Sometimes i wonder if i should just go wild with my writing.

One of the big factors in why my writing on more serious works has massively slowed down over these past several years is that I at some point just kinda... *inverted* my writing process, in a sense.

I used to write almost exclusively by the seat of my pants, giving little to no care about any sort of underlying plan or even consistency from one chapter to another.

Now though, especially with fractures, I've been fearful that with how hyped I've been over the project, it may end up being a total letdown much like Splintershard turned out to be. It's made me into a perfectionist with my serious works--the complete opposite of what I once was.

I want to be able to write more again.

But I'm afraid that if I don't have every little thing backed with an explanation, if I don't have every moment of plot written with the utmost conviction, that the story will be torn to shreds. It happened once already years ago, from the last time I thought I'd be writing my magnum opus in "Equestria Forever". That story crashed and burnt so hard that it took me ages to feel like I recovered from it. Or worse yet, that it could turn out like Splintershard, ignored and left to collect dust chapter after chapter, destined to be forgotten.

I know that the whole "write for yourself" phrase is a thing. I've even said it myself to others that came to me for advice over how to make their characters more likeable to certain groups of people. But I'll admit right now, writing for yourself can only take you so far. Especially when posting your work online, there is often an inherent, unspoken expectation for validation. To see people take an interest in what you have to offer, or better yet, actively take a liking to your work. Its that little burst of dopamine to see that you're bringing joy to others that convinces you that it's worth it to keep going, to keep on writing the next chapter, and the one after that, and so on and so forth until the final, ultimate end.

I don't want to feel like my efforts are going to waste. And that's been paralyzing my writing process.

Comments

[The Spy of the Tiger]

I think you should be okay with minor contradictions, especially in deep lore. In real life primary sources don't always agree with each other. One major example is the Newhall Shooting. Primary sources disagree on so much that some say it happened in 1971, whioe others say 1970. There was an event that supposedly happened that day that changed the direction of law enforcement training, yet today, there is very serous doubt about the accuracy of that detail.

Ever go out of bounds in a game? You've probably seen how quickly the buildings tend to devolve into invisible walls. You don't need to build a whole world, all you need to do is suggest things beyond the visible space.