Tagged and Talking

I have been tagged, which means I must answer ten questions of my choosing about myself. Oh the humanity!

Want to know who tagged me? So did I.

1. I knew I wanted to be a writer/author before I was 10. While other dreams changed, this one did not.

2. I write best with confusion: noise, smut, and music. I love music whether it be from Earth, Wind, and Fire or Prince to Top 40 hits to bands like Mumford and Sons. But I came from a family of seven and always shared a room so I write best with commotion in the background. When I can't get that, I turn on a little Jersey Shore or Keeping Up with the Kardashians to...you know...keep up.

3. My best stories come lying in bed, in dreams, or in the shower. Any inconvenient time, really. I try to write them down, but mostly I forget.

4. I am a thesaurus and dictionary. When peers need a different word, they ask me. As a newspaper editor, I'm also the go-to kid for fluid transitions.

5. I fear butterflies. My first published short story "Predator's Eyes" was about them.

6. I'm crazy about dinosaurs, but I try to keep it out of my work. Although, I did do a set of blogs on my dinoAdventure, where I spent one summer digging for bones on cliffs in Wyoming.

7. I love to travel. I hope to be a travel writer--whether this be fiction or A&E stuff I'm not particular. I've spent extensive time in Wyoming, D.C., Italy, Pittsburgh, Maryland, and Ocean City so far. My next stop is Mexico, where I plan to be married.

8. I talk to myself in public, and then aloud I will tell myself to stop talking to myself because it's weird.

9. I like to apply all learning to my writing whether it's a current event, historical reference, internet sensation, or classic literary reference. Especially for YA, I feel it really draws readers into a setting and a  "real place."

10. I believe that doing what you love takes precedence over doing something to make money (especially if it makes you unhappy). There is always a way to go for what you want, whether that be a partner in life, a college education, or a poor writer. However, this is not to say you can do everything. Quitting and failure are necessary albeit frustrating parts of life. (A writer stands up a yells "LIKE REJECTIONS?!" Yes, like those form-slip rejections that I have stacked in a folder in my inbox.)

Now I must Tag All the Bloggers! (It's a meme, and actually I'm doing just four.)
Christina Simon
Milana Howard
Shannon Palmer Bennet
Julia King