Never Have I Ever, Writer Edition

Writing

I came upon this tag through the super cool author, blogger, and all around good guy, Rami Ungar. Thanks, Rami!  Credit goes to The Long Voyage for the original version of this tag.

Confession: I didn’t know what the Never Have I Ever drinking game was. I had to Google it. (Eye roll. I live such a sheltered life!) The idea is to truthfully say, “No, I’ve never done that,” to questions that other people say, “Yes, I admit I’ve done that.” Rest assured, the blogger version involves no alcohol and is (almost) clean.

NEVER HAVE I EVER STARTED A NOVEL THAT I DID NOT FINISH.
No . . . well, sorta. I do have three full novels that sit unedited on my computer. (To do next quarter: edit those suckers or delete them, but I really must save them from languishing in limbo.)

NEVER HAVE I EVER WRITTEN A STORY COMPLETELY BY HAND.
Yes, I did. It was frustrating, all the crossing out and margin notes and flipping pages to search what I had written for details (did I say her dress was red or blue?) . . . never again.

NEVER HAVE I EVER CHANGED TENSES IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORY.
I accidentally changed tenses on my wasp story when I was sleepy, but I went back and fixed it.:-)

NEVER HAVE I EVER NOT RESEARCHED ANYTHING BEFORE STARTING A STORY.
I stress over real-life details in a story, so I always research first!

NEVER HAVE I EVER CHANGED A PROTAGONIST’S NAME HALFWAY THROUGH A DRAFT.
Yes, I’ve changed the main character’s name halfway through. Surely this is common?? After repeatedly typing a name you get sick of it and change it. (Okay, Rami says he’s never changed the protagonist’s name, but Rami is in superhero territory. He’s got the cape and everything.)

NEVER HAVE I EVER FALLEN ASLEEP WHILE WRITING.
Busted . . . I’ve totally fallen asleep while writing. (I should probably aim for a better night’s sleep so I won’t fall asleep while writing!)

NEVER HAVE I EVER CORRECTED SOMEONE’S GRAMMAR IN REAL LIFE OR ONLINE.
This question is no fair. I’m a mom, and moms do that.

NEVER HAVE I EVER YELLED IN ALL CAPS AT MYSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A NOVEL.
Yes, I have. Wait a minute . . . who’s been looking over my shoulder as I write? (STOP FREAKING OUT, PRISCILLA!)

NEVER HAVE I EVER USED “I’M WRITING” AS AN EXCUSE.
No . . . because a reason is different than an excuse.:-)

NEVER HAVE I EVER KILLED A CHARACTER BASED ON SOMEONE I KNOW IN REAL LIFE.
If a doomed character in one of my stories resembles someone in real life, it’s just a coincidence. Yeah, a coincidence, let’s go with that.

NEVER HAVE I EVER DRANK AN ENTIRE POT OF COFFEE WHILE WRITING.
I totally have. My name is Priscilla, and I am seriously addicted to coffee.

NEVER HAVE I EVER SPILLED A DRINK ON MY LAPTOP WHILE WRITING.
No, I haven’t spilled anything on my laptop, which is amazing considering all the coffee I drink.

NEVER HAVE I EVER WRITTEN BETWEEN 1 A.M. AND 6 A.M.
Oh please, find me a writer who has not written between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.

NEVER HAVE I EVER WRITTEN DOWN DREAMS TO USE IN POTENTIAL PLOTS.
Again, find me a writer who has not written down dreams to use in potential plots.

NEVER HAVE I EVER PUBLISHED AN UNEDITED STORY ONLINE.
No, I’ve never published anything unedited. You gotta edit. It’s part of being professional.

NEVER HAVE I EVER TYPED SO LONG MY WRISTS HURT.
Actually, I have typed so long my wrists hurt. But ever since I learned Raymond Chandler had to put bandages on his fingertips in order to type, I’ve stopped complaining.

NEVER HAVE I EVER FORGOTTEN TO SAVE MY WORK.
I learned my lesson, and now I always save. The key I think is having automatic backups. (I use SyncBack.)

NEVER HAVE I EVER LAUGHED LIKE AN EVIL VILLAIN WHILE WRITING A SCENE.
Well, I am a horror writer . . . .

NEVER HAVE I EVER CRIED WHILE WRITING A SCENE.
Yes, I have cried. Amazing how we writers can get attached to our characters, isn’t it?

I’m not one to tag others, but it’s a fun tag, so if you wanna do this one, go for it. Here are the rules:

  • Link and thank the blogger who tagged you.
  • Include the graphic somewhere in the post (or make your own!)
  • Answer the questions truthfully and honestly.
  • Tag 3 bloggers.

Raymond Chandler’s fingertips: https://detnovelcom.wordpress.com/raymond-chandler/.

Feature image by Derick McKinney on unsplash (altered).

Published

82 thoughts on “Never Have I Ever, Writer Edition”

  1. This was such a fun post. I loved your answers Priscilla. I can cop a yes to about 10 of the statements, including writing between 1AM and 6AM, though I don’t do it often. I do love when I get to chuckle manically while writing a particularly good villain scene, LOL!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yeah, I try to be more disciplined nowadays in my sleep habits. It’s just not good to be up at all hours of the night. (Still, some days . . . .) You’ve had excellent story villains to inspire your maniacal chuckles! Thanks for stopping by, Mae.:-)

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  3. It’s a great idea. I don’t do tags either because a long while back I ended up having little time to do anything else and decided not to. Because I’ve been writing for a long time (well before I decided to self-publish, as I started quite young) I think I’ve done most of these (down to writing a story totally by hand and, later, manual typewriter), although I don’t think I’ve ever published a story without editing it. Mind you, sometimes, based on the amount of mistakes I’ve found later, I felt as if I must have done it with my eyes closed. I don’t have children and I’m forever correcting grammar, so I’m not sure what’s my excuse! Thanks, Priscilla and Rami!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I kinda miss my old college typewriter. One thing about typewriters is you have to sit up straight to use them. You can’t plop them on your lap and throw your feet up on the couch! Heehee, maybe your friends’ grammar NEEDS to be corrected.:-) Thanks for stopping by, Olga!

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  7. I was either nodding along or chuckling at your answers, Priscilla. I’ve never drank a whole pot of coffee – because someone else always manages to drink it while I’m distracted. It’s a wonderful, fun post.
    Thanks for the chuckles!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Ha! Priscilla, I had never heard of this either. “NEVER HAVE I EVER KILLED A CHARACTER BASED ON SOMEONE I KNOW IN REAL LIFE.” but now I’m inspired to write such a character and bump them off. Bwahahahaha! I needed the smiles, so double thanks. Hugs on the wing.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Haha, the game looks like fun! I loved all your answers; we’re about the same in our writing adventures 🙂 No worries about tagging people. I’m not good at that either…

    Keep smiling,
    Yawatta

    Liked by 1 person

  13. That was a fun post. I’ve done almost all of those, including spilling liquid on my laptop! I changed a few character names on my current trilogy on the very last draft! Lol. Thanks for the giggles, Priscilla.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. OMG, Priscilla! This is such an enjoyable tag. Does the game work if you slug coffee instead of booze? It’s early here as I’m reading. Seriously, though, thanks for this.

    Liked by 1 person

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