STATE OF THE AUTHOR: Moving Down an Uncertain Road · 3:44am Aug 8th, 2018
Last July changed me. Not the one from last summer, but just a month ago. Just a few days ago. Even now, I'm not sure if this is the way I want things, but if it is, I figure I might as well announce it in advance.
Between last month's Paging Doctor Sparkle and this month's, I've really sat down with myself and thought a lot. I know this isn't a good way to start a post like this, but it's the only way I can really explain it. I thought I was ready for a lot of things--a third series, a new miniseries in the works someday, maybe even a Royal Canterlot Library feature someday. Up until last month, that was the way I'd been heading, and I was happy on that path.
But then, I realized--Doctor Sparkle was happy on her path at Canterlot National, too. And maybe, just maybe, I really am a lot more like her than I originally thought.
Maybe it's time for a change.
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It started with a manuscript. Last month, I finally hit the 100-page marker on Imperfect Storm, my IRL novel. I've already gone a bit further than that, but seeing that thing in print for the first time was one of the most ecstatic feelings I've had in a while. But at the same time, I knew I could have pushed more. I could have had that whole book out in a year, but I had school and fanfiction on my plate, too. That was fine. But for how long?
I try to keep to a regular schedule--Paging every month, Glitched Stitches every two weeks, Hope every two weeks, and Storm every two weeks. Lately, though, it's been a lot harder to keep it together. Hope slipped to every month like Paging, and that was what made me start to realize that sooner or later, like Doctor Sparkle, I'm going to have to make a choice. I thought I could live in two worlds--fanfiction and IRL writing.
A part of me still thinks I can. I came up with this idealized image of so-called "keepers"--people on FiMFiction who go pro and can balance everything at once. (As in people who "play for keeps.") I've only met a grand total of one person who's working with IRL stuff, and I don't even know if he's one of these perfect keepers. I kept pushing myself harder and harder to be the best of these fictional keepers I could be, and that's part of the reason I extended Glitched Stitches past a oneshot. I won't say that was a mistake, but it did put enough of a hamper on things to make me wonder if keepers really exist.
Or is it just me, like Doctor Sparkle, wanting to stay in both worlds?
FiMFiction has brought back my confidence when it comes to writing, even though it doesn't always seem that way to myself or to others. So I've decided that I won't leave it behind just yet. I'll still be on every day, I won't be deleting my account or any of that. My update schedules might be a little more erratic, but that's only because I want to finish Storm in a year or less. That's only because I beat myself up about it so much, not being able to meet schedules like every other big name on the site.
But here's what will happen. Paging Doctor Sparkle is on its last few legs, since Twilight's slowly becoming more certain of her place in life. So this year, we'll have another big series-ending blowout in December, just like we did with IYGALL. Glitched Stitches will probably finish up sometime in September, maybe October if delays really get in the way. I'm still not sure how long IYHALH will go on.
After that, I'll probably stick to oneshots and shift my priorities to my series. I'll probably publish something every month or two, but it won't be anything huge like Starbreak, the magical idol series I've mentioned a few times. I might be able to repurpose it into a oneshot, but who knows.
What I do know is this: I'm not going to leave the fandom like other people. There's no shame in leaving--I've just decided it's not the path I'm going to go. I'll try to keep working as much as I can, even after my series are through, because I value my fans and everything MLP has done for me.
Take it from me--the day I leave this fandom is the day I get published and hit a whole new world. And hey, then you won't be able to avoid me, right? 
I wish you good luck on your one shots and your series
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Thanks. All this will really only come into play once 2019 hits; I just thought I'd warn people in advance.
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I see...well, thank you for the heads up
I hope you have success with this new schedule. And good luck with your novel!
Hope it all works out for you.
I could write a whole blog on how much I relate to this right now. So instead, I'll just say, I can relate. I wish you nothing but luck and success on your novel though!