A Pantster on Top Ten Tuesday

I decided, on the spur of the moment, to participate in The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday. Being a pantster, when else would I decide to participate? I'd glanced at topics before, but struggled to come up with more than two or three responses, which makes for a weak top 10. I feel like I'm cheating a bit, because my blog isn't exclusively reviews. Ah, well.

The topic is, Top Ten Posts I Think Give You the Best Glimpse of Me

1. Plotting by the Seat of Your Pants explains the blog title better than any of my earlier posts on the topic. I write by the seat of my pants, and that post explains why that's my approach, in the face of lots of writers who'll tell you an outline is necessary.

2. Turning Negatives Into Positives wrapped up an impromptu series about my weak points as a writer. So, not only can you read about the things that get in my way, you can read the links to see how I deal with them.

3. Rules to Review by lists the standards I hold myself to with my reviews, and therefore what people can expect from them. It's a short list, but I've been consistent on those points.

4. Reading for Pleasure is my reaction to being told there are books that are good for me, and that I should, therefore, read. If it's not fun, I won't read it. There are books that are both good for you and a pleasant read (precisely why I'm taking part in Roof Beam Reader's Austen in August event), but talking about literary value isn't how you talk me into reading a book.

5. Bad Grammar Makes Me [Sic] discusses how I feel about grammar, and why I post about grammar mistakes or how to properly punctuate. I'm no Grammar Girl, but I don't think there's such a thing as overdoing information about how to use grammar correctly on the internet.

6. Narrative Kinks lists the things in stories that turn me on. If I see those elements in a story, movie, or TV show, I'm apt to love it, unless it does one of the other things very, very badly.

7. Care and Feeding of Authors is a how-to guide on approaching authors to spend time with them without leaving them with a bad impression of you. The post leads into the stories of the times I had dinner with Peter S. Beagle and Seanan McGuire. I love telling those stories. I get so warm and fuzzy thinking about them.

8. Perpetual Rewrites reveals how I got into a particular habit I have, and why it's made it easier to edit earlier drafts. It's a story of a younger, less intrepid pantster.

9. Learning to Write discusses the ways a young writer-in-training can learn how to be better. I talk about how I think college actually got in my way, and less expensive alternatives.

10. Insurmountable Obstacles to Writing is generally about recognizing when you're in over your head, but it reveals a major problem I struggle with. I have a manageable form of depression, but I have to watch for the signs and prioritize, sometimes. That's the most personal entry in my entire blog.

There. In ten posts, I think that's the most complete picture you'll have of me. Now you don't have to read the other 303 posts. (Though, feel free to poke around, and let me know if there's something you'd like to see me post about, or if there's a post label that would make some things easier to find.)