Hello all! Would you believe we’re in another Camp Nano? I’m not really participating (too much work) but I did find this brilliant writing tag! And you know what they say? “If you can’t write, do a tag!” (yes, that is a thing people definitely say š ) Really grateful to the marvellous Mary Drover for tagging me! I love when she talks about writing and thoroughly enjoyed her writing for this.
This (very cool idea) was created by the Long Voyage- so definitely check out the original here!
. . . started a novel that I did not finish.
Iām not sure I count the ghost story I started when I was seven? It seems a bit harsh to include that! š I feel like, generally speaking, if I get serious about a story, Iām going to finish it.
. . . written a story completely by hand.
Yes- and I still (sort of) do? I wrote my first three books completely by hand. Then, when I started working on the trilogy, I realised I wanted to type up every few chapters, so that I could have a clearly overall vision (which led to me developing some edit-as-you-go techniques).
. . . changed tenses midway through a story.
Maybe? I presume I did this when I was starting out, but Iāve not noticed anything like this in a while (actually, now I think about it, Iām so scared Iām going to find an error like this in my writing now or WORSE miss it entirely!!)
. . . not researched anything before starting a story.
Hehehehe oh so very, very guilty! I could use the excuse that Iām a fantasy writer- but most people know thatās not gonna wash. I donāt know why either, cos I love to plan, yet I like to dive straight into the story than get bogged down with details. I do tend to fall down (very specific) researching rabbitholes while Iām writing though. My biggest problem is that- while I like to base a lot of my characterās interests on things Iām genuinely interested in- there are some occasions when I have to include something outside my interests. Let’s just say I can beĀ less-than-enthusiastic about research in those cases…Ā which CAN HAVE DIRE CONSEQUENCES! Moral of the story: donāt be like me š
. . . changed my protagonistās name halfway through a draft.
Does it count if they change their name in the context of the story? Either way, Iāve considered changing a characterās name, and have definitely done it to minor characters, but never a main one (as of yet). Once I fall in love with their character name, Iām keeping it, no matter how stupid it may sound (actually, fun fact, I often give characters deliberately awkward names, cos I feel like I was saddled with one IRL and I shouldnāt have to be the only person on the planet to suffer with a name I donāt like!)
. . . written a story in a month or less.
I WISH!
. . . fallen asleep while writing.
How would this even happenā¦? Writing is like a total workout, combined with operating heavy machinery, combined with flyingā¦ all of which demand your utmost attention! I donāt know how you could fall asleep at the wheel like that?
. . . corrected someoneās grammar irl / online.
Oh god yes, guilty (like, super, super guilty- I feel so bad about being such a grammar Nazi these days- I try to stick to ranting on my blog and to friends now)
. . . yelled in all caps at myself in the middle of a novel.
NOPE! (thatās just something I do on the blog š)
. . . used āIām writingā as an excuse.
Haha no! Even if I am, in fact, actually writing, Iām scared to tell people! It just puts pressure on me- Iād sooner tell someone I was clipping my toenails than tell them I was in fact up to my elbows in a fantasy world, delivering an 80,000 word baby š (and thatās a gross image youāll never be able to unsee š)
. . . killed a character who was based on someone I know in real life.
Haha oh yes. I donāt know if this is going to make it better, but I based the character on a stereotypical mean girl I knew, then got bored of having them in my book and killed them offā¦
. . . used pop culture references in a story.
Hmm I think so- I just donāt often keep them in the edits. Sometimes they just feel like a private joke between me and me (I mean, I once referenced a political slogan I wanted to make fun of and it gave me a good chuckleā¦ but no one that read the book noticed!)
. . . written between the hours of 1am and 6am.
Of course! Though (at the moment) Iām surprised to say my hours are more sociable than they used to be!
. . . drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.
I donāt drink coffee, so itās tea all the way! (and yeah, I can drink an entire pot of tea while writing- who wouldnāt?)
. . . written down dreams to use in potential novels.
Yup! And Iāve done it as well. Sometimes they literally end up as dream-sequence type scenes, where a character dips their toes in another surreal world for a moment or two, and (hopefully) returns changed. Very useful! Thanks subconscious!
. . . published an unedited story on the internet / Wattpad / blog.
Oh yeah- way back when I was on Figment I put out a novella I was working on (it was pretty useful to get feedback as I worked to be honest)
.Ā . . procrastinated homework because I wanted to write.
Absolutely! I procrastinated classwork with writing, so why wouldn’t I do the same for homework? š
. . . typed so long that my wrists hurt.
Yup! Easy thing to do!
. . . spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.
No- and I hope it never happens- the horror, the horror!
. . . forgotten to save my work / draft.
Ahhh no!!! I hope this never happens to me either! (I feel like weāre going through all my worst nightmares now!)
. . . finished a novel.
Yes- itās a bit complicated to count them (since I’ve rewritten a few), so let’s go with 6 (original works).
. . . laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.
MWHAHAHAHA! (absolutely)
. . . cried while writing a scene.
I feel so heartless for saying this, but no. Not even when I kill my most precious darlings. I have horrified myself to sleeplessness though.
. . . created maps of my fictional worlds.
Nothing so cool as in Mary Droverās tag- but I do always like to have some idea where my characters are- so whether itās a poorly sketched out high fantasy world or a regular map from this world with a few new place names marked on it, I always have something like this. (weirdly though I often make this somewhere in the editing phase, so I can correct my mistakes!)
. . . researched something shady for a novel.
Oh absolutely- I think āworld’s deadliest poisonsā would give most people cause for concern if they didnāt know I wrote š
That was so fun, I’m tagging:
Kat, Marie, Sophie’s Corner, Out of Babel and anyone else that wants to do it!Ā
And for now, I want to know, what guilty writing secrets do you have? Fess up! š
