Featured Member Chat Events: Recap

A couple of weeks ago, we held a series of Featured Member Chat Events. They were absolutely fantastic, so first of all we'd like to thank everyone who participated.

Below are a selection of some of the best questions and answers. These were incredibly hard to choose; there were so many brilliant Q&As.

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(originally featured here)
Lyalnak: What made you start writing ADX?
AzizrianDaoXrak: Oh my, now that's a whopper... I think I can pretty much trace it back to this time when I was five and my family was visiting my uncle's house, and I was playing with a toy, and narrating what was happening. My aunt walked in and said that I'd grow up to be a great storyteller, and as soon as I learned how to write I started putting stories together. And then in high school I got into writing poetry, probably because all my friends were doing it, so it was the "cool" thing to do.

WyvernLetDie: Who do you write about the most? Who secretly inspires the majority of your characters?
AzizrianDaoXrak: I'd say it depends on my mood. In some ways they're all me, regardless of what they're experiencing. It's just that at some points they're all going through a particular hardship of some kind.


(originally featured here)
IndigoSkyes: Do you have any recurring characters?
ohmistermagazine: Well, in my short fiction that I put on here, not really. I've thought about doing sequels to some pieces, but I haven't yet. A lot of them have similar attributes, though.

IndigoSkyes: Are they based off of real-life people?
ohmistermagazine: Sometimes. A lot of them are based on me, or I at least use my experiences to create their emotions and reactions. Sometimes, in my less bizarre pieces, I write about real events, so those characters are based on people I know.

IndigoSkyes: But do you think a writer is born a writer, or made a writer? You know how some people just have a natural affinity for certain things? Kind of like that, if that makes sense.
ohmistermagazine: A little of both, I think. I've always had an inclination toward writing, and a lot of my style comes naturally, but I've had to work at it, since my writing was horrible three years ago.
IndigoSkyes: Of course, everyone improves at everything they do as time/practice occurs.
IndigoSkyes: At least, I hope, otherwise I'm in a heap of trouble.  
ohmistermagazine: XD Right. That's why I think that writers can be both born and made.


(originally featured here)
IndigoSkyes: If there's a writer you particularly like, do you ever find yourself emulating their style at all? Or any other aspects of their work?
Lyalnak: Oh definitely. Tan Twan Eng would be the best example for me. The Gift of Rain is one of my favorite books of his and it's very observational, poetic writing, kind of how I see my own writing style.

ozzla: Do you find that you edit your published pieces a lot, or they come out as perfect as they are?
Lyalnak: I always edit long after I publish them, I find taking a step back and looking at what you've written a few days later helps you catch things


(originally featured here)
ozzla: Is conveying emotion more important to you in your writing, or is structure?
aprilwednesday: conveying emotion

ozzla: Do you then revise your work to structure it?
aprilwednesday: if i ever pay attention to structure, it's to help get the emotion across, i'm not much of an editor

ozzla: What style do you prefer to write in, and does it come easiest to you? Or do you just have your own particular one you stick with?
aprilwednesday: i started off with short stories, a few years ago, but i now i tend to do poetry much more. but i'm super inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with the way he makes prose so poetic  


(originally featured here)
xthe-eleanorx: do you prefer writing poetry or prose?
snow-angels: depends on what my motivation is. i usually write from life, and if i have a line in my head, it determines at the outcome of my piece. if it's a sentence or a statement, it usually turns into prose. a phrase or rhyme, it turns into poetry. i don't prefer one over another, it's just whatever inspires me.

IWasOnceLikeYou: Do you have a set writing schedule? If not, what times of the day are you most likely to write?
snow-angels: hah, i wish i did. that would solve a lot of my writers block problems i think xD my most inspired times are late at night when i'm either in bed and thinking, or right as i wake up in the morning with a fresh mind and a new outlook on choices i make.

guagna: what's the best piece of writing advice you've received?
snow-angels: i think it was probably to stop trying to make up stories in my poetry. things that aren't from my life are definitely not as good as the things that are, and when someone told me that, i finally realized they were right.

alexiscaitlinking: Where do you strive for your writing to be?
snow-angels: that's another toughie xD but a good one. i dunno exactly. are there standards for writing? i think i just want to get better and keep writing, get better as i get older. i don't want to reach a certain level and stop. i want to grow.


(originally featured here)
IWasOnceLikeYou: Do you tend to draw inspiration from your life, or things you read/overhear/listen to?
SilverInkblot: Both. I feel like my best stuff comes from drawing on my memories, though perhaps it's more accurate to call them my personal favorites - my audience often surprises me by what they like the most.

xMotherMoonx: Do you have a particular subject you enjoy writing the most?
SilverInkblot: That one is a bit complicated - I hate reading/watching romance in my entertainment, but really seem to enjoy writing it. I guess you could say what I like doing most is getting away from cliche, something I strive for especially hard in romance-centric pieces.


(originally featured here)
ravenofroses: hm. hokay, question: do you have a set environment in which you write, or do you just write wherever/whenever you feel like it?
Carmalain7: my only requirement for my writing environment would be that there has to be music
A-Symmetry: any playlist you always listen to when you write?
Carmalain7: as for playlists, i don't actually create them, i tend to listen to albums, different ones at different times, whatever's inspiring me. many times they transcend into my writing i think

BelIblis: When did you decide you liked to write poetry?
Carmalain7: Well, i've liked poetry ever since i first read the bible (which is quite secretly poetic i think) then also the Koran and especially The Tao

Solarune: In a couple of your pieces on dA I've noticed that you use a lowercase 'i' even if the rest of the poem has traditional capitalisation. It's quite distinctive and really interesting, can I ask if there's a reason for it?
Carmalain7: Ok, let's see if i can say this to where it makes any sense at all. One of the reasons i do that is based loosely on philosophies(sp?) of self and perceptions of identities. i've always had an issue with 'I' being treated as a proper noun whereas words such as 'you', 'he', 'she', etc. are not and the reasoning that goes behind the basic foundations of that grammatical decision


(originally featured here)
A-Symmetry: what other words/phrases sounds elegant to you?
ravenofroses: *snerk* just look at my writing. a large portion of the phrasing/word choice is chosen because it sounds elegant to me. as a general rule, tho, i like things that have softer sounds. case in point, my username. also Vs. i really, really like Vs. i maintain that the presence of a V in a word makes it instantly nicer to the ears.

Solarune: What is your favourite genre to write in and what draws you to it?
ravenofroses: and oh man. genre is a weird question for me. i guess i'd have to say fantasy/sci-fi just by virtue of the way most of my stories tend to go. that, or horror.
ravenofroses: i dislike writing about "mundane" things. even something as simple as hanging at a coffee shop has to have something a little "off" about it. i refer to my style as "two steps to the left of normal" because i enjoy twisting things a little bit. not that "normal" things aren't good to write about, of course.

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Thanks again to all the Featured Members and all of the amazing members for your questions. We would love to have you back again and are thinking about setting up some more chat events in the future, if you're interested. Let us know!

An important place to chill would be the chatroom. Drop in anytime!
For a complete list of all our past Featured Members, check it here.