The “Never Have I Ever” Writing Tag

I’m not in the habit of doing blog tags, but when I saw this on Hamlette’s blog I thought the questions were so much fun that I had to give it a shot. I’m not violating Internet etiquette by appropriating it without being tagged, am I? (Just kidding.)

Never have I ever…

…started a novel that I did not finish.

I have started too many novels that I did not finish. Some just clearly weren’t meant to be, but with others the thought of them literally hurts.

…written a story completely by hand.

I write all my stories by hand, so it’d be more remarkable if I ever wrote one completely on the computer.

…changed tenses midway through a story.

I hardly ever use anything but past tense, but I did write a large chunk of A Sidekick’s Tale in present tense before deciding to switch. Present tense actually does work well for comedy (see: O. Henry and Damon Runyan), but some scenes in A Sidekick’s Tale just weren’t coming off properly so I ultimately decided to use past instead.

…changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft.

I have indeed. A few obstinate characters have run through three or four names before I was satisfied with them.

…written a story in a month or less.

Sure! Shorter stories, at least. I’ve won NaNoWriMo a couple of times too, but I’m not sure my winning wordcount ever actually represented a completed novel.

…fallen asleep while writing.

I’m not sure how this even works.

…corrected someone’s grammar irl/online.

I’m sure I have, but I’m also pretty sure it’s always been with close family and has involved a lot of laughter from all parties.

…yelled in all caps at myself in the middle of a novel.

If scribbling “FIX” or “CHANGE” in the margin of a page counts, then yes.

…killed a character who was based off someone I know in real life.

I have not. None of my characters are wholly based on anyone real, and I kind of have trouble killing characters anyway, so…

…used pop culture references in a story.

Oh yes, certainly—pop culture of previous centuries.

…not researched anything before starting a story.

Sometimes. Once in a while if I’m writing in a setting/era that I’m already very familiar with, I’ll draft first and do research on the details later. Not if a major plot point turns on a question of historical accuracy, though!

…used “I’m writing” as an excuse.

Pretty sure I’ve managed to wriggle out of folding a load of laundry this way…some of the time.

…written between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Not that I remember, unless I’ve crawled out of bed to scribble down a quick note for an idea in the middle of the night. (Perhaps not surprising that I can’t remember it in that case.)

…drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.

Have not. I hardly ever drink coffee at all.

…laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.

I take some issue with the “evil villain” part, but I’ve definitely snickered with glee.

…written down dreams to use in potential novels.

I don’t think so? I’ve written in my journal about dreams I found amusing, but I don’t think any of it has ever made its way into a story.

…published an unedited story on the internet/Wattpad/blog.

Have not. Even short snippets or excerpts from a work-in-progress get a quick lick and polish before going online!

…procrastinated homework because I wanted to write.

Well, I was homeschooled, so technically all my schoolwork was homework. In addition, a lot of writing I did for fun probably doubled as creative writing for school, so it all blurs together in my memory so that I honestly can’t remember!

…typed so long that my wrists hurt.

Haven’t. I’ve typed till my eyes hurt, though (blasted computer screens).

…spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.

Thankfully, have not.

…forgotten to save my work/draft.

No particularly traumatic instances stick out in my memory…thankfully. But sometimes I’ve ended up terribly annoyed with myself because I had a good idea for a scene or a line of dialogue and neglected to write it down, and couldn’t remember it later.

…finished a novel.

I have! Two full-length manuscripts and several shorter ones.

…cried while writing a scene.

Very, very rarely. Once or twice perhaps.

…created maps of my fictional worlds.

I’ve scribbled out extremely rough diagrams of imaginary locations for stories, ranging from house floor plans to an imaginary country. Nothing that’s going to end up as a frontispiece, however; I am no artist.

…researched something shady for a novel.

I guess that depends on your point of view. Personally I don’t think reading up on the caliber of antique firearms or notable crimes and trials of a prior century is too odd.

Since I helped myself to this tag, I won’t hand it on to anybody in particular, but feel free to play if you want to!