Intermission - Black Dragon realted stuff

[kriadydragon]

I feel so sorry for Black Dragon. Just when I finally reach the part I've been waiting for, the muses turn around, go "hey, what's that pretty shiny thing over there" and wander off. Poor, poor Black Dragon. Although this may be a good time to do those chapter overhauls.

Let this be a lesson - always outline stories before writing.

It will get done though, especially since I've finally reached what's supposed to be the good stuff. However, once it's done that'll probably be it - like a teaser - because I've decided to make it a published series after all. That means I'll be posting other stories here, where as I don't now because I don't want them getting confused with Black Dragon.

If I can get my laptop by next week, that might help. We have a small house and our computer is in the family room along with the TV. Plus it's the only computer we've got and I have to share. So though I have been dishing out a lot of short stories, the longer works tend to be a pain as I'm either distracted by incessantly babbling comercials or someone needs the computer. With a laptop I'll be able to hide in my room and whip out chapters for any given story faster.

Comments

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tips. You mentioned tossing one version of a chapter and rewriting it - I plan on doing that to an entire story! A completed story, mind you, that's about five hundred pages long. But I'm actually excited about it since I know where I went wrong and what I need to do. I have a feeling it's going to be a lot shorter when I'm done.

On to the next topic. I understand holding back on reviewing a story until it's done as I do that myself sometimes. With some stories, you have no idea what you're getting into, especially if it's by new writer who hasn't grasped the concept of warnings or spellcheck (there was one story I read that ended up being slash, but I had not idea until the slash-parts popped up. Needless to say I was ticked.). With other stories, muses wander off and the tale is never completed.

Now, not reviewing the last chapter, that's just rude and retarded. I feel the final reviews to be the most important as they sumamrize the opinion of the entire story.

As for the muses, they'll wander back in, they always do.

[(Anonymous)]

Whoa... An entire story! Eep! That is a lot! But as you know what you need to fix and am happy to do it, that's good. Presumably, it's a plot thing and not having to recreate characters again? I'm sure the story will turn out better as a result of it though and all your hard work will pay off :) I think you mentioned the story being here? (Sorry, I haven't read it - don't think I'll have the time) But sounds like you received some good concrite for it...

As for you next point... yeah, warnings and spellcheck do help a lot in making a story better. I know when I'm in a hurry, I miss a heck of lot of stuff (missing words and such) so often like to spend time editing it as much as possible before a post but sometimes don't have time for it... I don't often read uncompleted fics (due to my busy schedule) – but I can certainly sympathise with your problem.

As for your last point, it's certainly very true, the review for the completed tale is the one that tells the writer whether they succeeded in satisfying the reader with the tale or not, because sometimes the end makes or breaks a tale. (ie: a hero can be killed off in the end! Now why do I get the feeling that if a writer did that (without giving warnings) they would be flooded with reviews by people screaming about it, more so than if it ended satisfactory? Is it because people are more inclined to complain than to say 'I enjoyed this?'. I remember getting one review where all I got was someone telling me about a spelling mistake, which was funny. While I was grateful for the correction, I did wonder what she thought about the rest of the chapter, and was kinda diappointed that she didn't mention anything else... Human beings are strange creatures indeed.. and we are part of them. LOL.
-Stargalaxy

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Actually, they're two separate stories. The one I'm posting here isn't even close to being five-hundred pages.

The reason I'm rewriting the big story is because I'm not happy with the writing style and I know I can do better than that, and there's a lot I want to either remove or shorten. Ah, the joy that is editing (not).

Ugh, I can't stand it when people point out spelling mistakes. I like helpful criticism but if all you're going to say is "you have a few spelling errors here and there..." then there's not point to saying anything at all. Even people who use betas and go over a chapter five times still end up with a few spelling errors. Heck, even published books have a few spelling errors. I like help but that's not being helpful.