Twelve Years Gone, Twelve Years Hence

As of yesterday, I've been on this site for twelve years. 134 fics (113 completed). 1,541,485 words (1,108,028 completed). Averaging 11,503 words, 83 remainder (9,805 completed, 63 remainder).

Any artist who isn't disappointed by their past isn't progressing.

So let's say we double productivity.

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Blog Number 243: Slice Twice Edition

For those keeping score:

That's an additional 268 fics, consisting of an additional 3,082,970 words. Totalling 402 fics, and thus 4,624,455 words. Minimum.

Assuming I'm still alive by then*, we'll check in at 2035.

* Accidents do happen.

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And for those who would rejoinder, "Quality, not quantity!": credit me with some intelligence, please? Do you seriously think I'm going through all this - all these months, years even, of planning and checking and double-checking and downright existential self-doubt and self-discipline and self-determination - just for the creative writing equivalent of churnalism?

I believe in quantity and quality. Get the good stuff and then increase it.

But it's impossible to capture such an elusive and complex and subjective subject as quality in a quick summary. Not without basically spoiling what I'm doing. That's the curse of it. Writers can't play a hand till they've got the right cards out of the deck, so I'm keeping mine close to my chest. Besides, I can't make promises if I can't be 100% sure that I can keep them.

Hence the focus on numbers. They're simple, tangible, and noncommittal. For the moment, they're all I've got.

Moreover, those numbers shouldn't be hard to meet. Most of the problems of the last decade plus have involved unfinished works and massive gaps that feel incredibly needless. They shouldn't be hard to plug.

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Aim low, shoot high. Work hard, play hard. And remember at all times why you're doing it: the map's there to stop you getting lost, the clock's there to measure your leeway, the checkpoint's there to show you're getting somewhere.

Things won are done. Joy's soul lies in the doing.

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That's all for now. Impossible Numbers, out.

Comments

[Forcalor]

We can make a great MLP character out of you, yet

Good luck with your endeavor!

[Csquared08]

That's an ambitious goal. Best of luck!

[Whinifree]

Twelve years of fimfic… reminds me next year will by my tenth.

[Ghost Mike]

Ever ambitious, aren't you? But you wouldn't be Impossible Numbers otherwise, eh?

Your targets may be ones I personally find astronomical, and certainly not worth losing sleep over, but you know that, if this really means that much, I'll be behind you every step of the way. So go for it!

[iisaw]

Quality needs quantity. Chuck Jones used to say, "You've got 10,000 bad drawings in you, and you've got to get those out of the way first." I think the same applies to notes of music or words of prose, though with different numbers.

So... Ever onward, you aptly named soul!

[Impossible Numbers]

5758885

We can make a great MLP character out of you, yet

Wings, please.

5758887

That's an ambitious goal.

My favourite kind. And the main part is that, unlike the last set, incomplete fics won't be permitted unless I have a complete draft behind the scenes. I learned that lesson the hard way.

5758890

Twelve years of fimfic… reminds me next year will by my tenth.

You're younger than me, so I get to lord my age privileges over you. But seriously, enjoy your upcoming anniversary. And prepare something special for it, because I didn't for mine and actually forgot about it. 🙄

5758911

Ever ambitious, aren't you? But you wouldn't be Impossible Numbers otherwise, eh?

The clue is in the name! I know I've set myself big targets before, but that was when my approach was more chaotic and easily distracted. This time, I got a solid game plan and a couple of successful test cases behind the scenes, so my confidence is tempered with experience.

5758914

Quality needs quantity. Chuck Jones used to say, "You've got 10,000 bad drawings in you, and you've got to get those out of the way first." I think the same applies to notes of music or words of prose, though with different numbers.

Ooh, that's a failure-to-success ratio I'm not sure I like the look of. That said, I do vaguely remember something about a 10,000-hour rule, but that might have been for a narrow set of practical and routine skills rather than for creative arts.

Still, only one way to find out, right?

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As a collective: thank you all for the words of encouragement! Now to put my money where my mouth is... 🤔

[Whinifree]

5758950
Well I’m working on a crossover idea with a show I saw on Netflix recently. *shrug*