[ SECRET POST #2334 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2334 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


#13 is a moving .gif.


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07.
[Jesus Christ Superstar]


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08.
[Torvill and Dean]


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09.
[Conan O'Brien]


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11. http://i.imgur.com/eBIFfE1.jpg
[linked for gore, video game]


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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]














12. [SPOILERS for Resident Evil, Gears of War, Red Dead Redemption, The Walking Dead and Jonah Hex]



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13. [SPOILERS for Iron Man 3]



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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]
















14. [WARNING for suicide]

[Hetalia]


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #333.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 1- broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

04. http://oi41.tinypic.com/3088f0l.jpg

[elephantinegrace]

What is it you don't like about your writing? Excessive comma use? Poor characterization? Plot stagnation? If you can find a problem, fix it. If you can't actually find a problem you're probably just being too harsh on yourself.

I wish there was an encouragement emoticon. I'd put it here.

[(Anonymous)]

Like anyone ever finds those problems with their writing. :/ Most people refuse to admit they have poor characterization.

If I had to guess, I'd say OP is just being overly critical--nothing kills the joy of writing quite like being on the look-out for every phrase that might possibly be offensive/purple prose/full of epithets. /personal experience

[(Anonymous)]

lol same here, i'm constantly rephrasing to make sure there's not even the slightest vaguely offensive thing. this is what i get for making friends that turned out to be rabid sjws.

[lyndis]

I think seasoned writers are more aware of their own flaws and weaknesses than they want to admit in public. For example, I write things that are too emotional, I write in circles in chaptered 'fics because my memory is so terrible I literally cannot remember what I just wrote a single day ago, and re-reading your own shit over and over sucks ass, there are certain characters I've written OOC and thought they were IC at the time (HAHAH oops), there are characters I don't even try to write because I know I don't have the ability, I can't write battle scenes, writing two people of the same gender in a scene is hard for me, but three+ is worse because it feels clunky.

Etc etc believe me, there's more.

I think it's hard to go out in public and admit these things, though, because some people will be like OH YOU ARE BEING TOO HARD ON YOURSELF!!! NO YOU'RE PERFECT AS YOU ARE!! KEEP WRITING!

It really depends on the fandom though. When I admit those things it's not for pity/praise/encouragement, it's just me stating a fact because these are things I'm actively working on conquering.

I've been writing a while, though, so there's that. People who've just started writing in the last couple of years might not have reached that point yet, either where they realize their flaws, or a step further, they can admit them.

[quietdragon]

What? I can recognize quite easily that I overuse commas and will abandon a fic if I feel like the plot's going nowhere. Then again, I typically only write short stories, so if the plot isn't moving, then, something's got to go.

[newredshoes]

*\o/* is a pretty good one!

OP

[(Anonymous)]

It'sactually less tangible.

I can fix punctuation, plot, or even characterization.

If just feels like it's missing soul, I can't explain otherwise. The characters aren't miscast exactly, but they're missing a spark, the writing is not as tight as it used to be, the rhythm is slightly off. It's all very subtle.

Re: OP

[(Anonymous)]

If you've been doing a lot of revision, stop. You're killing your voice. I keep reading that advice by very successful professional authors and I believe it. Keep writing and do little revision other than for continuity errors, etc. in order to develop your own voice. Kill that perfectionist voice and learn to let it go.

[riddian]

*\o/* <-- waving pompoms!

[unicornherds]

Hmm, maybe the writing hasn't changed just your perception of it has? Do you have any outside source that could verify for you? It could just be that you're going through a slump or depressed, which can effect the way you view your creations. I know that happens to me sometimes.

[(Anonymous)]

+10000 to this!

OP

[(Anonymous)]

Could be! I'm in a very different place in life than when I first started writing fic. And no, I don't have an external source. My fanfic is sort of a private thing.

[(Anonymous)]

i could've written this exact same secret, word for word. since i can't offer any practical advice besides what was said above, i'll just offer you a hug and say that in the future we'll both get through this.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you!

[kamino_neko]

I suspect you've just gotten more critical of your work...don't let that stop you from writing - working on the flaws you perceive, even if nobody else does is usually to the good.

[writerserenyty]

This happens to me not so much with writing but with art. I feel fine with a lot of writing, but I've just gotten a lot more critical towards my art, and I don't necessarily know why.

[(Anonymous)]

my writing got worse.

[caffeine_buzz]

I agree with the above posters, it's probably not your writing, it's your perception of it. I've found that I'm a lot more critical of my stuff now than I used to be. What tends to help me is even if I think what I'm writing is terrible I just make myself power through it and tell myself I'll fix it once I've finished the entire fic. I always have to remind myself that the first draft of my fic is probably going to suck but that's okay, because that's what obsessive editing is for.

[lunabee34]

Is all the writing you do for your work creative as well? If it's not, I wonder if you have trouble switching between genres. I know I do. When I was writing my dissertation, I had a really hard time writing fic. Same with conference papers or other kinds of academic writing. I almost always need a transition period between the two. Maybe it's the same for you?

*hugs*

OP

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, originally I wrote fic almost simultaneously with school stuff, as a release from the more "dry" writing. SI never needed transition period before. I don't know, maybe it's the fact I'm not longer studying, and not writing it as release in the same way.

[(Anonymous)]

This must be very distressing to you, but I can promise you that this feeling is very normal and a natural process with leaning any skill!

Everyone knows that getting good at something takes practice - and in mine and others' experience with almost learning almost anything, from music to sports to drawing, everyone hits points where they are suddenly unhappy with the work they are producing! The reason for this is NOT because you've gotten worse, but because you've gotten better! And your standards for yourself have unconsciously changed! It can be very demoralizing, but in the end this new perception you have of your own work will help to motivate you to keep practicing and work even harder, as long as you don't give up!

Learning a skill like writing goes in cycles, or in steps, but not smoothly. The way you view your work will go back and forth like a pendulum, or sometimes all over the place, but I can promise you that as long as you keep writing steadily, the quality of your writing decreasing to you is only an illusion. And to everyone else it will only seem as though you are steadily improving.

Don't give up and believe in yourself! Keep working at it and you will see the value in your work again!

[lyndis]

LAST COMMENT IN THIS THREAD I SWEAR sorry I talk too much.

I want to say that it IS normal and the mention of cycles is A+ spot on for me. Sometimes you just gotta take a break, go for a walk, enjoy the sunshine, play with the cats, ride a bike--and don't think about writing. Do some art, or watch a movie instead. Read a book.

One year I wrote over 100 things in a year. Yeah. That was crazy. The year before that, though, I wrote maybe 30, and had a couple of months where I didn't write anything at all for fun because I just needed some breathing room and a break. If you let your hobby-writing feel like work sometimes, that makes a person very dissatisfied. P:

We can get so invested in WRITING ALL THE TIME that we forget to let ourselves be INSPIRED too. :)

[toshi_hakari]

omg, I've been having the same thoughts as OP and I was worrying whether my writing has gotten worse and reading your comment just helped me boost my confidence :') I never thought about it like that. I always thought that if I suddenly look at my writing and feel that it's forced and not as easily flowing as it was a few years back, then something must be wrong with it.