Writing Troubles · 6:31am Aug 25th, 2014
So... I made a blog post a couple days ago saying that I had a new story coming out soon. I'll go ahead and say now that yes, that's true. It WILL be out soon, but at this point I'm not sure how soon.
See, lately I've been having trouble with writing. When I finished my first draft for this story, I felt really proud of it. It was just over 5,200 words, and that felt like it was good enough.
And then my editor looked at it, and told me it felt basic. I asked what he meant, and he showed me. And frankly... I'm glad he did.
To be honest, that story was stripped to the bare bones. It was fine grammatically, but it was so lacking in detail it was closer to an outline. Looking back on it, I am utterly astonished that I ever thought it was acceptable.
I've been working on it, and I've added over 1,400 words without a single additional scene, and with more yet to come. Yeah, it was that bad.
This is particularly troubling to me because I decided a long time ago that one of my rules would be this: every story I write should be better than the previous one. I understand that the overall popularity of a story depends on the premise and characters involved as well as the quality of writing, so when I say that my story should be "better" I mean it in the most objective sense.
This one wasn't. It was a step backward, and I find myself wondering exactly how long this has been happening in my writing. Well, I'm saying this now: I'm not gonna release crap, whether it 'succeeds' or not. There's no true value in that.
There's a lot of flak about how clop is "easy" and that it doesn't take any real writing skill to do it. Personally, I've found that it's more complicated than that. Yes, writing clop is "easy" in a sense, but writing good clop can be quite difficult. It's not even about it being easier or harder than SFW stories, because it requires a different approach.
For example, if you ask any professional editor, they'll tell you to keep the language simple and the adverbs to a minimum. Well, I tried that in this story, and it turned out terribly. I didn't realize until now that it's simply because clop and SFW are two entirely different things and should be treated as such. Comparing them as if one can objectively be more difficult than the other is stupid. It's like arguing about whether it's easier to learn how to play a guitar or a violin.
The point is that I decided a long time ago that it doesn't matter to me. Even if it is "easier" to get popular by writing clop, I rejected the idea of treating it that way. My clopfics would be as good as I could possibly make them, because I wanted to be known for good stories, not necessarily having many of them. I don't want to write things that I know will succeed, the 'tried and true'. I want to write things that people never knew they wanted (until they saw it).
And, well... I stopped doing that. The idea for my latest story wasn't bad, but it was lacking in execution. I was getting lazy, complacent... Basically, something I told myself I'd never do.
The real irony? A while back I composed a quick 'smut-writing guide' for someone who sent me a PM asking for advice. I jotted down my thoughts, what I've learned over these last few months since I started writing, and sent it to him in list form. Yesterday, when I looked back at what I'd written, I realized that I'd been unconsciously ignoring half of my own advice.
That, my followers, is not acceptable to me. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I would prefer to think that most of you followed me because of the quality of the stories I write. That is one reason why I decided that I wanted to do my absolute best. You all followed me because you saw something you liked. Because you gave me a chance, you all deserve my best effort.
Because of that, this story will be delayed. I'm going to take as much time as I need to make it better, and I hope that by the time it's done I will be able to say that it is indeed my best story to date.
That said, I have some more work to do. It's possible that this story will be out as soon as tomorrow, but either way when you do see it, it'll be the best that my editors and I can make it.
You know where I'll be. Waiting, watching—probably the tv—but still looking forward to those stories of yours to be released.
Very interesting. Keep at it, my friend! However, I don't know what editor will tell you to keep things simple. That's terrible advice, and that's not necessarily how writing works. Sure, being concise is a good skill to have, and it is innumerbly valuable in writing when you are trying to show as much as possible in the least amount of words, but keeping the language simple? Use as few adverbs as possible? That's something you do in a formal paper, not fiction.
So these professional editors don't know what they are talking about.
Take your time. I sure it'll be great when posted