Reset

I'm considering redoing The Beast Within. I dunno, the story just feels like it's going nowhere at this point. I just can't wrap my head around my own writing. So, yeah. I won't delete/redo it yet without asking you all. So, what should I do?
Redo the fic, try to make it better
Or try and keep going?
Other ideas:
Delete altogether
Stop it where it is

Comments

[alarajrogers]

Unless you have specific ideas for what you want to do to improve it, I would not reset it and try to rewrite it to improve it. Your technical writing skills are quite solid and you are a master of setting mood; the main problem with the story is that it is not clear where you want to go with it. The original implication was that Discord's dark side has somehow gotten loose and is running around while he is comatose, but since then you have spent all your time focusing on Discord's escapism and desire to pretend to himself that he doesn't have to face his own guilt. The way to resolve this wouldn't be to reboot it, but to start tying up plot ends.

As I see it you have three threads going on:
- Discord's shadow has broken free of him, having been given control by a seriously depressed Discord who just wanted to give up on life. Who or what is Discord's shadow? Is this a classical "dark side" scenario (and if so how does that work, given that Discord at his best is kind of a rampaging id only thinly restrained by guilt)? Or is this more an "unhappy side" where Discord has pushed all his negative emotions, his guilt and his sadness and his feelings of being betrayed and his feelings about being a betrayer, into another entity? In wchih case Discord's shadow is probably in Tartarus torturing Tirek to death.
- Discord is suicidal. He drives himself into a coma because he doesn't want to face his guilt, he dreams that he's floating in clouds and has no memory of what happened in reality or where he is, he dreams that he's dead and everyone's sad about it. How long can he keep escaping into dreams before his desire to die actually kills him? Or did releasing his shadow free him of just enough of the self destructive desire that his power won't kill him now?
- The ponies want to help Discord. They have no idea his shadow is loose; they just know he is comatose and apparently brain dead.

Forcing Discord to wake up, without his shadow, could have negative consequences. It could forcibly reunite him with his shadow, leading to an episode of suicidal despair powerful enough he might act on it. He might wake up with amnesia, or worse, persistent amnesia (where if you remind him of the things he wants to forget, he will forget them again within minutes because his mind is actively blocking them.) He might be totally delusional.

Following up on Discord's shadow could add conflict. What is the shadow doing? Is it malevolent? The shadow might seek to destroy what Discord loves because if Discord didn't love anything he could have his freedom without hurting and feeling guilty; this may provide Discord a motivation to wake up, and certainly provides the ponies additional motivation to wake him up. The shadow might be out for revenge against Tirek and anyone it can theoretically blame for Discord's suffering. Or maybe it isn't driven by Discord's negative emotions; maybe it's simply out to create chaos without having Discord's conscience to stop it.

Basically I think the way out is through; figure out how to tie up your threads in a way that resolves the story. Eventually either Discord has to confront his guilt and accept that he did something terrible and he has to move on, or he has to die. he can't be trapped in limbo forever. You have to decide if you want full-on tragedy (rocks fall, everyone dies), bittersweet (Discord dies, but his death brings him peace and frees the world from his shadow), happy (Discord faces his personal demons, brings them to heel and comes back to the land of the living) or ambiguous (Discord confronts his personal demons and the story ends before we actually find out whether he lives through it or not). Or some variation thereof, that isn't all the possible endings there could be, after all. And what role do the ponies have? Do the ponies fight Discord's shadow? Can they?

[Arreis Of Avalon]

2521091 *jaw drops* ...
How... How on earth did you just... O_O Why can't I have those skills?
Seriously, I have some sort of block on planning for some reason. I don't plan out most fanfictions; most are usually improvised on the spot to fill up some free time. All have changed from their original ideas.
Your ideas are... They're brilliant! God, how do you do that.
Okay. Sorry. Rambling.
I will DEFINITELY rewrite a bit and get a stronger grasp on what I'm doing. Thank you so SO much for commenting! You've just sent my brain into a flurry of thoughts - You're awesome. So so so so awesome.