fun character you ever wrote?
The last one. There was a ton of Jane Eyre in her. I love Jane Eyre.

Most annoying character you ever wrote?
I noticed, awhile back, that all my “mother” characters in my stories were evil. I was a little uncomfortable with my issues hanging out there, so I’ve since been making every female character good, LOL.

Best plot you ever wrote?
Couldn’t tell you. I like intricate plots but you don’t get to write them much when your limit is 52k – 56k. I really love plotting. I used to suck at it, but now weaving all the threads is my favorite bit.

Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?
I have trouble remembering stories when they are done. Um, I can’t really remember any of my plot twists. After you’ve lived with a plot for awhile, none of it feels like a twist, even if it had been a twist originally.

How often do you get writer’s block?
Never. There’s no such thing. I refuse to believe in it. Except for non-fiction, and that happens every day I write it. I have to plug away at about 100 words a day, with non-fiction. I’m clueless as to why I can blog.

How do you fix it?
100 words a day if I have to. 10 words a day. One damn word at a time, if it comes to that. Whatever it takes.

Write fan fiction?
No. I was tempted to after the last Janet Evanovich book, though. I. Need. Sex. With. Ranger. I have had a couple readers respectfully express interest, and I would be thrilled to give them a forum to do it. I hold the rights to my characters, but I just don’t know yet the best way to do it: the rules to put to it and guidelines to set it up with. I’m pretty open to it and would be thrilled, as long as they’re not making money from it or accusing me of stealing ideas or anything.

Do you type or write by hand?
From brain to fingers. I need the keyboard to think, LOL.

Do you save everything you write?
Not really. Even if I cut 20K words, once it’s deleted, it’s deleted forever. I know I’m not supposed to do that, and I’ve regretted it. But it feels good to slash sometimes. Dropbox automatically saves a revision history, so now I can always go back to any day’s work and retrieve it.

Do you ever go back to an idea long after you abandoned it?
I’ve never really abandoned an idea. I wrestle them into submission, and they will often be completely different things when the wrestling match is done. I do have a file of ideas which I’ve never gotten to. I tend to go through idea phases where I spill out a million, and then I have so many ideas I don’t bother trying to think of anymore for a year or two.

Oh WAIT! YES! My spy thriller. Abandoned, went back, abandoned, went back. Now it is permanently shelved. The problem, I think, was with the amount of realism it would entail. That’s not me.

What’s your favorite thing you have ever written?
Um, I’m sort of fond of the last one. Jane Eyre, you know.

What’s everyone else’s favorite thing you’ve written?
It’s a toss-up between two of my series. I think one hits people’s fantasies more, and the other is better written. They both have their faults. I don’t like to look back.

Do you show people your work?
Not until it is done. And I mean ready for readers. Even then I sort of alienate myself from it, once it’s done.

Did you ever write a novel?
Technically not, depending on what word counts you use. My novellas tend to run 40K-56K. I don’t know how many I’ve written. I average about 300K a year, although last year was less.

Have you ever written fantasy, sci-fi, or horror?
Lots of fantasy, one awful sci-fi sort of thing, and no horror. Should try that one!

Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?
Romance, yes. My stuff has gotten less romance-y and more, um, you know, lately. *insert blush* Well, Glenn’s been gone.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Four. Yeah, it’s driving me mad.

Do you want to write for a living?
I make a part-time living writing overtime hours. I aspire to make an overtime living writing part-time hours.

Have you ever won an award for writing?
I started writing because I got an idea for a contest by one of the places I now write for. I got an honorable mention.

Ever written something in script or play format?
No, but that would be so cool!

What character you’ve written most resembles yourself?
Very honestly, I’m sure some of my beginning characters were better versions of myself, but nowadays, I really don’t think they do. You get to a point in life where you get bored with yourself, and it’s time to imagine being someone else for awhile.

Where do you get the ideas for your characters?
By slipping into their skin and seeing the world through their eyes. Finding what they want, what they fear, where they’re vulnerable, and then making life difficult for them so they can grow.

Do you ever write based on dreams?
I’ve never gotten an idea, snippet, or story from a dream. I wish.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings or cliff hangers?
Happy endings. And there can be no ambiguity, and by ambiguity, I mean that even if you think you’ve tied everything up, you really have to do it triple, or you’ll get a reader here or there who ask what happens at the end. Even if it’s totally obvious, LOL. Ambiguity is for parables and poetry.

Have you ever written based on an artwork you’ve seen?
No.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Obsessed. I have a subscription to CMOS, and I look things up often. When I do, I get sidetracked into reading whole sections for fun. Even when I’ve read them so many times that I have them memorized. I love reading the em-dash section; I have no idea why. Also the semi-colon and colon section. I think they are all beautiful punctuations.

Ever written anything entirely in chatspeak (How r u)?
I refuse to use chatspeak, even to chat or text. I even put capital letters in my text messages. And correct punctuation.

Are people surprised and confused when they find out you write well?
I’m not sure I do write well. I just try to do the best I can. I do find that people are put off by strong, vivid writing in emails. I specifically water it down with “gonna” “kinda” “I think” and all the stuff that we were taught makes your writing weaker. I even do it in blogs, and I often end up quoting “dialects,” like actors tend to do, when leaving comments. I am not as confident or as intelligent as my writing sounds, and I’m not even saying my writing is intelligent, LOL!

Just saying there’s a weird gap there. My best friend is amused that my posts sound so organized and coherent. So that tells you something about what it’s like to talk to me.

Also, I tease a lot in real life. That doesn’t come across, either, but I’d say that half my statements are made with me cocking my head and playing fun. I actually wink when writing comments.

If I’m irritated at someone, then I write bluntly, and it can come across scalding.

Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop in your mind.
Nothing pops into my mind. I don’t remember stuff when I’m done. Lemme find a darling from my next WIP file:

"Why did you save me?"

It was an uncontrollable instinct, like a spider weaving a web or a bat hanging upside down. “All that black,” I lied. “I thought you were one of us.”

So what about you? Wanna answer a few, or send a link to your blog?