Looking back at my older stories · 6:11pm February 8th
Hey, guys. Mr. J here.
For those of you who are fanfic writers like myself, have any of you looked back at some of your oldest stories and compared them to your newest ones? Because that's what I've been doing as of late.
Now, normally, I'm a guy who takes great pride in my work 'cause I love writing stories; it's a lot of fun working with canon material and doing something interesting with it in a creative way. But as I look back at some of my older stories, I realize that they aren't exactly the best. In all honesty, I have a hard time even trying to read them myself without cringing too hard.
There are two stories in particular that I have utmost contempt for: Scarring Tales and The Pony Guard. Keep in mind that the former story was published around the time MLP G4 ended, so that one-shot fanfic was basically my way of ranting about the poor quality writing in season 9. It features Scar from the The Lion King and King Sombra, and let me tell you...it's straight-up DONKEY CHEEKS! I am genuinely surprised it managed to get more likes than dislikes because none of it makes any sense.
In fact, I would go so far in saying that it is a "rage fic" (if there's such a thing) and a poor attempt at making a good one at that. While it was nice having Sombra & Scar talk with each other and express how similar they are, most of the dialogue sounds like it was written by Deadpool which makes them completely OOC as a result. Overall, it's a cringeworthy rage fic that does nothing but gratify the author's wish fulfillment purposes. It's definitely the worst story I've ever written, and it's crazy how often I've made rants about season 9 around early 2020. I'm glad it doesn't bother me anymore...even though much of my complaints against season 9 still stand.
Then we have "The Pony Guard" which was requested by one of my readers whom I haven't spoken to in a long time. Despite the fact I wrote 11 fucking chapters for it in just two months, it's the most boring story I've ever written. It's not just because the show on which it's based and crossing MLP with is mid at best but also because I didn't like how I wrote the plot for the story. Why didn't I politely reject the request if I knew it was gonna suck, you may ask? Well, that's because I didn't want to say no. Plus, a part of me wanted to give it my best shot since I liked some of the characters from that show (key word SOME) despite my gut telling me otherwise.
In conclusion: that story is exactly the reason why I stopped taking requests completely. It would explain why I didn't put too much effort in publishing every single chapter, and that's something I don't want to ever experience again.
Now you may be wondering why I haven't taken them down if I feel this way. The truth is, I never take down a bad story. That has always been my principle since day one, and I still stand by it. There will always be people who will enjoy any story of mine that may somehow appeal to them, entertain them, or anything else of that nature. It might have reached out to them in a way through which I don't comprehend, so by removing that story, I would've taken away that enjoyment from their library. For me, that's a taboo. Regardless of how many likes or dislikes it gets, the story still stays up. That's my rule.
Granted, all my oldest stories--especially my most famous ones--are quite rough on the exterior, but I have a soft spot for them anyway. I'm glad that, as an author, I learn from my mistakes and try to do better. Even though all 30 of my stories have always received more positive reception, I still try my best to make sure my latest stories are better than my oldest ones. Did you guys notice that I take longer in writing my chapters than I used to?
Back when I wrote my MLP/Dark Knight crossover trilogy, I used to write & publish a chapter every single night. But nowadays, I publish a chapter at least twice a month or less. I'm taking more time with my stories, and I am making sure they're at the very least readable, sensible, or comprehensible enough before I publish them. That in itself is a story worth telling.
What about you guys? Care to share your fanfic writing journey?
The two shows also both ended in the same year.
I compare my old stuff to my new stuff all the time, most of the time just wondering what in Tartarus was I thinking with some of these choices.
But, I've been finding myself revisiting old stories and still liking a couple ideas, but not how I originally executed them, so I've been taking these ideas and re-conceptualizing them behind the scenes, working on what-ifs of how I could improve this in another story, or what-if this character existed in this story?
Going back on your original stuff can be difficult, because for me, it reminds me of how new and cringe I was, and in a way, I still am, but less. I'm just taking my time, instead of constantly churning out chapters like a slave to the factory line. When you go back to look at old stuff, you realize that a concept has potential, but maybe the execution could've been better, or maybe a couple characters you created had more potential than you thought.
Looking back at your old stuff proves them to be a testament to how much you've improved.
I myself have often looked back on some of my older stories and have seen both the mistakes I've made in them, but also what I've managed to improve upon since my very first story, writing comes with a lot of complications when your trying to figure out where to take the story next, but with enough effort, we all can really improve after we look back on things.
It's important to take in critiques and see the flaws of your works, and learn what you could've done better for each one, and every time I make a new story, I myself can see that. I may never make a perfect story, but that's alright, because what matters most is writers like us learning from the mistakes we made, and working to improve on it. Writing takes a lot of risks, and I think we all can agree that there are certain parts when we look back at our story's, and see what could've been changed to make it better. But as long as you can have fun making a work that only gets better for you over time, and seeing it come through to the end, that's really all that it takes.