double tagged! also, a facelift.

I have been double-tagged!
Once by Colin D. Smith {all the 7s}, and once by TZ Wallace {good old 11 questions}.

Let's start with the questions!

1. What book character do you have a crush on?

Let me tell you guys about my husband. He has curly blond hair and gray-blue eyes. He loves to cook and gets adorably excited about food, especially baked goods. He is quiet and kind, almost to a fault. He has been known to paint and get hopelessly romantic. When I first read The Hunger Games, I couldn't get over the parallels.* So this question is kind of a no-brainer.

Is it any wonder I liked Peeta so much?

*Note: My husband is significantly less perfect and more human, though. Just the way I like 'em.

2. What was the last book that made you cry?

I'm going to go with all-out bawled, here, and not just choked up. I got choked up in Legend over Day's necklace {I don't even know why}, but that wasn't the same. The last book that made me *cry* cry was The Book Thief. I mean, come on people. I cried for so many reasons, and throughout the whole thing. There was the emotional gravity of World War II, first of all, but also the sheer beauty of the storytelling. And the characters in that book. Oh man.

Before The Book Thief, there was A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, which made me weep on a plane.

3. What scenes are the hardest for you to write?

Transitions/decision making. I get bored reading them, I get bored writing them.

4. Are you superstitious about your writing methods, or do you have any rituals regarding your writing?

I'm not superstitious, but I do appreciate ritual. Probably too much, because then I become dependent on the ritual {which, in turn, is the definition of superstitious, so...}. Can I write without coffe/tea? Can I write without checking my email compulsively every fifteen minutes? Can I write in public/at home/in the car, if I'm not used to it? Yes, Julie. Yes you can.

One thing I do, that makes me feel like a weirdo, is migrate while I write. I might start on the couch, but if the juices aren't flowing, I'll move to the table. If I get stuck again, I'll go to the guest bedroom {which is supposed to be my "office"}. After a few days of this, I'll write at the library. I have a Goldilocks complex. I might also be in a funk.

5. Do you listen to music when writing, or do you have to have silence?

Oh good heavens, I can't stand to listen to music while writing. I work in silence. I love music, and I listen to it for mood all the time, but trying to write to it makes me feel punchy/insane. Or like my brain might melt out of my ears. If I'm ever trying to write in a loud or public place, I'll listen to brown noise {a few degrees lower/softer than white noise} on my headphones. Silence is king, though. Or should I say, ADD is king, and silence the most effective medicine?

6. What book antagonist do you love to hate?

Who doesn't have a thing for Voldemort?

7. What is the last book you stayed up ridiculously late to finish reading?

All three of the books I read last month accomplished this. Article 5, Anna Dressed in Blood, and Legend. The again, I tend to stay up ridiculously late, regardless.

8. When was the last time that you waited in line for a book release?

I have only done this once, for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

9. What book{s} is/are currently on your bedside table?

My planner. A Game of Thrones. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. The Plot Whisperer. My notebook. Zombies vs. Unicorns. A printed copy of my first draft. A History of Asia.

10. What is your "guilty pleasure" book that you read and re-read?

I don't know if I would call this a guilty pleasure, since there's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, but I generally always want to go back to I Capture the Castle.

11. How comfortable are you calling yourself a "writer?"

Today, not very, since I have little to show for it.

Sweet! Moving on to the 7's.

I don't know who decided to call this Lucky 7 meme "lucky." Haaaaaaaaaaaa. The seven lines starting with line seven of page seventy-seven of my horrid rough draft from a year ago are, predictably, horrid. Excuses, excuses. But seriously. Those words aren't going to see the light of day. They occur 'midst things that are no longer relevant. I haven't reached page 77 of the rewrite, yet. And so, I'm treating you with seven lines from page 77 of my NaNo project, instead. But watch out. I haven't looked at this in three and a half months, and it has never been edited. Not a smidge. Wahoo!

***

She tips the suitcase onto its spine, there on the floor in the middle of the little back room attached to the kitchen. No one else seems to notice this corner, or care for it. Embarrassed, I can’t stop thinking about the contents of the cupboards behind me. My mouth actually starts to water over nothing in particular, and I train my attention back to Nan. No one else is eating. I wonder if Catie and Donovan realize that I’m still starving, burning up on the fumes of hospital coffee and eating them whole.

Nan unclasps the hooks on the old suitcase and half of it thuds to the floor.

***

Oh man, check out ALL of my slap-dash writing flaws. Way too many words? Check. Run-on sentences? Check. Descriptions that make no sense? Check check. How on earth does one "eat" coffee fumes whole? After burning up on them? Ah, NaNo. I even remember being proud of this paragraph. *goose laugh* But that's the thing about rough drafts, I guess. You write them to iron out your thoughts, not to please anyone else. Right?

Also, I had forgotten that I wrote most of this in first/present. Interesting.

Well that was fun. I actually just got excited about NaNo again. If you feel like playing along, consider yourself tagged!

While you're here, how do you like the new look?