Have you ever... (game!)

Not as much as you might think. I tend to put a lot of weight in recommendations, so I don't often read books that I've been told are really bad unless I have a reason to. I heard some mixed things about Stephen King's The Stand though, and I loved that book.

Have you ever written a story from a certain point-of-view (first-person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient) and then rewritten the story in a different POV on a subsequent draft?

Yes! Two (or three?) WIPs ago, I wrote the whole thing in first-person present, then rewrote the second draft into third-person limited past, on the arbitrary thought that I just like third-person past and it feels more "classic" to me. Not sure that was the best choice for that novel, as the first-person had a much stronger voice.

Have you ever totally rewritten your novel in a revision in less than two weeks?

No. The most total rewriting I've done is deleting whole chapters and starting them from scratch. Might have taken two weeks for a chapter since I'm slow/time-strapped.

Have you ever spilled any sort of drink/food while writing?

I didn't write a complete book but I spent about $50 in research materials and did pre-planning to develop an underground magical society set in the 1940s around the same time as Cass Clare's THE INFERNAL DEVICES came out which was annoying (especially as I am not her biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination). The secret society of people with magical powers and family saga drama in historical context fit too close, in my opinion, at that time.

Question: have you ever done research for a novel/your novel?

rynthewin said:

Question: have you ever done research for a novel/your novel?

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I've done loads of research for stories. My most recent research has involved mooching around on survivalist websites and you tube channels learning how to make and use palaeolithic tools. This includes practical experimentation and I've even made myself a flint hand axe - albeit that mine's very lower palaeolithic* and my MC would probably be shocked that anyone could get as old as I am and not be able to make a decent hand axe.

*i.e. people who lived 2-3 million years ago made better hand axes than me

Have you ever written a character, then met someone that you didn't previously know, that was just like your character?

Have you ever written a character, then met someone that you didn't previously know, that was just like your character?

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No, but that would be creepy and cool at the same time. Then I'd end up changing things about that character, so it wouldn't look like I making a carbon copy of that person.
Sorry if this is an old thread or if this question has already been asked, but...

Have you ever ended up going through three or four different names to find the perfect one?

The Second Moon said:

Have you ever ended up going through three or four different names to find the perfect one?

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Yes, and am still not able to find the perfect name for a secondary male character in my most recent MS. Getting kind of tired of looking through baby books for inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration, what is the strangest place you have found inspiration when it comes to writing?

Gloves. I was wondering why a character always had gloves on and send the story in a different direction.

Have you ever had to add words to a first draft because it was too low?

Have you ever been told a book was terrible only to read it anyway and then discover you love it?[/QUOTE]

Yes I have! A couple years ago my dad got me the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for Christmas. I did a little research on the book via reddit and found tons and tons of comments spewing hate and saying it was horribly written with a complete lack of story. Despite this I still decided to read it and loved it. yes the writing can be a bit rudimentary at times, but I love the story and with the new film adaptation it makes me love it more.

Have you ever been told the ending of an unreleased best selling book by the author?

No. I've been told endings of unpublished books from writers I know, but I'm not sure about the best-selling part.


Have you ever written in other genres?

Yes, I usually write science fiction, but a paranormal / vampire story wanted to be told. So did a Si-fi/ fantasy and I just got a shiny new idea for a superhero/ fantasy story. (not sure if the superhero/ fantasy is going to work out, but it would be fun to enter the superhero genre.)

Have you ever made two characters twins (or three triplets)

No.

Have you ever picked out theme songs or made playlists for characters in your story?

No, but I do have playlists for when I write in general.

Have you ever had in-depth plot ideas for a sequel before you're even halfway through the current book you're writing?

When I was trying to write a novel series, I did, but now that I write novellas, I only sometimes do that.

Have you ever accidentally stolen a quote from a movie or TV show and didn't realize it until someone pointed it out

Yes. Shamefully from Megamind and Calvin and Hobbes.

Have you ever changed something about a character midway through the story and not realized it until editing?

Not exactly, but close - one of my main characters wore glasses in her introductory scene which then somehow never got mentioned again.

Have you ever imagined a particular scene of your novel in a cinematic way, soundtracked with a particular song or piece of music ?

Again, not exactly but just as I was finishing up my novel I walked into a random bookstore in a city I was visiting and picked up a book with a blurb that appealed to me...only to find out after a few minutes that it contained a particular sci-fi thought/idea (don't know how to describe it without giving it away) that was part of my worldbuilding. And it made a rather big deal of it, too. I hadn't even realized that what I had written (a minor side aspect in my novel, really) could be such a novelty...I was a bit bummed but decided to leave it in anyway.


Have you ever spontaneously incorporated something that recently happened to you in your writing ?

No, I don't incorporate the event into my writing, but I do pretend my characters are doing something similar later on when I'm bored.

Have you ever had a series or story for multiple years only to get rid of it? What did it feel like?

Kind of, as a child I spent years writing a long, weird Lord Of The Rings fanfiction story that went nowhere. In retrospect it felt very natural, at some point you just thought less and less about it and eventually grew out of it.


Have you ever filled out an online personality test for one of your characters ?

Have you ever filled out an online personality test for one of your characters ?

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No, but that sounds fun.

Have you ever laughed out loud at something you wrote because it was so funny?

I've come close to it, but I don't laugh easily. I might think it's funny, but I have never laughed out loud at something written before.

Have you ever saw something in a store and thought your character would buy that?

Sort of. I've identified things a character will need for a certain activity and checked them out in the store so I can accurately describe them.and how they are used.

​Have you ever met someone you thought looked exactly how you pictured your character looking?

Well, I don't know if this counts, but once I saw a cat that looks like my character when they turn into a their cat-form.

Have you ever based a story off of a dream?