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

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

  1. I am a writer and I have never written between 1am-6am. I used to be a hospice nurse and would have to hop up in the middle of the night, put on clothes, drive someplace and deal with pain and sadness and death. The only things that will drag me out of bed in the middle of the night now are 1) I have to pee and 2) a very close family member is in trouble. I guess if there was a fire, I would get out of bed for that too.

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. This was most entertaining to read. Hope you’re having a pleasant Saturday. I’ve spilt green tea into my laptop keyboard twice, accidentally shredded handwritten notes for five important scenes, have killed/unkilled a character. Once WordPress published a post while I was still editing it. The trolls came at me. But the final edit was amazing. I had to change names of all the characters in my first novel because I changed the location, and the names didn’t match where they were supposed to be geographically. Then I ended up having two characters with similar names – Bruna (Polish) and Bruno (American). Because at the last minute, I rewrote one of the scenes I deleted, and a character’s name was Bruna. (Slaps forehead.)

    Liked by 2 people

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  5. Enjoyed your Never Ever Have I examples. I have never written between 1 and 6 am, but I used to get up early in college to study for tests. I have spilled red wine on my keyboard and had to buy a new one. I don’t drink coffee while I’m on the computer–but I have drunk water, wine, and tea.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Love this. Thanks for the laugh. Not your answers to the questions but when you said you’d never heard of the drinking game. poke poke! 🙂

    I can’t play this game because I don’t write books, but you have given me an idea. I am hosting a
    “Drunken Poets Lounge and Birthday Bash” in September and my co-host wants a drinking game. This will work. Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Ooo, your September party sounds fun. Good luck with it!

      Does it seem like my blog font grew faint with the last WP update? I just now clicked a different palette option. Eh, not sure about this one, either. Even though the font is darker, the background is, too, so there’s still not very much contrast.

      That had nothing to do with your comment, JeanMarie. I was just rambling. But I’m glad you stopped by!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Wow, I was nodding as I read though them. Never ever fought to stay awake. Oh yes. It is so frustrating trying to stay awake to write. The trouble is I was getting up at 4.00 in the morning to write, so by the evening I’m dog tired and my bed calls to me. If its a hot day, my body can’t fight it. I now get on my exercise bike to get my blood racing to get oxygen to my brain to wake me up.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Fun post! In fact, I have written entire novels longhand. I was in high school. Computers as we know them did not exist then, and I didn’t have access to a typewriter, either. I wrote in the library. Typewriters would have been too noisy.

    I still write a hybrid form, if you will. Initial ideas and notes are written longhand in a notebook. Main composition is on a computer.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. Oh, Priscilla, I identify with many of your answers! This was fun to learn a little more about you.

    I am definitely going to play along! …I’m procrastinating by doing this rather than writing, but, sometimes a person simply needs a little fun. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. Pingback: Never Have I Ever… – Sue Marie St. Lee

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