@Priyajsridhar

A5. Last question before self-promo! Then there's burnout, which I feel will be the subject of another chat. How do you handle it, when your writing is only fumes? #Writephant

I burnt out from my first career as a published author in 2001. I handled it by one day simply STOPPING. Cold turkey. No, I did not erase all my work and throw out the computer! I walked away. At the dawn of the digital age, I took up photography. I called it my short form because, as my I say in my title line, I was a novelist and did not write anything short. Every investment I made as an author was costly in time and lifespan.

Obviously, I am on the other side now. I found I could not NOT write and by 2015 I found a writing-lite solution to not being able to communicate my ideas about the world through my stories (the cause of the burnout being I was writing but nobody was buying). My solution was fan fiction, stuff that was meaningless as far as making money, because I couldn't, but I did get read and did get feedback, which was the coin I really needed at the time. I used it to address my writing issues, which by that time I could see more fully.

Now I'm writing commercially. My own SFF and fantasy worlds. More in my pinned introduction.

#PennedPossibilities 638 — Is your SC more introverted or extroverted? Or do they fall somewhere in the middle?

Dante is an introvert. (Unless you get enough booze in him, of course.) He's a quiet, studious doctor who keeps to himself. Only his friend's know his true silliness. He's a man with a dry wit, good jokes, and will help wherever and however he can. Only the gang see that side of him. He's a kind, sweet, and caring friend.

Junk is a complete extrovert who would do /anything/ for anyone, whether it's deadly serious or something related to any fun escapades. He's a silly man, but he's also a fierce friend, so the "favor" doesn't matter. (He's similar to Dante in that respect.) He's always been extroverted as well. He's loud and proud. He's definitely the type to show up to a hostile takeover assignment (for a gang's territory) in a hot dog costume as well, so...

I could go into detail about the other characters but this post would end up being wicked long, so I'll refrain.

@Priyajsridhar

A4. If you were writing a story focusing on a character's injury, sickness or chronic condition, what tone would you take? Have you written such stories before? #Writephant

This question makes me chuckle. Yes, I have written such stories! It's not that the devil-girl stories are specifically about injury or mental issues that could use a bit of therapy, or about autism which they don't have a word for in her society because they see it as on the spectrum of being human, but it ends up being that way. She's a fighter, in attitude and in practice, so she gets hurt A LOT. She even becomes disabled and it's only with daily therapy that she can appear fully functional. She pushes on through, noting and discussing how she feels in her first person narrative, and when she's a prizefighter it is more of the same but a lot more often. To reach her goals, she sees trade-offs; it's a negotiation with reality. She makes sure her pain is a down payment on success, or that she learns something from experiencing it. That's her attitude: I win or I learn something about it.

The PTSD, however, infuriates and embarrasses her, and badly gets in the way. When she gets an episode, it is completely on screen. It turns her into a marionette with a few cut strings and we see her waking nightmares and horror replays I shan't detail here. In the end, it's her friends that help her find her balance again, and help her discover and overcome her triggers.

I take the tone of being intense.

@Priyajsridhar

A3. Does your physical or mental state affect your writing? If so, do you take frequent breaks or engage in self-care, especially if you're physically injured? Mind you don't have to disclose specifics since this question is very personal. #Writephant

Yes. I was once had a depressive personality. I learned for me it was that I had an illusion that I could control "things," and when I realized it was an illusion and I couldn't control "things," my depression pretty much went away. It doesn't mean I don't have "phases" when I just don't wanna. I heed that message. If I'm physically unwell, like when fibromyalgia sets in, I've learned to do only what I capable of—when that means ignoring my condition, I write anyway. Sometimes, amazingly, I can single thread (verses multi-tasking) in a Zen way and get a lot written so long as I don't expand my awareness.

@Priyajsridhar
I'm Elektra Hammond. Find me at untilmidnight.com

See me talk about SF/F, writing, comics, TV, and Supernatural at Con-Tinual (the Con that Never Ends) on Facebook and Youtube.

My next convention will be Balticon on Memorial Day weekend, where Permutations, an anthology based on Jack Chalker's Well World will launch.

@Priyajsridhar
A1. To you, what does good health mean? And it doesn't have to be the conventional, stereotypical definition of "skinny, muscular and attractive" or parameters like BMI. #Writephant

For me, it means being capable to do what I want and think without being foggy without pain.

For the women in my stories, it is definitely not skinny, and most consider themselves average. Their men seem to prefer that. Those that are strong don't consider it an attribute of good health so much as a means towards their goals.

@Priyajsridhar
Howdy!
Today I'm finding joy in learning a new Tang Soo Do form: Pyung Ahn Sam Dan. It was a *really* good class today.

And I'm reveling in just (now) finishing a book I'd been looking forward to reading: Cory Doctorow's Red Team Blues. Martin Hench (protag) is a silicon valley version of Travis McGee. Loved this book so so much!

Have a pink cat pic. Purple one is her 2nd fav toy, Eve.