The Grim Reaper's Friend

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #67

When I posted my most recent fan fiction, Valkyrie, I said there was a lot of stuff which had happened with my writing which I was eager to share. Now, I know most of it probably isn't that interesting, and honestly a lot of it is just untested theories. But there is one bit I've come to realize recently, which I intend to experiment with in whatever I write next, and which I hope will help my writing a lot. I'd like to share it.

It concerns the TV show Poldark. Now if you haven't seen the show, I won't spoil anything. But I will say that you need to see it. It is just an awesome show. Free on Amazon Prime.

Poldark is one of those British drama shows, in the same vein as Pride & Prejudice (albeit with substantially more action, and vastly more relatable plots). Every part of it is written well, and the plots are amazing. But it shines in two areas above all else: viewer investment, and character...

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #66

As of last night, the posting of my latest fan fiction, Valkyrie, has commenced. The thread can be found here.

In my last FFC, I said I almost certainly would not be writing this story. See, this is why you can trust nothing I say.

I realized that the story had some issues, and following a slump in interest, decided that I should move on. So I did. For a few weeks.

But randomly, I looked back at the story, and the issues, and started toying with ways to fix them. I came up with what I would need to do, and saw that the fixes weren't massive rewrites or huge edits. Interest came back, and I decided that as long as I had the interest, I might as well fix the fiction and see how far I got.

And here we are.

Now, as with any other story of mine, there are some big issues, and as always, I intend to fix those in whatever I write next. But there were also some...

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...

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #64

This is another of those entries I don't really want to write. I'm having serious second thoughts even now. But I think it needs to be said.

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I've found that I can say I believe one thing, and then act as though I believe the opposite. I doubt I'm alone in this - just look at politics.

Jokes aside, for the past ten years I've believed that writing was 'my thing'. Eventually, I would write a bestseller and be 'made'. For five years, that belief has been true. Writing is what I was meant to be doing.

But around the end of those five years, something changed. I finished writing The River that was Red, a story I still consider to be my best work. Upon completion, I cast about within my mind for the next story.

You see, up until that point, there had always been a 'next story'. I didn't even have to come up with them. The concepts were just sitting...

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry # 63

I've had to temporarily pause the writing of Valkyrie. Don't worry; nothing major has happened, and I don't need to do any major reworks of the plot or anything. The story was missing a component which I should be able to add in with only minimal tweaks to the outline. It will, however, take me a few days to add in said component.

So what's the component? Emotion. Reaction. Feeling. Basically, the bit of the story I've written appears to center on lifeless pieces of wood.

Here's why: I've detailed elsewhere how I learned writing backwards, starting with what already-published authors get wrong, and only now arriving at the basics. Well, it appears that that has applied to all aspects of writing, not just character arcs and plot.

One thing it seems I don't know how to do (yet) is go beyond the backstories and collection of traits which usually make up my characters, and somehow discover...