On popularity, quality, and reaction. · 11:41pm Jul 21st, 2012
I'm bored, it's too late to write anything more serious, and it's too early to start that episode of Sherlock, so I'm going to write a blog.
As you may or may not know, I'm somewhat popular. With over 1400 watchers and 200,000 total story views, it would be fair to say that I'm doing something right. I'll elaborate on that later.
I have reasonably high standards when I read horse stories. Not absurd standards, I don't think, but standards that aren't fulfilled by the average author. One of the first--perhaps actually the first--clopfics I read was Romance Reports. This, as you may imagine, set a precedent that's difficult, but far from impossible, to equal. I couldn't tell you what the first normal fanfic I read was, but the first one that I remember--as in, the first one that really stuck in my mind--is butterscotchsundae's The Party Never Ended. Those two stories have something crucial in common; one is filled with sex, one isn't. It's not the length--while both are sizable that isn't why they're enjoyable, and you're not going to catch me reading My Second Life for the wordcount. The Cough wouldn't be more effective at ten times the length.
Is it the technical quality of the writing? That plays a part, but nobody reads a story for the grammar. The writing itself is just a vehicle, and a vehicle is useless if you aren't going anywhere. Poor grammar can ruin an excellent idea, but a stellar technical achievement without a purpose is nothing. So if it isn't how much there is, or what it is, what sets a story apart?
The best authors know their audience. Steven King is never going to capture Stephanie Meyer's audience, nor vice versa. Here we're on a smaller scale, but the concept is the same. The best authors know their audience, and write for them. The ideas they choose are ones that appeal to that audience, and they present it in such a way their readers can understand and appreciate it. That's the key. The words you read now are the same as the words you read in a story. A finite set of words comprised of a finite alphabet, but with an infinite amount of combinations. The words exist only to convey your imagination to the reader, and nothing more.
Of course, it isn't quite that simple. "Quality" is a function of all those factors and more, and a per-person modifier for each. You could--and people have--write books on the subject of what makes a book "good". What makes the core idea of a story compelling, or what makes how that idea is put across addicting. What makes character interaction believable, or characters realistic, or a setting sane and understandable. What's the difference between a cheap emotional hook and a hard-hitting punch to the gut of feelings. There are so many questions that I cannot answer, and if I could, I couldn't do it in one short blog post.
What advice I can give is this: Know what you're writing, know who you're writing it for. Don't aim for a wordcount, aim for as many words as it takes to render your ideas in such a way your audience can understand them.
I said earlier I'd elaborate on what I'm doing right, and I'm no liar. Is it technical quality? A quick skim through my library will tell you that's not the case. Hard hitting ideas? Ah, no. Doing something new and unique? Hardly. Writing for an audience? Yeah. Writing a lot? Absolutely.
Did I do it to get popular? Absolutely not. That just happened. Which kind of comes to the selfish part of this blog post; part of the reason I'm taking so long writing lately is that I don't know where my biggest problems are right now, so I don't know what I should be concentrating on improving. This leads to an eternal cycle of writing, reading, and rewriting. A feathered pillowcase has impacted against Pinkie Pie's face a thousand times in my mind, and every time I find another inaccuracy born in the translation from imagination to hard prose. Apologies on that note, then. Must improve.
The third important word in that title is reaction. If you want to become a better author, your reactions are where you need to start. I hadn't realised it until recently, when a few conversations caused me to really think about the issue, but the reactions of authors is one of the big reasons I don't read much fan fiction any more. If you have a kneejerk denial of criticism, you will get nowhere. At all. Just stop now, because you're wasting our time and yours. Criticism is the most valuable thing you have, because it tells you why you aren't good enough yet. Criticism is inspiring. It's not something to be loathed or avoided, but actively sought out. In a video game, you might get to spend experience points upgrading your skills. In writing, you spend criticism.
So when people ask, "Hey TAW, how do you write good stories?" or "Hey, horsefucker, where do your ideas come from?", I can't give them the silver bullet they're asking for. Writing is an art, not a science. There are no writing prodigies. There never have been. Talent is an illusion. Those who can write have learned that skill, and honed it through hundreds or thousands of hours writing. Fishing for ideas is more like sieving for gold than anything else; everybody has ideas. Hundreds, thousands of them, every day. Most of them are terrible. Having good ideas isn't about having more ideas, it's about filtering out the ones that don't work. Again, something that'll get easier with practise. How did I get to write as well as I do now, whatever meagre level of skill that is? I wrote. You should too.
So, there's my first attempt at a blog post that actually has some content in it. How'd I do? god, I'm so hopelessly out of my depth
'course, if you just want to write something popular on fimfiction, rather than something good, then make it funny and under four thousand words. Under three if you can manage. Popularity is pandering, so write something anybody can appreciate in under fifteen minutes, give it a snappy or self-referential title (Or just a sentence describing the story if your creativity's gone dry) and an attention grabbing picture. Make sure to act pretentious as fuck and whine if people don't like it, too. Maybe delete it after the initial rush of popularity and make a self-pity filled blog so you can feel loved when people comment on it. Speaking of, hi guys!
Gosh, bitter? Me?
That last part in grey got me laughing. Yeah, that's pretty much true.
TAW Grey text = Always amusing
See, in my case, I just can't seem to get any ideas out of myself at all. Case in point, Forward has been sitting at two chapters for over a month, and I made a blog post about having Chapter 3 out before the end of last month. To my own notable lack of surprise, that never happened, and I'm -still- stuck with four paragraphs of the third chapter and no clear idea of what I want to do with it. I'm also notoriously bad at outlining, so that's not a point in my favor either.
does 1,061 words work for a short comedy?
:V
Now THAT'S funny.
If you write for an audience that isn't yourself, or at least one that didn't start as yourself, aren't you automatically chasing popularity?
It's just a thought, and maybe I'm overinterpreting this in a futile attempt to bring some light philosophy into this, and I don't mean you as in you, just the everpresent any "you" out there; ideally, people say to write for yourself.
Heck, maybe it's the other way 'round, because after that, you get an audience of like-minded people, and you write for them or yourself - the same thing.
Hi, it's late. Yes, obsessing over word count is the dumbs. How're you?
242360
1,069 is the limit. However, I'm not an expert on this, so ask TAW.
hai TAW you're awesome. can I do a metafic of you in equestria? please?
242386 limit for what? posting the story? no, the minimum length is 1,00 words.
Ah TAW, such a way with words you have.
But regardless of the time it takes I am quite sure that anthing you put out here will be of acceptable quality.
At least in terms of grammar, I'm not sure there are many people that would title your stories "acceptable". Although I am one of them.
Carry On
Was I the cause of this blog?! Huh? Dammit, if I was, I'm going to walk off that cliff. You know what, I'll do it anywayWhat's this silver bullet you're talking about? I'm not a werewolf..
look i don't know about anybody else but you could write a fic without one ounce of clop and i would still read it. why because your writing style is deep and in depth. you convey emotion well and project a visceral environment in which the imagination can run rampant. in other words keep doing what you ARE DOING AND DON'T THINK SO MUCH! barnorama.com/wp-content/images/2012/01/b529/81.gif
242388
The limit for everything to have ever existed...
tl;dr
i'mjustjokingpleasedon'tkillme
TMI, I know,but it's true.
I will take what you say to heart if I do develop a habit of writing! ^^
Very interesting, I just wish I wasn't as scared of not being perfect as I am.
I'll keep trying though!
And I want to see -you- write a Twilestia story.
Funny, self-referential title, less than 3,000 words, attention-grabbing picture.... That describes the last story I wrote. I will make no apologies.
So graytext is Fimfiction's answer to spoilers, eh?
242415
A; what this dude said.
B; I've always found wordcount to be mildly important, but only because I read at ~560 WPM (computer screen, not book or e-reader), and its kind of annoying to get finished with a story in less than ten minutes.
Not sure if I agree with the whole writing prodigy, I could through Shakespeare at you and say "so there" but that would be petty. So instead look at someone like Freddie Mercury. He wrote Bohemian Rhapsody in a 1 month break after a tour (that's lyrics I'm referring not music before you say it doesn't count because song!). Also I'm going to assume that the Stephan King shout-out was a reference to yourself, I don't think you could capture Stephanie Meyer's audience either.
P.S. Are you a gamer?
Well TAW, You have made me lol. I might also take that grey advice.
242497 How is that possible? I mean, I read at ~200 w/m, and I thought I was fast...
Your words are so true.
Thank you.
~Syn3rgy
You see, I can captivate an audience.
But I'm terrible at idea conception. I can't think of a fanfiction for the life of me that isn't humanized/Human In Equestria. The ideas just leave me when I sit at the keyboard...
I feel like I have to say this=
1)The A-#1 rule to writing is "Write what you want to write."
2)If you're not following 1), then what the hell is the point?!
You wouldn't do a job if it gave you no satisfaction and forced you to perform things for others that you just didn't want to... (or, I suppose you would do that job, but you would hate your existence even if you got paid a nice amount).
242359 My problem is that I know how to end mine, but not certain at everything in between.
242705
EXACT
SAME
PROBLEM
I even had a few ideas for a sequel, and none of the meat for the first one is worked out. Damn annoying.
242728 I have key events yet I lack filler. Want to bounce ideas around?
I have to agree on the grey part.
I wrote 4 fics so far and I won't lie to you - they are all crap. One of them, however, was a clop and it got twice as many views as the rest combined and many more thumbups.
So let me say this - if you're writing for an audience, write clop.
No, seriously, write clop. Everypony enjoys good clop.
I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A REPLY AS TO WHY I STARTED WATCHING THIS PERSON, WHEN I BARELY CHOOSE TO WATCH ANYPONY AND IT WAS JUST ONE MODERATELY GOOD STORY I HAD JUST READ!
Dear TAW,
I'd like to start by saying thank you. Thank you for all your random blogs about how to become a better writer. Because, as you said, criticism is a powerful tool, and one that I rarely get enough of. As you also said, there isn't exactly a guide to writing perfectly either, and I would be lying if I didn't admit looking for one myself.
I grave to be a better writer. Not because knowing I can write great would make me feel better than everyone else. Not even because I feel like my work would capture more people's attention. The reason I want to become a better writer is to give my readers the best experience possible.
And quite frankly, it scares me. You are probably unfamiliar with my work, It takes Two to Tango, which was a one-shot that got pressured into becoming something more. I wrote it for my friend, expected it to have about a couple dozen views. As of today, it's at 1,303 views with 210 favorites. It's gotten to the point where whenever I start writing, I have to look back on what I've written a several hundreds times before I eventually just start over out of frustration.
But you give me a lot of hope. You've been through the exact same thing, and you're even encouraging others to push through it. And, quite frankly, I'm not even sure you know how generous and humble that is to all of us. You are a hero to the fimfiction community, not because you're popular, but because you're a role model. Keep up the good work.
Your faithful writer on the rise,
mevpone
My first fanfic I've ever read was the party hasn't ended. I stayed up all night reading it and shed a few tears. It will always be in my head and I thank the author for writing it too. Without him/her, I would've never been interested in reading. I always thought reading was stupid, but after that, I realized that I thought reading was stupid because I didn't have anything that caught my attention. Then, after I read that story, I realized that I like to read now. So, thank you so much butterscotchsundae for making me turn into an "egghead", as rainbow dash would put it.
242376
The two aren't mutually exclusive, I don't think. Your audience can be clones of yourself just fine, but even if they aren't there's always going to be an overlap between what you want and what they want. I'm certainly not saying write things you don't like because other people will--that /would/ be chasing popularity. Writing things that you want and you know there's an audience for, though? I think that's just getting your ideas out there. Writing the most amazing thing in the world is pointless if nobody wants to read it.
Of course, the very idea of me lecturing you on what to write is absurd. I doubt there's a single rule in writing that you can't break if you know what you're breaking it for, and the only advice I can give on the subject is what I know. A huge part of that is writing things that get read so that people who read them can tell you they're shit and why.
In my defence, I wrote this when it was like, really late and I wasn't thinking straight. Should have put a lot more emphasis on "you can't get better if you don't know what you're doing wrong".
And hi Cloudy :3
242621
See above. Doing what others want does not preclude doing what you want. Finding the intersection of both sets is the key to actually getting read.
243088
Thank you, I try. I'd have gotten nowhere without the advice and guidance of my betters.
242594
Then don't sit at a keyboard. Your brain can't make ideas when you're keeping it occupied.
242499
Shakespeare's first play was performed when he was twenty eight. That is not a prodigy, simply a very good playwright. And no, I wouldn't say lyrics counted. It's words, and they can tell a story, but what's important there is rhyme and beat and rhythm and all those things I know nothing about because I think I failed the only music class I've ever taken. Same medium, but completely different aims.
242485
"A Warm Summer's Evening" was short and silly, but I think it technically counts. I would like to tackle it in a little more depth--as in, literally any of the interesting points instead of just making Celestia moon an ambassador.
243133
I know that! I meant.... more!
243157
We'll see. It's something I'd like to tackle in greater depth even though I'll need body armour if I'm to draw yet more ire from device heretic but have yet to really find the time.
242360 The first thought I had when I read this was "Is he talking about My Story " so I checked and discovered, no. Cider is 1,075 words
I'm a DM for a Dungeons and Dragons group at a local game store. This relates in two ways, though only loosely, depending on exactly how serious you want to get about the "writing" being only about short stories and novels as opposed to the broad range of writing styles. (I'm pointing to the Lyrics don't count bit above. I always saw lyrics as poetry set to music, which is an entirely different beast than fics, but still *a* style of writing nonetheless) I have literally filled notebook after notebook with plot, backstory, concepts, history, interactions, knowledge, and character development for my campaign. And I am obviously doing something right, as are you, seeing as I am now getting people kibitzing my games on a regular basis and then wanting to know if they can join up. I can only handle about 7 people at my game. The sad part of this is that for my area of creativity, I must turn people away. Imagine if you could only have 500 watchers, and you had to purge the rest because you don't have enough room to let them see your work. :(
I know I am doing a good job, I love the story I am building, I do it for both myself and the people I am playing with, and am doing well enough to attract a regular flow of new people wanting to be a part of it. Sounds like a similar situation, and it's a great feeling, isn't it?
243182 nope, the only story I've written is 1,061 words long, and is sort-of a comedy.
243194 I'll read yours if you read mine (goes to read yours anyways)
243196 I have nothing else to do, and it sounds good.
243133 I said I wouldn't use Shakespeare for exactly that reason. Also would you accept poetry, speaking as a musician, that's all lyrics are. Another thing, have you heard Bohemian Rhapsody!? That thing is a story in itself, so don't come to me saying it doesn't count.
Well I mean you can if you want, it's your opinion :)
P.S you didn't answer my gamer question
243241
I'm not saying it doesn't count as a story, I'm saying it's a very different medium with very different goals. In no way am I using that to dismiss it as an artform, simply stating that techniques that work on one won't necessarily work on the other.
243168
I can't wait! If you need armor....
But hey, if you wanna grow as an author... learn to write Twilestia without getting killed by those who do it often.
242557
On screen, the most efficient readers get ~700 WPM with 85% comprehension. On paper/ereader, its ~1000 WPM with 85% comprehension.
And that's before you factor in speed reading techniques; ways to only read part of a passage while still maintaining a high comprehension rate.
Plus, 200 WPM is about average for screen. On paper, that's actually kinda slow. As for how its possible... I really only used to have time to read books at school, which meant I needed to squeeze the most stuff possible into when we weren't doing anything and the bus. It was ~ 45 mins on the bus, plus a couple of hours scattered through the day (varying depending on which classes I had that year or if it was a block day), so almost never more than three hours to read a day. At 240 WPM, it would take me five and a half days to finish Stranger In A Strange Land. That books only 240K words; rather ridiculous to spend that much time on it. Mind, its still Heinlein, so it would totally have been worth it, but still.
Anyway, yeah; lots and lots of practice.
243400
I can only try. It's an interesting couple, I'll just have to ready myself.
243819
I'm sorry, I'm only this pushy because I want to see more of my favorite shipping pair in the fandom
243822
Oh, no, you weren't being pushy! Believe me, I've had pushy
I honestly am interested in how the mechanics would work out. It's just a matter of time.
243806 So, reading more = reading faster... ok. That makes sense.
>Then don't sit at a keyboard. Your brain can't make ideas when you're keeping it occupied.
You know what? This inspires me to take a pencil and notepad down to the park some day.
I just wish I had an audience to write for. Of the few followers I do have, I am fairly certain they are following me for the sad story. I don't really want to be known as "that sadfic author" down the road, though.
243242 Fair enough. I just think given that writing is a set of skills that have to be developed like any other, it seems completely reasonable for there to be someone who has developed these skills abnormally quickly or at a young age. Mind you I have been known to be wrong... from time to time.