Clopmas in July II · 5:51am Jul 2nd, 2015
Hello, those of you strange enough to put up with my extended bouts of inactivity. Rumors of my death have been... well, slightly exaggerated.
But in all seriousness, I'm still here.
I know I've never been the fastest or most productive writer, but this is getting ridiculous. I can't use the excuse that my life has been busy, because--aside from a job that I hate--I have oodles of free time. Nor can I say that I have better things to do, because I really, really don't. My love for this whole horse business is as great as it's ever been, and nothing would make me happier than to get stuff written. But instead, I spend my time dorking around on the internet and reading other people's stories and whatnot. And that's all well and good. But can I say I'd rather do that than get my own stuff written? Hell no. I'm just... lazy, or something.
But I know that isn't the way it has to be. Last July, I underwent a little exercise, which I called "Clopmas in July" (which was a pretty stupid name, but hey, anything else just wouldn't be me). During that month, I wrote four one-shots--one per week--plus a chapter of Persona. About 28k words in one month, which, for me, is pretty damn impressive. I was feeling pretty good by the end of the month, and then... kerplunk. As soon as I removed my self-imposed deadlines and goals, a creative constipation set in that hasn't let up in eleven months. The most I've been able to squeeze out during that time is a chapter of Persona every few months.
So, I'm gonna try something radical.
By which, I mean I'm gonna try something I've tried before.
Namely, I'm officially announcing "Clopmas in July II"!
The goal here is much the same as last year: Write four one-shots, one per week, hopefully to be released on Fridays. Now, there are actually five Fridays this July, but since one of the stories I'd like to write is a little longer and more complex than the others, I'll just use the extra week for that. I've already made a good start on the first one, and hope to have it read by the 3rd. On top of which, I'd like to get some updates out for Persona.
And speaking of Persona:
*exaggerated sigh*
I'm not gonna lie, guys. I've been having some doubts about Persona. In the most recent chapter, a commenter expressed his feelings that the story was overly repetitive--that each chapter basically followed the same formula.
And the thing is... he's right. I've actually been afraid of that since very early on, but, since no one else seemed to be bothered by it, I thought maybe it was all in my head. Now, though, I can't help but feel that Persona is an inherently flawed story, and that cuts into my enthusiasm for writing it a little bit.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not cancelling it. I've put too much into this story, and I still feel the ending will be worth it. On top of which, there's been a ton of support from you guys, and the last few chapters have all showed up in the feature box, so that certainly gives me some confidence. But still, it's hard not to reflect.
I think the repetitive nature of the story can be blamed on its inception. When I first thought it up, it wasn't the pretentious character study it is today. It was literally a matter of thinking, "Hey, a changeling prostitute would make for some unusual clop scenarios", and each chapter would basically be an episode based on that idea, exploring different pairings. But then, I did what I do best: I complicated things. I made it about the changeling, and gave her a back story and motivations and inner demons and whatnot. And truth be told, that made things more interesting. The problem arose when I tried to combine the episodic clopfic with the psychological study, and the story as it exists today is really just a bow-legged chimera of those two competing narrative strains.
Unfortunately, it's too late in the game to go back and rewrite it all. The very thought kills something inside of me that I used to love. All I can do is look to the future. And, to that end, I've decided to make a change. Not a huge change, I guess, but I hope it'll help.
My original plan was to write 7 "episodes", followed by a three-part finale.
Well, upon reflection, I think the finale can be done in two parts.
Also, I'm gonna add a new chapter between the seventh episode and the first part of the finale--an interlude if you will. The purpose of this interlude is twofold: 1.) It breaks the formula all the previous episodes, and, to an extent, the first part of the finale, follow; and 2.) I think it'll help prepare Naamari for the finale a little better, so really, it works out for the best.
Like I said, it's not much, but it's the only thing I can think of, short of fundamentally changing the nature of the story, which I have neither the will nor the patience to do at this point. I'm sorry if the story has been too repetitive. All I can do is implore you to bear with me, because I really do think the finale will be worth it.
Ideally, I'll be able to write the seventh episode and the interlude this month, in addition to the four one-shots.
I may be setting myself up for failure with this whole Clopmas in July thing, but if I could do it last year, I have to believe I can do it this year.
Wish me luck!
Good luck !
Very belated comment, but Persona was/is fun. Sure, you might call the plot and such 'repetitive', but... there's another word you could use. Formulaic. Just because it's following a pattern doesn't mean that's bad in and of itself. I'd point to the show Phineas and Ferb as a delightful showcase of just how much you can do with a formula if you get creative.
So you might fear that the very subjective feeling of the story getting "overly repetitive" is true, but... it's not, at least not for everyone.