Guilty Hornet On Hiatus · 12:26pm Jan 9th, 2016
So, I've just updated the story's status as 'On Hiatus', and I think you are all owed at least an explanation as to why I've chosen to do this.
Put quite simply, I've had quite a lot of trouble continuing this story. Each subsequent chapter has gotten harder and harder to write, and they've progressively gotten fewer and further between, with a bit of a decline in quality as well, to be perfectly honest with you. This (as yet unfinished and unpublished) chapter has been emblematic of this: it currently sits at about 875-ish words on its fourteenth draft, following the sixth revision of the storyline since last chapter, and despite my efforts to find a better way of writing my story, it is no better written, nor more entertaining than any of its thirteen doomed predecessors.
To state my point outright: this story is going absolutely nowhere at this point in time. No progress, no ideas and, by this point, no motivation.
Trying to write this chapter has crushed me. No matter what I do or try, it ends up the same convoluted mess as the first draft. I don't want to have to spend weeks revising every chapter after I publish it. I don't want to have to publish something sub-par in the first place. But now I'm at the point where it seems to be a choice between posting something poorly done or not posting at all. It has dramatically gotten tougher to make each chapter something I think would be worth uploading, and by this point that always-increasing grind to write the next part has really done a number on my motivation. There is a point where you just have to step back and ask yourself if it's really worth the effort. Given that fourteen drafts have yielded nothing worth posting, the answer to that right now is no.
I'm putting the story on Hiatus for a month. When I come back to it, I'm going to have a serious think about the story as a whole and whether I think I can continue it. If the answer is yes, I'm going to quietly go about writing the next chapter. If I finish the chapter, then - and only then - will I update the story to be 'Incomplete' again. The last thing I want to do is say I'll continue with it only to find myself in the same situation I'm in now, so even if I think I can continue, I'm not going to tell you that until I have something to show you. It wouldn't be fair to raise your hopes again and not deliver. If the answer is no, or I think it's yes only to find myself back where I am now, then I'm going to cancel the story. Simple as that. As much as I hate leaving a story unfinished, I cannot keep doing this. I just can't. Either I find another angle which I can work at this from, or I accept defeat and walk away.
Goodbye for now, and thank you all so much for the support. Without you, I'd never have even made it this far, so even if this is the end of the story (I truly hope it isn't), I want you to know how much I appreciate all you've done for me.
I'm sorry to hear this is causing you so much trouble, but I think this does sound like the right choice for you based on what I have seen and heard. Go take some time to get a fresh perspective on things and do what feels right when you can look at things with a clearer head, and if you do decide to come back to it, feel free to get in touch with me if you want someone to bounce ideas off of. After all, I might see something you missed or give you an idea that lets you break out of this deadlock.
3675172 Thanks so much - for all the support before now, and for your comment today. It does a lot to set my mind at ease knowing I'll have help if I ask for it, so if I do come back to it, I might just take you up on that offer.
3675237 What can I say, you have a very interesting story so far and there are a ton of things I really want to see play out. I would be happy to help you iron your ideas out into a cohesive story because this has the potential to be really great and you are willing to do what it takes to get there, something that is very refreshing with all the authors around here lashing out at constructive criticism lately.