Welcome to the Process Project!
Week 1, Day 1
MEET AMANDA!
To kick off our Process Project Blog Series, we’d like to introduce to you, Amanda Pate. Amanda has been published the 2012 and 2013 issues of The Baylorian for photography and for poetry, as well as the Oklahoma Baptist University Literary Journal, Scriblerus. You can read her latest project, By Order of the King, on Wattpad, which is updated on a bi-weekly basis! Read More About Amanda below. Now let's get to some of those questions!
J: What are your main genres/fields of writing?
A: I write in a variety of fields. I have written in poetry, historical fiction, fantasy, and I've even tried my hand at contemporary realistic fiction. However, the genre in which I most enjoy writing is fantasy. I have written two novels in that genre, and I'm currently planning another.
J: Can you talk to us a little about your writing routine and rituals?
A: I feel like my writing routine is slightly peculiar. I cannot be in a place that has a lot of action going on, so coffee shops are a no-go. Even the library sometimes throws me off because I'm in a different environment. The best writing space is on my bed, in my room, with the door closed. I can't write in any other place.
I also have to have my ear buds in with some music going. Like I'm particular about setting, I'm ultra particular about the music I listen to while writing. I have to listen to soundtracks, with no words, sometimes it can have a choir, but it has to be in a language that I don't understand. Latin, French, and German choirs are generally the go-to picks. The tracks that I listen to have to match the scenes that I'm writing, so if I'm writing a battle scene, you better believe I'm probably listening to Two Steps from Hell or The Maze Runner OST or Robin Hood OST. I actually probably have more soundtracks and instrumental music on my iTunes than I do actual singing music.
And writing at night is generally the best choice for me. Some people can get up early in the morning with a cup of coffee and sit down to write, but that's not me. I can write in the afternoons (after I've been up for a while), but I write the best late at night. 10pm-2am are my peak hours. I get the best inspiration in those midnight hours when no one is bothering me because half of North America is already asleep.
J: Now I pose to you the question all writers have to think about at some point in time is why am I doing this? Why do I write?
A: I first had an inkling to write when I was in high school. I knew I wanted to read a certain book, and let me tell you, I spent hours trying to find a book that matched what I wanted to read, but to no avail. That's when a quote by Toni Morrison found root within me:
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
That's when I sat down to write my first novel. After that, it became more like I couldn't contain the stories within me. I write for myself. I write for the sake of my story and for the sakes of my characters. I write for the reason that I will burst if I don't get my story out on paper. I write to silence the voices of all these characters in my mind.
I don't know what I would do if I didn't have writing as an outlet... actually, I would probably go crazy.
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Want to read more?? CLICK HERE to see how Amanda writes and revises!
Amanda earned a BA in English from a small university in Texas. She is currently getting her MA in Creative Writing in Oklahoma in hopes of going on to obtain her PhD. She dreams of becoming a published author and writing of great adventures and daring sword fights. One of her main goals in life is to own a library with a ladder and backpack across Europe. Amanda also enjoys the smell of old books, wearing scarves, social networking, and glasses rather than contacts. She enjoys being a part of a bookish community where she can fangirl over everything that is Young Adult lit.
Check her out on the web here!
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