Pen to Paper

Hello friends, it's been a while, a lot has happened since I last finished "A Tempest Tossed," to a smattering of applause and some disappointment, I'm sure. I was burned out, exhausted, my personal life was wall to wall caregiving, and I couldn't muster the mental energy I needed to focus on the story right and proper.

Recently, I went back and started reading through my stories once again. You know what? I write a nice little story. It's no Admiral Biscuit or Tystarr level of quality, but I think they were good little stories just the same. I tried to have fun with them, to give everyone something they wanted, that I also wanted. "A Tempest Tossed" seemed to start out really well, though it ended up finishing up with more of a whimper than I intended, though I always kept my word that if I started a story, even if I couldn't finish it the way I wanted, I always had an ending ready to go so that no one was left hanging without some kind of resolution.

To the point of my post: Some things have changed and, sadly, I'm no longer a caregiver. I've had some time to work through that, and I've decided I'd like to start writing stories again. I know that times have changed, and G5 is the new frontier of stories, but I will likely stick with G4, which is what I know. That's not to say I don't like G5, I do, I think it's a rather sweet series, but my heart is with Friendship is Magic, which feels more comfortable, and still has a very expansive world to explore.

I don't make promises because as we all know life has a nasty way of changing plans, but I just wanted to put this out there, to let you know that I haven't stopped thinking about writing again, and that maybe the stories don't have to be over yet.

All of my love,
LotusTeaDragon

Comments

[Voidwalker]

My condolences. I hope you're doing well. And welcome back.
When I first read the title of this post, I thought: Wait, he plays pen and paper? That ought to be interesting. Interesting it was, even though I misread that. Heh.
Write whatever you wish to write, and whenever you wish to write.

Here, have a 'welcome back'-celebratory Pinkie.

[LotusTeaDragon]

5690255
Thank you, Voidwalker!
I have played pen and paper games, just not in this particular instance.

I appreciate the condolences, she was very special to me, and will be missed. Now that things have shifted, and my body and brain have had time to begin recuperating, the desire to write has returned, and now I'm working on figuring out *just what I want to write about*. This week alone I've had half a dozen ideas, and I'm hoping within the next few weeks I'll have my favorite idea pinned down enough to write out a rough draft and slowly ease into it.

I will be doing a few things differently this time. For example, I will map out the entire story before I start. Believe it or not, I used to write as I'd go. Whatever sounded good and seemed like the right path to take, save for the sequels to my first story, those were generally planned somewhat.

Still, it's good advice to write what I wish and when I wish, and I won't push myself. That way lies burnout, and I don't ever want to foist that on my readers ever again.

[Voidwalker]

5690348

This week alone I've had half a dozen ideas, and I'm hoping within the next few weeks I'll have my favorite idea pinned down enough to write out a rough draft and slowly ease into it.

Heh. I know that situation well enough. Ideas are usually easy to come by for me, it's just the execution that's a bit of a process. Good luck with pinning down that elusive prey!

I will be doing a few things differently this time. For example, I will map out the entire story before I start. Believe it or not, I used to write as I'd go. Whatever sounded good and seemed like the right path to take, save for the sequels to my first story, those were generally planned somewhat.

I mean... there's nothing wrong with 'going with the flow', so to speak. And neither is there anything wrong with planning ahead. How much planning is required might depend on the project in question, on the writer, an a nice variety of other circumstances. We're all individuals. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another and we all have to experiment to find what works for us.
I usually plan in stages. I start out with a general idea, the 'core', so to speak. I then try to piece together a rough draft of what's generally going to happen in what order and the fine details are worked out once the chapter containing them comes up.
Point being, everyone has their own preferred way of doing stuff. I hope planning works out for you. As far as quality goes - what you've written so far (and what I've read of it, obviously) was lovely.

Still, it's good advice to write what I wish and when I wish, and I won't push myself. That way lies burnout, and I don't ever want to foist that on my readers ever again.

Good resolution.