The Writing Train Crashes · 3:00am Sep 21st, 2018
So. It's been a while.
You'll notice I haven't posted anything in a couple of years. You'll also notice I've put all my incomplete stories on hiatus. Here's why: my heart isn't in them anymore. My heart isn't in much of anything, really, but "much of anything" doesn’t leave a nagging whisper in your ear that you haven’t written a single word in months, and that there’s no point in correcting that because, well, why bother? You don’t have an outline to fall back on because you’re terrible at planning. You have pages of notes about the world you’re writing in, but it really just boils down to random trivia and magic systems and family trees that don’t have anything to do with the story, yet you’re shoehorning them in anyway. Fix it up? You’re sloppy at self-editing, and that’s on your good days. You’ve never finished a multi-part story in your life, so what makes you think you’ll start now?
And yet ... I don’t have the heart to outright cancel them. They’ve gotten me through some tough times (especially Diary of an Aspiring Tyrant, during the old doom and gloom of 2013), so I have fond memories of writing about these silly ponies. Plus it’s nice to look at a story page and think, “I wrote this.” Maybe it’s a rambling mess, but it’s my rambling mess. And if somehow I find the spark of where the fic can go next, then maybe I can cobble the words together and let it grow.
(A bigger mess is still a mess, says the snide voice. That dampens my enthusiasm, and the cycle begins anew.)
As big a Debbie Downer as I am, I still love the show. I love the fanfiction. I love the speculation, although for me that’s a spectator sport. And even though the show has gone through a lot of changes, I love those too - Starlight, the candy bugs, the Pillars, the School of Friendship, and whatever’s in the future. It’s not perfect, of course, but in this expanded world there are more stories to be told than ever. (Heck, maybe that’s part of my fatigue. Who wants to be stuck in 2014?)
Sometime, I’d like to whip up the self-discipline to write some short pieces. Beginning, middle, and end, all wrapped up in a nice tight package. See something through, even if it’s small. I don’t want to stop writing, even if my interest has cooled for Dr. Lunaschmirtz, Cosmic Plaything Pinkie, and Bootleg Austraeoh. I don’t want to give up completely on telling stories. I don’t want to feel sorry for myself.
Anyway, that’s the news here. I’m sorry for the disappointment, but thanks at least for reading this explanation.
boop
Thanks for saying something. You've just done way more than many people.
This was good to know and thank you for sticking with us for the time till now
4941698
Tis a shame - but, at least, as lordelliott said: At least you explained why. I thank you for the amazing story that is 3:14 PM and hope that, one day, your interest returns and the stories are revived.