Hi Jim.

So many questions... so little time! Just kidding! I'm on my lunch break.

Below are my answers.

I write as often as possible, which isn't enough since I still have a day job to pay for health insurance. I write mostly on my days off, in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else is asleep (i.e. in peace and quiet).

I tend to write in our study, a bright happy room with a fireplace and overstuffed old-fashioned furniture. When the door is closed everyone knows to stay clear (except the cats of course, who will do their darndest to get in there and lay across my laptop).

Short stories just happen. Something I saw in my daily travels or something I heard on the radio will prompt a short story. I come from a disfunctional family, so many story ideas come out of my background when I ruminate on why my sister is such a nasty person.

My two novels in progress stem from my experiences living in Europe for years. I dreamt them both up while falling asleep at night. I wrote each novel in my head completely before putting them on the computer. I guess you could consider that an outline. I also established an Excel spreadsheet with a tab for each character, where I did a mini-biography and time line to keep things straight.

I edit on screen. I'm a very green-oriented person (was before it became popular) and if I have to print something out, I do it on the back of scrap paper that folks throw into the recycle bin at work.

I never sit down at my computer if I can't think of something to write. Why bother wasting the electricity and time it takes to fire up the laptop? Instead, I go out in the garden and pull some weeds, go for a walk around the lake in our town, brush the cats or call/email a friend. It's amazing how those little things can jump-start your imagination.

So if you're going to put this into some kind of anthology (sounds like it), how would you like to have a writing partner? Huh? What do I mean? Read the July issue of Writers Digest to find out (whoops, shouldn't mention the competition here, but I do read both magazines - they both have their merits, although they are quite different).

I've been 'playing' with writing for about 25 years.  I started out in middle school writing Star Wars and Star Trek knock-offs but that was about it.  About a year ago I realized that writing is one of the few things I've stuck with through thick and thin (besides my family) and still return to when I'm feeling really lost and down. 

For most of that time I've also been aimlessly trying to figure out what to go to school for.  I have been taking about 1 class a year for the last 18 years and felt pretty lost.  So with all of that in mind I am now writing on a regular basis.  I finished one 49,000 word 'novel' in that time and now I just try to make sure I write about 1,000 words four or five days out of the week.  As long as I'm writing.  Sometimes it's in the morning, sometimes it's in the afternoon or in the middle of the night.  For me, the time really doesn't matter as long as I get those 1,000 words.  Heck I've even been known to scribble the 1,000 out on a pad of paper in between class and work!