• Member Since 3rd Apr, 2013
  • offline last seen Mar 23rd, 2020

Tystarr


Someone who needs to write far more than they currently do! x.x

More Blog Posts31

  • 316 weeks
    Update, apologies.

    Saw the last update was... well, way too long ago. >.<

    Again, I'm really, really sorry for the long delay. I know it's hollow words right now, and I really hate saying them since I haven't anything to show for it, but I have not given up on the stories. Sometimes it does feel like it would be easier to just actually let the poor thing die. ^-^;

    Read More

    49 comments · 3,063 views
  • 378 weeks
    Progress

    Hi everyone! I feel I owe an update of where I am at. ^-^;

    I can't, at the moment, use MS Word, or otherwise, so am trying to get acquainted with google documents, to limited success. x.x;

    I am writing though, and working on the next chapter of a Stranger Among the Voices. As always, that pesky starting point is what is frustrating me, but hopefully working though it. ^-^

    Read More

    30 comments · 1,551 views
  • 385 weeks
    Soon

    A huge apology for the huuuuge and completely unacceptable hiatus. I've had a few things happen in the last year and a bit - some wonderful, some not so good - and lost the desire to write, but now I feel I can do it justice again. All I can say is, watch this space.

    44 comments · 1,182 views
  • 457 weeks
    I am alive!

    I really do wish to apologise for how absent my writing has been. Things have happened, and my desire to write was the first thing to be impeded by stuff in general. In between my state of health recently ( kidney stones, colds, general just being me ) I have had little time, let alone want, to write. However, I am here, and I am actively writing on ASaTV again. I am also redoing one of the

    Read More

    30 comments · 1,898 views
  • 478 weeks
    Question, or actually, more of a request? Maybe?

    I am very happy people liked my silly little doodle. I still think it's a little blargh, but am glad that others enjoyed. ^-^

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    32 comments · 1,400 views
Jan
28th
2015

Question, or actually, more of a request? Maybe? · 12:56pm Jan 28th, 2015

I am very happy people liked my silly little doodle. I still think it's a little blargh, but am glad that others enjoyed. ^-^

I also consider myself very lucky to have such patient readers. I am very well aware this is just a fanfiction site, and what I do is probably seen as simply a hobby. It's one I could, conceivably, just wander away from and never look back. I could, I mean it wouldn't be hard to do at all... But I won't, and I can't actually see myself ever seriously considering the idea.

So, yes... This is a hobby. I know I'm not a great writer, and before people worry about my mental state ( I am both flattered and concerned people do that! ) I am mentally well. Well... I think I am? I mean I'm happy... I guess? I just, I suppose, have little to no self esteem. But, this isn't a blog about that, and I do go off on tangents more than I wish!

Back on topic, I know I'm not a great writer, but I also know that people feel very invested in the characters I created and the tales involving them. As I said in a previous blog, I am very flattered this is the case, and I want to thank each and every one of you. That includes those who are daunted by my writing style ( I apologize, but I really can't change it. It's how I write, and I know it's, um... verbose? But it's just who I am, I suppose. ^-^; ). It includes those who are critical of my work, or simply don't like it. Other than one or two comments, even those who dislike what I have written have been amazingly constructive about it, and I am very thankful for them to offer such informative feedback. I know I can't please them, mainly, but it still means a lot to me!

I also need to thank those who especially stuck from the beginning. That horrible mess that is A Voice Among the Strangers chapter one. I know I slowly improved over the entire story, but I cringe looking back at the early parts. Now I have improved ( however slightly!) I can see the mistakes I made. I guess that's what makes it all the more special that people stuck with it. They saw something in Jessica's journey and wished to see it through. Or, perhaps, they saw something in my writing that even I still cannot see.

Whatever the case, I am rambling again. Sorry. x.x

The point of all this is, I know this is a fanfiction site, that, at the end of the day, means very little in the grand scheme of things. But I have started something. I have started a few things, actually and I intend to see them through. Even if I no longer enjoy writing ( that's not the case yet, please don't worry! ) I would continue, even if it was just one or two people who wished to see me continue. The reason is, I guess, I want for them to enjoy it, I want them to be rewarded for their patience. But, ultimately, the reason I write now, is no longer for my own enjoyment. I don't need too? Why would I? I know what is happening in my head, and I can see it all happening in my mind's eye.

I don't need to write it down to know, but... others don't have that, they don't know. I want to write for others to enjoy. Is that a proper goal? I don't know? I've never done something like this before... But simply that moment when I post a chapter and see someone so happy to read it, that makes me feel... warm... I guess? Happy? I like the fact that even just for half an hour, I have made someone's day. It feels a little selfish to me that is how I feel, but... well, I guess that's it. ^-^;

This has evolved past a hobby for me, now I want to complete the journeys so others can enjoy and follow along on Jessica, Ebony, Viktoria, and all the other's adventures to their conclusions.

But it's clear I have hit a brick wall, one that I am having immense trouble to overcome. I have two weeks off coming up, and in that time I wish to really get into writing again.

But, I wish to ask a favour of some of my readers, or even someone who likes a challenge. I wish to ask if there is anyone willing to let me bounce ideas off them. It might be the entire storyline I have planned, or storylines, to get a glimpse of what is in my head and see if it actually works. Or, if they don't wish to know everything, then just bounce ideas of the next chapter off them.

There are a few conditions though, and I hope I am not being too picky by asking this...

1 - Must be critical. I want someone, or someones ( yes I know that is horrible English, but is late! ) to throw back at me things that don't work. If they like something, I want them to say why, if they don't like something, the same reason. If they wish to delve further into a point that doesn't make sense to them, or they wish to challenge me on how well I have thought of something, I want them to do that too. Basically, I want... or need someone to look from an outside view on what I have in my head, and see if it actually has a foundation to work off.

2 - Preferably have some form of Instant Messenger service. I know this is picky, but I like having conversations that flow quickly. This is me being selfish again, sorry. ^-^;

3 - Doesn't mind having things spoiled. The reason is, I have a rough outline for a story, an almost complete template for one, and a mix of the two for the third, all in my head. But, I need to know if it flows. So I need to just, blargh it all out, and have them throw it back in my face, or point out what works and what doesn't. It's not really a secret, but A Voice Among the Strangers was never really... planned. It was meant to be a first chapter, nothing more than a dare to write something, and be forgotten. But it was picked up, people liked it, and I fell in love with the characters and writing. Things, from that, evolved and grew and I never really had a 'goal' for the story. Each chapter grew organically as I wrote them, and characters developed.

A good example of this is Ebony herself. She was never meant to be anything more than something to break Jess out of the cage and then vanish. But as I wrote, that changeling kept sneaking back. In my head I could see her following Jess, curious, and confused as to why Jess could feed her in such a way. From there, the snarky changeling I have grown to love became who she is, and firmly became entrenched in the story. Looking back, I can never imagine it without her, but that was a reality.

It's also no secret that I rewrite chapters constantly. It's not unheard of for me to completely scrap a 10k word document and start afresh, then the next day rejecting that one too. That's how I wrote AVAtS, taking bits for each failed chapter until I had something I liked and linking them together. Towards about chapter 7, I knew what the ending would be, but until then, I was being led by the characters themselves and writing as they did things. That might sound strange, but I guess that's just how I am. ^-^;

That is what is making it so hard I think to write what I am now. No longer am I letting them write the story, I am writing the guidelines and putting them into it. But, again, I am rambling...

So, if anyone is interested in helping me plot, plan, and brainstorm my two current projects, and also help with the two upcoming, then I would be very grateful!

I will apologise as I will only choose a few, primarily because it will be hard to co-ordinate with any more than that! Plus, I really want people who want to poke at it, and not just those that wish to know how the stories end. If you want to know the plots, I have no issue telling you. I mean, if you want to be spoiled that is! But that's not the intended purpose of this...

I need help, and I need to know what I am planning will work... because, ultimately, I love my characters and wish to do right by them... But I also respect and feel obligated to give those who wish to read what I write the very best I can do!

So, again, thank you all for being so patient with me. I hope to not let you down with what I am doing. Also, expect Nightmare Night within the next two weeks! By the end of this weekend I should have something to bounce to editors, and the first chapter of 'Tales of Pagasa' will be on track to be published!

~Tystarr

Report Tystarr · 1,400 views ·
Comments ( 32 )

I wish you the very best of fortune. Not to worry, your work and your life is appreciated.:raritywink:

Your faithful readers will be patient, and you are free to govern your time by yourself~

2753262

Thankies. But I hate making them wait simply because I am a mess. ^-^;

Though the idea of being spoiled burns me, I am well acquainted with being a sounding board for ideas and would love to assist if you'll have me. I've got most of the standard messenger programs, but I do work on an Australian clock so I may only be good to contact on weekends, depending on your timezone.

2753264
I understand. Just try your best, and nothing else, and do only what works well for your health and yourself in general. You're very welcome.:twilightsmile:

2753266

I reaaally should add that I work really, really strange hours. I mean, I work from about 2pm in the afternoon, until 12am at night. I do live in New Zealand though, so Australian time isn't that big of an issue to me. ^-^

2753270 well, that puts me two hours behind you so you finish at 10pm my time... which means still not great chance for communication. (You work the same hours a lot of my American friends sleep! Those -are- pretty weird hours.) But if you are okay with mostly weekends, I'm certainly in.

hm interesting, but alas my time on the internet is random at best, and whenever I could get on I can only pm, all my messengers are on my computer and my dad doesn't like having those on his computer. :fluttercry: wish I could help.

Your a wonderful storyteller despite your lack of confidence in your technical writing skills.
I would be happy to help, Aussie myself so time difference not a problem.

I also consider myself very lucky to have such patient readers.

I think those who can appreciate a great piece can also wait for it however long it is necessary. Especially since it's just a hobby and not a paid job. That would be more tricky.

It's how I write, and I know it's, um... verbose?

Verbose is good, especially good quality verbose. The world could always use more of it.

It feels a little selfish to me that is how I feel, but... well, I guess that's it.

Feeling good about making others happy is the furthest from selfish I could conceivably imagine! Just always apply moderation.:raritywink:

That might sound strange, but I guess that's just how I am.

I don't think it strange. That's how the best works happen. A story should write itself by the probable actions of characters and logical chains of events. Yours do, and it's beautiful. Sure, there always is room for improvement but never let that discourage you.

I would volunteer, but I am not someone who has the mental capacity to do such work, I'm afraid. Nor time as well. It would never be instant messaging if I'm 6 hours off in another time zone, following a different life schedule.

I would be more than willing to have you bounce ideas to me, Tystarr.

That being said, have I mentioned yet how eerie I find it how similar our thoughts about how and why we write are? Reading this blog I almost thought I was reading something I had written myself. It's scary.

Nothing wrong or selfish or picky with any of this, as far as I can tell. Quite the contrary.

As far as your actual request… I have Skype and XMPP, and my schedule, surprisingly, overlaps yours quite well. I'm reasonably confident I can do a good job shooting down ideas that don't work, or for that matter encouraging those that do. (Verbosity is not a problem for me, since I read, uh, really fast.) And I think I'm more or less OK with spoilers here. So shoot me a PM if that sounds good.

Hmm. It occurs to me that, if you weren't already going to do this, a brief trial period for those you select would probably be good to see how well they can critique. I dunno.

A simple truth in the realm of the arts and the like

'You are your own worst critic'



You just go at the pace that works best, work (within reason, your in charge here) bounce the ideas around without dodging when they go crazy and you should come out alright.

2753350 Trial periods are interesting. Mine was just talking to them enough until I somehow got the job.

Ok, I've got to say something now. There’s a difference between humility and Self-deprecation.

And yea, waiting sucks on both ends of the fanfiction stick but what you keep beating yourself up over is nothing… I've followed fic’s on fanfiction.net that had a 10 year span between the first chapter and the epilogue (and a 4 year untold hiatus half way though.) You are a mile above most people because you don’t just drop of the face of the site for weeks if not months at a time without a single word. You keep us in the loop and that awesome, but you don’t have to verbally flail yourself every time you have a block....

Hope it helps, and I look forward to the chapter when it does come.

This is painful, because I want to help but I know a bad person to bounce ideas off of.
Unless you're doing comedy, then I'm the perfect guy to bounce ideas off of.
But for a story like this, no, I'm definitely not the guy. Would do it in a heartbeat if I thought I'd be helpful though.

But simply that moment when I post a chapter and see someone so happy to read it, that makes me feel... warm... I guess? Happy? I like the fact that even just for half an hour, I have made someone's day. It feels a little selfish to me that is how I feel, but... well, I guess that's it. ^-^;

Well, that's perfectly ok to feel good because others feel good =) It's called "empathy" and it's vital part of human mind. If it's your drive for writing - it's great! =)

But, I wish to ask a favour of some of my readers, or even someone who likes a challenge. I wish to ask if there is anyone willing to let me bounce ideas off them.

Sure, no problem, I'd like to help you AND know the future in your stories very much! Use PM or Steam chat, whatever you like more. If you have Skype, we can use it, I have it too. Will send you my username if you ask it.
Conditions are ok, I can do it.

2753325 Falcor The Luck Dragon!!!!

That is all I have. :twilightsheepish:

First of all, I'd like to thank you for thanking us (yay English too, it's getting late where I live too). I'm not one of those "early reader", because I usually wait for a story to be complete before reading it, but AVATS was on my watchlist from some time.... and once complete, I rushed reading it.

It immediatly became one of my favorite I ever read, for the reasons I already explained to you in a previous comment :).

You know, that's funny, when I read your last blog post, I was actually wondering if I should ask you if you were interested in someone to "bounce ideas" as you said.

Then there was this post. So yeah, now I'm decided, I'd like to be one of the guy you could use as a brainstormer. I read a LOT during my free time, so I kinda know what works and what doesn't, at least according to my tastes... and my tastes incluse verbose :).

The only problem would be our time zones are quite... different :D (GMT+12 for you, GMT+1 for me...), but still, I'd be glad to help !

Do not hesitate to contact me by PM if you want to work out the details.

my writing style ( I apologize, but I really can't change it. It's how I write, and I know it's, um... verbose?

Trust me on this. In collage I had to get through some of Charles Disckens' larger novels in very short order. That took some doing, but in comparison you are not verbose you are ultra concise. And look at the success Dickens' style brought him. :pinkiehappy:

I'll volunteer. I noticed in a comment that you work strange hours, as do I. I'm currently working 1800-0600 Sa-Mo and 1800-2200 on Tu (GMT-7).

Also, you're welcome, and thank you for writing such amazing stories. It's because of your attention to detail that I was first captivated by your stories (noone else has really done much of language barrier in an HiE, at least that I've read, nor how to work through that realistically). Your style, including length, and the overall story telling is what has kept me coming back for more.

I'll also volunteer as well in any way I can. I'm in the US Eastern time zone (GMT -5). I currently don't have a instant messenger setup but that is easily fixed. :pinkiesmile:

I have really enjoyed all of your stories so far and the improvement over time also only natural. That said compared to a some of things I've seen you are writing on the level of Shakespeare (and that's coming from an English Lit. minor). :pinkiehappy: Also slow is but keeping up a story is a lot better than throwing in the towel. I have way too many stories on my bookshelves here that are either totally inactive or canceled all together.

I would be glad to be an idea bouncer. The best IM methods for me are dA and Steam. If you're interested, just send me a PM.

Verbose?

I believe your descriptive style gives your writing an early 20th century feel, which is an era well known for its talented writers (Orwell, Lewis, Tolkien, Wells, Doyle, Lovecraft, etc). Some people may find that amount of substance overwhelming, but those people are, to put it nicely, easily distracted.

I know I'm not a great writer, but I also know that people feel very invested in the characters I created and the tales involving them.

This is literally nonsense. The quality of writing is subjective, but people's reactions are not, so literature that gets a good reaction is, by definition, good. That doesn't necessarily make you a good writer as anyone can just get lucky, but everything you've written so far has been positively received and you're starting to build a whole world, so the chances that you're just stumbling on success is astronomically low.

As for being a sounding board, I'm all for that. Spoilers don't bother me one bit, and I don't sleep long enough for scheduling to be a real issue (before you get worried, I sleep like a cat; 20-30 minutes at a time, six times a day, and a few hours each night). As for whether I'd be appropriately critical, that would be for you to judge. On one hand, you don't want a yes-man, as they would allow you to make blunders for the sake of agreeing with you. On the other, you don't want someone who's too critical, as they might as well write the story themselves. I strive to be neither and would say so, but one's concept of oneself is often skewed.

EDIT: I am aware of IM services in DA or Steam, which I could use. Even Yahoo, if you want to go old-school. Do be warned, however, that my grammar takes a bit of a dip in live conversation.

2753897
Yes, Charles "Dedicates Two Whole Freaking Pages to the Description of a Room" Dickens. Being forced to read Great Expectations should be a capital punishment.

I'm willing to help, but considering how... erratic, let's say, my schedule's been recently, I can't guarantee that IM is actually a realistic possibility. Still, if you have something that doesn't require a lot of direct discussion, I can give it a look.

Thank you all for your feedback. ^-^

I obviously can't include everyone, and I am sorry to those I don't! I don't want to have toooo many helping out, because that would just make it a nightmare to co-ordinate. So if I didn't add you recently, I am very sorry but as I said, could only has so many before it would get confusing. Please don't think it's because I am snubbing you though! I am really thankful that you all offered so quickly and now I feel bad I can't add everyone! ^-^;

If anyone does wish to be spoiled, you can send me a PM. I mean, I don't mind sending what I plan, but you have to be absolutely sure you wish to be spoiled! ^-^

Although, if I did add you, please be aware I am, um... Well, not the most social of people, so might need to be prodded. I know that is kind of counter-productive to the whole thing, but I can't help how I am. ^-^;

2755580 Awww I wasn't chosen :(

But I kinda expected it anyway, talking would have been a logistics nightmare !

Good luck to you and your helpers, and see you next chapter !

2755899

Am sorry, but thank you for your offer nonetheless! ^-^

I'm always on standby should you need the extra eye or pair of hands.
I have to say as someone who's helped you in the past it's been one of my pleasures and joys to see you improve, which in turn encouraged me to pick up my own pen and get back to work. Recently I've been writing a lot...I was struck by the inspiration and need to write. I can sympathize with you're struggle of taking the stories that are crafted in your head and putting them onto paper for others to read. That's been a struggle for me as well, but something that helps me get through those struggles is doing what you're doing now. Bounce ideas off people and try different things to inspire oneself. Heck sometimes you don't even need the other person to say anything. Just having someone listening to your ideas can help you see your work in a different light.

Anyways...now I'm rambling!
I'm still floating about (even if I don't log into FiM:Fiction I should get an email if you send me a PM) and I'm always happy to help! Best of luck in your endeavors and I look forward to seeing what comes next!

Solitary Pinion was the first piece I ever read around here and I'd like to help it chug along if I could. Although I've only got point 1 & 3 down.

One idea, if you haven't already considered this. Is to make another story and not publish it, just invite people who you think can help you with ideas to it. Put your draft in it and turn that into a makeshift mini-forum for people you've invited.

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