Monday, September 3, 2012

GUTGAA: Meet and Greet

Where do you write?
It varies. I write in bed or in the living room. I've even written during my lunch periods at work.

Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
It's the September issue of Baltimore Magazine on my bedside table.

Favorite time to write?
I'd probably have to say during the afternoon on the weekend. Actually, during the afternoon on any day, since I've had a lot of productive lunches before.

Drink of choice while writing?
I always have ice water with me. I drink a lot of water.

When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?
It can vary, but I usually have something turned on for background noise. It's usually the TV on a low volume, but no show in particular.

What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
I'm about to publish my second book, which is part two in a series.  I guess my inspiration has come from the amount of reading I've done over the past few years.  Working for a university definitely had a nice perk of checking out a lot of books out from its library.  I'd written poetry, short stories, and songs in the past, but it wasn't until I had read so many great stories that it made me realize how much I always wanted to write books.  I loved the idea of creating a work of dystopian fiction.  I self published part one in November 2011.

What's your most valuable writing tip?
Try to think of something unique. It can be a character's name or personality, plot, location, or whatever.  Let the unique guide your story.

BIO:
S. T. Lakata
Married; June 2011
I left my old job with Radford University, moved to Baltimore, and got married.  My wife and I have been seeing each other since October 2008.  We're expecting our first baby around mid-October.  It's going to be a girl and her nickname is "baby owl."

I really enjoy to run when I can, listen to music, try new foods, and seeing friends and family. I would love to eventually be a full-time writer and have that be my career.  I'm really excited about being a father.  I'm happy and can't wait to meet her.

I'll be happy to answer any other questions and I'm available on other social media outlets.
Twitter - @STLakata
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSTLakata
Google+ - S. T. Lakata
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

48 comments:

  1. How exciting for you and your wife! I love the nickname. Dystopian novels are my weakness. I think writing one would be all kinds of fun :) It's nice to meet you! You can consider me a new follower :D

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    1. Thanks for your comment and following me! It's nice to meet you too! We're so excited about our baby girl.

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  2. Congratulations on the new baby! I had to know what we were "getting" both times. For me, it made it all the more exciting! Your post made me feel guilty about my non-water habits, so now I have a large class next to my computer for visiting GUTGAA people! You inspired me!

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    1. Thank you for the congratulations and follow! We can't wait for her to be here. I'm also glad I could provide some kind of inspiration. Water is what I mainly drink now, because I used to live off of sodas.

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  3. Hi! Nice to meet you! And congrats on the baby girl! And a really good advice.
    Well, read you around, and make sure to stop by and say hi!

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    1. Hi! Thanks for the congrats! It's nice to meet you too. I'll stop by and check out your page!

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  4. Hey! The first "local" GUTGAA member I've run across! Howdy from a few miles down I-70! Good luck with the baby owl. Before my daughter was born, we called her Twitchy. Baby owl is a lot sweeter! :)

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    1. Hey! A nearby GUTGAA member! It's nice to meet you. Thanks for wishing me good luck! Twitchy sounds like a fun and cute name.

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  5. Hello! *waves* So nice to meet you!

    That advice is different than on any other blog I've read but its SO spot on. I think of it as, write the one line pitch first. Is there something in that one line pitch that would interest a publisher/agent? That makes it stand out? If so, you've got yourself a winner :)

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    1. Hi! It's nice to meet you too! I'm glad you liked my little bit of advice. I think your advice is important too. It's great to keep writing. It's a key way to help stretch the imagination.

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  6. Congrat's on your new little one,baby owl, so sweet. Good to meet you here, through the GUTGAA

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    1. Thank you for the congrats! She'll be here before we know it. It's nice to meet you too!

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  7. Nice to meet you! For me something unique for a story usually comes in the for of a emotion.

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    1. Thank you for the comment! It's nice to meet you too!

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  8. Well, get as much writing in as you can now... you're about to get a whole lot busier!! :) Good luck with GUTGAA and in the future!

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    1. Thank you for the comment! I've been trying to get as much writing in as I can over the past few months. Good luck to you as well!

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  9. Congrats on the baby and good luck with the new book!

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    1. Thank you so much! It's been a very exciting past eight months.

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  10. There's a lot of people that write in bed. I can't do that. I have enough problems staying awake at the computer on my desk, let alone writing in bed.

    Congrats on the baby! Just warning you, your writing time/ability will change. Don't get discouraged. Write when you can, create a new schedule, stay flexible and don't give up on your dream!

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    1. Thanks for the congrats and comment! I'm definitely trying to squeeze as much time as I can into finishing part two of my series.

      My writing location can vary, but I think writing in bed might become my primary spot once she gets here.

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  11. Congrats on the pregnancy :) I bet that little girl will give you plenty of great ideas for your next book!

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    1. Thank you for the congrats! I can't wait for her to get here. The thought of her has made me think about writing kids' books too.

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  12. Nice to meet you from GUTGAA and congrats on the new baby:) Little owl sounds super sweet!

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    1. Thank you so much for the comment and congrats! We're super excited! It's nice to meet you too!

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  13. Awww, baby owl - precious. Have fun with GUTGAA!

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    1. Thank you! I hope you have fun with GUTGAA too! It's nice to meet you.

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  14. Thanks for following me. I've written in bed at times. The baby will change your life.

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    1. Thanks for following me too! We're so excited about the baby. I have a feeling that writing in bed will become a more common thing once she gets here.

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  15. Congrats with the little one! I love the nickname baby owl, it's so cute! Good luck in GUTGAA! I'm #141 on the linky list!

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    1. Thanks!! We can't wait to meet her. Good luck with GUTGAA too! Thanks for letting me know about your number on the list. I'll check your page out!

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  16. Awwww what a cute little nickname! Congratulations!

    And that's a really good tip. I've just rewritten my first book (which I didn't do this for) and the query side of things is hell. I think if you start with the one line, it makes it a whole lot easier in the end.

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    1. Thank you for the comment and congrats! It's nice to meet you! I'm glad I could provide something useful on the side of writing. I liked what you said, "write what you want." It's great to get so involved in a genre that I find appealing.

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  17. Oh, drinking a lot of water is so good. I'm trying to do that more.

    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/09/deana-barnharts-gearing-up-to-get-agent.html

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    1. Water is definitely my primary beverage. Thanks for the link! I'll make sure to visit.

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  18. Congrats of new baby!! :) Enjoy GUTGAA!!

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    1. Thank you so much! I hope you're enjoying GUTGAA! It's nice to meet you!

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  19. Congrats on the new baby and on the book release. The pictures on your blog are beautiful. Nice to meet you.

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    1. Thank you so much!! It's nice to meet you too! I'm glad you like the pictures. Have a great weekend!

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  20. I like to write in lots of different spots too. I start in bed writing in a notebook, then up and on my laptop - might take it to the library or a coffee shop later. So I can understand you're variations (although I am not to be trusted with the tv on).

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    1. Thank you for your comment. My writing spots definitely vary, but that might be changing very soon to where I just write in bed. I usually turn on some type of show or movie I've seen before as background noise, which makes it easier.

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  21. I'm getting over here really late, but I just wanted to say hi to another GUTGAA'er. I love that you call your baby "baby owl" That's too cute.

    I'm also really impressed that you self-published. If I can't find an agent for my current manuscript, I'm thinking of going that route. Would you recommend it? Has your book sold a decent amount of copies? How hard/expensive was it to self-publish?

    Sorry about all the questions! I'm just really curious about that. Anyway, I'd love it if you'd stop by my blog and say hi. I'm always looking for new writer friends, so you have a new follower. :) Good luck with GUTGAA!

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    1. Hi! Thanks for the comment! It wasn't expensive to self-publish. I'm currently selling online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. They take a percentage, but you get the majority of royalties. It has taken a lot of work to self-publish with regards to editing and trying to make sure everything is perfect before putting it out there. I'm currently working on getting part two of "The Weiland Kershaw Series" out there. I've just completed the third and final revision. Each revision I do involves several reviews.

      I love it! I'm open to getting an agent too, so I'm willing to try other options if it's the right fit. I'd recommend self-publishing if you're comfortable doing it. Amazon and B&N do not charge anything to use their services with the exception of what they calculate into their royalties. There are additional services too, so you can do a little research if that's the route you take. There are also companies that provide ebook and print services for a cost.

      Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll buzz you if I think of any other ideas too. I definitely have enjoyed GUTGAA and getting to know other writers. It's nice to meet you!

      I'm on Twitter, FB, and Google+ if you want to ask more questions and don't feel like posting to a blog.

      Good luck to you too!!

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  22. Baby owl is such a cute nickname! Congratulations! Good luck with GUTGAA. :)

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    1. Thank you so much!! We're really excited! Good luck to you too. GUTGAA has been a lot of fun.

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  23. Hi! I nominated you for the Reader Appreciation Awards. Please, check my blog if you feel like participating.

    XOXO,

    Johana

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    1. Thank you for nominating me! That's very nice of you! I'll check out your blog to see what it's about.

      Thanks!

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