In My Writing I Always/Never and Characters Family Tree

lways

versus

ever

About a decade ago, I shared some of my writing habits in an Always/Never list.

The 2011 version:

In my writing, I Always:
- use pen and paper for the first draft
- have characters glance at each other
- repeat "and then" all over the place
- use the word "wondered"
- sprinkle meaningless modifiers (small, big, large, tiny, etc.) willy nilly

I Never:
- know the names of secondary characters until the third draft or so
- keep all the scenes I write (a lot end up as gangplanks or backstory, saved in draft folders)
- add dialogue tags in the first draft (the margin is always filled with notes like "but what are they doing??")
- write a story set in modern times
- use contractions. Everyone's so formal all the time! I have to remind myself to be more casual in dialogue.


Things sure change! I don't do many of those things anymore.

Here's the 2020 version:

In my writing, I Always:

- type the first draft on my phone, in the Notes app
- have characters glance at each other
- delete "and then" as soon as I type it (I learned this from Neil Gaiman!)
- use the word "wondered"
- scribble ideas and notes with pen and paper, because I don't ever want to forsake my favourite pen and lovely notebooks

I Never:

- leave blank scenes anymore, imagining that I will come back later and fill them up without being annoyed at my past self
- throw away any scenes (though a lot end up as gangplanks or backstory, saved in draft folders)
- add dialogue tags in the first draft (the margin is always filled with notes like "but what are they doing?")
- can get along without using square brackets to indicate areas needing research (I learned this ages ago from Diana Gabaldon!)
- seem to write a new story without somehow linking the characters to the sprawling family tree of all my characters.

Here's a draft version that needs updating with a couple of the modern generations.

Characters Family Tree

What are some of your writing habits?