Pages

Monday, September 3, 2012

Hi, How are you?

It's time for the GUTAA meet and great.  Deanna has some questions about ourselves to answer and I'll try to come up with something interesting.  If any of you have any questions about who I am or what I do feel free to ask them in the comments section.  Otherwise here goes.

Where do you write?
Generally at my desk in the bonus room above the garage. I do carry a notebook around in my purse and sometimes I come up with some pretty good scenes while I'm out and about.

Sit down at your writing space and look to the left.  What do you see?
Right now?  A mess.  I found a new cooking website and printed out a bunch of recipees so right now I have papers everywhere.  Normally I'm pretty tidy though. 

Favorite time to write?
I don't have a favorite time. With a two year old and a three year old I just get to squeeze it in whenever I can.  If I waited for a favorite time I'd never get anything done.

Drink of choice while writing?
Again, I don't really have one.  While I sometimes snack on chips I rarely drink at the computer. I'm way to clumsy and I'm terrified I'll end up dumping it on something electronic and important.

Music or silence?
Silence.  Unless you count the noise of kids or whatever Hubby is working on.  I'm pretty good at tuning those things out.

What was the inspiration for your latest Project?
The work I'm currently querying was inspired by the poem The Betrothal by Edna St Vincent Millay.  It has always been a favorite of mine and while I was thinking about it one day one of my MCs, Paul, came up and introduced himself.  It was like he was just waiting for me to find him. 

Most valuable writing tip?
Just keep writing and don't give up. 



Otherwise, I'm a wife and mother of two. I graduated in comparative literature with a minor in Russian.  I was only two classes short of a second minor in horticulture but The Engineer was graduating at the same time and looking for jobs and I didn't want to say behind for a semester in case we ended up getting a job far away.  I like quilting, gardening chocolate and family.

It's Labor Day!  I'm going to go labor in my yard. See you later.



67 comments:

  1. I love that you carry a notebook with you - I really need to start doing that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's very important. You never know when an idea might strike.

      Delete
  2. I love that you were inspired by a favorite poem - it sounds like your MC will be wonderful. Have fun gardening!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Got half way through the project and it started pouring. The rain was too much to continue working and I've very vexed at having to leave the project half done.

      Delete
  3. Lovely answers, Sara! I can't wait to read a snip of your shiny new idea. ; )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully I'll have something I can use. Some of the stuff I've done so far may be throat clearing, still it's good to write.

      Delete
  4. I wish I could write in silence. I need me some noise!

    And it's great that you carry a notebook with you. I do, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. See you out and about at GUTGAA! I think I didn't see the part about "add a personal bit at the end." So I didn't. Oops. But my blog bio pretty much says what I would say. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think you have to add extra I just did because I felt like it. It's pretty basic stuff.

      Delete
  6. Love the description that your character came up and introduced himself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He did! He was fully formed with first name attached. Good times.

      Delete
  7. I love your degree! I also studied Russian and East European Studies, and would love to someday have an MA and Ph.D. in Russian history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was going to get a masters in Comp Lit or Russian Lit but never got back to school.

      Delete
  8. I too love chocolate! What's the name of the new cooking website you found?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sweet Pea's kitchen. Though I will warn you, I haven't actually tried anything of hers so I can't say whether or not I actually like her food. But she had a lot of recipes that sound good plus, they were either dairy and egg free or easy to adapt for my son who can't eat either.

      Delete
  9. My writing area is an absolute mess as well. I keep telling myself I will clean buuuuuuut...

    I'm your newest follower! Very nice to meet you. :)

    AA
    http://anallegedauthor.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your enthusiasm -- never give up and continue writing! That's the best advice I received! I like music in the background when I write -- it gets the juices flowing. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't focus with music on. It's fun how everyone is different.

      Delete
  11. I wish I had a talent for cooking. I let my sister (who is also my roommate) do that. I've got the cleaning :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I won't say I have a talent for it, but with a hubby and two kids it's got to be done and I get tired of fixing the same thing over and over.

      Delete
  12. Wow you sound like a smart lady. :)
    And I feel your pain with the 2 and 3 year old. That's just about the time I discovered I wanted to write seriously. And it was tough. Just wait til they're in school and it will all be so wort it.
    Great to meet you! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice to meet you!

      Part of me can't wait until they go to school, part of me doesn't want them to grow up.

      Delete
  13. Mine are two and a half years apart. They're old enough now to entertain themselves so I can write. You have the right attitude. Just keep writing, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine are thirteen months apart. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to having them so close together.

      Delete
  14. Hm, will have to check out this poem! And that is perhaps the best advice that anyone can ever give about writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a great poem. I should convert everyone to that poem!

      Delete
  15. Glad to know those things about you! I had assumed a couple of things wrong, as in I thought your kids were closer in age to mine. I have a five and eleven year old. Kudos to you for writing with little ones around- both of mine are in school full-time now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope, kids are still pretty young. We got a late start due to infertility and the fact that adoption just takes time.

      Delete
  16. I love it when my characters find me. It becomes an honour to write their story. Cheesy, but true. Nice to meet you, and see you around this month!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is an honor to write their story. I hope I did it justice and can find an agent/publisher so they can share they're story with the world.

      Delete
  17. Good luck with your querying!
    I'm a lover of silence when I write as well.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Having your characters introduce themselves to you is fantastic. It's like they're just as excited to be part of your world as you are to be a part of theirs!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I seem to have hit a thread of people who minored in Russian on this blog hop. An intriguing coincidence? Hmm....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a great thing to study. Join in, you know you want to. :)

      Delete
  20. Hi Sara, nice to meet you! I totally understand a fear of spilling liquids. My sons constantly spill things around my laptops. Freaks me out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thus why no liquids are allowed near the computer.

      Delete
  21. You've sparked my interest of the The Betrothal by Edna... I love poetry I'm just terrible at it. (:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay, revolution, I'm converting a small section of the blogspere to Edna St Vincent Millay.

      Delete
  22. Wow, a minor in Russian. That's pretty cool. Do you ever use Russian?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately I don't have anyone to speak it with since we moved to middle Georgia.

      Delete
  23. I carry a note book in my purse too! Don't leave home without it. You never know when inspiration will strike :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Inspiration from a poem, neat. I love it when the characters suddenly pop up and introduce themselves and then compell you write about them!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love that inspiration story. I'm going to have to look up The Betrothal.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I am a bit obsessive with my notebooks. I have many, many notebooks around my house, in my purses, in my car, etc. Some day I need to gather them all together and consolidate into one notebook. Until then I will keep all my moments of inspiration spread all about. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Your manuscript sounds VERY interesting, Sara. :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Fun, Sara! I'm excited about your current project! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Nice to meet you! Notebooks are great. My favorite time of year is when the back to school supplies go on sale.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I LOVE back to school shopping even though no one is going back to school.

      Delete
  30. "Writing is hard, it's also brilliant and amazing, and I think the good times are even sweeter for having spent time thinking I've lost it all." Love this. :) Best of luck for GUTGAA.
    Kat,
    http://beyondthehourglassbridge.blogspot.com.au/

    ReplyDelete
  31. here's to squeezing in writing time & notebooks in purses!

    ReplyDelete
  32. My computer and two monitors are in the open concept area of the dining room. That way I'm not climbing stairs. And I'm close to the phone and the door. I also don't like to drink never my computer. In fact, I've got the rest of my family in accordance. Way too easy to spill something on my most favourite of electronic appliances. Hmm. Is a computer considered an electronic appliance? It feels more important to me than any of the other electronic things I own. Like the stove.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's more of a best friend, or family member than an electrical appliance.

      Delete
  33. Oh! I took Russian classes at work!
    I haven't posted my own questionnaire yet...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's nice to meet more Russian speakers. If only I had someone local to practice with so I could actually remember it.

      Delete
  34. I'm still making the rounds on the Meet & Greet posts. I love how you said your character introduced themselves to you. I have a story like that I've started on but I'm trying to work on my current piece first. It sounds challenging to write while also parenting young ones, but I see a lot of blogs from women who are mothers and who write, so it sounds like a lot of others are in the same boat--at least you can find support.

    ReplyDelete