Nearing Corners · 3:51pm May 5th, 2019
So, you've probably noticed the lack of updates. Well, I'll be completely honest with you guys. I'm not sure that I can continue, at least not at the current moment.
What I've done is that I had made the story into something I'm not good enough to continue writing. I started the story out with a narator that had quite the formal voice. Yeah, I don't have the experience to do that without doing mistakes that are very noticeable. It's just... I feel that it's constraining progress. I couldn't write what I meant without taking five minutes just so I could form a comprehensible sentence. Many of you have probably done essays tens to hundreds of pages long with that sort of voice, but for me it's very challenging.
Another thing is foreshadowing. I made so many, I had lost track. I'm not sure I could fulfil all of them within reasonable time. Foreshadowing is an author's promise, and I've broken far too many of my promises to you guys. I couldn't continue this cobweb of a story with my current skill as a writer.
I'm sorry if you're disappointed with me, and I can't blame you. I just lack the drive to push forward. The passion I had was lost after I no longer had anybody to develop this story with. Not that I blame my previous editor. He did a great job with helping me out when he did.
When I first thought about this story, I didn't really plan out what the main focus is even about. Heck, what I had planned for this story last month was different from last week. I know that my work isn't all that great, but to the people that gave their time, however little, to reading this story, I thank you. Let's hope that I may someday continue with writing this again, and that I won't repeat the same mistakes as I did with this story.
Keep a lookout if you like sci-fi. I may have another story coming up soon.
Shame to see it going mate. I hope your next attempt works out better for you.
Hrm... By formal, do you mean "Ye Olde English," or "one who has pronounced annunciation and who scoff at the idea of ever stooping to using abbreviations, while also using many large, complex words that leave most readers befuddled?"
In the former case, Godspeed. I hate using "Thees" and "Thous." Olde English is a befuddling mess of confusing grammar that even I -- someone who often writes in a formal voice -- despise. A simple way to keep a causally formal voice from being to complex is to write normally, then pull any abbreviations. Make it sound like they're talking to a business partner, rather than a reader. If the narrator is an outside entity, have them apologize for cursing and little quirks like that. See your narrator as a character in the story, not just a voice in the sky.
Foreshadowing is tricky to get down. Hilariously, I have a terrible memory for most things, but for some reason, the little details of my stories stick with me and I can hold a thread of information for a long time. However, I know that's not the case for everyone. So, I'd suggest a timeline. At some point, sit down and write up events from start to finish. I myself divide the entire book chapter by chapter, then split it up into Years as well. Write a brief synopsis for each chapter, then add cliff-notes for any foreshadowing in any particular chapter; cross it off (don't delete it) when you've let that foreshadowing run it's course in your writing, but keep them in plain sight so you don't forget.
This is mostly advice for future projects; I know how difficult it can be to pick up a story when that passion has fled. Keep up the good fight, my friend!
5053956
Thanks for the advice! It’s a very good one. What I’m facing trouble with is vocabulary in general. English isn’t something I use daily with other people, and my environment just doesn’t support the use of bedazzling words as a norm. So, progress comes slowly from active learning, but improvement is always on my to do list. Overall, I just don’t know how to make things sound interesting, since I don’t casually talk to people that have a better understanding of the language. But hey, there are people like you who give wonderful tips to speed up the learning process. So, thanks for that, friend.
5053904
:)
5054018
No worries. And don't feel the need to use "bedazzling" words to make the narrative sound grand. Make the narrative sound believable instead. Is that how everyone normally speaks? If so, then it's the norm and you're stuck with it. But if it's not the norm, then there's no reason for the narrator to be so flowery.
Speak as though you are being formal, as I am in this sentence. No abbreviations like your're or I'm, but sentences that eschew that in exchange for formality.