The Curse of the Hiatus

I didn’t want to make a blog post in lieu of the next chapter of The Curse of Cryonics, especially as I’ve finished most of that next chapter. But I’ve been thinking, and I have news that may upset you.
 
I’m putting The Curse of Cryonics on hiatus while I rewrite it. I promise I didn’t want to have to announce this, but I sincerely apologize. This was not a very easy decision. But it had to be done.
 
Why, you ask? Well...the main reason is that I think the story is bad and it could have been done better. Like, a lot better. I should provide some background on it.
 
A while after I began watching MLP in July 2014, I began envisioning my own fanfic ideas. The most prominent one was an HiE story that gradually evolved in my head to what’s now The Curse of Cryonics. I’d planned it out in my head, but I hadn’t written an outline or rough draft in a document anywhere so there were huge parts that were blank spaces. Admittedly, this is still the case today.
 
So anyway, when I gathered the courage to create an account on Fimfiction, I was slightly impatient and jumped right in with what would be this long tale, which was not a good idea. I’d written, but to start out, it’s better to write shorter, simpler things.
 
Since I had no real plan of attack, it’s expected that there are as many dislikes as there are (though I’m still immensely grateful for all the likes). The Curse of Cryonics is a messy story. There are problems. I can name three, right off the top of my head.
 
One is the flat characters. Despite some attempt to develop them, they were mostly not developed enough. The most egregious example, at least to me, is Katherine (the second cryofrozen human). I gave her zero personality. Hell, I don’t think Patrick / Walker (the main protagonist) is very developed, and much of the story is from a first person perspective. A plan to develop them more in the rewrite.
 
Two is the pacing. I think it’s a bit messy and that can be attributed to the aforementioned lack of planning. I’d finish a chapter and often think, “Okay, what exactly happens next?” which is a recipe for a less-than-stellar result.
 
Three are cliches. Though I tried a different tack and make The Curse of Cryonics seem realistic (at least by MLP standards), the story has cliches, like hints of Tyrantlestia. Things like that have been driven into the ground; it’s beating a dead horse, no pun intended. Cliches can be done, but they need to be done well, and I don’t think they were done well. They’re certainly not helping to distinguish this story, at least not in this form.
 
So The Curse of Cryonics is pretty subpar and it’s definitely not my best writing, nor am I the best writer. I think I can make some good things, but it seems that, at least in some cases, the bad things outweigh the good. While it has an overall positive like:dislike ratio, the main reason it’s got as many as it has is because of some stupid decisions, like the hints of Tyrantlestia and the original second chapter, which I thought was so bad it deserved to be deleted and rewritten.
 
Here’s what I should have done when I first made my account and what I eventually did do. Write a simpler, shorter story and plan it out more fully in advance, not leap into a huge tale that would take a long time to complete (which is what I suggest all aspiring writers do). And I did this with a story called Cannon Conveyance. It’s short, relatively simple in concept, and the concept was one I thought was interesting. I got the idea, planned it out over the course of a few days, and wrote it down, checking and double checking everything. It turned out a lot better, and the like:dislike ratio is more positive, even if it’s gotten less attention. It’s probably not perfect either, but it’s the fic I’ve written that I’m most proud of and is a better indicator of my writing prowess, especially as it was published nearly a year later. Even though it might not be the best, it’s what I should have done initially.
 
So with all of this in mind, I’m going to rewrite The Curse of Cryonics from the ground up, starting by making a plot summary on a document and carefully writing out the story, possibly using drafts, but still checking everything. I don’t want to have to come back and think “god, that was a stupid idea”. The original story, however, will remain untouched at least until much of the rewrite is complete. Though this will be a long project--there will likely be pages upon pages of work, not to mention I’ve got a job and school in the fall again, but I really do not want to abandon this. I think it’s a bit disrespectful.
 
I’m truly sorry I have to do this, but I thank you all for your patience. And as an apology present, here’s a music piece by David Wise that only came out earlier this year--I personally think it's stellar. Enjoy.