Long Time No See

Hi. I haven't posted in a while. There's a few excuses reasons and I'll rattle them off quickly. One being medical stuff, another being writer's block, and lastly because I had a huge shift and change in my life. I've changed my living situation and it's incredibly jarring. Plus, work isn't making it any easier to write.

But I think I'm going to start working on my next story. But I also want to use this time to make a list of things I want to improve upon for it.

Why do I want to improve my writing? Well, obviously I want you to enjoy reading my stuff more. It's also a hobby, and I want to sharpen it accordingly so it's more likely I'll enjoy it too. But more importantly, writing is a vital skill. It's cliche, but it's true - being good with words and writing is incredibly powerful and even deadlier than a sword. But obviously, I'm not taking myself too seriously with these stories. It's just good fun with pastel colored horses. But it'd be nice to strengthen my writing muscles. Though, whatever was there before is probably atrophied by now.

Show Don't Tell - The infamous phrase. But there's a reason it's so. But I feel as though I really have to work on this. I have a habit of explaining everything, and it's not a great habit to have. I should hint at characters' feelings or show things that allude to emotions more often. It also engages visualization more. I want the reader to be more engaged and give them more of an active role of deducing things. That's the fun of being a reader, right?

Syntax - If I had an Achilles heel for my writing, it would probably be syntax. I really need to work on my sentence fluency and use of punctuation. The flow of sentences in a story is underrated and underappreciated in my opinion.

Concepts - A lot of my story concepts are very samey or all seem too similar in my opinion. I want each individual story to be more unique. So after the next three or four that have been floating around my head, I'm going to try to be more diverse in my story concepts. But unique will be a whole other challenge.

Comedy/dialogue - Some dialogue is stiff and the jokes aren't of much variety. I recall having a few visual gags but I failed to include it since it felt too out of place or not done well enough. Whether it's because it's not in line with the tone, or lack of skill, or both, humor is immensely important to get right. Though to me, there's not really a formula, and if there is, it's best to go off more intuitive humor because it's more natural and effective. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a movie and I can see a joke coming before the line even starts. Sometimes it still works and other times it's an eye roller. But having a joke that feels inserted for the sake of a joke isn't great. I don't think MLP is too guilty of this. Anyway, I need to work on my humor in general when it's necessary and doesn't conflict with tone too much.

Editing - I don't sit on stories when they're finished for very long. Part of it is laziness, but part of it is also my temptation to be too much of a butcher instead of a surgeon. And due to my negativity, it could lead to a Frankenstein abomination of a piece which would then further prompt euthanasia or in this case deletion. Questionable and probably bad metaphors aside, I need to try to clean up, refine, and polish things when they're done. I also may need to work on speed. Admittedly, I rush sometimes because I just want to get it on the page. And it's usually after somehow phasing through the wall of writer's block.

There's DEFINITELY more I need to work on. But I'm going to prioritize these personal goals. Unless there's something you wish to point out I may be overlooking that's more important. I'm open to suggestions. But for now, I'm going to attempt to finish the story I've had in my head for a while. And as a little bonus, I'll share the current working title for the next story: Indulgence. Hopefully I'll see you there!