So just what is up with Royal Duties Inheritance? · 5:11pm Jan 15th, 2018
Okay guys, let's hope I have enough time before work to really write out how I feel about this entire thing.
So as you all know this story hasn't updated for YEARS, and yet I still get messages asking for when it'll happen.
Well, guess I need to be brutally honest here. I really kinda want to delete this story. Or at the very least slap that 'canceled' label over it.
So... why do I feel this way?
Well one, out of all the things I've written, THAT is what got me featured, and ONLY THAT.
See when it first happened I was actually kind of excited. I got featured! Woo! Top spot too! I was feeling pretty good.
Theeeeeeeen I talked to a friend. Now granted we were RPing and they were playing a snarky pony, but I basically had my guy go: "See! I did it! I am a good author!"
Their reply was: "I dunno, I don't think it counts if you piggyback off the fame of another's story"
Now again, they were just goofing around and their character would have said that. The problem is I kinda realized they were right.
I wanted to prove I could do it on my own. That a story -I- wrote could get featured. That I wasn't only good enough to piggyback off another's hard work and fame.
And then every story I've written in the years since then has never been featured. Or if it is featured. It's up there for an hour at the most then knocked off for something else.
Meanwhile I'll see someone else write something and have it be up there for 3 or 4 days before finally dropping off. I can't stay up there for an hour.
It's very VERY disheartening.
Try as I might, my resentment for this one stupid story of mine to be the only one to ever REMAIN in the feature box for an extended period of time just grew and grew.
I never revealed this before, because my god I feel like I'm whining. I feel like such an asshole to basically come out and go: "I just want to be popular" but well, part of me kinda does. At the very least I wanted to prove to myself I could do it, but I guess I can't.
Now is that all that's holding the story back? Not exactly.
Another issue is when I first began this fic I was doing a thing where I tried to incorporate the lyrics of a song into all my stories. Two stories I did before this one had both had songs in them. (You won't find them here, they were before ponies, before G4 even aired. Well one of them was, one of them was a Conversion Bureau fic that I never reposted here due to how poorly chapter 9 and beyond was received) So I wanted to do it for this fic as well.
Then we got hit with the rule of 'no lyrics in fics for legal reasons'
Yes because artists are going to lose SO MUCH MONEY if the lyrics to your song are in a random fanfiction. The entire rule is stupid. Reading the lyrics to a song is not the same as hearing it! If ANYTHING seeing the lyrics in a story means I'd want to go seek out the song in question, meaning you'd gain FREE ADVERTISING.
Sorry, but the entire thing just pisses me off. That being said though, it's against the rules to do that, so chapter 4 where I had originally wanted Skyla to sing karaoke has basically become a problem. I can use fandom songs or even songs from the show, but then there is everything else holding this fic back. However this rule changed happened right at the worst time, delaying progress.
Then of course there is the simple fact that I know how I want to end the story, but need some filler for the center of the story and I've got nothing.
If I was to continue it now, I'd probably just have Cadance show up and get on with ending the fic, even if it felt a bit like a rush job, at least it'd be over with.
Then of course there is the fact that Skyla ended up not being the daughter. Instead we got Flurry Heart, which dates my fic and basically throws it's events out the window.
So... yeah there you go. I think that's about all of it.
So what does this mean for the story? Honestly? I still want to cancel it. I can't bring myself to delete it as I know many people enjoyed what there is of the story, but as for finishing it? This is the LAST STORY I want to work on.
To me it stands for my failure as a writer. I can continue someone else's work and do well. Hence both Loopholes and Royal Duties here are the two fics that get the most comments out of anything I've written. BOTH SEQUELS TO SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK.
Please don't think I'm blaming any of you. That's another reason I tried to keep this to myself. I don't want to blame you guys, but I feel I need to come clean about how I feel about all of this.
So what does this mean for the future of the fic? Honestly I don't know.
It's not canceled yet, but that's mainly because I'm afraid of people asking if they can "Take the fic over" to finish it, and I'm afraid the answer is NO. It's still MY story and I don't want anyone else writing it. Even if it does mean the story remaining in limbo indefinitely.
It's a new year, with me working a new job, so who knows. Maybe I'll become upbeat enough to try and deliver the last of this story for Christmas.
Though given how previous years have gone, might be best not to hold our breaths, but I promise you I'll at least keep this story in mind when I've managed to update the stories I actually feel motivated to continue.
Dude, that's... harsh indeed. And it's a damn shame too - I like your writing style, so it sucks that more of your stuff was not featured for longer than an hour or so
I personally have no interest in this particular story of yours, but I was curious and decided to check out what the matter was after reading the other blog post you made.
I think the problem is a matter of perspective, on two fronts.
The first: riding on someone's coattails. Aside from that being intrinsic to fan-fiction already, how well a story does still depends on the competency of the author, just like any original work of fan-fiction. People will like your story because of your efforts. They may check it out because they liked something that it was based on, but they'll stay and bother with it because of you.
The second: thinking the feature box is some kind of an accomplishment. Is it, though? Stories that were just uploaded end up there. is there any rhyme or reason to how long something even stays there? I've seen a few that were there for eight full days, and I've seen better-received stories get far less exposure. Even the only story of mine that got featured probably didn't even last an hour.
So, yeah: the feature box isn't special and a story is liked mostly because of its own merits. The best any other related work can do is give it some advertisement, which has little or nothing to do with its legacy. Think about it that way and you'll feel better, which is what I'd like to happen.
You're too hard on yourself. A fan-fic of a fan-fic is still a fan-fic, and doesn't diminish from the quality of your writing at all. Take pride in the successes you have made on this site - you've earned it.
If you don't plan to update it, then do not delete it, I really like the story, I'd really hate for it just be deleted
The feature box.... That stupid feature box. Fuck, that thing ALMOST made me quit writing the second I got in it... But I didn't. Have been on extended hiatus. But, i'm still here. Do what you think is right for you and YOUR fic. Anyone who really cares about you as the author will respect you.
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I know deep down the feature box isn't something that can really validate you as an author, but it was still a goal I wanted to achieve and failed miserably at. :/
A side thing is I'm still trying to accept that Weeping Willow just didn't get the interest I was hoping for.
I know there were a few reasons for why that probably happened, and I shouldn't let it get me down, but a lot of the time when I'll post a story and it gets maybe 1 comment is a bit of a disappointment.
Weeping Willow got basically nothing in feedback, and try as I might thinking: "This failed, but if I churned out some slock for Royal Duties that'd have ten plus comments" does creep into the back of my mind.
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If that's basically nothing in feedback, then what did my last two stories get?
Again, this is just self-inflicted grief. I can understand the desire to be relatively successful in whatever endeavor you pursue, but too many of the forces that you hope will go your way are largely out of your hands -- including some things that are likely to make you assume that you're given some form or amount of control.
Just do what I do: write something you like, write it to your satisfaction, and let others' enjoyment of it be a bonus. I've yet to sweat about it, 'cause I'm twenty percent cooler.
Nods at the preaching about the lyrics crap. "YES!"
Also, do what you need to do!