After working later than I was scheduled, I came home to an empty house. I looked at my options: Starcraft 2? Mass Effect 3? Bronystate?

I was disheartened and alone. The only thing on my mind - 'Why was my story so bad?' That was when I found a friend: LibraryDeluxe on the chat channel. He was willing to explain some things about "proper" writing. It inspired me to search out some websites and re-analyze my writing style. I also found answers to some comments people laid out to me.

Why do I pose the question in the blog title? I never intended to take things serious. I never thought I would spend roughly 40,000 words in two stories. I just wrote down what was going through my head. The problem? Nobody else cares. If that's true, why even bother? Would I drop this hobby like the hundreds of other hobbies I've tried in the past? What is my motivation?

I guess the question comes to why I should write professionally for the public. I'm the guy that hates reading, but loves writing. It is a big contradiction. To learn how to write better, I need to read more. As much as it hurts me to admit, I'm not a very good writer. I don't think I want to go back and revise my story, when it technically is published. With no way to update it or push it for people to read, I doubt anyone will want to read it.

Anyways, this post is to remind me of my writing issues (in case I write another story, revise my old stories, or stop all together):

Problem #1: No one cares about my character. There is barely any exposition and poor pacing. It has been instantly defined as "poor wish-fulfillment writing" and "very Mary Sue-ish traits". Explanation: The story was originally purposed, like many who are new to writing fanfictions, as a 'self-insert' dream. Even Equestria Daily has added the new rule: "No Bronys in Equestria" because of the sheer inexperience and widely-known awful stories that are pushed in that genre. I didn't care about my own character traits or those proposed in the story. I wanted to add emphasis on the plot of the story. Solution: It has been stated that I have an "OC-centric story" and I should thereby have it revolve around character development. Readers should identify with the character all throughout the story, regardless of what situation he is in. No brony will be able to relate to this new character. Improvement: Describe Moonlight Sonata by his character traits without throwing an 'information dump.' Be indirect with his traits through his dialogue, but provide some sort of background at the introduction of the story. Implant personality like "indecisive, softhearted, cautious" without actually stating them. Describe more in detail why Moonlight Sonata is naturally quiet, because he fears how both his actions and words may offend others. Without being too wordy, explain why he likes doing the things he does out in the middle of nowhere. Why is he out there in the first place?

Problem #2: No one wants to read my story. It is bland and uninteresting. Explanation: Again, I didn't take the story seriously until I practically had the entire rough draft completed. I never knew that FIMFiction had a story uploaded every 10 minutes! It goes back to showing my inexperience of how vast the sea of stories was on the Internet, even when it is narrowed down to a single show. Even now, I have probably read the entirety of two MLP stories. It feels good to be recognized for talent. Not so much when you feel like your work is in vain. Solution: I could read more. I could write more. I think at this point, I could even learn from my mistakes and revise my story even further. Maybe someone will take notice before the trend drifts away. Improvement: I need to 'hook' more people in reading my story. The beginning of the story should throw out the theme and dramatic conflict within the first 30 seconds of reading. Even having Moonlight wake up out of bed as he hears someone say "I see you" or sees a dark shadow move in the distance can draw the reader's curiosity. Revision in the main character's motives can help. Offer Moonlight the choice to return home (which could be what he wanted all along) and explain how his motives changed throughout the story (and not just because he is a unicorn).

Problem #3: My story lacks detail. The story forces too much dialogue between characters. Readers don't like being told what is happening. Explanation: Whenever I see people suggest the right way of writing the 'show, don't tell' rule, I cringe. Personally, I hate when people explain what a person is doing without explicitly saying why he is doing it. Even when looking at a writing guide, I read the DO NOT and skip over the DO. I'll never understand why I feel that way. The fact is that I wrote in the way I pictured the story, with ponies talking back and forth. Solution: Duke it out and find a way to "engage" the reader. Have the reader come to his own conclusions why the characters are acting the way they are or saying specific things. Don't just say 'He is sad' but state 'He was looking down to the ground with his knees bent low.' Improvement: Picture each of the scenes as the conversation continues. Say the lines in a mirror. Write what happened. Add enough detail so that 'table' turns into 'a wooden, square table with chips on the corner' without going overboard and writing 'purple pose' with 'a wooden, square table with four legs and small indentations that showed it was widely used'

Problem #4: Poor Pacing. The story needs to flow smoothly from one point to the next without jumping around. Explanation: I think this is a combination of the previous 3 problems. Lack of what the main character doing, in junction with lack of descriptions forces the dialogue to be the only thing driving the story. I focused my attention on proper dialogue techniques, not proper descriptive writing. Solution: The dialogue may make a scene 'relaxing' and interesting, but the transitions of the action leaves a lot to be desired. If I built the same amount of effort from the dialogue into the narrative portions, it may help balance the story. Improvement: Be cautious the length of time that passes in any given amount of text. Don't spend a whole paragraph describing something 'Tolkien' or spend a whole page describing a battle that only lasts a minute. Strike a balance. Watch how much time passes as the number of words grow.