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FFC #65 - An Update

Posted January 5th, 2021 at 02:09 PM by TGRF
TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #65

In my last FFC, I explained how I needed to change my thinking from always focusing on 'the next fan fiction'. I realized that I needed to switch my focus to where my interest lay - and my interest isn't always on writing.

So I've done that. I've told myself that if I get an idea for a story, and the idea sticks around, I'll look into writing it. But if I don't, then I won't try to force things. As a result, I've been paying attention to where my interest currently is: developing games (don't expect anything to come of this; it's merely a creative outlet so far).

Now, while my interest is not on writing, my thoughts do turn there every now and then. And recently, I've been taking a look at my writing as a whole, and what I need to work on.

In my last FFC, I said I was going to finish up Valkyrie and post it. Now, I'd say there's a 90% chance that will NOT happen.

Valkyrie had some good things going for it, namely good twists and some great inter-character dialogue (at least in my opinion). But it was lacking in two critical areas: character emotions and character stakes. Yep, stakes struck again. The stakes were there, but they were never developed, meaning they were never really seen or felt in the story. So motivations kind of fell flat.

So I've been looking again at stakes, and trying to figure out why they pose such a problem for me.

In my last FFC (at least I think it was the last one), I mentioned how I've learned writing backwards. I started with what published authors miss, and only in the last year have I begun to get to the basics of story creation. This has obviously created some issues, all of which have been dealt with one by one. All except for a few outliers, like characters and stakes. While I know what everyone misses in these areas, I don't know what everyone starts out understanding. So now I'm having to relearn what I thought I already knew.

This isn't a blog entry about stakes. I'm considering posting my revised understanding of stakes in the fiction forum at some point (probably once I HAVE a revised understanding), so I won't fill up this blog with that content. I just wanted to explain where I'm at and what's going on.

Currently, Valkyrie will probably not be written. There are no other fan fictions in progress, although I do keep getting ideas for a vampire post-war story. I don't know if that will go anywhere. We'll find out. If I get an idea, I'll start developing it.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to look at my writing as a whole, and narrow down the things I need to work on. I feel like I'm SO close to bringing everything I've learned over ten years together; so close, yet still hampered by these small details. If I can just work out these last few things, I'll be there. I'll be at novel standards (novel standards obviously fluctuate, so these are really my standards).

But until then, keep writing.

~TGRF.
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