Appreciation. · 1:20am Jul 7th, 2015
I am worried this will sound like I'm writing a rant, or a blog, but I'm going to try my best and be as honest as I can.
There's really no appreciation for good stories these days. No really... there isn't. I have seen it in my own stories.
Let's start with Precious Soul of Mine. With 45 comments 1,355 views and a 137 · 11 like dislike ratio it seems to be the most sucessful of my fics. That would mean it's good right? Right? I mean after all an overwhelming response of positivity must be right!
Wrong.
In fact I'd like to say that the original draft was born in 3 hours of insomnia with the grammar sucking all kinds of ass ((I'm being humble here when I tell you this, it was VERY BAD when it first got released)) with no capitalized "i"s and almost no commas. I won't say that I'm good with grammar, my native language is Greek and I often encounter grammar AND expression difficulty when trying to talk to other people, you know... because I think Greek and speak/write English?
Now through the help of my dear sweet and awesome editor kildeez I've been able to correct much of this ((although as you can see in the comments many things still remain)) and in all honesty? The original thing sucked more. I actually rewrote the ending to be more fitting and explain a lot of things that kildeez pointed out... like the fact that initially the wrapping up was TOO QUICK.
But you know what? It still kinda sorta sucks balls. I know it's interesting, I know it might not fit the "Dark" theme, and I certainly know that at times I break a lot of "show don't tell" rules but in all honesty? The fic was an experiment. An experiment to see how well I can write in a short amount of time like 3 hours. The overall result was a "Meeeeeeeeeh..." with a dose of "boring", or maybe that's just what some more "mature" fanfic reviewers told me. But in retrospect I realize that pumping out chapters fast while pressure is a good thing to get me off my lazy butt, but it's not something that produces quality.
And then we have "A Changeling's Soul Reflection" and "A Queen's love - A Twysalis story". The first was my first fic when I entered the brony community and my second fic was an "exercise" fic as I like to call it. With the latter I've come to be absolutely uninterested with whether or not it attracts attention, likes, dislikes, or otherwise. The former is on hiatus because I felt that I was making Chrysalis into a woobie... admittedly it's not as bad as it sounds but I certainly felt like I was taking a cheesy direction with her guilt and redemption. Admittedly I am still into that fad but now I'm a little more mature about how I write it, and I think I've mastered her character enough to say I no longer portray her as a "regressed crybaby" as someone said when I played her in an RP.
Then there's Discord's singing another fic I don't care about that is simply me being a silly little dick and playing on vulgar jokes. I won't say more. It's sloppy it's written too fast, and it's got a lot of dick/harem jokes and most of the content isn't original at all. In the previous ones there was a level of originality and I was happy with that because that is what I aim to be for the most part. But this? THIS? This isn't original at all. The song itself was an adaptation of a Greek song from a "fun metal" band called "The Immature ones"/"Ανώριμοι" and I heard it in my university and it was a song that had a purpose to literally burn brain cells.
Yet you know what? All those fics that are sloppy, boring, and at times extremely fucking stupid... ALL OF THEM... got a better overall rating than the fics I've put real attention to. I feel like I'm being mocked to the face by the audience sometimes. You know I can understand that "Precious Soul of Mine" features a great villain with an original goal and a mind breaking headcanon. I can certainly understand that "A changeling's Soul Reflection" capitalized on the popularity of changelings after season 2. Hell I can even understand that fadcouple shipping like Twysalis might get some views.
But when "Discord's Singing" gets more views than all 3 of the fics I've put hard work on, those being "Quest for Knowledge", "Springtime Nights - Pneuma Flower", and "Fiery Friendship" I want to flip over the table and throw it out the window.
And it's not like I am saying that just for kicks. The last two are fics that were written FOR CONTESTS. Do you realize what I'm talking about? CONTESTS! And they both got second place! The last one was even three measly points from going first, something that could have been avoided if the idea for it had come a little sooner than two days before the contest deadline ended. The judge/judges that reviewed it even said that he/she could see it in the show as a part of a slice of life episode. I was honestly flattered...
But the audience doesn't seem to think the same way. And this quite frankly infuriates me, and it demotivates me greatly. I could quite frankly say what some fics do, and that is "The audience is stupid" but then again I'm not an arrogant jackass that spews every possible insult in the book "just for the lulz". But I am frustrated beyond measure and don't know what to do. It doesn't help that motivation from other surrounding sources is almost inexistant or downright insensitive((will it make any money? me-$@#% money I do it because I like it)) because surrounding economy causes social degenerance, the very audience's reaction isn't helping much either.
I really don't know what to do with this, how to find some sort of motivation, something to push me. I feel like I've lost my spark. So... I don't know... what should I think or do about this? Can you guys gimme some advice?
I don't really know what to tell you. I have a similar problem when it comes to long fics I write.
Honestly, I really want to try a colab. Being able to create a story with someone? So much less burden, and it would probably make some re-thoughts for each writer.
3213742 Yea... I guess that would be refreshing. Tried that once... didn't really match with the other writer.
3214509
I think that's the point... Trying to make your ideas work together...
I don't know. I haven't tried it yet.
3214664 That's not exactly it. I felt like I had Cruel Taskmaster from Hearthstone whipping me with a caps lock to write something and he wasn't doing shit other than offer the initial idea.
3214961
That's not a colab. That's a person telling you an idea that you don't necessarily have to follow.
3215033 Well this isn't exactly what happened but in any case it was a bad case of colabs.
Pneuma Flower is my favourite fic of yours and I'm really excited for more from this universe.
I know it can make you feel awful when you pour your heart into something and doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
Don't feel down buddy, just because a fic has not got many views/likes is doesn't mean it isn't liked and we,
the fans that did like the fics you spent time on will always support you
3237977 Thanks for the support.