About That Last Blog Post... · 5:08pm Apr 21st, 2018
All Blazing Saddles-related jokes aside, I need to clear the air about my little public meltdown yesterday. As you've probably guessed, writing has been a bit of a struggle lately, and I haven't exactly put out my best effort as a result. Because of this, I've had this festering boil of frustration building for some time now, and all it took was one little incident for that seething column of self-flagellation to erupt as dramatically as it did. As the old saying goes, "you are your own worst critic," and I don't think anything could be a bigger example of that than how I acted in response to a relatively minor, if valid, criticism of my work.
I'm not offering this as an excuse, as there is no excusing my reaction. As an author, having a thick skin is almost a necessity, especially in the realm of fanfiction. You owe it to your audience (however big or small) to be able to tough it out so you can tell your story, especially since they've given you the courtesy of their attention and praise. But there's more to it than just that. I've seen other authors doing the exact same thing - some out of genuine frustration, others as a ploy for cheap pity points - and I knew I should avoid repeating their mistakes.
And yet, I failed. So in failing you all, I also failed myself. And for that, I offer my deepest, most sincere apologies. I also wanted to thank each and every one of you who helped me, even in the slightest way, to get my head out of my ass. I should've come to you sooner before things got this bad, and I promise to try and recognize the warning signs sooner and confide in my friends before another incident like this occurs. You all are the reason why I do what I do, and why I care enough about the quality of my writing to get pissy with myself from time to time.
(BTW, today's episode was kind of hard to watch because it hit a little too close to home about how I was acting. Just sayin'. 
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As for the future... Well, GL:A will remain on hiatus for the time being, but I haven't given up on it. I'm going to have to spend some time retooling both the most recent chapter and my overall plan for the series as a whole, and this fic in particular. I'm still too worked up emotionally to give it the effort it needs, so some time away from it would probably be beneficial. I also need to rework some things in my planned Sunset Shimmer x human fic, and that may be where my time would be better spent. For now, though, I think it would be best if I just spent some time unwinding from all the self-induced stress.
Hope to see you all soon!
No worries, it happens. As you said, these kinds of things do happen on occasion, and it sounds like you have a solid plan to move forwards from this one. A break to unwind and get yourself sorted out followed by a nice easy one-shot to get back into writing without the stress you'll put on yourself with the big story should put you on a better trajectory going forwards and let you approach this from a better place after you get that Sunset fic out the door.
We noticed. I'm glad you noticed us noticing. It's fine though, if you're able to come through it better. Granted, I imagine we all hope that means continuing the story, when you're ready. But either way? Be the best you, whatever that means for you. And as you said, you don't ever have to get there alone. You've earned that much.
So it's a good thing I read this blog post before posting my comment on the earlier one. I'll probably try and get this across as best as I can, but sometimes I kind of mess up.
I understand that public meltdown you had and all the stress that comes from writing since we are all our worst critics. I had my own public meltdown a year ago, and because of that, I personally believe that I killed my biggest story. I have come to terms with what I did and the consequences that came from it. Even then, despite everything, I want to see it to its finish because I have enjoyed what I've written for it so far. Sure there are a few changes that will be made to it, which actually kind of helps fix a few problems that were going to occur in the future. Although, there have also been stuff that I won't be changing because it follows the path still of what I want the story to be.
As for critiques from other people go, it really is up to you on how you want to take them. Critiques allow you a chance to think a little about what you've written and how others might perceive things. Although, not every critique needs to be followed through all the way. You have final say in how you want to follow through with said critiques, and sometimes it's better to follow through with what you've already done than do an entire change to the whole story.
And despite all my jokes and kind of hopes for the story, I look forward to however you write the story. It seems likely a little of my fault that this frustration came through, and I apologize for that. I thoroughly enjoy your writing and I like the banter we have sometimes in the comments of your stories. And I wish to continue having fun with you that way during the rest of the story.
As for you taking a break, it's sometimes good to walk away from something and focus on another project. You've been wanting to get this Shimmer fic out for a long time, and putting your time towards that and away from your main story will probably help ease out a lot of your stress.
I look forward to all your other content and will read chapter 9 again for whatever changes comes to it.
Take care, and I hope you continue writing.
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Since I was the one that gave the critique, I'll go ahead and fill you in briefly because it was really one significant point and a pair of minor stylistic flaws that was exclusively confined to the last chapter. The big point was that the foreshadowing of the future relationship with Faran crossed into sledgehammer territory so I suggested cutting that entire section out. The first minor flaw was that the dream sequences seemed too coherent which made them feel like normal scenes, so I suggested chopping out big chunks of them like the details in the persona segment to make them feel more ethereal. The second stylistic flaw was that the pacing was a little slow, so I suggested cutting the third sequence with the dress, Rainbow, and Rarity since it didn't add much (the other parts would be sorted out by those suggestions). The result of this would obviously be a much shorter chapter (I'd guess something like 2k words), but sometimes it's better to keep things short and sweet and I think that definitely applies here.
The alternative approach I suggested was simply deleting the dream chapter entirely and proceeding directly into the next chapter since a dream obviously can't do much to move the plot forwards and deleting a chapter takes basically no effort.
I also mentioned that overdoing the foreshadowing is a bit of a recurring problem of his, but that's really just a friendly reminder of a specific area to pay attention to in general to help him become a better writer while working in the fanfiction learning environment. After all, everyone has things they could stand to improve and it's impossible to solve a problem you don't realize you have, so this will just give him something to be aware of and focus on improving in the future.
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I know it was your critique. I was just avoiding getting into that topic of debate.
Now this is something I know entirely too well from my own experiences Jimbo, so I totally get what you're saying here. I really do understand that, and yes frustration is really painful to have to deal with. So there is that.
Taking time to decompress is that best option by far here. Trying to go forward right now will just end with you forcing things. And I don't think you want that.
It is for the best, if you need to rework things, rework them. At the end of the day the whole idea will be better off for it.
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Don't worry. I haven't cancelled GL:A. Tsundere Irish nurse pone will get some much-needed lovin' in due time. I just need to do a better job of planning it out, and that's going to take some time. Plus, I kind of want to get the Sunset x human fic out the door first.
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BEGONE, SPAMMER!