Writing Tag!!!

I interrupt my regularly scheduled world-building posts to do a writing tag/linkup, because ya'll know how much I like them.

This one is hosted by Meghan Gorecki as part of her launch for her new blog, Every Good Word. Go check it out, since it looks like she's having lots of fun over there. There's even a giveaway filled with all sorts of writerly goodies.

1. What was your first-ever piece of writing? I don't remember. It was probably either a fairy tale retelling or a story about my crayons, though.
2. How old were you when you first began writing? When I was four, my kindergarten (I got tired of preschool early, so my mom went ahead and put me in kindergarten a year early) book had me write several stories. Most of them were based on a fairy tale I had heard recently (I distinctly remember one about the Ugly Duckling) and a few were about my crayons. I didn't start writing serious until I was ten or so and I needed to write a script for a play that some friends and I wanted to perform.
3. Name two writing goals. One short term & one long term. I would like to have The Ankulen polished and published by September 5th, so I think that counts as short term. As for a long term goal ... Well, I'd like to have the first five books written for my top-secret series written within the next two years. I'm really excited about this one, and I plan to write book one for NaNo this year. (That's the current plan at least ... we all know how NaNo goes ...)
4. Do you write fiction or non-fiction? I'm more of a fiction writer, but I do some non-fiction on my blog, and my mom wants me to do some non-fiction to publish.
5. Bouncing off of question 4, what's your favorite genre to write in? My comfort genre is fantasy, either Christian allegory (think Narnia) or fairy tale retellings (some things just don't change ...).
6. One writing lesson you've learned since 2013 began. Rewriting is fun! Actually, this is a relearn, since I used to do it on a regular basis ... but I got out of the habit. But now I remember how much I like it, so I shall be doing more of it! 
7. Favorite author, off the top of your head! C.S. Lewis. If it wasn't for his Narnias, I might not be the author I am today.
8. Three current favorite books. Perelandra by C.S. Lewis, Emma by Jane Austen, and ... I'll go with Scarcrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum.
9. Biggest influence on your writing {person}: I shall take Meghan's answer of my mom. My mom wanted to be an author herself once upon a time (I have her writing in my possession), so she has been very encouraging of my own writing. And, seriously, people who say that mom's can't be your editor haven't met mine! She is definitely my worst critique.
10. What's your go-to writing music? I don't write very often while listen to music, but I do have a playlist on my MP3 player with Mozart, my Isaac's CD, and some music from Songs From a Broken Heart. (SFaBH's music is all free online ... just search the name, their music is all really good, and theologically inspiring.) 
11. List three to five writing quirks of your's! Little habits, must-haves as you write, etc. My quirks ... hmmm ... let's see.
    1. I'm dyslexic/ADHD, so when I'm wiring a very exciting or emotional scene, I'll get an energy build-up and end up running out the door for what my family affectionately calls my "outburts"
    2. Most of my heroines have hair similar to mine so that I can make sure that their hairstyles are possible.
    3. I very rarely write down my plans for a book, no mater how detailed the plot is in my head.
    4. I love making up new words.
12. What, in three sentences or less, does your writing mean to you? Michelangelo once said that every stone already had a sculpture within it, all he had to do was chip away at it and discover what it was. I take the same few with writing. Every blank word document and notebook has a story in it, all I have to do is chip away and discover it.

On another note, I received the proof copy of The Ankulen on Saturday (and I only ordered it on Wednesday, oh how I love CreateSpace shipping times!), and am now going through doing a through line-edit making sure everything sounds perfect. It's such fun!