'Das a purtty title, and I'll start this with myself, because lemons.

There may be a chance that one of the nearly-400 of you know me not because of my status as one of the first-15-or-so staff, but because you actually have taken a deep breath and have attempted to read the content of my writing. However, after some...issues...That some of you may or may not be aware about, I haven't been in my ability to do anything about them.

It became popular, and has approached 60-70 likes and 85-100 favorites, but this issue caused me to discontinue my Red Dead Redemption crossover Welcome to Equestria, Friend either permanently or temporarily. And I hoped for somewhere around 10 chapters and a special chapter chronicling Irish and Berry Punch's drunken adventures, I didn't get to do that. And right now it's only 3.

Now, let me tell you how you can completely and utterly muff up further updates.

Now, when you update a story, it can become so popular that the first chapter rivals a J. R. R. Tolken masterpiece. The people of this site are going to want to see what happens next in your beautiful story. But if you rush it, it's going to turn into the massive shitwave of garbage that many of these stories turn into. Here's some things that can go in, using the psychological skills I believe I've developed over time:

1. But They Said They Want It NAAAOOOOWWWW!: So? Who gives two shits if they want it right this second or if they want it when Fidel Castro decides he wants to finally die of old age? I mean, sure, you shouldn't lollygag and do it when the brony-hating cyber police take down the website one day in a million-ka-fuckin'-drillion years. Take your time, great story develops whenever you feel like you should do it.

2. I have a bunch of ideas that will go away because my ADHD-damaged brain can't hold them!: That's not to say I insult people with the condition since I have both it and OCD, but if you really need to put them down immediately, here's what you should do:

1. Get out a piece of paper or a Google/Word document, depending on where you are.
2. Put down characters kept, lost, introduced, whatever.
3. Make basic story points that you can work on.
4. If you are using a doc, you can even write it right then and just edit it later.

Makes sense? No? Okay, moving on anyways, because the Soviets worked to their deaths and I'm not going to let you drop out. Okay! It's not my fault bears on unicycles stole your Reuben sandwich! It's not my fault, I swear! I bet-...No, no times for rant-puns, either.

3. I need to be able to have an idea of what I'm doing!:

Like I said in step 4 of the aforementioned process, you can write it out whenever you please, but some pre-release editing and checking never hurts anybody. Except for me, after a long day after high school and I decide to waste my time playing Pokemon Black 2 or doing my ungodly-long amount of AP homework. Then my tears turn into blood, but that's my case.

Now, I think that's about it. I hope that makes enough sense that I don't have to take it down for any apparent reason. Or that it's already been done, which I don't think it has.

By the way, the opening statement was supposed to be in relation to the speech, not an explanation.

Yeah, I used to be able to churn out one 2-4k chapter a day. But in the end that nearly killed me. So now my readers get an 8-15k chapter once or twice a month, depending on how I feel about my current story.

hey you're actually doing something cool

Well, since I'm a fucknugget, I just type things whenever I feel like it and release it once I feel it's a chapter.

Also, PENUS.

Personal responses below:

1. I've found that audiences prefer quality over timeliness. Sure, people expect consistency in their favorite story's chapter release dates, so they have a tendency to expect (and thus demand) the new material at a specific time. But as any artist knows, all good things take time; this is especially true of writing, where editing and rewriting is 80% of the job.
But the one thing that readers will not tolerate in their favorite story is a decline in quality. That level of polish and shine is what keeps the reader interested, but if that is sacrificed for the sake of speed, your story will be reduced to nothing more than rapidly-published trash.
Take as much time as your story needs. The readers may bitch and whine (and according to DawnFade's latest blog post may even make threatening comments at you), but they will still be satisfied if you deliver them more of the story they love.

2. One thing that every author needs is a little notebook that they carry with them at all times. This is where the author will record every fleeting idea and inspiration that randomly strikes them. This is what the author will look to when they are experiencing writer's block and need to break through. The pen may be the author's greatest tool, but the notebook is the author's greatest friend.
I can't state this enough: doesn't matter what it is or how stupid it sounds, write it down! Some of those ideas may seem lame now, but they may become the stroke of genius you need three chapters from now. It will save you (and it has saved me).

3. The good thing about keeping a series of notes digitally is that I can save pretty much everything. Not only do I keep character sheets, setting descriptions, plot descriptions, and a few bits of inspiration, but I have a section devoted to anything I ever wrote, rewrote, revised, or ever imagined; I call it, "The Cutting Room Floor".
The Cutting Room Floor is a tremendous help, especially since I'm a very indecisive person. If I have a chapter fully written, but I have some ideas for large-scale alterations, I can save both the original version and the altered version of the same chapter, compare the two side by side, and then publish the better version while still retaining the original (a director's cut, if you will). If I'm not sure whether a certain paragraph is needed, I can do the same thing. If I come up with a phrase or a action that sounds great but doesn't currently fit with the scene, I can save it for use later. And if I just don't like a paragraph, I can cut it from the original while still saving it in full for future reference (like deleted scenes).
When I decided to rewrite my story, my cutting room floor consisted of the complete original text, about 4 chapters worth of alternate versions, and several altered/modified/removed paragraphs worth of text. But because I didn't delete and forget about my original, now-obsolete, version, I used it as a reference to rewrite the new version. Some of the text was copy-paste work, others required deeper modifications, and still some remaining required a complete rewrite. But I saved weeks worth of work and years worth of sanity because I had the contents of my Cutting Room Floor.

This was a good lecture. Title could use some shortening, though.

616606
Excellent lecture. I once made the mistake of rushing out my chapters by writing a chapter a week, and GOD my story turned into total shit.

I know I'm bringing back to life a once dead thread, but I have this question on my mind that I've been wanting to ask, and this seems relevant enough to ask it.

Would you recommend writing out the entire story and taking months before publishing, or writing one chapter, publishing, and then slowly write and publish the rest of your chapters in sequence?

I've been weighing the pros and cons of both in my head, but I'm wishing for a second opinion. For writing the entire story, you don't leave any disappointment for your fans if the story doesn't come through. Also, you don't get any rush or threatening comments when you don't publish a chapter on time, or quit the story all together. You write on your own schedule. Cons, less eyes on your fic means less mistakes that will be pointed out and fixed. Also, there's always that "BUT I WANNA POST NAO AND GET MILLIONS OF VIEWS! :D" feeling in the back of your head bugging the hell out of you.

If you write the first chapter and slowly stream out the story, you have more of a feeling of accomplishment when you see the likes and the favorites pour in, if it's a decent fic. It may give some hope, or even inspiration to continue writing the story. Also, like I mentioned, more mistakes fixed. Cons, if you don't go through with it, you get a quite angry fanbase you have to deal with when you cancel the story.

So what do you think?

705988

I usually perform the latter, but it's really just whatever floats your boat.

While, yes, you can just write out the entire thing, it will work faster. However, if such a person is requesting the use of an editor, small bits is best.

You see, people like going through stuff and being entertained. But, in the shoes of an editor/proof-/prereader, throwing out so much when you have other stories to look at just bogs down your schedule.

And, don't worry, I learned to overcome that "GET IT DONE AND HAVE ALL THESE LITTLE SHITS LIKE THE SHITTING SHIT OUT OF THIS SHIT!" mentality shortly after Ridley in Ponyville. Because of that, I managed to get Welcome to Equestria: Friend and Of Earth, Sea and Sky: The Titans of Weather rather fantastic ratings (In my case, at least).

So, I would suggest the second option.

707660

Thanks!

I probably wouldn't have the patience to wait out until my entire story was finished anyways, so your reply made me feel a whole lot better. That peer pressure's going to be a pain in the ass, but hey, I'll learn to deal with it.

Happy writing! Thanks again.

I've had to think about that question with the fic I'm working on, too, and I came to the conclusion that I'll be writing the whole thing before publishing anything, but will be releasing the chapters individually anyway, so if anyone finds major-messups that continue throughout the story, I'll be able to correct them, but also will still be able to introduce something at the very start of the story in case I need a deus ex machine at the very end.