Liebster Award, Nominated by Andante Zen!

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Andante Zen! Thank you!

Andante is a fellow writer whose work I have been following for quite some time. At the moment, he is working on his illustrated online novel The Last Canvas. This is an extremely interesting work, combining several forms of artistic expression.

I have been asked to nominated other fellow bloggers (I'll post their names soon!) and answer a few questions. Here they are.

01- Why do you write?

The best way to answer this question is to quote Isaac Asimov, “I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die.” As simple and as complex as that!

02 - What motivates you to write?

The urge to write is always there. I'm an avid reader. I read everything, anything! Other authors' work, of course, but also publicity brochures, ads, newspapers, magazines, online and offline. Curiously enough, my stories are often prompted by visual information. That is one of the reasons why I find the virtual world of Second Life (SL) so interesting for writers. The possibility of drawing inspiration from being immersed in an environment packed with colors, sounds, objects, different ambiances is definitely a plus.

03 - When did you start writing? And blogging?

I have been writing all my life, ever since I managed to master a sentence on a piece of paper! For many years, I wrote bits and pieces, mostly fragments of stories that paved the way to the writer I am today. I started blogging more than ten years ago; it was a diary of thoughts about everyday events. I opened my writing blog in 2012. That's when I started writing full-time.

04 - Does publishing online interfere with your writing process, and how?

It doesn't. I have published a countless number of stories in my blog, short-fiction mostly, and I seem to have been able to follow the path I have planned to tread.

05 - What is your writing process -- do you have a preferred place, hour, a ritual to write?

I usually use a word/phrase prompt and a visual prompt to trigger a story or an episode/chapter within a novel. Having these two elements seems to be more than enough for me to start writing. I usually sit at my desk to write. However, I also choose a location in Second Life to sit my avatar. I'm very fortunate to have a wonderful home in SL with a large variety of ambiances that help bring inspiration for my writing. I don't have a particular time of day to write. My day revolves around writing or anything writing related, whether research or plotting or writing itself.

06 - Do your online readers influence you, and how?

I think they encourage rather than influence me. I'm very lucky to have a few people who read my stories regularly and who always have a positive word to push me forward!

07 - Have social medias changed your writing, and how?

Oh, yes! I think having access to more information, in a faster fashion, is very important. I also think that interacting with other writers helps improve my writing.

08 - What do you do to overcome writer's block?

I write! That's the only way. I write every day, even if it's gibberish and trash. Training your brain to accept that you must write, is the best way to get "unstuck". In SL, I host a weekly writing event (Saturdays, noon SLT/8pm Portugal time) called "500 Word Snatch Challenge". The idea is to write 500 words in 30 minutes. Sometimes that is very easy; other times, not so much. However, the fact that we sit at a table with other fellow writers and try to achieve that goal is another great way to overcome writer's block.

09 - What are you favorite authors -- in Literature, cinema?

So many! I'll choose one that is a big influence, Edgar Allan Poe. He was a tireless writer of mystery and horror tales and is considered the father of detective stories. His puzzling death was never explained and that fact only adds to the aura of intrigue that surrounds this extraordinary author. As to cinema, I love Hitchcock, Cronenberg and the Coen brothers.

10 - Does writing help you in your personal life, and how?

As writers, we often pour onto paper some of our most troublesome concerns. My writing is far from autobiographical; yet, I do see a pinch of whatever is worrying me at the moment here and there in my texts. Writing becomes a way of understanding and coping with reality. So, I think it does.

11- You're free to deliver whatever message you want for whomever reads this.

If you dream of writing and you think you're not good enough, write anyway! Write as much as you can, whenever you can. Write as if your life depended on it. You'll see that your writing will improve and you'll become more confident each day that goes by. If you're a reader, read as much as you can within as many different genres as possible. Although many established writers have no need to interact with their readers (I still think everyone does!), many of the new ones feel that it's important to have some kind of feedback. Encourage them to continue to write, and do give your opinion about the stories. Be constructive, not destructive!