It Came From Outer Space…

I’ve started on a bit of something that’s technically taboo but I figure it’s worth it to continue the werewolf story. My room mate had read some of it for me when I was initially writing and pointed out that the beginning had a drastic amount of over information that would swamp a reader, and that I should probably start the work a bit later on. Up until this last week I’ve been continuing on with it anyway because I had all the input and needed to get it out so that I could not have it in my head. So, rather than pulling my hair out over the issue I moved on this is good for several reasons not least of which that there really isn’t a hair loss treatment for women that will fix it if I pull my own hair out.

So, there I am soldiering along and then I start getting stuck so I start skipping around writing little vignettes that are dotted around in the story’s time line and then this last week I went back and copied what I have from the initial draft into a separate file so that I can start again. It’s not exactly starting over but at the same time I needed to re-write a lot through the first few thousand words because information that is pertinent and not over-loading needs to be in there so that people aren’t lost. There was no explanation of who Cora, Clair, Stu and Jared were as they related to each other because that was all in the first section that I’ve cut out to be interspersed in flashback throughout the story now. So, I have to include those in the descriptions now. So far it’s working pretty well. I’ve pared down a vision scene which starts the book, shortening a lot of text down to sentence fragments to hopefully make it a bit more feral and I’m also working on expanding one of the later pieces that I only have about 500 words on so far.

The previous post about editing mad me thinking about fanfiction.net and how long it’s been since I’ve been there. I got my original account when I was a young proactiv-smearing college student. I, actually, deleted that account after saving anything I thought might be viable and restarted in the hopes I would actually perfect and finish some of the stories that I’d been writing.

Except it didn’t happen, partially due to the depression, and a lot due to the fact that my tastes have changed. I feel strange writing and getting comments from people who are in some cases less than half my age. It makes me feel uncomfortable.

For the most part the content on there is…strange, twisted, drivel. There are some gems, but a lot of it is just not good at all. It’s the same way with places like deviantart. They attract anyone who wants to showcase their work whether or not it’s good. A bit like an American Idol audition.

I haven’t written much about this before because I’ve yet to complete a story enough to have it really be an issue. Though the one story that I did complete (when I was sixteen) when I review that now it makes me gag. It’s full of cliches and repetitive language and melodrama.

Some times those things can be used to emphasize a point, but when they’re the entirety of the story then it becomes trite and pathetic. When you find someone to be a reviewer and editor for your work you need them to be unbiased and brutally honest about what they’re reading, like the people at the hgh website claim to be. It’s no good if you have a reviewer who just tells you, “It’s good. I <3 it!!" as a lot of the people on Fanfiction.net are known to do. Instead you need someone to point out to you when your characters appear to be acting out of type or when there’s a plot hole you could drive a car through.

They not only have to be able to correct spelling and grammar but also challenge you to improve not only your work but yourself.