Guten tag, friends!

A lot of things have been going on lately, and despite my taking a break off of uni, I’m working pretty much full time, working hard at my German and employing my dear Swiss and Austrian friends to assist me with international WhatsApp calls (*a thousand thanks to you lovelies*), writing my fanfiction and creating good habits for my time management, and playing Mozart Sonatas and Chopin Etudes on the piano like some troubled genius™ hoping for a moment of inspiration.

Not to mention constantly texting with Miss Maribeth about our favorite Disney Prince and Princess.

Yes, I really did say that about my Reylo bunnies: the Cupcake Princess and the Disney Prince.

The Rise of Skywalker has wrecked me, friends. It’s completely wrecked me. I shall have to write a fangirly post on Star Wars quite soon to satisfy the desires of my grieving heart that’s still stuck a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

…with these little beans.

Ahem.

Anyway…

On to today’s content!

I’ve seen this lovely little tag floating around most of the blogs I follow, and I decided it would be fun to participate! After all, it’s been a long time since I’ve written about writing on this blog!

Indeed: time to get cracking! 😉

Never have I ever…

 

. . . started a novel that I did not finish.

I think every writer has novels that they haven’t finished. It’s a big part of being a writer, I think. I have about three unfinished novels currently; two of them, however, are still in production. So, technically I only have one novel that I did not finish (and have no intention of finishing). My reason for not finishing said novel is because I was going through a genre-discovery phase (if that’s an official thing) and I realized that fantasy, magic systems, and world-building are just not my cup of tea.

. . . written a story completely by hand.

Should I be doing this?

Wow, that would take an immense amount of willpower and dedication to write an entire story by hand. I did write a few multichapter stories called “Open Mirrors” (about little girls who entered another world through mirrors) when I was about seven, and they were all written by hand. But given I was only seven, all these “multichapter stories” added up to about ten pages of single-spaced work 😆

. . . changed tenses midway through a story.

I actually have done this, and those of you who are reading my fanfiction The Emotional Children can attest to this. When I write a flashback in a character’s mind, I italicize the text and change to present tense, because I feel like it gives my readers the ability to “re-live” a moment just like the characters are.

It’s not exactly methodical, but I thought it was a good idea. 😆

But, as soon as the flashback ends, I switch to past tense again. I might revise this once I finish the first draft, but honestly I kind of like the idea.

. . . not researched anything before starting a story.

Why would you not? Good gracious.

I research way too much for stories, to be honest, and I sometimes get carried away with interesting random facts that are of no significance to my plot whatsoever. But, even if I’ve missed something to research, I will stop midway through whatever I’m writing to research it and figure it out and get my facts right. Research is so important, especially if I want realistic plots.

*truth*

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

No, I actually haven’t done that. I wait a really long time to find the right name before I even start writing. I have an image of the protagonist in my head, and once I have their image cemented in my mind’s eye, I wait for a name to float by that makes them “come alive.”

Honestly, watching #ThatOneScene in The Man Who Invented Christmas where Dickens frustrates himself because he can’t figure out Scrooge’s name and waits on the floor of his bedroom waiting for the name “Scrooge” to pop in his head actually made me feel better about myself and made me realize that my naming process is not weird at all! 😆

Let’s be real: that whole movie boosted every writer’s self-esteem by 500%.

And Dan Stevens as Dickens.

My life couldn’t get any better.

. . . written a story in a month or less.

I wrote my short spooky story The Holy Demons of Magdalen in one literal sitting and in less than an hour (not including editing and revising), but for the remainder of my writing, I’ve always taken a rather long, drawn out time to perfect my longer works of fiction.

. . . fallen asleep while writing.

Eek. That would be fretful. No, I’ve never actually done that. I have been sleepy, but never actually fallen asleep.

. . . corrected someone’s grammar irl / online.

Guilty as charged! I regularly get on my family members’ nerves because I will subtly (or not so subtly) remark on the proper usage of a verb or the incorrect placing of a comma. I would be too nervous to do it online, but I’ve done it multiple times in real life.

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

I’ve put notes down in bold in certain spots, but never in all caps. I’m sure I will eventually, though, as I always manage to forget something.

. . . used “I’m writing” as an excuse.

Um…yes, I have. Sometimes it doesn’t always work as far as excuses go, but I still think it’s a very valid excuse.

Maybe instead of “I’m writing” I ought to yell “the divine frenzy is upon me!”

Because that’s what it is.

Fight me.

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

I have based characters off of people I know in real life, but I’ve never deliberately killed someone who I based off of a real life person! The person would have to be absolutely horrible to warrant that kind of fictional fate from me, but I’m sure someone will cross me like that eventually. *evil laugh*

. . . used pop culture references in a story.

I’ve used a few Doctor Who references in my Sherlock fanfiction (one of which was deliberate, the other of which was unconsciously done), and I will continue to do so until it becomes a crime. Nathaniel Edwards and Edgar Allan Poe made references to the Iliad and the classic mythologies, so why shouldn’t I make some allusions to pop culture?

Answer me that, hmm?

. . . written between the hours of 1am and 6am.

I actually have done this on multiple occassions. For a few months on weekends, I would stay up until midnight or 1am watching Doctor Who with my sister and I wouldn’t have my evenings to write. SO. I would write beginning at around 1am and sometimes I’d write until 3. Yeet.

But then I’d sleep until 11 or 12 in the morning, and that would throw off my entire day. I’ve successfully managed to break this habit, but it was something I did for a long time!

. . . drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.

No coffee, please! I’m a tea girl, and if I prepare a pot of anything for myself at home, it’s a pot of Earl Grey that I take up with me to my desk.

Pictured below from my Instagram story a few weeks ago (in German, of course):

. . . written down dreams to use in potential novels.

When I was twelve I did, but it was quite a morbid dream that I decided I really didn’t want to write about…

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

I have put up stories on said platforms (*raises hand with advertiesment and screeches* follow me here!), but I have always edited them. I couldn’t not put something up to be read without giving it some level of editing, even if it isn’t going through five drafts.

. . . procrastinated homework because I wanted to write.

Sherlock and Irene were very demanding last semester…

And Sherlock needed me to help him understand how to cope with being in love, and Irene needed me to help her figure out her emotions, because they are both mental trainwrecks, so…

I’m just saying.

So yes, I may or may not have put papers and reading assignments aside to spend a few hours on Baker Street with my babies and figuring out what to do with the Hot Mess™ that is the Adlock ship.

A noble cause it was, and judge me you shall not. 😎

*Yoda croak* Hmm!

. . . typed so long that my wrists hurt.

I work at a computer for my job, when I get off work I study German on a computer, and when I finish German I write novels on a computer.

So yes. This has happened maybe once or twice 😆

. . . spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.

Nooooooo! It is a large phobia that I have literal dreams about, but no, it has never actually happened. I hope it never does!

. . . forgotten to save my work / draft.

Before Microsoft Word came out with autosave, this happened one time, and it wrecked me. I felt like Jo March after Amy burned her manuscript. I hated Word for doing that to me, and I swore I’d never speak to it again.

. . . finished a novel.

*looks out from behind a cardboard box*

No…

But I’m almost done with my first one, though! It’s my fanfiction novel, but it’s almost done, and it will be my first novel-length work of fiction. I’m beyond excited, and I hope I can get it published…somehow.

Listen up, Moffat! I have some news for you – in return for everything you ever did to me.

The monster.

Bless him, I can’t stop watching his works of despicable genius.

. . . laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.

Yes! I did that particularly in the moments when I wrote a very sassy Moriarty with his very sassy evil plans.

He gets me excited, even though he’s creepy as hell. 😀

. . . cried while writing a scene.

I almost almost almost cried when I wrote a particular scene between Sherlock and Mycroft in Sherlock’s mind palace in chapter twenty-three of my Sherlock fanfiction novel called, “Affliction.” My eyes grew very watery, and I thought I was going to cry. While I wrote it, I played the song “Brother Mine” from The Final Problem OST which honestly heightened the drama.

I want to encourage emotional delicacy when I write, because the words of Robert Frost are always in the back of my mind:

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.

. . . created maps of my fictional worlds.

I tried to do this for a novel, but again, that was for a novel that I didn’t finish in which I concluded that world building is simply not my cup of tea. *sketchy smiling*

. . . researched something shady for a novel.

Yes, yes, and more yes. My Sherlock fanfiction has wracked up some super shady searches in my internet history, especially concerning things like “can someone survive _____ if _____” and similar questions related to drug abuse, prison, and violence/survival rates of perilous situations. I hope no one thinks I’m about to become a serial killer.

Honestly, Stephen King’s subject matter always made me question his sanity as a human being. But then I answered this question and I thought to myself, “maybe he’s just a writer interested in wack things like I am.” 😆

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Yowza, that was fun! I’m so glad I decided to participate in this tag.

My next post is most likely going to be about St. Anne, and then you’ll have yourselves a little St. Spammy post to read, eh? Thanks to Joy Clarkson and *winks* my writer buddy Maribeth, I’ve got some pretty groovy information under my belt about this saint, and I’m so excited to share.

Be expecting that in the coming weeks!

I tag all of my blogger/writer friends and recruit you all into this tag! If you’re reading this consider yourself recruited. 😉

This was such fun! I hope you all enjoyed my answers, as I certainly enjoyed giving them!

Bis später meine Lieben,

Emily 😉