Sixty Seconds II with: M. T. Decker

Ten answers to ten questions in 20 words or fewer. That’s less time than it takes to burn a match*.

(*Depending on the length of the match and your tolerance for burned fingers, obviously)

Our latest Flash! Friday winner (for her 2nd time) is M. T. Decker.  Read her winning story here, then take one minute to get to know her better. (Read her first interview here.)

1) What about the prompt inspired you to write your winning piece? I didn’t really see any point of reference, so the matter of scale came into play: life sized or 1:24th scale?

2) Do you outline, or are you more of a discovery writer? I’m a bit of both.  Usually I know the beginning and the end of a story with a few snippets in the middle. 

3) How would you describe your writing style? Eclectic?  with a twist? and a dash of humor?

4) When did you begin writing fiction? I’ll go with “as a child”; it’s a good answer.

5) Introduce us to a favorite character in one of your stories. Just one? Jess Miller: Mundane Motorcycle Medic in a world of heroes corporations and monsters (and yes, dragons). She’s the face to the ordinary in the middle of the extraordinary.  

6) What books have influenced your life the most? The Chronicles of Prydain (Lloyd Alexander); The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien); The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas); The Tao of Programming (Geoffrey James)

7) What are you currently reading? I’m in the middle of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month); I’m lucky if I can slip a bit of Bass Player in.  

8) How do you combat writer’s block? Edit.  Usually when I’m blocked it’s because there’s something wrong in the story I’m working on and my subconscious locks on the wrongness.  

9) What is the best writing advice you’ve ever been given? Two parts – Read: Read outside your genre, read fiction and non-fiction.  and Write.  Just write, keep writing, keep learning, push yourself and… write.

10) What do you admire most about dragons? How many variations there are:  the sentient, fire-breathing dragons of McCaffrey, the powerful and unknowable ones of Dragonsbane; and the  ancient ones who covet knowledge like in Tea with the Black Dragon.  Basically they are … anything we can imagine. {{Editor’s Note: winners are always allowed to wax eloquent where dragons are concerned.}}