Okay, new plan · 3:46pm Mar 11th, 2015
My first blog post was about not trying to stick to just one story and going batty every time I hit a wall with it until it was done before doing the same thing with the next one. For the last year or so, I've mostly been trying to write out the entire story before I posted anything, and while that usually seems to yield cleaner results, I don't think it's the best idea. For me, at least.
I published Like Mending Glass because the direction of the story had changed enough from the original premise enough to justify submitting the rest later as a sequel I've barely started even a year later, and because I knew it would be years before any of it was readable otherwise. I've kindof reached the same point with quite a few others now, and I'm wondering how long it is before what I've got is steamrolled by canon or plain wouldn't have been read much anyway.
I can think of one story that, if it hadn't been published around the time it was, probably wouldn't have gotten a fraction of the attention it has. Which would be tragic, because it's probably the best Sunset Shimmer Redemption fic on the site. That it isn't finished yet, if the writer had taken my current method, would probably mean that if it were finished and published today, months after the second movie, I doubt a lot of people would give it more than a glance.
I don't have the time to finish, refine, and submit all of my stories in a timely manner, and don't want to try anymore. I started doing that because I thought "professional writers don't just release a chunk of their book every so often, do they?" Apart from Alan Moore, I guess. Another part of it was because I don't like to read fics that aren't done, having to wait months or years for the rest of the story, but I've been breaking that rule on both ends since publishing LMG (which isn't completely concluded yet) and reading LRTF, (which is also a long road from finished) so what the heck?
So, new plan! I'm just going to start publishing what I have ready here and focus more on one chapter at a time rather than jumping whimsically from story to story and not finishing anything anyone else will be able to enjoy outside of random one-shots. Here's hoping this works out better!
I love this plan, it involves me getting horsewords faster.