Liebster Award - Passing it on with a twist

Al Diaz over at Father Dragon Writes gave me the Liebster Award. Thanks, Al! If you haven't checked out his blog, you should. He's very inspiring.

When I first found out I'd been tagged, I considered simply mentioning Al and linking back to an old award; but it's been a while since I got one of these and I liked his questions. I'm going to be a good sport and play. :)

Rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees;
3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)
4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

Questions for Al's nominees:

1. What genre do you write? 
Romance ...and Blog (posts). Lots and lots of blog posts. :P

2. What are you working on right now?  
A historical romance titled Come Back. It's the story of a young lady left behind by a wagon train traveling west. A hunky hero rescues her, of course.

3. Panster or plotter?
I'm a hybrid, but I'm leaning more toward 'plotter' as I grow as a writer and learn more about the craft.

4. What do you do when you get writer's block?
Hmm... Depends on what type of block. If it's just a portion of a scene that isn't coming easily, I push through it (even if the writing's lousy) and get past it, then come back and revise later. 

If I'm blocked on a description, I'll look up images on Google to spark my imagination and possibly click around on Thesaurus.com to add a layer of inspiring vocabulary. 

If I'm totally blocked and cranking out crap (or nothing at all), then I take a break to read or do housework or something. Often, while I'm immersed in something totally unrelated, the way to fix the problem will pop into my head and the lines will start flowing faster than I can write them down.

5. The best lesson you learned about writing?
There are lots of wonderful craft lessons, but the one that covers all the others is: Study the craft and then listen to your betas and critters. Don't shy away from constructive advice. You don't have to accept everything they say—some of their comments you should disregard—but suggestions made by the majority and advice you know in your heart is right, you should heed.

6. Which POV do you prefer to write?
I started out writing in third person multi (my first three WIPs are that—it's good for romance because you can get into the hero's head), but I'm going to give first person a try for my dystopian.

7. How do you respond to critiques?
That depends on the critter, their delivery, and my relationship with them. I sometimes get my hackles up a little when I first read one, but I've learned to take a deep breath and give it time. Often it's not that I totally disagree, my stubborn side just needs some convincing—either from them or from me—to help me accept the changes.

Of course, there are always suggestions I embrace right away, often those that address something I was already debating. And then there are the facepalms—the holy-cow-how-did-I-miss-that! mistakes. LOL 

8. Do you argue with your characters?
No, but I mutter about them under my breath when they refuse to do or say what I want them to or when they take over and steer the scene in another direction than I had planned. 

Just last week, a minor character—a humble one, at that—asserted himself and took center stage. He was swoonworthy, so I let him. :P

9. Do you have a bad timing muse (i.e. the one who gives you the best ideas when you can't do nothing about them)?
Oh, heck yeah. It's the reason I have post-it notes and pencils scattered all over the house. I've also become proficient at emailing scenes to myself when I'm away from home.

10. The book you cherish the most?
My Bible.

11. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kind?
I used to require total silence to write, and sometimes I still do, but I've started listening to instrumental music. I also play sound effects when I'm writing a scene that has them, such as howling wind for a blizzard or rushing water for a river scene.

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Now I just have to choose other bloggers to nominate. I decided to put a little twist on things and nominate book review bloggers instead of writers.

Nadia at Total Book Nerd

Laura at BookishTreasures

Diana at All’s fair with pen and paper
Ava at Book Nerds Anonymous   

Tee at A Diary of a Book Addict (YA) & Kaidans Seduction (Adult/NA)

Anna at Anna Reads (YA/NA?)
The ladies over at Dear Author
Ara at The Rookie Scrivener
 Mindy at Min Reads and Reviews
Penelope at Library at the End of the Universe
Lyra at Defiantly Deviant - she has more than 200 followers, but she's a new blogger, so I'm including her. (YA/NA)

Here are your questions:
1. How did you get started reviewing books?
2. What types of books do you review?
3. What is you most favorite genre to read?
4. Do you use a star system or something else?
5. Do you have a standard format you follow when you write your reviews, or do you just write about your thoughts and feelings in a more random way? 
6. Is there anything you dislike about the review process?
7. What do you like best about it?
8. Have you ever met a famous author in person?
9. Do you have a favorite format (paperback, e-book)?
10. Do you ever do video reviews? 
11. Do you write fiction, too?

If you decide to accept the award, post your answers, then come back here and leave us a link to the post in the comments. 

Thanks for visiting. :)