Ask Me Anything Answers! (One Year of Blogging)

So, for my first blog anniversary/birthday, I decided to have an Ask Me Anything post! I posted the announcement about two weeks ago, but here are (finally) the answers!

Thanks all for your great questions, I had so much fun with this! :D I'm going to color code the different people's questions for both your sake and mine. So, in no particular order, here we go!
*WARNING* this may be a very gif-filled post...I usually try to avoid using too many in one post, but this time...why not use 'em?

Gray's (and as you can see her questions are in gray...wink wink) Questions: 

• What made you start blogging?

Well, to make a long story short, I was inspired by a Very Dear Friend. She introduced me to the blogging world and I was immediately interested. So, with a lot of help from her, I started this blog, mainly just for fun and for a little spot to try and arrange some of my thoughts into coherent words. 

• Plotter or panster?

I guess it would depend on what exactly I'm writing.  Usually, I get a basic idea in my mind, and then I just sit down and start scribbling in my notebooks. (I always write a manual draft first, on actual paper, with actual ink, before I start typing.) I never use outlines. I've tried a couple times and, I don't know, they just don't really work right for me. I mean, I do PLAN things and I have a pretty good idea of what's happening throughout my stories, but I don't write many of my plans down. They're all in my head. So, I plan my plot out in my head pretty well, but the actual content of the story just pops up as I write it. I guess I'm half plotter, half panster! But I probably am more of a panster, since I hardly write my plot planning down. :D

• Favorite Star Wars movie?

Oh boy.
Wow.

I...don't know. 

I like them all for different reasons...but okay, let's think. I love the original trilogy of course, and episodes VII and VIII a great deal (and the prequels but...not as much, and, by way of confession, I haven't actually seen episode III). Then there's Rogue One and Solo to deal with. *groans* GRAY!!! I can't decide about this!!!! I don't know, I might have to say The Empire Strikes Back, just because of the iconic-ness and the nostalgic-ness. A New Hope has gotten rather boring after seeing it so many times, but episode V still has something fun about it. And I LOVE the new ones, actually I have considered episode VII as my favorite, but, ya know, I've got to stay true to the originals. And how can you beat Luke's rabbit face? (Although, the prequels are the best for memes...and the new ones are just really really fun.) 

• How do you like your coffee (or tea)?

Coffee: sweet!! Lots of sugar, and a slight bit of cream. Or, if I'm buying it instead of making it at home, with chocolate in it and whipped cream on top. Mocha lattes are my one weakness. ;) 

Tea: depends on the kind. I like black tea with, again, lots of sugar, and some half-and-half, so tasty. So, as you can tell, this girl ain't super healthy. I like my sugar.

• Favorite quote?

*very loud internal screaming* Ummmmmmmm....well, since Bible verses are kind of a given, I will give what is, if not my VERY most favoritest quote of all times, is certainly one of my most quoted. I actually have it up on my sidebar thingy here, close to the top! 

• Favorite scene to write in a book?

Very depressing, sad, tragic scenes. 

No, well, I do actually like to write touching, emotional scenes, just...I don't know why. I like to try and make myself feel it, I guess. I really like to write parent-child relationships in a way that does not include anger between the two generations. And I like to write conversations too, just people chatting and interacting, trying to get everyone's unique voice and personality right in their characters. As Tolkien has said, "The trouble is that 'hobbit talk' amuses me privately...more than adventures..."  

• Favorite type of character trope?

Hmm...I guess that I don't have a specific type of character that I like. I do like characters that are rough and maybe a little bit cold on the outside, but then once you get to know them, there's a heart of gold underneath that grumpiness. That being said, I am a sucker for tragic backstories. (SORRY! But tragic backstories are very fun in fiction, especially when you're the one writing them!) On a more pleasant note, I like characters who are fun, talkative, and just kind of silly as well. They are very fun to write, especially if they are cheerful. And they are fun to read and watch too. 

I could talk about my favorite types of characters literally all day, but of course you don't want to hear that. I guess that, to sum up, I like different types of characters in different settings. They all have a place, and they all serve their purpose. I like them all!!!! I think my very most favorite, though, are inseparable duos. You know, like Pippin and Merry, Frodo and Sam, Lightning McQueen and Mater...all the greats. Oh, and quirky characters. People who have a different way about them than most. (Anna, you need to stop, you've written two paragraphs and this is supposed to be a short answer.) Okay, I'll stop now. But maybe I should write a post about my favorite character types...;) 

Andrew's Questions: 

• Favorite US President?

Well, this is awkward, because I don't have a favorite U.S. President...and I guess you could say that my high school history curriculum focused more on ancient Greece, Rome, and Europe than on presidents of the United States of America. I don't know, I guess I don't know quite enough about them to have a particular favorite. 

• Preferred medieval/fantasy weapon of choice?

Swords are just downright cool. That's all there is to it. Bonus points if the sword glows blue when orcs are nearby, but of course that's just LOTR. I guess that sword is my favorite, but, thinking logically and realistically, if I had to use a medieval/fantasy weapon, I would go for a bow, since I'm a girl and most swords are pretty heavy, if you are considering historical accuracy. Bows can be a little less strenuous and more do-able, and I think I'd be better at that.

• Are you afraid of spiders?

YES. Usually. If I know that they are there, and I'm know that I'm going to see a spider, it's not so bad. But the thing is, they almost always jump out and startle me.

• Most stupid purchase/case of buyers regret?

Oooh, that's a hard one. I guess I usually don't have buyer's regret, because I spend so much time agonizing about my purchases before I make them that I usually have a pretty good idea of how useful/practical what I'm buying will be. Hmm, but maybe this music book that I got for like 15 dollars. It's a little book of Irish folk tunes, which I expected to be super cool, but was very disappointing. The arrangements are stupid, and it certainly did not meet up to my expectations. 

Natalie's Questions:

• Would YOU enjoy storming a castle?

As long as I had all the right equipment: at least two companions (one of whom would be a giant), a wheelbarrow, and a holocaust cloak. :D

• What character would you enjoy as a companion on a trip around the world?

Can dragons count as characters???? Because, if so, Toothless would be an amazing companion! Plus, he can fly, so ya know, transportation is a lot easier that way. 

• Have you taken the Meyers Brigg personality test and if so, what "type" are you?

I haven't taken the "official" one (cause you have to pay, and who's gonna do that?), but I did take a couple "pirated" tests and got INFJ, the Advocate. Apparently this is the rarest personality type, with less than 2% of the population being INFJ. So, according to this page, I am the same personality type as J.K. Rowling, Adolf Hitler, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Prince Caspian, Galadriel, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a bunch of others that I don't recognize. Weird! I wonder how they decide what people in the past/in fiction are which types?

• Favorite kind of music to listen to while driving?

There are a lot of different types of music I listen to, and I usually just put my library on shuffle. I like, for driving, music that is not boring. I like mellow stuff, and energetic stuff. Cheerful, and gloomy songs. But here are some things, just a very small sampling, that I have recently liked listening to: 

Runaway Train by Steven Delopoulos

Fields of Gold by Sting

Closer to the Edge by Burlap to Cashmere

• Ice cream or cake?

Ice cream all the way!!! I do like cake quite a bit, but if I had to choose, it would almost always be ice cream (or just get ice cream cake...make things easier for everyone). :D 

• Pick one character from Lord of the Rings, one from Narnia, and one from Harry Potter to be your friends. What kind of activities would you do?

Oooh, that's a hard one! I think that (going easiest first), I would have tea with Professor McGonagall--she has always been a favorite of mine for some reason. Then I would go for a horseback ride through the Narnian woods with Lucy. I think that she would be a whole lot of fun, and we would have a great time together, since Susan would be busy doing whatever she does at the castle. Now for the hard one. GAH! I like all the Lord of the Rings characters too much! I would like to have them ALL as my friends, in fact, maybe I'll just tag along with the entire Fellowship!
Oh well, since that is against Natalie's specific "one," I'm going to say probably Pippin. I would like to go on long walks throughout Hobbiton, getting introduced to various random friends and relations, and then head back and have a meal, maybe at Bag End, if Bilbo would feed us. That would be a good time! Pippin seems like he would be a fun sort of person. Then all four of us--me, Pippin, Lucy, and Minerva McGonagall--would go on grand adventures! (Now wouldn't that be a quartet to see.)

• BB-8 or R2-D2?

*shakes head* I'm leaving behind my traditional, true-to-the-original roots.  I gotta say BB-8. 

• Do you like to read short stories or do you prefer normal-length books?

I usually prefer books. I feel like there's a lot more time for development (in the plot and with the characters) in books, like I have more time to "get to know" the story. But, a series of short stories with a unified theme/main characters (for example Sherlock Holmes) gives me more time. Overall though, I prefer books. 

Miss March's Questions: 

• What do you think of having multiple blogs devoted to different topics? Do you think that would be terribly confusing, or do you think it would be a nice way of organizing things?

Oh, goodness gracious, that would be too confusing for me. I would certainly find some way to ruin everything and mix up my life. If I was a super serious blogger, who blogged as a career or whatever on a very regular basis, I could see having several blogs. But for my purposes as a "recreational blogger," it would be far too confusing. 

• What's one of the best new movies you've watched recently?

Definitely Incredibles 2, I really enjoyed that one! It was so much fun, and stayed true to the original. Plus, it was hilarious! But, I think the most mindblowing movie I've watched recently probably doesn't count. It was the first time I had seen it, but it came out in 2014, I think. Here is the trailer. It is the movie Interstellar, and...I was completely mindblown by it. It was fantastical and just...just a little bit overwhelming. (Disclaimer: my uncle bleeped it for us, so...there is some language, but not in the trailer.) It. Was. Amazing. However, I don't think it quite counts as new. HOWEVER: watch it. These two gifs pretty much sum up my whole reaction to the movie. (Bonus because they're both from the movie.) Okay, now I'll stop pitching it. 

• What book are you currently reading (if any)?

Well, I'm trying to make it through The Complete Sherlock Holmes. I'm close. So close. There are a lot of stories in there. But I'm nearly through it. After that, I plan to start The Nine Tailors, which is a mystery novel by Dorothy Sayers (And I'm trying to read Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens...*cough cough* which is taking a long time). 

• What's one storyline in books or movies that you think is highly overused?

Child has ideas that contradict parents'. Child disobeys/runs away in order to follow dreams, with the disagreement of one or both parents. Child ends up being right and parents end up being stupid and realizing how wrong they were. I mean, really? Do any authors and filmmakers know how non-realistic that is? Parents are ALMOST ALWAYS right! It's just...one of my pet peeves.

• Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather? Why?

Since I'm that one person who's always cold, I do prefer hot weather. I am less uncomfortable being too hot than too cold, and I like being able to run outside without bundling up in seventeen layers (and, since I live in Michigan, it does get cold). I prefer warmth and the ability to go outside and get out of the house. 

• Who's one of your favorite dad characters in book or film? One of your favorite mom characters?

Oooh...that's a tricky one! I'm tempted to say Elrond as my favorite dad character, partly because of this ridiculously long post from last year. I've always liked Elrond. But, as another, more realistic character, I would have to say George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life. (Oh, and Cooper from Interstellar, but I said I'd stop pitching that.) :) 

Now, for mom characters, it's a little harder, because I find that a lot of moms in movies are really glamorized, like they're perfect and can't do anything wrong, or they're just...really obnoxious and aren't very nice to their husbands. So, for this reason, Pixar wins the trophies: Elastagirl/Helen Parr, in the Incredibles, and Merida's mother, Elinor, in Brave, are the ones that first come to my mind. Oh, no, wait. I've got it. I love Mrs. Thornton, from North and South (BBC). She might seem grim and very stern, but every time I watch the movie, I like her better. Plus she has amazing hair. 

• If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

ACK! Anywhere??? Wow. The world is a super big place, and I don't know how, if someone presented me with that choice, I would decide! I'm really tempted to say New Zealand, to visit Hobbiton and see all the cool locations where LOTR, etc., was filmed. That would be truly awesome!  Either that or one of the really pretty places in Scotland or Ireland (or Iceland, even), to visit the old castles and see the beautiful countryside. Any of those would be fine. 

MiddleEarthMusician (MEM)'s  Questions: 

• Who is your favorite female fictional character?

Now that, right there, is a tricky question. Very tricky. There are so many that I like! Lucy Pevensie, Jo March, Elizabeth Bennet...I liked Evanlyn/Cassandra from Ranger's Apprentice for a long time...Rey is great...I don't know if I can nail down one specific favorite. But I really do like the female characters in N.D. Wilson's books. He has a knack for making them both feminine and not wimpy, not taking away the male roles and strengths, but still important and great in their own ways. I really like Henrietta Willis from 100 Cupboards, I always felt like I had something in common with her! 

• Are you more like Merry or Pippin?

Usually, I would have to say Pippin. I have this terrible tendency to not think before I speak, which...well, you know, that can be rather awkward. I also feel lost without my friends, and, while I don't usually seem social or extroverted, I don't like to be lonely. I need my family and friends with me, and I don't have to have a large friend group--just one or two people who are very close. And, um, I really like food. And I like to sing, but not in front of people. (See this post for the story of how I dropped a milk carton in the store and it exploded, which seems like a very Pippin thing to do.) 

• What is your favorite Princess Bride quote? 

I do use that one quite often...but honestly, the whole movie is my favorite quote!!! I cannot choose!!! So I'll just go with the two (probably) most quoted lines. Is that okay?? (Oh, and Inconceivable is kind of iconic, but everyone knows that.)

Josiah's Questions: (and he's my brother so I'm allowed to be rude)

• Would you rather be able to fly but only be able to stop by running into things, or be able to turn invisible but not not be able to control how long it lasted?

Oh, fly all the way. If I couldn't control how long my invisibility lasted, it could get a little awkward, couldn't it? Besides, you didn't say HOW FAST I had to be flying when I run into something to stop. And you didn't say what I had to run into. So, yes, definitely flying. 

• What is your position on the Theseus' Ship paradox?

Okay, so, here is a link to some more information about the background of this paradox. My take on it is that the ship which has had all the parts replaced is a sort of extremely accurate, exact replica, kind of like making a copy of a paper, but it ends up looking exactly the same. It's not the exact ship that it once was, seeing that everything has been replaced, but it still appears the same and seems the same. 

• On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being acceptable and 10 being totally wack, how would you rate pasta with marinara sauce?

It's totally wack, dude.

The Holmberg's Questions: 

• What is/was your favorite LEGO theme?

Definitely Lego Lord of the Rings! The sets were cool and the best part was the minifigures (of course, the minifigs are the best part of every Lego theme).

• Where have you gotten the most inspiration for writing?

I think most of my inspiration for writing has come from reading other people's stories and watching movies. After having so many different stories and characters run through my brain, there's usually a little bit of residue left in my brain, which, hopefully, isn't too cliched when I write it down. And, of course, everywhere I go, I see things that get filed away in my mind, waiting for a time to be used in some story or other. 

• What is your favorite soccer team?

Oh dear. Well, this depends on the season, on who's playing who, on which players are on which teams, and...well, lots of things. If we're talking National teams, I'd have to say USA because that's my country, but, since they're not in the World Cup, things are tricky this year. If we're talking MLS or Bundesliga, or whatever other non-national leagues, I really don't have any particular favorites, it all depends on context. I think that overall, the men's national USA team is my favorite, partly because it was watching their team that I was mainly introduced and learned the most about "real" soccer. 

(of course I had to put in some reference to Messi...)

• Which is the best BBC mini-series you've seen?

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ANSWER THAT?  

Well, I guess it will either be Emma (2009) or Pride and Prejudice (1995). Those are two exceedingly wonderful films, but I simply can't decide between them. I love P&P, because it was the first BBC film that I ever saw, and it's nostalgic and wonderful and all, but I also love Emma. So, one of those two. Nobody can ask me to decide between them, because if they do I might explode. 

• Was Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp the best Willy Wonka?

I think I would have to say Gene Wilder. Johnny Depp has his moments of being very funny, and I do think his Wonka was pretty good. Also, the Johnny Depp version stayed closer to the book's plot, which I liked, but there is simply no beating Gene Wilder's portrayal of the character of Willy Wonka. 

• What flavor of ice cream would Colderan like best? Chocolate, vanilla or cookie dough? What flavor would Lehye'ahl like best?

Ah-ha, so I know this is my little sister Lydia asking, because she's the only person who would know about these two characters! Wow, I had never contemplated this. This is important! If you don't even know your characters' favorite ice cream flavors, well, then what kind of an author are you???  I should have a quicker answer.

Hmm...out of those three flavors, I think Colderan would like cookie dough best. Cookie dough is a very cozy, happy flavor, and I think that's the kind of flavor that he would like best. 

Now, Lehye'ahl. That's a little trickier. I think he would like vanilla best, but it would have to be very fancy, because he's persnickety about things like that. It couldn't just be "grab a carton of ice cream and slop some in whatever bowl you find first." It would have to be a Very Good Brand, scooped at just the right temperature, in the perfect container, with amazing presentation. But the vanilla-ness sort of suits him.

Well NOW I'm hungry for ice cream. *pouts* 

But...it looks like that's all the questions! Wow, that took WAY longer than I expected! But what fun! That was a delightful thing to do, maybe I will make an anniversary ask-me-anything an annual thing! 

Thank you all Very Much for all your lovely questions, which were a great deal of fun to answer! :) Guess that's it for now!