FFC #101 - The Return

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #101

I wanted to write this quick update, because things are stirring and plans are forming. First off though:

Dilmir:
Dilmir 4 is continuing to move along at a decent pace. According to my outline, I'm around 1/4 of the way through, though my guess would be closer to 1/3 through the actual material. Either way, the story is looking to be rather hefty, once again leaning towards the 150 page area. I'm having to rework the outline a bit as I go, because some areas I'm not super happy with from a convenience stand point, but so far everything is working. I'd say a late February/early March release still looks likely.

Writing:
In my last FFC, I wrote down my thoughts about how I've been rushing the development of stories. In summary, I basically haven't been giving story premises enough time to really flesh out, and have instead been going ahead with only parts of the premise, extrapolating the rest through formula and structure. This means I can come up with stories quite fast, but it also yields formulaic, short stories, which are often sparse on details, fleshed out characters, and truly interesting plots.

Despite the rather bleak tone of that FFC, I was actually pretty encouraged when I wrote it. Those realizations meant I could move forward, hopefully returning to the way I used to come up with stories. In that vein, that's what I've been trying to do: giving story ideas time to gel until they are actually ready to be written. And this leads to:

Future Fan Fiction:
At this point I'd say there's a good 50% chance that I'll write another fan fiction. Things are different this time, because my first novel is actually beginning to take shape for real (more on that below). This means that eventually, it will take over from fan fiction. But it's also in the early stages of development, and I want to spend plenty of time coming up with the world and characters and plot. This means there could easily be time for another fan fiction.

Don't worry, non-multi-taskers. I can indeed split the day and work on several stories at once.

Here is what I currently know for sure:

1. I have an idea for a story. Whether or not this idea will survive the test of time is another matter entirely, but I do like it. In accordance with my above realizations, I'm taking things slowly, and the plot is congealing at it's own pace. And TAF... you'll like it.
2. There are things I want to practice. Particularly in the area of character development, and coming up with characters to start with, there are some things I still want to work on. Any fan fiction after Dilmir would allow me to do that.

None of that currently means for sure that there will be another fan fiction. It's only in the realm of possibility at this point. I could easily turn instead to my personal challenge thread (which I do intend to return to at some point). But this does bring me to:

The novel:
The first novel is on its way. Given that the setting I have found finally does everything I need it to, and has lasted this long, I'm confident that I'm finally on track. The magic system is in place, and worldbuilding is commencing, as I figure out how civilization would adapt to the powers I've created. The seed of a plot is also there. In accordance with my above realizations, I'm going to take my time coming up with the plot, and let it gel naturally.

So where does all of this leave things in terms of what you can expect? Dilmir 4 will be along soon. Following that, there will certainly be a pause in writing. This will either be because I am developing a fan fiction, or have scrapped that idea and am focused entirely on the novel.

After a few months, you could see a story. This might be a fan fiction, or it might be more stories for my personal challenge thread. Or both. There's also a chance you see nothing, in which case either the fan fiction fell through and I'm working on another one, or, as I said, I am focused on my novel.

But that's all in the future, and as I have found out by writing these FFC's, plans can and do change.

So until then, keep writing.

~TGRF.