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FFC #83 - The New Era

Posted December 31st, 2021 at 01:25 PM by TGRF
TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #83

My last blog entry was titled 'End of an Era'. This one is titled 'The New Era', not because what I said previously is irrelevant, or because I'm 'back'. This is a new era simply because all of the changes from the last two years have solidified, and as a result, my activity in the writing department will be changing. I wanted to explain what those changes will look like.

Concerning Novels
This all begins with my novels. For the past few fan fictions, I've said I'm close to writing my novels. That is... not the case. Back when I wrote Dilmir, I had a clear idea what I wanted my novels to be. That idea has slowly crumbled apart over the years, and by now I'm back to square zero. While I have a vague idea of the stories I want to tell, I no longer have the world they take place in.

Before I can be remotely close to writing novels, that world will need to be defined clearly, and have plenty of worldbuilding sunk into it. That will take a good chunk of time, and it's something which can't get started until I know exactly what world I'm dealing with.

Therefore, novels are a long ways out. I still intend to write them eventually, but it is also possible that they'll never be written, and I'll remain here, writing fan fiction. Which to be honest I wouldn't mind. Point is, I don't know what the future holds in that department.

Fan Fiction
With novels off of the table for now, that relieves the pressure in the fan fiction department. I intend to write more stories, and I still plan on using them to practice and solidify writing skills, but from now on fan fiction will be much more relaxed for me.

This means I will no longer be searching for the 'next story' all the time. If I have an idea for a story, I will pursue it until it is either written or falls apart. If I do not have an idea for a story, then I will not try to force one out, and will instead divert my attention to other things.

While this might be a change for me, nothing much will be different from your perspective. I'll likely release a fan fiction once every year or so, more if I'm doing a series. Which is basically where we've been since HiS came out.

What's on the table
Now that I'm taking a much more casual approach to fan fiction, I can allow myself to get involved in some bigger projects. I would like to do this, as it will give me a creative outlet I can turn to whenever I want (something I very much need). These 'bigger projects' would likely be large-scale fan fiction series. I've written two series here before, but neither had the structure or planning a new series would have. I would like to try a series, both to see if I can maintain interest in it, and to work on my handling of multiple characters and multiple arcs.

However, because I'm no longer trying to force inspiration in any one direction, a series might not be written. I could instead write a new single story, or perhaps a sequel or prequel to an existing story. I recently tried to do this with HiS, once again trying to finish Dan's tale. There were unfortunately issues with the premise as a whole, causing me to realize that the story was, in fact, fairly boring and unoriginal. The plot might work as a side plot, but not a main one.

The matter of timing
So where does this leave us in terms of frequency? Just how often can you expect to see a story? This is hard to answer. Stories now rely entirely on inspiration, which is obviously unpredictable and may or may not yield a working story. Starting with HiS, I've been posting a story about once a year, so I'd say that's a good measure. Which is exciting, because it means I'm about due for another story.

One thing I can say, however, is that I have by now studied and honed my writing practices so much that I've cut development time down to a matter of weeks. The development for the HiS sequel I mentioned previously was on schedule to take only 4-5 days (it was a pretty short story). This means stories can reach you faster, and that my interest has less time to vanish. And no, this new speedy development should not yield undeveloped stories.

The New Era
So that's where we are. I will be writing fan fiction for some time to come. I will probably be writing fairly regularly, even if that means only once a year. I would like to start a large-scale series, but time will tell if that happens or not. I do have some ideas for it. And during this time, I hope to nail down the world for my novels and start worldbuilding. I'm close, but not quite there yet.

In the meantime, I would love to get back to writing single-chapter fictions. We might not have enough for the fan fic competition, but if you have more ideas for my Personal Challenge, I'd love to hear them. I might get an idea which sparks something.

Until then, keep 'Scaping, and happy New Year!

~TGRF.
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