Taking a Good Hard Look · 7:46pm Nov 6th, 2016
So in my review blog, I noted how my writing quality had dropped over the past year or so. Now I think it's time to face what will be required to fix that issue. More specifically, it's time I shifted my priorities and methods.
This starts with my Celestia fic, Songbird, and my Twilight fic, Needs of the Few. I've enlisted the help of a lump of mineral named Pascoite, which somehow developed the ability to read and write, to act as editor for both fics. I've also got help from OnionPie, FanofMostEverything and Trick Question. Unlike all the other stories I've worked on, I will not be holding either of these to a set schedule, despite my original intention to do so. This is in part to give my editors time to give each chapter a good look, but it is also because of my 'never go back' rule. Since I make it a point to never seriously edit material already published, I won't be publishing anything of these two so that I can look back and make changes to older chapters if necessary. As such, I can make no promises regarding when they will be released.
On the other hand, I've decided to ignore these new requirements for my upcoming Derpy story. I may not even ask for editors, but go straight to publication. This is mostly due to the extreme frustration of not having anything published in several weeks. So yeah, in between waiting for my editors on the other stories, Derpy will be worked on. And after that?
I think it's time I finally got back to Order of Shadows. I will try to get that back on a hard schedule, and just hope that my work with Songbird and Needs of the Few rub off on it.
As to that original fiction I'd been planning, it is on a temporary hold until I've gotten somewhere with Needs of the Few and Songbird. Since I do intend to publish it for purchase, I'll want it to be as good a quality as I can pull off without some pricey editors, and that means learning what I can before I get to it in earnest.
So that's that. I don't know when I'll get something published, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, we can at least know that my review schedule is going mostly uninterrupted.
Stats
Total Word Count: 1,885,000 over 37 stories
Average Words Written Per Week (2016): 7,306
Follower Rank: 251st
Overall Ratings Average: 94.48% (-.01%)
Highest-Rated Story (Not Counting Stories at 100%): Of Angels @ 282/3 or 98.95%
Story with the Most Votes: Tyrant @ 2253/67 (Year+)
Story with the Fewest Votes: Paul's Peculiarly Puny Pony Pieces @ 20/1
Longest Story: Order of Shadows @ 283,000 words
That image at the top is slightly terrifying.
That image is creepy as hell Paul. O_O
I am forever in fear of my writing quality dropping. Changing up your schedule and priorities might be just the thing, if only to further force the reevaluation of what actually works for you. Breaking up the normal routine can spark new ideas, too.
Does your frustration over publishing exceed frustration over writing itself? For me, I can live with a month or two of publishing silence as long as I'm actively writing. If I'm not writing… well that's when I go crazy.
Oh, and pricey original fiction editors aren't all bad. From my limited experience, I can at least say that you get what you pay for.
4288197 Speak for yourself.
That's a pretty solid cast of editors there.
Godspeed!