Critique_This_WIP

Hello fellow bloggers! Today is Monday… which means it’s our Author Interview Day!

For the last two weeks we’ve been letting you inside us CTW-er’s minds. Scary… perhaps, but always fun! You’ve gotten to know a little about Courtney and Margaret, and this week you’ll get to see the inner-workings of Tessa’s mind.

Since Tessa is a fellow CTW-er we’re forgoing the usually author bio, since you can read her full bio here or simply click the link above under her name.

Without further ado… Here’s Tessa’s interview.

SUZIE: First off—to pen name, or not to pen name? Which side are you on?

TESSA: Pen name! Actually, Tessa Conte is my pen name. I have a super secret identity that I keep secret because...well just because. Also, my real name is really, really hard to spell. And my family would never get it (extended family, not my parents, thank God).

SUZIE: When did you start writing?

TESSA: I’ve always been making up stories. The actual writing came when I was, oh, maybe ten or so and then it took a few years before it occurred to me to try for an actual novel of some sort. I’m still not sure my writing brain has understood the point... actually finishing stuff is something of an issue with me.

SUZIE: I feel your pain, Tessa. Completing a MS is very tough! As for writing, what’s your favorite genre?

TESSA: Fantasy. Almost all fantasy, though lately it has been largely romantic fantasy of the paranormal alternate history kind. I have a couple of ‘plain’ fantasy stories in my WIP folder along with the ones I’m focusing on right now (that would be Red and Russet Moon, two romantic paranormal type stories).

SUZIE: I know I’m a sucker for romance… and if that romance has a bite! Even better! How does your taste in reading and taste in writing relate?

TESSA: The same. Fantasy, across the board. I also have a weakness for historical romance, mainly regency (Johanna Lindsey is one of my favorites). I also have a whole load of how-to books about writing...you might call that my secret vice. ; )

SUZIE: Where do you get your idea’s for your characters?

TESSA: That’s a difficult question. Often, I start with a name I hear somewhere that appeals to me, like Cayden, for example. Or it can be a scene that appears in my head, where one of the ‘players’ catches my fancy, and I go from there. Sometimes it’s something I hear when I sit in a coffee shop, or a person I see across the street. On rare occasions my family (large and sprawling and fairly odd) provides inspiration.

Once that spark is there, though, my characters have the disturbing tendency to develop a life of their own...they dream up their own plotlines, refuse to say what needs saying, fall in love with the most inconvenient people and generally do whatever they want.

SUZIE: They have a way of acting out, don’t they! :D Where have some of your best ideas come from? Dreams? Real-life? TV?

TESSA: Hmm, I never remember my dreams. I’ll wake up, thinking OMG that was weird and then it’s gone. Real life occasionally does the job and some songs can certainly be inspiring, but I use them mainly to get into a writing frame of mind. TV rarely does it for me, though, unless we’re talking documentaries (anything from Mythbusters to History Channel to Bear Gryllis’s take on wilderness vacations).

SUZIE: Plotter or a pantser, where do you fall?

TESSA: Trick question. I started out as a pantser, just writing what came to my head. Then I began plotting properly - spreadsheets, character timelines, plot graphs and all that stuff. I even did charts to note down how long it would take the characters to come from one place to another.

And then I got stuck. Lost in the plotting, the preparation of it. So now I’m back to pantsing it, forcing myself back into the write...ehm...right mode of doing things. Right for me, that is. I hope. We’ll see, at some point I’m sure I’m going to start plotting properly again. In the end I will probably be half-and-half.

Though let me tell you the pantsing thing is rather inconvenient when you’re trying to explain to your critique group where your story will be going...

SUZIE: *Grins* Yes, it does tend to make things difficult that way, huh! :D What project(s) are you working on now?

TESSA: Oohh, that’s a hard one. Okay, I’ll give you a list...

The Russet Moon, werewolf romance
Red, paranormal romance
Merle and the Waiting Queen, fantasy
The Shadow Prince, fantasy/mystery
Beriael, fantasy

I could go on... don’t misunderstand; I’m not actually working on all of them at once. They are just stories I have in my head. Which one I’m working on usually depends on which character is shouting the loudest in my head.

Right now, that would be Rory, the MC from Red.

SUZIE: Have you been published yet?

TESSA: Nope, not published. But hopeful.

SUZIE: Which character do you relate to the most?

TESSA: That’s actually a rather frightening question. I’ve recently come to the realization that the one MC I’m most stuck on, the one that does everything right but somehow seems so flat, the one who’s issues I can’t seem to fix, that’s the one I’ve put most of myself into. I guess I’m not quite ready to psychoanalyze myself...

SUZIE: Do you believe character names are important? How much time do you spend finding the right name for them?

TESSA: Names are majorly important to me. In fact, I have to say that names define characters, for me. I spend a lot of time on them, figuring out meanings, looking them up in whatever reference material I can come up with.

Sometimes I even change names halfway through because I think the character has outgrown it.

SUZIE: How do you “get in the zone” when writing? Do you listen to music? Look through art? What is your writing environment like?

TESSA: Music is a great helper. Visual arts are more a source of inspiration for me than anything else. My writing environment varies...notebook and fountain pen in a coffee shop, laptop at home in front of the TV or at my writing desk, it really depends on my mood.

SUZIE: Do you have a writing playlist?

TESSA: I do indeed. Currently on it:

Last Resort (Papa Roach)
Control (Puddle of Mudd)
She Hates Me (Puddle of Mudd)
Piece of Me (Britney Spears)
Boom Boom Pow (Blackeyed Peas)
The End is the Beginning is the End (Smashing Pumpkins)
The Hunter gets captured by the Game (Massive Attack)
Poison (The Prodigy)
Before I’m Dead (Kidney Thieves)

SUZIE: Since we know you use critique groups *smiles* Let’s ask a tougher question… How do you respond to criticism? Love it? Hate it? Learn from it?

TESSA: Hate it and learn from it. It’s a necessity, and I’m glad I now have like-minded people to share this necessity with!

SUZIE: How many projects do you work on at once? Are you a one-WIP-at-a-time person or do you work on several at once?

TESSA: Usually two that I’m actually working on. Like I said, depends who’s shouting loudest.

SUZIE: How do you feel about writing exercises? Do you use them?

TESSA: Yep. I like writing prompts. I set myself a time limit and just write...very liberating, that is.

SUZIE: I agree, it gets those creative juices flowing! Do you participate in blogfests?

TESSA: Also yes. Do you know what the local chapter of Blogfestaholics Anonymous is? Because I think I should pop in at some point. If I have a scene from a WIP that fits, I’ll use it. If not, I’ve been known to write one up (works kind of like writing exercise).

SUZIE: They are quite addicting! I’ll join you at BFA! What’s your favorite part of being a writer?

TESSA: Losing myself in the story. And I do, on occasion. It’s almost like a runners’ high.

SUZIE: You knew this question would come next, right? What’s you least favorite part?

TESSA: Getting stuck. There are days when writing is nothing but work. I hate those, but I guess you just have to work through that.

SUZIE: Like writers-block?

TESSA: Yep. That’s what I call getting stuck.

SUZIE: Most of us write part time. How do you spend your time when you aren’t writing?

TESSA: Working. …..Ok, ok I’ll spill...I work for a property management company...well, it’s my little company (and I mean LITTLE). I also function as a kind of personal assistant to my dad, doing administrative stuff for him.

SUZIE: Uh-oh… a glimpse into your super secret identity! Okay.. something a little less intrusive. :D Would you like to share a favorite line from one of your books?

TESSA: As in one I wrote myself? Hmm... how self-absorbed am I if I have one of those? Ok... the hero has just backed the heroine into a corner (her office/bedroom). She’s got her freshly washed laundry all over the room, including bras and panties. He looks at her with that indulgent smile men sometimes get...which really pisses her off.

“It’s laundry day,” I snarled, crossing my arms.


SUZIE: OoOohhhh… I like her! Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers?

TESSA: Never, ever stop reading!

SUZIE: Great advice! We’ll end Tessa’s interview there… Don’t forget to come back next week and get to know another great author/CTW-er!