Interview #6: Queen Susan

Queen Susan: Drive, Brother

Your Nweb and NaNoWriMo usernames, were they inspired by anything?

My Narniaweb username is Queen Susan, and it’s been that way since I joined in 2005. Back then Susan was my favorite character in the Chronicles, so that explains why I chose it.
Lianna Merie was my chosen name for NaNoWriMo, back in 2009. Any variations I wanted on my name were taken, so I chose a name I thought was pretty. =)

Who are you?

My name is Rebecca, and I love beauty and inspiration. I absolutely love music, writing, and finding new little gifts that I can make for people. =) I live with my parents and seven brothers right now! They totally spoil me.

Did someone person brainwash you into joining NaNoWriMo?

I read about NaNo on Narniaweb in ‘09, and I immediately wanted to try it, even if it sounded crazy.

Was this your first, second, tenth time participating?

Third!

What was your novel synopsis (or original idea) at the beginning of nano? Genre?

Ooh, that’s hard. I’m terrible at writing any sort of synopsis. The genre was Adventure! I wanted it to be exciting. Here’s the little cheesy synopsis from the NaNo site:

Rylan came back home with a deaf ear and scars, too late to say goodbye to our parents. But he was back. We started a small cafe like the one in my daydreams, and we scraped enough from that to make a living.
I ignored his past--he was different now. I would have forgiven my brother for anything.
But the gang he used to be part of wouldn't. And they didn't.

Was your synopsis the same or different at the end? Or did you end up writing something completely different?

Same. I had a few little plotlines in my head that changed, but I’ve never changed a story “full-swing” before. It sounds like it would be fascinatingly fun.

Did you finish? What superpowers enabled you to write 50k in one month?

Yes! On the 29th I wrote “The End”, and smiled. =) Superpowers? The ability to write terribly cheesy lines when pressed for time!

What method of writing proved to be the most effective?

Ignoring facebook and email and blogs and basically all distractions. I’m not very good at it.

Did this method involve glue, ropes, caffeine or some other forceful inducement?

I definitely drank more coffee then normal, and I definitely stayed up too late.

What lesson(s) did NaNoWriMo teach you this past November?

Be happy with what you can accomplish, even if you start laughing out loud at your writing near the end. Heavy editing can come later. (And I think you’ll be happy when you’ve edited, even if it can be torturous.)

Website, blog, twitter, etc you want readers to know about?

Sure. =) This holds a few sporadic, shorter writings:
http://endwilljustify.blogspot.com/