Dec
1st
2016
Success v. Horsefame (Addendum) · 11:59pm Dec 1st, 2016
Short but all-important addendum to the thing I posted mere minutes ago. Looking through some libraries here, a vulgar epiphany hit me in the muzzle.
I know exactly what I need to do, more than anything, to become a better author.
I need to start reading stories.
I don't have a clue how to begin. Reading fiction is so hard for me! The primary reason I do the Writeoffs is because they force me to read fiction. (The invaluable feedback, which also helps me grow as an author, is a very close second.)
I must figure out a way to get over my anxiety toward reading fiction. 
I can't become a better writer by shooting in the dark like this.
I love reading your stories!
Well if you ever need suggestions then just ask others
4325162
There are lots of things I know I want to read, I just feel too anxious about any of them to begin the process. It's kind of like being trapped in eternal procrastination. All I'd have to do is start reading the first paragraph and I'd be set, but I'm not there yet.
4325289
Ooh, I must say, I love a good bit of procrastination myself
ikr? I used to love reading all the garbage fanfictions I could lay my claws on, but slowly, I started realizing a lot of it was garbage. *cough* Sturgeon's Law *cough* Nowadays there's very little that actually piques my interest anymore.
4325289 I wonder, though, why are you anxious about it? Is it because you don't want to get invested in a story so much that you can't put it down - thus occupying precious time? Or is it because you worry that the story you invest your time in will turn out to be a turd? Or is it that the story might contend with your own beliefs / headcanon?
Or something else?
I mean, really, it'd be good to pinpoint the actual problem before you could go about fixing it.
Well, you could always start with my back-catalogue, because it's all good stuff in there with no exceptions ever.
Barring that, I'm sure hitting-up some of the reviewers like TD, or PaulAsaran, or PresentPerfect, would get ya some good ones to start with.
I deffo want to read more in 2017 too. I feel like I read a lot in 2015 and just tanked it hard in 2016. I want to read more non-pony as well... literally the only things I've read in 2016 were pony, and that's probably not good.
I've never heard of someone OK writing for the public but anxious about reading!
But I guess I can sympathize with having trouble getting the gumption to start. For me I read the summary and if that doesn't sell me I check out some fan comments (or reviews if applicable). I might skim a few pages midway in, too. If it sounds cool then... Just dive in. The water's always nicer than you think before getting in; and if the topic or style appeals to you then why not?
If you don't have specific stories you're resisting reading, then ask people for advice on stories with whatever genre or feature you desire; they'll rave to you about something good, and maybe help get you excited to start it.
4325515
It's subconscious, much like procrastination and depression. Similarly, I haven't cleaned my room in months even though I can't find things I need, despite the fact it would take only a few minutes to do most of it.
4325909 Oh come now. Even if it is, telling yourself that it's beyond your conscious control is only going to exacerbate the problem. Think on it, see if you can rationalize it. Even if you come up with a stupid answer (subconscious reasoning often is), you can work on or around it.
4326917
I agree with you completely, but the cognitive and affective realms are not the same headspace.
I'm not telling myself I can't do it. I believe I can, absolutely. Nonetheless, I haven't.