SOPHIE LI

Hello everyone!

For those who don’t know, Beautiful People is a character interview meme hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait from @ Paper Fury, which begins on the 5th of every month. Each month, a list of questions is posted for the characters in your story to answer. Feel free to check this out and join in on the fun! Don’t worry about being late to the game – you can join in at any time during the month!

This month is an author interview! Author, as in, me. (Gulp.) For those who don’t know me well, I don’t like writing too much about myself. I would rather hide in a bush until it is all over. But I will give this a try 🙂

How do you decide which project to work on?

Whatever my mind is preoccupied with at the moment!

These days, I’ve been revising an old project, Together We Will Live Forever (tentative title), written during Nanowrimo 2016. Currently on draft 4 (which is hopefully going to be THE draft.)

How long does it usually take you to finish a project?

Usually 3-4 weeks per novella-length draft. I’m a big fan of “write now, edit later”, and I live by the Nanowrimo philosophy even much, much beyond the first draft.

Do you have any routines to put you in the writing mood?

1. Get EVERYTHING done beforehand, like chores, dog walking, paying bills, etc. I need to have NOTHING on my mind, except my story.
2. Put on some soft piano music. I have a Spotify playlist that I ONLY play while I write the story. The rationale is that I will create a psychological association between the music and my story, and that when my brain hears the music, it knows that it’s time to kick into writing gear! (I am still a science nerd from the bottom of my heart 🙂 )
3. Get comfortable and write. This means lying back on the couch with my laptop on my lap. I’m not sure if I can write sitting up…

What time of day do you write best?

Because I write best after finishing everything else in my day, it just so happens that I do a lot of writing right before bedtime. The science nerd in me wants to say that there is research showing that creative juices flow best early in the morning and at bedtime anyway 🙂

Are there any authors you think you have a similar style to?

I… can’t really tell. Though as I write, I often hear these words from Stephen King in my head:

Why did you start writing, and why do you keep writing?

I started writing because I’ve always loved stories. My earliest memory of hearing a story is when my grandpa would read me stories that he wrote. When I discovered that I could create my own stories in grade 3 ESL class, I was beside myself!

I keep writing because there are so many stories inside my head. If I don’t write, where will they all go?

What’s the hardest thing you’ve written?

For me, writing quirky, humorous and awkward scenes is second-nature. It may be because I am quirky and awkward and (I’d like to think) humorous. Serious scenes are hard for me to write, and I always feel like I am dragging my feet through them.

Is there a project you want to tackle someday but don’t feel ready to yet?

I’ve always wanted to write about characters who have HIV. This is because there is a lot of stigma surrounding these people, and that I feel that books can inspire understanding and dispel judgment, and that if everyone were more understanding in the world, it will be a better world. This was initially a theme in my first real novel (TWWLF), but I removed the subplot and shelved it, thinking that it deserves a book of its own, and that any less would not do it any justice. Now I am intimidated by the topic, because it is not anything I have personal experience with, and that I don’t want to get it all wrong and to do any disservice to the people out there who do have HIV.

Have you ever written or wanted to write about a topic that you haven’t personally experienced? And if so, do you feel as intimidated as I do?

What writing goals did you make for 2017 and how are they going?

I want to finish the fourth draft of TWWLF and send it out to beta-readers.

I also want to do Nanowrimo again this year with a new novel idea. I am thinking about writing a fantasy/romance with a character who is transgendered. However, I am as intimidated about this as I am about HIV (see above), so I am not sure if this will happen.

Describe your writing process in 3 words or a gif.

What are some of your writing habits? What are your writing goals for 2017? Do you feel as intimidated as I do about writing something that you haven’t personally experienced?

Let me know if you are doing Beautiful People this month! I would love to read your post as well 🙂