Voice of an Angel · 4:46am Jul 29th, 2014
Dear Followers,
Firstly, I'm sorry for the lack of updating. It's been difficult coming up with new ideas and finding the inspiration to write nowadays. Stories and ideas just don't hit me the same way they used to, and with 80% of my friend base on this site leaving in the past coupld months...
It just feels like I'm deluding myself.
Don't get me wrong, I still love the show and fandom, but it feels like I'm trying to do something I was never meant to accomplish. I never went to school for creative writing, never took more than high school English II and never read a great deal of the "classics". What I wrote was purely out of inspiration and sometimes downright jealousy, which I am ashamed to admit. In short, it feels like I was never meant to be a writer.
And with that thought, it's hard to hear that bright and cheery voice of Angel in my head. Some days, I completely forget she exists, along with Comet and Valyrie. Same goes with Viola, Diamond Tiara, Zecora and all the other characters you all adore. They just don't speak to me like they used to.
While I'm not quitting as of yet, it still feels like it's the inevitable outcome. I don't think I can craft real masterpieces of fanfiction despite what the ratings say. I write with barely any real skill, often making elementary mistakes and scaring off editors and proofreaders.
Kinda feels like how I wrote Comet and Viola.
Alone.
...
I hope Angel speaks to me again. I miss her.
Regards,
C.B.
We still love you Commie! (Errr, bad nickname
). If you're looking for some more fimfiction friends, there's a few fimfiction skype chats I could add you too.
Write at the pace you want to write at. You may feel no inspiration for five months, then blaze through three thousand words in an afternoon. And reading can be fun too.
Not all of us need to be a master like Skywriter or Pascoite or Bad Horse. If we entertain, we're doing our job and spreading cheer.
Good luck, and have a great day!
hey I never was good at english yet I still always have stories popping in my head that I feel i should put out.. yet as in the same boat I think with my grammer and whatnot would make people not read what i have to put out.. at least you have already had your stories out.. im still trying to figure out what to put as a good starter... by the by.. please dont easily give up.. think of this as a hobby that you do for fun.. like with me.. I use youtube to make videos as a hobby more than anything else.. just keep up with what you have going!
Well, Suffice to say, if you're talking from an educational standpoint, then yes, you are under-qualified. But sometimes, education has nothing to do with it. Half the things you learn in school, you won't even use in the real world, and the things you do are only basic things.
You know the basics, and you've excelled at them. I'm an in depth reader of yours, and I can sincerely vouch for your skills. Yes, you make elementary mistakes, but just about everypony does. Nobody is perfect, not even professional writers. (I once found a typo in a New York Times Best Seller once.)
So, if you're only quitting because of those reasons, then I must admit I'm disappointed.
Not that it'll mean much from me, a random guy on the internet, but I know what you're talking about. One day, I wondered why the heck I was writing this stuff. I knew nobody was going to read it, so why do it? Well, I did it because I liked it, and me alone. And I only got even more happy when people actually did read my stuff, hundreds of them. But that's really only a fringe benefit: Fans with praise and critics to help you improve.
If you say all of your stories came solely from inspiration, then you are an inspiration to me! I know I probably wouldn't have had the drive to get better at writing if it weren't for your own fantastic works. That's all it really takes to make something great: Inspiration. So, if you're saying you need more inspiration, then you have three choices.
-Look for the inspiration
-Wait until it finds you
-Or just quit all together
I don't want to see a good writer like you just up and quit because he ran out of ideas, but it's your choice. I do hope I've at least made you stop to think for a bit. I won't be angry if you decide to stop permanently, but I'll be just a bit sad. But like I said, it's your choice to make, not mine.
We're all amateurs. We all make mistakes. This whole attitude of "I'm not meant to be a writer" is so fucking cancerous it's disgusting. Who IS meant to be a writer? Someone who writes "good" stories? For every one person who thinks a story is good, five think it's bad, and visa versa.
It's all so subjective that statements like that carry no meaning. This is a fanfiction website. People need to stop taking it so seriously.
As for the way you feel, I dunno man. Your last few blog posts were so bright and cheery. At least that's the impression I got. I'm sorry you're feeling down now, I'm sure it'll get better.
I've been a fan for a while, and if I were to give any input at all, I'd just say to slow down with the creative urges. It seems like you have a creative spark/idea. and you publish a story with it. These things keep happening, then all of a sudden you've got multiple projects hanging over your head waiting to be updated. That sounds taxing to me. I don't wanna tell you what to do, as I have no clue how your writing style is. Maybe that's not a big deal for you. But maybe slow things down a bit and work on one or two projects for a while?
I took a creative writing class and trust me it's not that big of deal. I don't have many friends on here. There are some people on here that I would love to chat with outside of the site. You think you have it hard with proofreaders or editors. My grammar and other things scare them away. I know you are going to hear this from a lot of people, but I know how you feel. Losing the drive or losing the voice of the charters that help write amazing stories. If you ever need a friend to chat with, this bad writer is always open for new friends.
Have a nice day.
Your stories where one of the first I've read on this site. I've also only completed up to English II, regardless, your writing is a testament of humanity.
We may be terrible at a million things. Drawing, singing, selling, trading, anything. But where there is will there is a way. You are proof that we as individuals can do anything we put our mind too. Even if we do not have the education or certification to say we can.
I look at your writing and I know that I may never be nearly as good as you, but I continue writing. Not because I might be better than those before me, but because I know I can.
In every one of us a story is wanting to be told, of exploits, adventures, or of sadness and tragedy. We reveal these emotions and thoughts through creative means. Maybe wood carving, drawing, writing, movie directing, and anything else.
You might look at your work and think, "I'm not good at this. Why am I even doing this?" That is where you are wrong. You are your greatest critic and so naturally, you take everything you have second thoughts of to heart. The only way you feel you can be better is to do more, get better.
However, you can look at writing from Shakespeare, yes he is famous, but eventually, as time passes, time is forgotten. Everything and everyone alive today will be remembered by almost no one if not a few in thousands of years, if humanity is still alive and kicking. Which I know we will.
Everyone lives for praise, to know that they will be remembered, that they will not be forgotten. But the reality is that one day, us and everyone we know will be forgotten. People live and work for recognition they will receive in the future, past their prime, past their death.
In this way, people forget to just live.
Live.
Take each day on it's own, relax, and most of all, be happy. We cannot change the future, but we can effect it. Perhaps famous scientists like Issac Newton will be in a book on ancient history five thousand years from now, but just how many people will remember?
Even the greatest fall to the sands of time.
You and I may not know each other, we may never meet, but I can assure you that your work had inspired some of my own. You have and will be remembered by me even when I think back decades from now, if I live that long.
We may never create masterpieces, but we can create happiness and a future. We can have families, we could dedicate our lives to helping others, we can change our future's future.
My grandfather was a great man, he was a dentist. He died a few years back. At his funeral, he left in his will for no one to wear black. He just wanted us to be happy for him, not sad. The building his funeral was held at was overfilled. Through his life he made friends, family, and a legacy that will be remembered by everyone he affected. He is the greatest man I've ever known and I can only hope to be half as great a man as he was. Even after his death he only wanted us to be happy. To live.
Whatever you choose to do, do one thing for me.
Be happy.
I'm only 17, and I have only read 13 books outside of fanfiction.
I have no skill when it comes to writing, but I still do it.
You wanna' know why? Because it's fun and I like to do it.
If you enjoy writing, then write! But if you don't like to do it, don't!
It is all up to you.
you know whats strange? it does seem like its gotten harder to write recently as well. While I do put most of that on work, it seems like ive lost the major driving spark inside me, making it harder to connect to your own writing.
Maybe its the initial hype from the show wearing off and real life becoming a priority? perhaps. hope you get through it as well as myself soon
I may not be Angel, or any of your other characters for that matter, but maybe I can be one of the voices that can help.
Comet, let me say from personal experience that there are some things you will never learn in a class; one of them being inspiration, the other being personality. You want to know why your ratings are so high? Those two things. They make you who you are, give your stories meaning, and make the characters you dream into words something more than just text on a website.
Your characters are some of the best I've read. Not many stories can make me feel a genuine bond with the characters they make, but yours somehow do. Your personality, wishes, experiences, and dreams make these characters unique, not just form other writers' characters, but from each other. This can be one of the hardest things to do in writing but is something you manage to do without even thinking about it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: you write like no one else. You grammar may not be great, but the ideas you have and the way you make them real are what make your works popular. Grammar is not something that comes naturally to most people and you are most likely not one of them. And you know what? That's perfectly okay, editors exist for a reason. I remember a while back I helped you revise The Golden Armor before my overwhelmingly busy schedule at the time caught up with me. (Don't worry, I've sorted that out) If you need someone to help you out, whether it be with editing, learning to fix some of your common errors, or even someone to help you through your more difficult times, don't be afraid to message me.
I'll finish with some advise. Your fans, the true fans at least, love you for the personality you bring to the (web)page. Write like you are the only one to see it before you come back to fix it. Never listen to the naysayers but take the word of those offering constructive criticism. Take a break if you need to but never stop writing, even if you really will be the only one to see it. No idea should be killed at its conception, think on it and let it grow to see what it becomes. And finally, bear both your triumphs and failures with pride, they make you the person you are. Never forget that.
There are people who care, all you have to do is reach out and you will be found.
-Lightning
Inspiration comes and goes like a gust of wind, one moment its there and in the next the world is still again. Just because you are in a inspirational block doesn't mean writing wont come back to you, it takes time for ideas to cultivate and grow in one's mind.
Stop caring about spelling and grammar, it happens to everyone on this site. Writing is what comes from the heart and soul, not from what is learned in a class. This is Fimfiction for goodness sake and 95% of readers don't really care about errors and mistakes, if they wanted a 'perfect' story they would go read a classic or other novel.
If you need editors and / or proofreaders I would be happy to volunteer, I may not be the best but I can certainly try.
Life is full of ups and downs for everyone on this planet. The important thing is to keep going on, and never to forget.
One last thing, don't be so hard on yourself. From personal experience and from every artist or writer I have talked to, every single person who creates will always undervalue their own work. They will compare it to masters who live and die by their craft, and they see every flaw stick out like a sore thumb. You have accomplished something amazing, please don't give up because of a little creative block, it happens to everyone. If its so hard to continue writing the same story then try a new one, or some other creative outlet, drawing or sculpting or making music, or something else entirely to give your mind something new to focus on.
I really hope you don't quit, your stories and characters are some of the best on this site, and every single rating is well deserved. You are a good author, even if you don't believe it. I hope things will get better with time, and I wish you luck on whatever path you choose to go down.
Okay, advice time.
Take a step back, spend a week completely cut off from anything mlp. This will help get your brain to put things in perspective.
During the aforementioned week sabbatical, read R.A.Salvatore's "The Clerical Quintet", great literature that will help you as a writer just by being exposed to it.(Sounds hokey, but it definitely helped me personally.)
Finally, spend a couple days after the sabbatical reading/rereading the infliction masterpieces. I'm talking "Past Sins", "FoE", "Stairway to Equestria", and maybe even "The most Unlikely Places" if your okay with non-gratuitus use of sexual situations.
Basically step back, take a deep breath, and spend some time "becoming one with the fandom" again.
Hope this helps some, and if it doesn't. Feel free to berate me for it.
Your blog post was pretty emotional too.(sad but filled with emotion) You are an excellent writer and many others agree with you. Just look at comments and ratings. So while you may be a good writer you say you're lacking the spark. Here's my suggestion. Take a break. Read some books, on and off the site. Watch some movies, play some video games. Go for a jog or bike ride. Get your mind clear of stress and just float away before going to bed. Things will jump at you, inspiration, different ideas, or alternate stories to your own. It all appears. Really, just take your time and think lightly on things. If you do cone to the conclusion that you want to end your story then think about the plotline on a very very broad scale. Don't focus on the little things yet. Get an idea of how you want things to go before beginning to fill stuff in. Then you eventually write it out. I really really enjoyed your stories and while it may seem a waste of time at some points just know that you brought me to a new world where I met new characters and I went on epic adventures. I laughed, cried, and smiled along with them as I held hands with them. The mind of another is truly amazing. Thank you for sharing a piece of you with me. I really hope this helps and I do look forward to any future works. Godspeed my friend.
As you've heard from the comments below, you've got plenty of supporters and friends who are with ya. So cheer up. You're not the only author who gets into arguments with their editors (you know what I'm talking about XD). The Voice of Angel is still there... inside of your head. She's just trying to wub all that cyncism out of your brain so listen to it.
Either that, or you can take a break from writing. It should not be an obligation but an inspiration and if you need to take a break from it, and just try to socialize online (review stories, participate in friendly forums etc.) then go on ahead. I'm always free on skype if you want to chat so say hi XD
Also, try to focus on the loudest voice and hang on it. When Angel inspiration strikes, grab her and start writing AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE until you're so tired you feel dead XD.
vren55
2325232 oh hey, it's you....sup.
Anyways, who constitutes the 80% of fandom casualties you mentioned?
And like vren said, fanfic writing shouldn't feel like a chore, if you just try to soldier on through it....you'll probably end up doing something like kaidan did. And NOPONY wants a repeat of THAT.
2325248 "Just chillen, killen."
Nah, working on stuff here and there. Editing, trying to help others become inspired again XD. Just taking one day at a time. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Req out~
I don't follow you because you write like the literary greats, I follow you because you write like Comet Burst. While I won't say "rules are meant to be broken", I will say that they are only part of the writing process. Rules can always be learned, and technique refined through practice, and what you say (if honest) is much more important than how you say it.
I'm a physics major. I don't have much experience with writing, other than academic papers. I am amazed how vividly you can create the image of a scene with such intricate details (wish I could do it).
I have tried to get into the fandom, but I came too late. I don't know any bronies personally, and I've never talked online with any of them either. For being a fan of a show representing the benefits of friendship, I'm a pretty lonely guy. I am afraid I will get attached just before the show's downfall and all the bronies flee the sinking ship, wasting my time and effort.
You have written 23 wonderful stories, with experience and legions of friends and fans being your rewards. Your time and effort has certainly not been wasted. Your writing brings a smile to my face when everything else seems to fail. I don't know what I can offer to spur you to continue writing truly inspired stories.
I were you, I would read or write something unrelated to MLP to cleanse your pallet, if not reinvigorate your love for writing while learning what you claim to be lacking along the way. You can always come back, if and when you're ready.
You could connect with some of the 1500 people who have professed their love for what you do. I'm always online. Phone, laptop, you name it. I can always offer two cents, if you feel they are worth that much.
Love what you do, and do what you love.
Well you could always talk to any of us if you'd like (for what good will it do if we're in different timezones), but the feeling of not having inspiration sucks.
I hope you can find some inspiration - for as much as you like to think less of your writing, we all think it's great and would love to see more
You don't need any of that to be a good writer, you just need inspiration and dedication, the only way to improve is to keep writing, or read the style of another story and try to criticize it: point out the goods and bads.
If you were never meant to write you wouldn't have written those stories, but you wrote them, and kept on writing. In pony metaphor: your cutie mark might not be writing, but that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't write.
If the problem is lack of skill, just write more until you improve, or if you don't mind find a book or something that offer suggestions on how to write.
If the problem is Author Block or lack of inspiration, just write anything.
This is just a matter of liking or not liking what you are doing.
Do you like writing pony fics? Because if you do you shouldn't let doubt affect you.
A degree in writing doesný neccesarrily mean you're a master writer. It takes inspiration and dedication and from what i've seen from you in the past you have the inspiration and the dedication to make a story people will enjoy.
And if you're worried about editors I'd love to help when inspiration strikes again, just don't force it and make it a chore. Keep it fun for yourself
I know it's hard when your friends start moving onto different pastures; I've lost several good friends on the transition to college already. Just poof, gone. Don't let that stop you. There are always other people to meet here.
And sometimes, if inspiration is hard to find, the best thing to do is step back and take a break for a little while. Maybe take a week of two off of fimfiction, away from the writing portion of the fandom. I had to do it, and I benefitted from it a lot.
And if you feel like you just aren't enjoying it, or you feel like there aren't any friends left on the site, feel free to talk to one of us. I'm here; if you feel like something is off, you can tell me, and I'll help. You aren't out of friends just because the people you know might have left.
I understand the lack of inspiration. The entire reason that I write on this site is because on the novel that I am writing, I don't know what to do. But inspiration comes in mysterious ways. The best writing that I ever did came out of my high school calculus class. One day, Angel will speak to you, and when she does, you will know what to say.
I wish you only the best of luck.
First, inspiration never hits the same way for long. It comes and goes, never staying for too long, just long enough to spin up an idea. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. For you, it would appear to work out great, so just keep trying and eventually, it'll come to you.
Secondly, you're not deluding yourself. People come and go, just like inspiration. They stay when they want or need to, and leave when they feel it is necessary. It happens. And if you feel like you need more friends, I can guarantee I'm not leaving anytime soon
Thirdly, nobody is meant to do anything. People do what they want and what they love. If you don't like to write anymore, then it really sucks for us readers since you're writing is awesome. And don't get all caught up on those elementary mistakes. I make them, my friends make them, professional authors make them and even editors make them sometimes. They're a part of life and writing, so don't let them bother you too much.
Finally, if you truly feel like you can't write the masterpieces you currently are writing, then I can understand. But don't give up. Keep pushing to write the great stories you write and keep building the worlds we love. If the characters don't speak to you like they used to, yell at them to speak up.
I hope you continue with your stories, because while they aren't perfect, they are magnificent.
No one minds... when it happens it happens, and when it doesn't, forcing it doesn't help. If you're not a professional writer (or aspiring to be one) no one will blame you for taking a break.
Heck, I took a six-month break because I wasn't feeling it. I'm back in the fandom, but I'm not writing any pony at the moment.
I ve always done all my best drawings at work or class, ie, when im supposed to be doing something else. Be patient don't force it, time away may be your greates benefit, come back fresh and rejuvenated.
Comet you are one of the few writers I follow and I love your work.it would be a shame to see you stop writing.i hope your inspiration comes back and to see new marsterpeices of writing coming from your account.
-Blazing Cat
After reading through the comments section, I think it's safe to say that even if if you don't have much skill in writing, you've made plenty of people happy with your work. After looking at the ratings of your stories I'm doubly sure.
I can't offer any advice that hasn't already been said or repeated already, but know this; beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and anybody who can muster the courage to post their work on a public writing site for all to see deserve at least a little bit of respect. Relatively few people manage to pull in the amount of adoration and joy that your stories have captured. If I had the courage to post my story ideas, i would be crying out in sheer joy just getting a quarter of your stories popularity.
Take pride in what you have accomplished, and count yourself lucky you've gotten as far as you have. Your readers are cheering you on, be it out loud or silently, and we hope we can see the completion of your current stories, and possibly even newer works in the future.
This comment was meant to be a short be happy message.
Even with all you've said, most fanfic writers should never even have considered writing, as proven by Wattpad. At least you can tell when what you're writing isn't good.
Comet, you are an amazing writer, you say you havent read the "classics", well I have, I when I started reading your stuff I said this is better than 80% of the stuff ive ever read, and ive read hundreds of novels. Grammer, ive read hundreds of Novels and still dont catch the most obvious of mistakes, because all I care about is the story, and you write Great stories.
About losing friends, i wouldnt know, Ive only meat 6 people I can Truly call "freinds" and non of witch are bronys, but im sure there are people that will gladly be friends. Also, if you say these storys came from "Inspiration" your the fourth best damm author i know, but if you not feeling it any more, than that is all you need, a break. To many authors just quite, get up and leave, i personally know a few, i would hate, for you, of all people, to join them...
Pffft, come on man! You're awesome, both as a person and a as a writer. Doesn't matter if you've got a chunk of paper that says you've got Creating Writing chops or not, your stories and the
raging mobfriends following you here show it!So chin up and don't get down on yourself! You'll get back up on that horse
pun totally intendedand you'll back in it in no time!Is there something stopping you from delving into project gutenberg and picking up "the classics" right now?
And for what it's worth, I was actually the biggest bookworm in my grade and I still flunked highschool english. But only because Steinbeck is SOOOOOOO FRIGGIN BORING.
Having seen fallow fields in real life, I gave up when he started spending an entire chapter re-describing the setting in nauseous detail for the third time and began plowing through the Silmarillion instead.