...That's What She Said

Intro Week

Well, for starters, I am a married mom of one little boy who also works full time as a business analyst and manager at a law firm in Dallas, Texas. I've been a resident of the Lone Star State since last Thanksgiving, and moving away from my friends and family in Florida (where I'd lived most of my life) was a huge transition. Out of that transition came my re-dedication to writing. I'd been writing stories and poems since childhood and prior to getting hitched and doing the family thing, I was a constant blogger between 2004 and 2008. My blog was private and my close friends kept telling me that I should write a book. I just assumed that as a friend, that's what you're supposed to say... whether you think the writing is publication material or not. You know, kinda like when your parents tell you that you can be whatever you want when you grow up (not that mine ever did). So long story short, I stayed fairly private and didn't lend much credence to the praise. Then I really did grow up... and starting a family was a lot more work than anyone had ever told me, so the blogging pretty much came to a screeching halt. Anyone can scroll back and see some of my earlier posts from a few years ago. If they did, they'd see that I blogged about whatever my thoughts were that day (and hopefully be half as amused at my sense of humor as I was at the time I was writing it). This year, however, there has been a dramatic shift. My last few posts have centered around my struggle to take my writing more seriously... and actually put a book together. I can't help but feel a little selfish for taking this turn, but then again, after devoting the last three years of life to my family and feeling like I was losing touch with one of my lifelong passions... I'm trying to look at this as some well deserved "me time".

As I mentioned in my introduction, I started blogging simply to record my day to day thoughts. It was through LiveJournal and then MySpace at first (back when MySpace was cool), so the format was a very user friendly way to share ideas online. Since my office job was stressful and simultaneously boring, blogging was my only creative outlet at the time. The recent shift in the focus of my blog has been a way for me to share my thoughts publicly for the first time. One of my biggest fears when I was younger was the fear of being plagiarized. When I started blogging on MySpace, a school teacher who claimed to be new in town requested to be my friend. I was young, single and all about making new friends, so I thought it was great. Then one day, I popped onto her page and saw, much to my horror, that she had posted a blog that was a word for word copy of one I'd written a few days prior about my philosophy on the subject of "soul mates". Angry is not the appropriate adjective to describe how I felt in that moment. I called her out on it, of course... and emailed everyone on her friend list. I reacted in the way one might expect from a prideful 26 year old and promptly blocked her... and anyone else I didn't personally know. Time has passed and I like to think that I've not only matured, but that I've overcome some of my trust issues. I think that my main goal of this blog now is to get better about putting myself out there, while getting to know other like-minded writers who are struggling to get their ideas out into the world, too. I've participated in a few recent blog hops and each experience was better than I could have expected. I'm continually impressed by the amount of positive support and encouragement total strangers provide to one another. The past two months have been such an amazing inspiration and I hope that I'll be able to help others progress as much as they've been helping me.

Now here's the tricky part... I'm last in line. I'm going to have to reach out to fellow participants to find someone to interview! Stay tuned for an update to this post... and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!

Update: I received the pleasure of getting to know one of the blog hop hosts a little better. What luck! A big thanks goes to Courtney Young for not only providing the thought provoking answers below, but also taking the time to answer my questions despite having "away from the computer" plans all day today! I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did:

1. If you could meet one person, real or fiction, who would it be?

JK Rowling or Conan O'Brien. JK because she is one of my writing role models. Her success story is genuine and very inspirational. My dream would be to drink tea with her. Conan because I know when I am on his show, I have made it to my dream level. Plus, he is HILARIOUS!!!

2. What are you top 3 favorite books ever and why?

A. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Really any of the Harry Potter books but the last one is my favorite. I hated Snape for years of my life and the last book brought everything together. I grew up reading the series. Harry Potter really jolted my love for fantasy and magic.

B. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (book 2). HG is one of those series that makes every girl want to be strong. The story has so many wonderful elements, liberation being one of them.

C. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta: I love ghost stories and I recently discovered this author. He writes compelling stories and uses real places in the US (and now I want to visit)

3. What methods or philosophies do you use to write?

I am not a plot bunny. Considering I have only written one full novel (After the Woods soon to be released by Curiosity Quills), I cannot say that I have any methods perfected. I am a new writer and still learning. I love writing to classical music on my laptop but there are times when I don’t listen to anything. Whenever I have an idea I write it down as soon as possible. I usually think of the story in terms of the big picture and try to figure out how to get from point A to B. I love it when my characters do their own thing or when I am inspired to drag them through crazy scenarios. I’ve learned some of my best writing comes whenever I am typing on a whim. Also, edit, edit, edit, but don’t over-edit, it is true that a novel is never finished, but abandoned. Us writers could probably edit until the end of time!

4. How do you work through mental blocks or overcome hitting a wall when writing something new? I try to take a break or do something physical, like ride my bike or go for a walk. Sometimes, I will read a good book for inspiration. There have been times when I let my WIP sit for 7 days because I was not sure what should happen next. Forcing yourself to write, at least for me, has not been very successful. Having a clear mind really helps!

5. What are your ultimate goals as far as writing is concerned?

My dream goal is to be on the Amazon, NY Times, and USA today top 10 best seller list. J I still have a lot to learn but that is the goal!

6. What was the first thing you ever wrote and why did you write it?

I remember reading an article when I was in 3rd or 4th grade asking kids to submit their short stories to be published in the school newspaper. I went home and wrote a story about the ocean and fish and submitted. My story was picked and printed. It was seriously one of the coolest things that happened to me as a kid.

7. If you ever lost your ability to write, what other creative outlet would be your biggest passion?

For years of my life, I stopped writing. I replaced my need to create with the theatre. Acting and singing in musicals kept me occupied for almost 10 years. I think that if I lost my ability to write now, I would spend most of my time reading and singing.

8. What are your favorite song lyrics?

I thought about my scene today
And I've finally got the words to say
The truth is cutting like a knife
Gonna use it to cut away my strife
The grass is green and the sky is blue
My head is clear and my thoughts are true
(Summer of Love by 311. Reminds me of good times!)

9. What is memory from your childhood has had the biggest impact on your writing and why?

I cannot think of a memory from my childhood that had a huge impact on my writing. I think my writing was impacted whenever I really discovered who I was as a person in high school. As a young adult, teenager, I wrote poetry addictively and even joined a band where I was the main lyricist and lead singer. I think sharing my poems in the form of music ultimately helped me break out of my writing shell.

10. Where we can befriend you (blog, goodreads, twitter, etc.)?

Blog: www.courtyoung.blogspot.com or www.courtyoung.com
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/courtney825
Twitter: www.twitter.com/courtney825
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/cutiecourt83
Facebook: www.facebook.com/courtneyworthyoung