This is pretty long overdue · 10:52pm Nov 8th, 2015
Dear FIMFic,
So I wrote something today. It was a story called Tasting the Sweetness of the Elite (link) and it seemed that nobody cared.
Honestly, I can't say I'm surprised.
I know I'm not a bad author, but I feel like I've let everyone down with this fic. Perhaps I should've seen it coming, but I want to level with all of you and hope I can still retain some respect among you and explain what I'm going to try and do to fix this.
The first thing I'm going to say is I am a very poor planner. I'm late a lot, not prepared and rather stupid when it comes to remembering to do stuff in the real world. That, unfortunately, has bled over into my writing. Not a single one of my stories has been outlined and few have ever been seen by proofreaders or editors before publishing. This leads to them being incredibly disjointed and poorly paced when written. The best example of that is, unfortunately, The Golden Armor. While I'm not sorry I wrote it, I am disappointed in the way the story went and how it ended. I didn't consult anyone before throwing in a Dr Who reference did the dumbest move of starting a sequel to try and rectify what I did wrong. Sadly, this has resulted in the shattered story you've had to put up with.
To ease my disappointment, I started writing more stories. Things like All That Glitters, Left With A Kiss and A Narrow Scope were done in effort to drive both mine and your attention away from the problem rather than fixing it, which only compounded into more and more problems. There were more stories to write with the same problem and I thought that just ignoring them would force the problem to go away. Today, though, I realized it's not going away, it's the interest in my works that is.
So now I have tons of unfinished ideas sitting in my library, each one broken and going nowhere. I'm really hurt that I've allowed this to go on for almost 3 years and disappointed tons of my readers. The drastic measures I've taken in the past also make me feel even more like an idiot, like abandoning the original plot of The Golden Armor: Part II. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was still something I enjoyed writing and something you all were begging for more of.
With all of that in mind, I've decided to stop trying to dodge the problem and face it. Sure, it won't be fun to sort through 3 years of writing I've all but abandoned, but it's what you guys liked to start with, and I'm an idiot for not finishing them for you. To do this effectively, though, I need something from all of you. I need to know if you have any interest in seeing the revival or restoration of some stories. My goal is to get them all back in order, but I want to focus on the ones you all want most, what you came to see. So write a list, give reasons, anything, but tell me what you want.
I know none of this makes up for what I've done and nothing probably will, but hopefully this will restore some confidence in both you and me about my writing abilities.
Regards,
C.B.
so...what's this mean for Golden Armor, and Part 2? are you gonna....rewrite them...both? again (in the case of 2) I kinda liked where the new plot seems to be going, if only because it doesn't involve Angel being fired for a REALLY darn stupid reason, or the annoying things about her parents like her father not believing her, or things like that...basically it's better...
You didn't let me down. In fact, I liked it and how instead of taking the cheap route and making it just clop, you also included a well-developed romance tale which made the connection between Rarity and Fleur stronger. As a story, I found it a good read, hence my upvote and favorite. Sorry that it didn't do as well as you'd hoped. I know how tough that can feel.
Anyway, I hope you continue writing, because you're exponentially more talented than I am, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors no matter what.
And as for reviving stories, do what you think is best. If you do decide to revive one, I'll make sure to catch up on it as soon as I can.
I, personally, would be 110% on-bord if you just continued "Sleeping With A Friend". Because I thought it was pretty neat and I had enjoyed reading it so far. If your heart lies elsewhere however, I would be fine with that as well.
I still like your writing!
Although I'm still not finished with The Golden Armor
Dude we're always confident in your abilities. In fact you've gotten much better than you used to. Theres a marked improvement between GTA and Sleeping with a Friend and I love Viva la Vida.
So dude, we care, now get cracking on GTA part 2 B/c we wanna see it!
I'm pretty sure "The Golden Armor" was one of the first fics I ever read on this site. I enjoyed it immensely.
I've read many of your other stories as well, I'm blanking on names though :|
I really do like your work, and I'd love to see anything continued.
I love your stuff, I just haven't had time to read a 9k word story today, but it's at the top of my list. Give it a bit more time. If you're thinking about continuing a fic, my go to answer is probably TGA2. The first is what got me to follow you. The second, though darker, I was on board for. You took another crack at it and I got excited.
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No, I'm not going to rewrite them both. What I plan to do is to take both the old and new stories and revise them into something coherent. It may mean bringing back a lot of the old story, but fixing the parts where the story went off track, like the places you mentioned. It may consist of me taking down both until I fix them properly, but I'd rather see it/them working to tell the story I want rather than the mess they are now.
For what it's worth I am looking forward to reading the new fic. I got rather excited when I saw the alert in my feed.
I just want Golden Armor, man.
That's your best work. That and the collab with Vren, the one with chains and sheets.
Yeah you made some mistakes, but it's whatever. The golden armor was a success because of how you wrote Comet and Angel, but also because you released the chapters quickly. Almost daily for a while, if memory serves. That was the first story where I was really excited to read as it came out. It's what got you a large readership.
My advice? You seem to have a lot of stuff going on that distracts you, and you already mentioned being late. Add to that you seeming to care about those things. So, that makes me think the more you take on, the more likely it is for you to get distracted, then feel bad, then end up doing nothing. So don't do that. Pick one thing, get it done. After that, the next thing. Take it slow. I get distracted too, and there's no stopping life when it comes at you.
I enjoy your work quite much. Golden Armor is one of my favorites and I aside the odd ending part, I can say that I would re-read it every so often. If your gonna revive any story, I would probably say I would look forward to Golden Armor Pt2 would be the one I wanna see most.
I wouldn't say that 171 views over 6 hours is "nobody caring." That's actually really good stats for something unexpectedly released! I means sure, it might not seem like a lot because you only got one comment so far, but that's not the end of the world.
Besides, I've got a whole bunch of my own stories that need to be planned and thought out. Three of them have been sitting stagnant for between six and eight months since their first / latest chapters, even though I've wanted to carry on with them. So I know how you feel here. In fact, you were the last person to update my story, so that's saying something too.
Give it a little more time before saying nobody cared about your new release. You only blogged three-and-a-half hours after it showed up in peoples' feed. In fact it already has more views than my own fic, Candy Cane and Shortcake. which has been out since freaking April.
Your writing is fine. Golden Armor was a good piece with interesting characters and a believable voice. GA2 wasn't horrible, but overstuffed with plot so it didn't have time to breathe. One of your strengths is in your characters and their interactions, plot doesn't drive your stories so much as the actors within them. And there is nothing wrong with that. Don't worry too much about plot holes or hiccups unless they are large enough to distract readers from your characters; likewise, don't try to compensate for what you perceive to be shortcomings by throwing every plot thread you can conjure. Relax, trust in your strengths. Focus on letting your characters interact with each other, rather than the situation; you give them authentic and unique voices, which is hard for some authors (present company included). Don't worry as much as giving them things to do, just give them enough that they can react and interact with each other.
I enjoy your stories and look forward to reading more sometime after certain deadlines. Best Wishes.
I just read it and it was very well done.
Loved the interplay between the two before they gave into their desires
I would have read it this when you posted it, alas I was very close to finishing one of PussPuss's stories, and I just couldnt stop reading it.
I can safely say that there is no chance of you loosing me as a follower or reader until The Golden Armor is finished. Besides, chances are that every author that's ever published a story has at least a few stories that get rejected. So a few bad apples are to be expected. I'l go read this new story right now!
Edit: Feeling discouraged by tags....
Edit 2:
Well, clop is not my cup of tea. I actually skipped the majority of the sexual parts (i did read the stuff leading up to and a bit of the foreplay) reading the first five or so lines of each paragraph to see where it would end. But this was well written and while i wouldn't read this again i don't question the quality.
9/10 quality check. This is no bad apple, just not for everyone.
Comet, I don't give a rats ass how bad you mess up. This post, what you just admitted, ammends all that you did wrong. I'll admit, you had bery poor plans, and that it wasn't good to avoid it. But those moths where i longed for more, I learned that what you just did, can make ammends. I'm happy to see you here, and will say this,
You are great, the only thing harder asking for help is admitting you made a mistake, and if you can do that, you are worth more than my time. I will read what you got, and seeing that you need it, give you my help should you ask.
The golden armor was the 3rd story i read on this site, and the first one i loved, the other 2 i was practically an editor (hell i wrote 3 if the chapters) and a motivational speaker, let me say, you still have my first heartfelt follow.
I know im rambling on, but i feel you need to know, you're great, and by making amends, you can become legend. Never stop writing, prove the naysayers wrong.
As for what you want from us, the GA series, I loved it, i still do, it is the only story i have wholeheartedly reread, and recommend. I would love to see, how much more great it could possibly have been.
You're a mighty fine writer man. The Golden Armor was one of the first well made and, dare I say, one of my top five I have ever read on this site. The character interactions, the emotions, it just dragged me right into it. Sure, there were mistakes, but everyone makes them, and they weren't make or break ones either. Don't beat yourself up too bad. These fine people here make excellent points about what you should do, fell, etc. As for rewrites or fixing? I personally wanna see The Golden Armor Part 2. Good luck man and chin up!
Heh. I found myself going through old PM's i sent to you and found a request for you to proofread my story. Hindsight being 20/20, turns out i did the same thing, I published it with no approval but my own. If you want to srr said disaster, sorry, I didn't want my abandoned first fic to haunt me forever. I can once again say, you deserve my respect. Just food for thought.
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Likewise, Golden Armor was one of the first stories I found and had the pleasure of reading.
In a way, it got me through a tough time; being able to, in a way, "live vicariously" through your characters was a life-saver for me.
I did see your story go up but I didn't read it simply because it's not my genre and I didn't feel inclined to invest myself in it. I still like some of your stories and I will keep following you however if you feel inclined to do some house cleaning so you can finish some of these stories than I suggest you focus only on two stories at the time. Why 2? Because you may want to take a break from just working yourself to finish one and you may end up being burned out so you need a 2nd one just in case you reach that point.
As for the answer to your question I would love to see All That Glitters... updated or The Golden Armor: Part II updated.
CB: I would love to see more from you. I'm not on here as often as I used to be, which is why I'm only just now reading Tasting the Sweetness, but...I look forward with excitement to anything you write. And if you'd like a proofreader or anything, feel free to contact me. I can't guarantee I'll be super fast, but I'll do my best, and hopefully it will ease some of the burden.
The Golden Armor is the story that made you one my favorite writer on this site, so I would gladly accept a continuation to Part 2
Which stories would I like to see more of?
Um... can I say that there are quite a few and don't want to frighten you by naming them all?
You might have raised valid points in what you wrote, yet I still liked your stories.
I haven't read the last yet, but I'll get to it soon.
I started reading All That Glitters... today, only realizing that it was abandoned when I was halfway through what had been written. So as it stands, I'm hesitant to invest further time into it, if it's not going to ever be completed.
I think I will read the rest, and just hope that you do get around to writing more for it eventually, and someday down the road I find an update on that story.
M8, keep writing. Really.
You know, Tasting the Sweetness of the Elite was actually good. Nice, well written piece of clop with a lot of temptation and passion...
I wish we could see more of Sleeping with a Friend and All That Glitters.... These too are nice small stories with a simple and direct script, which I think will be easer to complete. My point is, if you manage to finish something short first and get it from your back, you feel relieved and more confident. You are quiet good at writing shot-stories, you know?
As for Golden Armour... well... I liked the first part, but you are right, the storytelling was messed up. Some storylines felt out of place, some were underdeveloped and some were extremely overdeveloped. The story basically created problems for itself, it's complicated storylines got more and more tangled resulting into lose and weak ends. In this sense, I liked the second part more, you managed to handle all the multiply storytelling pretty good, and it was interesting and exciting to read. Also it can probably get some it's own issues, that you mentioned, fixed (thought I enjoyed some of the story's dark moments as well as Angel's parents). Anyway, just do what fancy you most and be cool with that.
I think, you should decide where do you want all this storylines to be in the end. Try to imagine, where do you want you characters in the end and write a not very detailed script of how they should get their. Or write ten or nine scripts and the choose the one to your liking, maybe that may help your organising problem.
Pay attention, the only reason for me to have an account on this site and continue watching it is because of its history, The Golden Armor, when I read about your main character it seems that I look in the mirror (the only difference is that I'm not pretty), then get up blaming you think that the story was not good, because it was amazing, I started to read it yesterday morning and so I stopped reading 1:45 am, and was not finished, I finished this afternoon, and I was sad to have finished, I'm glad you're writing a sequel.
PS: Don't blame yourself for thinking that you work is not good, because he's very good.
But it's normal that someone doesn't give enough consideration to hits own work, that's why you show to others, to fins out if it's good or bad, but you already know my opinion.