TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #59

One of the things I've found true about writing, is that the methods are always changing. As a writer, there's always something you haven't discovered, some technique you haven't learned.

I am not yet 'back'. I'm getting close though. I recently was able to actually outline part of a story for the first time in months (the story in question fell apart unfortunately). While I haven't yet written anything, outlining is something I wasn't able to do either, so this is a promising sign.

But while I've been mysteriously unable to write, I've still been studying writing. I wanted to fill you in on some of the things I've discovered, so that you'll know what to expect when I do finally get back to writing. Because at this point, my writing could be vastly different from what it was.

I now know that I learned the writing process backwards. The first book I picked up on how to write was centered...

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #58

So. It's been a week or so under two months since I said I was taking a break from writing. In that time I've been able to address some things which really required addressing. Most of that stuff still isn't remotely resolved, but writing, at least, seems to be coming back.

Very, very slowly.

But it is coming back. While I say that, I'm aware that I have not yet actually written anything, so this is all based off of my reliably-unreliable intuition. But I'll take it. Here's what's going on:

Writing is going to happen. I am once again sure about this. What I am NOT sure about is the format that writing will be in (fan fiction, novel, something else, etc.).

I've always assumed that once I had written enough fan fiction, I would create my masterwork of a novel, send it to an agent, get published, and make a million bucks. Or something along those lines. I'm... not so sure...

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #57

No, I'm not back.

I've been wanting to update you on what's been going on, but I haven't been able to for two reasons: Things keep changing, and I myself don't really know what's happening or where I'll be in the next weeks.

I can tell you what I DO know, however.

The college plan is still there, but it has been delayed by a year and a half. My current plan is to start with some general courses in the spring (If I can get through this blasted math placement), and then start the program the following fall. All, some, or none of that may happen. Right now I'm just going through all the various application processes and I'll see where I'm at when those are done.

I am not writing. At all. I have some vague ideas for stories, but nothing solid. Additionally, on the few occassions I've sat down to write, things did NOT come together, and I really felt like my attention should...

TGRF'S Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #56

Over the last year or so, I've slowly come to realize that I would eventually have to write this entry. (There's an opener if there ever was one.)

And for the past few months, I've put off writing this entry. Probably because I didn't want to think it was real. Because when I hit that 'post now' button, I know what it could mean. But at this point, this entry is only a formality.

Enough with the drama.

I am postponing writing, including all fan fiction AND novels and anything else I might write, indefinitely. While I still feel (and hope) that I will at some point return to my writing, possibly within a few years, I have to say that never returning to it at all is a very real possibility. At least not in any major capacity.

This is not by choice. There are two primary reasons why this is happening:

1. College +. For those who have known me on this site...

It finally happened.

I have finally signed up for college.

I know that for most people, college is 'the thing' you do after high school. That's 'how it works': high school, four years or so of college, get a job, retire in however many years.

Coming from a self employed family and being homeschooled drilled such notions out of me early on. I realized that just doing 'the thing' that everyone else did was not what I wanted to do, especially when I saw people with mountains of student debt, stuck in a cubicle working a job they hated for the rest of their lives, breaking their backs trying to make their bosses rich.

I wasn't doing that. No way.

So I largely dismissed college for a very long time. It took me a long time to figure out that while what I had learned was valuable, I had gone off the deep end with it. College itself isn't bad; you just need to know what you're doing.

In terms of college,...