Hi, readers! I spotted this writer tag on C.G. Drews’ blog, and I thought I’d jump in too! 😉 This also helps readers see if any of us are guilty of falling into these stereotypes.

Photo by Hannah Grace on Unsplash

Let’s get started, shall we?

Started a novel that I didn’t finish…

Who, me? 😳 Does having over 100 works in progress count? Dude, there’s not enough time in the world to get them all done, but I’ll do my best.

Written a story completely by hand…

Yep! Probably several. I used to be pretty old school, writing everything on paper. I still like to write some scenes that way, but I’m just as comfortable composing on the keyboard.

Changed tenses midway through a story…

Definitely! For my older stories, a lot were told from 1st person POV. Needless to say, it is so difficult to switch from saying ‘I’ to ‘He/She’. More in the sentence will be changed than you can even imagine, just for the whole thing to sound right. That’s why these days, I rarely ever do anything that’s not third person perspective.

Not researched anything before starting a story…

I’ve done both! Mostly, I am guilty of launching into a story full blast, and then getting caught up in the details somewhere. Then I must force myself to slow down so I can look something up and it makes more sense afterward.

Changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft…

Oops! That happens sometimes with the use of common names. My memory isn’t what it used to be either, so sometimes I have to really battle through the brain fog and check to see if I am reusing a name. Minor characters I don’t worry so much about, unless there’s some obvious confusion. But I don’t necessarily want to repeat a main character’s name.

Written a project in a month or less…

Actually, I did, with A Little Magick, a kid’s fantasy story and book two of The Magick Series. Since the tale is shorter anyway, it wasn’t too difficult for me to keep focused on it and finish it in two or three weeks. The editing went fast too.

Fallen asleep while writing…

🙄 Guilty! My stamina isn’t what it once was, plus you add in the side effects of medication, and you’re completely screwed. I just need to learn to start writing a new story idea a bit earlier in the evening, and not wait so late.

Corrected someone else’s grammar IRL/online…

Oh, I have, with both. Though it still drives me nuts to see mistakes anywhere, I’ve learned to curb the urge to say anything. Not everyone is a grammar freak like me. Now, when it comes to a manuscript? That better be as polished as humanly possible! 😉

Yelled in all caps at myself in the middle of a novel…

I think I did, maybe a couple times. I don’t remember all the details clearly, but I recall writing this:

WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING HERE? CHANGE THIS!!!

😆

Used “I’m writing” as an excuse…

An excuse for what? Is there any other excuse? Since most of my peeps at home don’t take my writing all that seriously, I consider it a good excuse, but they probably don’t. LOL. Though, there have been times I meant to do editing or write a chapter on new project, and then I got too tired or sick to put much effort into it. A writer’s life can get exhausting! 😛

Killed a character that was based off someone I know in real life…

Hmm…do I have to admit it? Okay, I may have put some of my horrible ex in the villain, Lamonte, in book two of my historical romance trilogy. And a bit in the first book’s villain too! (Shrugs.) He was a major influence in how I developed as a person. Why wouldn’t that bleed into my stories?

Used pop culture references in a story…

Definitely! Sometimes I also do that to ground a contemporary work further in reality. The problem is that, as time passes, some references become outdated. For example, a newer generation may not recognize all of my comments.

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

I’m a night owl, so I usually won’t let anything except absolute exhaustion slow me down if I’m on the trail of a good story.

Drank an entire pot of coffee while writing…

Nope, not coffee. But I’ve been guilty of water and soda, maybe even large amounts of tea.

Written down dreams to use in potential novels…

Now and then, a dream will inspire a story. Not often, though, because I don’t always remember my dreams.

Published an unedited story on the internet/blog/Wattpad…

😮 Unfortunately, yes. I do my best to edit my work as well as possible now. In the earlier days of this career, however, I just had no concept of editing my own work in various ways, besides doing one read-through. Now I cringe to think of the old stuff out there somewhere. This is another reason why I’m revamping my backlist (books released under former pen names) and re-releasing them in collections via this brand.

Procrastinated homework because I wanted to write…

Maybe now and then this happened while I was in school. But I had a pretty good work ethic, and I would push myself to the point of obsession to get assignments done. Only then would I stop to work on my writing. It was easier to do both when I had writing classes. I had so many that weren’t related to that. Even though learning about those studies made me a more well-rounded student and person in general, that’s why it took so long for me to finish writing the first book of my historical series.

Typed so long that my wrists hurt…

YES! Actually, if I’m immersed in a story for long enough, my entire hands hurt. Bad. Of course, it probably doesn’t help that I have fibromyalgia (and arthritis is hereditary).

Spilled a drink on my laptop while writing…

Definitely! And food several times. I am already a clumsy person, but I have to be careful having anything around my computer that isn’t, um…technology-friendly.

Forgotten to save my work/draft…

OMG, yes. 😥 I’ve kicked myself several times for that bad habit. Now (after almost losing two full novel-length manuscripts), I try to make sure I save everything as often as possible, and have my drafts stored in a safe place.

Finished a novel…

I have finished many, thank you very much. No one could ever call me a lazy writer, and it still boggles the mind why people assume every Libra is guilty of being lazy. That’s a silly stereotype.

Cried while writing a scene…

For sure! I haven’t done my job well until I’ve connected with a character on that level.

Created maps of my fictional worlds…

I guess I draw the line at that. I have a vivid image in my head of how everything looks, but I can’t call myself an ‘artist’. Not only would it take forever (the Libra in me doesn’t have the patience for that crap! LOL), I just prefer to paint a picture with words instead.

Researched something shady for a novel…

Two research topics which I did for a couple projects that you might find disturbing:

What is the chemical makeup of said drug so I can use it to add a bio-weapon in my story?

How long does it take for a dead body to decompose in the water?

Not to mention I think I scared myself when I wrote from a killer’s point of view a few times…

Feel free to use the questions for your own blog! So, what about you? Ever researched anything questionable for the purpose of creativity? Ever written a story or novel so fast that you amazed yourself? Let’s find out everyone else’s angle on this…I look forward to reading your comments! 😀