Liebster Award

My, my, another tag! How fun! This one comes from Skye Hoffert over at Ink Castles. Go check out her Liebster post. She had some great answers.

And now on to her questions (which are also great!):

1. Why do you write?
Because I can't not write—story is in my bones. Whenever I take a hiatus, by the time it's over, I am positively itching to get back to writing. But the biggest reason I write is because I believe God planted this seed in me, and I want to develop this gift and use it to glorify Him. Stories are powerful vessels of truth. They pierce the heart like nothing else and deposit eternal treasure there. If I can use a tale to make someone think, to inspire them or give them courage . . . I've done my job.

2. Favorite fictional character this month?
Ooh, that's a hard one. I'd have to say Tris, because I just reread Divergent. (Insurgent is waiting quite impatiently on my stack of books to read.) I admire her bravery and identify somewhat with her angsty "what-should-I-choose" moments. Not that I agree with everything she does, but she's spunky and fascinating, I'll give her that.

3. What summer songs are you listening to?
Owl City's Ocean Eyes: Deluxe Edition, which I just recently bought. His music is perfect for summer! Also Hawk Nelson's new album, Diamonds. Fun music, encouraging lyrics.

4. Favorite book you've read this month?
Skye, please, are you trying to torture me?? Ahh, fine. Outlaw by Ted Dekker.

5. What is a movie or TV show you would recommend?
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, for sure. I watched it last year and it impacted me so much. It's one of those movies that you can't just walk away from; I sat through the credits and didn't move for a while after it stopped, reeling from the blow. It's an incredible portrait of humanity, war, and family. (And yes, I did cry.)

6. What is your favorite summer activity?
Vacationing with my family and just lazing in the sun with a good book. Oh wait, can I pick two?

7. What is something you admire about yourself?
My efforts to encourage those around me, or, I suppose, my determination/focus in certain areas.

8. Favorite Bible verse?
One of my favorites is Isaiah 41:10. "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

9. Do you play video games? If so, what are your favorite games?
No, not really. Or at least, I don't consider myself a gamer. All those buttons and attacks to remember! I fail epically at anything resembling Super Smash Bros Brawl, for instance. I'm more of an Animal Crossing type of girl. Simple, no frantic fighting . . . But no, I don't play video games that often.

10. What is something you're scared to do?
Jump off a cliff, parachute, swim with sharks, get within a twenty-foot radius of a tarantula . . . Oh, you mean something deep and serious? Okay. Well, some days thoughts about the unknown future can be scary. (Hello there, college/career/BIG LIFE DECISIONS.) But it's another one of those areas where I'm learning to trust God. His plan for me is far better than anything I can dream up.

11. What is your goal this month?
May is almost over—where does time go?! But I do have a goal for the remainder of this month, and that is to finish outlining book 2, which I'm about to rewrite. Whether I make that goal or not depends on how many snags I run into during this plotting phase. But here's hoping that wave after wave of brilliance carries this outline to the smooth, sandy shore of epic story-ness!

Now 'tis my turn to come up with eleven questions and tag some more bloggers. I'm borrowing a couple of Skye's questions, but the rest are my own.

1. What's one of your favorite summer reads?
2. What's your favorite way to cool off on a hot summer day?
3. What's a combination of three authors' "special somethings" that you'd like to emulate in your own writing? (E.g., Tolkien's worldbuilding, Lewis's appeal to both children and adults with Narnia, and Bryan Davis's characters.)
4. What music are you currently listening to?
5. Which superhero (from either Marvel or DC) are you most like?
6. What's your favorite fantasy creature you've ever read about?
7. Chocolate or vanilla?
8. What's something you admire about yourself?
9. Which do you prefer: writing by hand or typing?
10. If failing was impossible, what would you do?
11. What's something God has taught you recently, new or rediscovered?

I hereby tag . . . you.

I would be specific, truly I would, but this time around, many of the bloggers I would've picked have already been tagged. So I leave it open to all of you reading this! If you've never had the Liebster tag, grab it. If you've done it too many times to count and want to do it again, grab it. If you suddenly have the urge to answer all 11 questions, or maybe just one or two catch your attention—doesn't matter. You can snatch any or all of them and do with them as you please. :) Or even just answer some in the comments. I'm curious to see what your responses are!