Last: The Epic Writing Block · 11:13pm May 17th, 2013
I'd sincerely hoped I'd never have to make this blog post. When the FiMFiction author I most admire, Ex-Nihilos, author of Rorschach in Equestria, wrote a blog post explaining his depression and the reason it didn't allow him to continue his excellent story, I said to myself, "I won't let that happen to me."
In fact, my situation is quite different: I'm currently getting over a rut I've been in the past year or so, and this term I'm feeling better than I have in a long time. When I started "Last", things weren't going so well at school. Now they are. I'm being productive, (slightly) more active, socially outgoing, and apparently unable to put words down to continue the saga of Simon.
I cannot give a reliable estimate for when writing will continue on "Last". I'd hoped that setting a deadline for myself sometime in May would induce some inspiration, but that sadly hasn't happened.
I don't think what I'm going through is traditional Writers' Block: I know exactly what's coming next. The next three chapters form a three-act mini-story revolving around the events of "Swarm of the Century", which then segues into a chapter entitled "Three Months of Winter Coolness", where I take advantage of a MASSIVE gap in the canon. The problem is, those three chapters are pretty heavy thematically, so maintaining the proper atmosphere and weaving it smoothly into the canon is an intimidating task, and every time I think of how to go about doing it, I find myself not wanting to do it.
This announcement is a humiliation to me, and will come as a kick in the face to some readers, since, as this blog post by the admin who approved "Last" explains accurately, one trite quality that Human in Equestria stories (especially the poor ones) tend to exhibit is
and then you travel to Equestria, and OH BOY THE STORY IS ABOUT TO GET GOOD! Then you stop writing and mash your face over ‘publish’.
This is certainly a good explanation why the first chapter of a HiE can generate so much hype, and then disappear into obscurity. It is often a result of not thinking ahead. The fact that I did think ahead (Several drafts of the final chapter of "Last" were written a month prior to anything published so far), makes this admission of defeat all the more humiliating. But it is fact, and I cannot deny it any further. I know now that I absolutely should have written farther ahead before initially publishing the story, and I tell you now that I will not publish another chapter until all three are finished and ready to go.
Writing has become a chore, rather than the fun hobby it was supposed to be. I can't look at the published chapters of my own story without being overly critical and unimpressed by my own work. I think I need to dive into my studies, and when I emerge, needing a break from programming and math, then writing will be fun again.
So, in summary, I hope that you all have enjoyed "Last" up until now. I ask that you be patient, and allow me to continue on it when I'm ready to.
Special thanks to KeatsLocksley for not only proofreading "Last", but for helping me not feel so bad about being blocked up.
Post on my wall if you want to talk. I like talking.
Aw. Well that's kind of a bummer.
Well, I guess I look forward to when writing becomes fun for you again so you can continue your story.
Good luck in the meantime.