Open letter to Fanfiction.net reviewers....

[misora]

No, I am not abandoning my Zutara piece, The Penance Series.

No, I am not abandoning my other huge ATLA fic, Lotus Resiliens. I'm working on it right now, as a matter of fact. I've invested too much time plotting and planning to simply let it fall by the wayside.

No, I am not abandoning my WHR fic, Hieros Gamos, either.

I know I am a horrendously slow updater. It has to do with how busy I am IRL. But rest assured, I am not abandoning any of my fics. The only ones you won't see continued are the ones clearly marked "one-shot".

If you'd actually leave signed-in messages, I would be able to respond to you directly with these answers. Why ask a question without any way for me to contact you to answer? If you didn't want an answer to the question, why would you ask it in the first place?

:/

Comments

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

Slow writers unite! We might seldom update, but every chapter is worth the wait!

...At least with your fic for sure, haha. Quality takes time.

[misora.livejournal.com]

You're slow, too? Actually I thought your fic "Half Asleep" was updated very quickly!

I only wish I could update chapters sooner than 6 months for the same fic. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. Maybe it's a time management issue....

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

Half Asleep updated quickly because I sat down and wrote it veeeery slowly over the course of six months before I started posting. It was all done and ready to be polished by the time posting began. Plus, it was a Big Bang fic, so I kind of had a fire lit under my ass for it. :P

It could be time management, or it could be that you're like George RR Martin. He's a famously slow writer of a famously good fantasy series who, afaik, writes when he knows he's going to put out quality work.

[misora.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, I see.

I sometimes wonder if I should do that - write a whole bunch, and not post it until the fic is completed. But I have the feeling that if I did attempt that, I'd never finish it...because I'm too slow and I'd lose my motivation or something.

Idk what my problem with writing is. Sometimes chapters and short fics come easier to me, and sometimes it's really a struggle to get them out onto the screen. Thank you for the compliment, but I hesitate to compare myself to anyone who writes professionally...because they're obviously doing something right (whether it's time management, or focus, or motivation) - they're published! :)

Like, how slow is this George RR Martin guy between books? I'm sure his publisher and/or editor must pull out their hair in frustration on a regular basis.

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

Man oh man. To put Martin's slowness into perspective, his most famous series is the Song of Ice and Fire series, the first book being A Game of Thrones... which was published in 1996. The series is currently 4 books long. He has, so far, spent 15 years writing 4 books of a 7 book series. The 4th book, A Feast for Crows, was published in 2005. Every single year after that, he said the next book would be ready by autumn. It... didn't happen, haha. We've finally gotten a solid publishing date for this July (happy birthday to me), but according to his livejournal, he's still working on the book like, right now. So who knows if it'll actually come out on time.

And who knows what will work for you. We all write differently and at different paces. I never get anything done unless I set a goal for myself, like "must write 1000 words per day" or "must finish by this date" or "must finish by this date or risk disappointing person I've promised this to." Maybe if you're in a dry spell, starting with a very small and manageable goal will help you pick up your speed again? 500 words per day is a pretty manageable goal.

You might get a kick out of this: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html

Neil Gaiman basically says what I'm trying to say to you, only better, because he's Neil Gaiman. Give it a read if you haven't already, because it's both hilarious and encouraging.

[misora.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, he is famous. I didn't know he did the Song of Ice and Fire series. That's one of John's favorite fantasy series, ever.

George RR Martin is not your bitch.

HAHAHAHAHAhahahahaha. I love that. I usually don't watch/subscribe to author blogs, but Neil Gaiman is awesomely funny and I think I might just start following him after that.

It's true, life happens. And I do find that when I get the most stuck on a project, it *does* help to turn my attention toward something else (even if it's not writing), and that particular thing is suddenly easy to complete to my satisfaction.

I think I am going to try a "write at least 500-1K words a day" goal...because even if I don't come near completing a chapter that I want, at least I will have made more headway with it and it might push me to do more. With the baby coming soon I know I'm going to have a while where *nothing* will get done, so if I can get something done in the next week or so I will be very happy.

Thanks for that link! And for the encouragement. :)

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

Glad to help! <3

[avocado-love.livejournal.com]

LKJSLDKJFLKSDJFLKSJDLFKJSDLKFJSLKJFLKJSDLKFJSDJFLSDKJFLSDJFLKJSDLKFJ!!!!!!!


... Yes, I know what you speak of.

Or even when they ask a question like, "ARE KATARA AND ZUKO GOING TO GET TOGETHER YET I DON"T LIKE AANG SHES LIKE HIS MOTHER" and it's anon.

[misora.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha. XD

Anon questions in reviews drive me nuts. This is not a dialogue! This is you leaving a comment in the ether of the internet and me not being able to respond to it.

I used to actually reply *in the reviews* on one of my older fics. Then I felt bad b/c I was facetiously bumping up my review numbers on the fic.

We can't win!!!

[okami-no-yume.livejournal.com]

Oh God, I feel you so much. I update basically at the pace of an arthritic slug. I think it's because I get too distracted easily. I need to actually sit down, discipline myself better, and write.

I need to work to change this. Procrastination is one of my worst faults.

And yeah, I can understand your frustration. How do people expect you to respond if they don't leave signed in reviews? I'd be tempted to disable anonymous reviews altogether when I got fed up enough, but that's just me. XP

And hey, you've got a baby due pretty soon, so your updates will be even slower. :)

[misora.livejournal.com]

I definitely have been guilty of procrastination in the past, but for me the problem right now seems to be getting "stuck" creatively. And then losing my focus, and turning to something else non-writing-related, like making jewelry. I have too many things I want to do! And not enough focus.

Part of it also may be the impending baby arrival; I've been quite anxious about that.

Haha, this would be the only reason I would ever consider disabling anon reviews. I guess I haven't reached the breaking point yet. XD

[iapetusneume.livejournal.com]

Dude, you write WHR? I might have to check that out when finals are not killing me soon.

Other than that, I know how you feel. Also, it wouldn't be as fun if they got together right away! Making the reader wait makes it that much more rewarding! (I haven't read your stories but this is true with so many things.)

[misora.livejournal.com]

Yep! WHR was one of the first fandoms I started writing for. I've been writing WHR fic for about 7 years. ^^ The Burning Time is my longest completed fic, and is the prequel of sorts to Hieros Gamos.

I'd definitely wait until you're done with finals, though. ^^