Writing questions on genre, location, and habits
Q&A With Shay Each Sunday
This week I’ll explore a few personal writing questions about my genre preference, where I typically enjoy writing most, and some habits. I’ve talked about some of these before in one way or another on the blog, but as I progress as a writer my preferences also sometimes change—or they stay entirely the same!
Q: If you weren’t writing YA, which genre would you write?
A: Well, I do also write poetry but that’s entirely different than any fiction or even longer form nonfiction genre, in my opinion. I also write short stories, but that’s really just another type of fiction. Not all of the short stories I have written have been YA, though, in fact most haven’t been. As for book length works, I also want to write a memoir at some point, but I wouldn’t make a nonfiction genre my main focus, hence not having started on said memoir and no clue as to when I will. In terms of fiction genres, if I didn’t write YA I would probably write contemporary romance or thrillers for the adult market. Those are the other two genres I most like to read other than contemporary/realistic young adult. My first YA novel was a suspense/thriller so I suppose I have already dabbled in the genre. I have an idea for a thriller, but I also have a lot of ideas for a lot of different stories and it makes me sad I’ll probably never get to most of them. The couple genres I could probably never write are fantasy and sci-fi, my brain just does not work that way and I really admire the skilled authors who create those types of worlds!
Q: Why did you choose YA in the first place?
A: It wasn’t ever really a conscious choice to write young adult. I started my first book when I was twenty-one so I wasn’t that far from the age of the characters I was writing about. I guess in a way I write at the age I feel, and apparently I feel like a teenager, even as I get further and further away (and in actuality I feel SO old sometimes when I don’t know a lot of the trends going on with teens or when I can’t figure out how to work my Snapchat, and don’t even get me started on how complicated TikTok is). But, alas, I don’t feel too adultish either. Perhaps, in a way, when I started writing YA I was trying to rewrite or redirect some of my own high school experience. That age is so full of possibilities to be anything and anyone and there are so many opportunities for growth and learning important life lessons. So, that holds a lot of appeal to me, especially as I get older. It propels me to want to keep writing for that audience and possibly get to be part of their story as they grow.
Q: If you had to pick, where would you rather write—noisy coffee shop or quiet library? And why?
A: Definitely coffee shop, which is in fact where I have done most of my writing in the past. I have a coffee addiction for sure, so writing somewhere where coffee is a staple is quite appealing. I also like the backdrop of noise when I write. I can always tell how immersed I am in what I’m working on when I stop and realize that I have tuned out everything around me. It’s almost like focusing over whatever is going on around me makes me that much more in tune with my work and it’s cool to realize how immersed I have been, whereas if I was in a quiet setting that feeling might not be as obvious. I’m okay with writing in a quiet setting, as well, though, especially since I do most of my work at home now. The most important aspect about writing setting is temperature! I am always cold, so definitely somewhere where the AC is mild, or preferably non-existent.
Q: Do you have any writing superstitions or odd habits?
A: Not really, honestly. I pretty much always like to have coffee while I’m writing, so I guess that’s a habit. I also keep a lot of notes in my phone or lines I have cut in a document on my computer and I try to work the ideas back into my story at some point because I have a hard time letting go of lines that I really like. But I feel like that’s more just part of my editing process than it is a superstition. I guess I’m pretty bland when it comes to this. I’ll try to develop something to make myself more interesting.
Q: What do you eat or drink, if anything, while writing?
A: Usually just coffee. I can’t really eat while I’m writing. If I sit down with food and my computer I’ll end up not eating it, and if I’m already really hungry I then have to remind myself to eat the food, then the writing has to wait until I’m done. I kind of do this with drinks, too. If I’m immersed in what I’m doing I forget about the nourishments I’ve brought along. Then, when I realize, I’ll chug a bunch of my coffee. I pretty much always have coffee with me when I’m writing even if it goes cold or the ice melts (depending on the season). If I write in the late afternoon or night, though, then I don’t do the coffee thing anymore. Despite being a coffee addict and it having no impact on my energy I still choose to stop drinking it by around 3-4 p.m.
What are some of your habits when it comes to location, nourishment, and genre preferences? Mostly, I want to know about your superstitions so I can gather ideas to up my game.
