Among writers, there is often great discussion regarding the issue of plotting a book out in advance versus writing, well, kinda by the seat of your pants. I follow both methods, depending on the story. Sometimes, I’m a plotter and sometimes I’m a panster.

My current WIP (tentatively titled Call of the Blood) is flowing really well for me, and in this tale, I’m being a complete panster. I haven’t written down my outline, I’m just going where the characters and scenes take me. I’m on page 287 of this story, with plans to hit page 300 by Sunday night. (Hey, maybe I’ll get lucky and make that page goal by tomorrow night!) As I’ve been writing, I’ve been telling myself that if the pages stop flowing, then I’ll sit down and completely plot the rest of the book.

I’m curious…since I follow both plotting methods, does that make me part of a writing minority? Or do other writers out there follow this dual method, too?

In other news…I’ve just gotten the galley for Caged Wolf and I need to check over it and get it back to my publisher. It’s been a while since I’ve worked on that particular story, so I’m looking forward to getting to know my wolves once again. 🙂

I’ve discovered that I’ve been tagged by Michelle Diener–ah, thanks, Michelle! She’s challenged me to list ten weird facts about myself. So, here goes:

1. I’m allergic to strawberries…and bees. Not necessarily weird, I suppose–but rather sad (I’ll never know the amazing joy of chocolate covered strawberries and I will spend my life running from bees).

2. When I was a kid, I once walked through the entire sewer system under my hometown (luckily, it was a small town). Don’t really know why I did that–fortunately for me, the tunnels were completely dry and rat free!

3. I love really bad horror movies. Give me Jason, give me Michael Myers, give me the Sci-Fi channel on a Saturday night.

4. I can Greek dance–pretty well, actually. Or, at least I think I do it well. 🙂

5. Another “when I was a kid” story…I used to make haunted houses–and I mean I’d make them all the time and everywhere. In the garage, in the utility room, in the hallway. My poor mom never knew when she was going to stumble onto some blood/ketchup and enter my scary world.

6. I have a scar on my right knee that looks like a plane.

7. I was nearly bitten by a snake while blackberry picking (I was 10)–I’ve hated blackberries since then.

8. Roller coasters terrify me. Terrify.

9. I tried to to play the guitar when I was sixteen. My fingers bled–I gave up the guitar very fast.

10. I like to pet strange creatures–and I usually try to get a picture of me with said creatures. I’ve got pics of me petting an alligator, a python, a shark, and a dolphin (that one is sweet, not strange). Hmm…I think it’s time for some more pics!

And it’s also time for me to tag someone, Saskia Walker–you’re it!

I’d like to wish everyone out there a great Valentine’s Day–a day filled with romance, roses, and lots of chocolate.

And while you’re here…let me share a few Valentine’s Day trivia facts:

1. 15% of women in the U.S. will send themselves flowers. (Tell me…do you know someone planning to do this?)

2. Estimates are that 1 billion Valentines cards will be exchanged. (But you still know some poor kid is gonna get left out of the exchange!)

3. Pets will get gifts–about 3% of the pets in the U.S. will get some sort of Valentine’s presents. (I’m actually surprised this number isn’t higher–I know my friend Ashley got her dog a gift!)

4. Signing a Valentine’s card in the Victorian period was believed to bring the signer-in-question bad luck.

5. Don’t be surprised if your guy hasn’t got a romantic evening planned–64% of U.S. men do not make advanced plans for a fun and romantic Valentine’s Day.

For more facts, check out this trivia site–and have a great Valentine’s Day!

I really, truly do. Sure, I often mention on this blog just how much I love my reference books, but some days, I can definitely appreciate the convenience of the Internet.

Recently, I’ve needed to research voodoo in Haiti, learn some Haitian creole, get driving directions from LA to Las Vegas, and discover the appropriate names for certain groups of animals–all for my WIP. Of course, none of this info was available in my reference books–but I found the facts I needed instantly on the Internet. Ah, the fast, fun convenience. Ah, the researching made easy!

Don’t you just love technology?

When I’m writing, I don’t actually sit down and draw out a character sketch before I begin a story. Sure, I figure out what my characters look like. I jot down notes to keep their images strong in my mind. And sometimes I go ahead and write notes on motivation. But often, well, the character motivation and history comes to me as I write the story.

I know many writers use character sketches. I also know some of these sketches can be quite detailed (I’ve heard talk of a sketch with 80+ questions). I found this character sketch on the internet and it got me to wondering…am I in the minority here? For any writers out there–do you sketch? Or do you create as you go?