"Ancestral Tribute" Challenge Report: Bowing Out

Blog Number 199: Another Setback Edition

I'm quitting the contest. No matter how many ideas I generate and organize, it all comes crashing down at the prose-writing stage, and I'm just sick of it.

Since a looming deadline, a word count limit, a less-than-ideal home situation, and a general sense that I'm distracting myself aren't doing it for me, I'm just doing myself a favour and throwing in the towel. Time out.

God damn, do I hate this.

Impossible Numbers, out.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Hey, the deadline is just a suggestion. You're welcome to take as much time as you need to bring your idea into fruition, especially if real life is getting in the way.

[Skywriter]

Echoing what FOME said; I know the contest is a driver, but it'd still be nice to see the finished piece if a little more time would do it!

[Impossible Numbers]

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5692724

At least one contest idea is on my To Do List (I had a couple more in reserve too), though I don't have high confidence I'll finish the project anytime soon. If I do ever complete it, it'll go straight in the "Weird Uncles" folder.

Looking at the big picture, this one "lost battle" isn't enough to stop me completely: the "greater war" continues regardless. Still, I could really do with a victory sooner rather than later. I want to make some progress.

[Lionpaw315]

Ech- sucks, but sometimes life just won't cooperate with us.

it's a shame, but honestly, don't be discouraged! everything you write is so incredibly awesome- even if you don't hit the contest deadline, still wrapping up the idea eventually might bring some sense of closure? might resolve that niggling or whatever. and hey, I know you might not personally count it because it's not prose or whatever, but your blog posts are writing too, aren't they? maybe they're not major victories on the scale of a full finished piece, but they're still Something. you gotta win a few skirmishes along the river before you can fight the battle for control of it.

[Pascoite]

Same problem. I really wanted to write something with Sunny Flare, and I had a couple of tentative ideas, but nothing panned out in time to give it the attention it needed. I hate forcing something out just for the sake of it, and such things rarely do well in contests anyway.

[Impossible Numbers]

5692784

I should have said this earlier, but:

and hey, I know you might not personally count it because it's not prose or whatever, but your blog posts are writing too, aren't they? maybe they're not major victories on the scale of a full finished piece, but they're still Something. you gotta win a few skirmishes along the river before you can fight the battle for control of it.

This is really good advice. Thanks! I have been taking more of an interest in my blogging lately, if only as a break from the difficulties of creative writing.

5692830

I hate forcing something out just for the sake of it, and such things rarely do well in contests anyway.

For me, it depends on whether or not I get in the zone. If I'm firing on all cylinders, I outright love a blast of activity. If I'm not... well, let's just say I notice it's going awry. This contest project felt exactly like that every time I had to stop to chop down a scene: at first, I thought I was just learning to be concise, but it didn't take long before it felt completely unnatural and stifling, and I realized it was a massive warning sign.