Interview with Christina

 Hi everyone!

Today, we have another fantastic camper interview that I got to meet during this year's camp! Want to get involved? Feel it's too late to start now? That's okay, camp happens again this July. Hope tosee you there! If you do participate, feel free to comment or contact me so we can be cabin mates! But for now, here's Christina!


Q: How did you first get involved with Camp?
A: They introduced it in 2011, and we'd all heard about it on the regular site, so when it came around, I thought 'Why not'? and signed up. That was how I started to meet everyone else.



Q: How long had you know about NaNo?
A: Mmm. I am going to say about 2007. It was actually in the middle of November I believe, when I remembered about it, and I was still on the fence about it so I didn't participate for those reasons. In 2008, it was still daunting, being a high school student and contending with writing a 50,000 word novel as well, so I decided not to do it. In 2009 it was the year I finally decided to sign up. So altogether I have known about it for7 or 8 years.



Q: What took you "off the fence" and made you finally decide to do NaNo?
A: I wasn't in school anymore for one, so I had a bit more free time on my hands. Finally I decided to go for it. I won that year with a little over 50,000 words.



Q: What was most helpful when you did NaNo/Camp?
A: For me, i find that it's easier to do it all in one sitting. I know it sounds awful but I just sit there and write, usually. Other days I will take it slow. I find that it is all about going at the pace you have to, and not follow what everyone else is doing. Another thing that is most helpful is rewards. I went "Oh, I get to go read a fanfic chapter if I get this many words done" And at the end of the month if you do pass, reward yourself with something REALLY nice that you have set up in advance (perhaps something you've been wanting for awhile), so you have a bigger reward at the end for crossing the finish line. Another thing that helps is other wrimo's, especially during regular NaNo. Meet up with a few of them, and your word counts will soar. I have had opportunity to host a few of these as an ML and they were a blast.



Q: What is your biggest "muse" when writing?A: I guess, and this is really strange to say, but my muses are my characters. They kind of "tell me" what they want to happen, and I write it.



Q: Do you work hard at figuring out where your story is going, or do you let your characters lead you?
A: Haha. I am a pantser. Basically that means I come up with a lil bit of plot, Character names, and I let them play! Some pantsers however, have been known not to even do that!



Q: Is there anything you want your Cabin Mates to help you with most of all along the way?
A: Just talk. The last few years, I have had cabins that weren't active. I swear I even heard crickets! I am hoping to rectify that with this years "Everyday activity" option.



Q: Have you ever wrote a person into a novel that you didn't like, just to kill them off? If so, how did they die? If not, would you, and how would you execute it?
A: Hmmm. Not a novel, but I did have an assignment for a writing group where we had to kill off our inner editor. You know, that person in your head that's always screaming "THAT'S WRONG! FIX IT! NOW!" I created her, and didn't like her because hey, she was impeding my writing, darn it! And then I killed her off in the most horrible way possible. But I've never done so in a novel. Usually for me, deaths have a purpose. Even the inner editor's death had a purpose, and that was to free me up to actually, y'know, write.



Q: Do you purposely write in morals and ideas into your novels?
A: Morals not so much. I mean to me, a story is about telling fantastical things that can't happen. Or discovering uncharted territory. It is not used to impose my beliefs on other people, nor would I ever want it to be.



Q: Any advice for possible NaNo Writers?A: Do it. Just dive in. If you think you won't be able to do the full 50,000 then move it down, if it is during camp. If it is during regular NaNo, I suggest you try it. You never know what you are going to accomplish. You have a whole forum of people to help you get to that 50K. And if you break it up, say one 500 word session, one 567 word session, and one 600 word session you can easily get your words for the day.



Bonus Question: Favourite dessert?
A: Hmmm. That's a tough one. I don't really eat a lot of sweets. But I do eat some candy. I guess it would have to be a turtles candy bar.


Thanks, Christina!(: I found that very inspiring, and there's lots of excellent advice in there! I hope everyone enjoys it just as much as I have!

Cheers!
Jenn

What would be your biggest writing tip? Have you done NaNoWriMo? If you haven't, would you? What did you learn from this? Leave your answers in the comments below!(: