(no subject)

[leia131]

Sometimes, I get really discouraged with my fic writing. I still, for instance, haven't thought of some better way to lead up to the ending of the Rapunzel story, and the politics of part two are dragging me down. I just want to make everything work, to make it all make sense, to fill in all the holes and answer all the questions that I always have when I read stories. I want it to be good, so very good, which is why it's been nowhere but on my hard drive for the last several years while I tweak it in my brain.

And then I read things that have clearly not even been proofread, much less edited, that have very little time or care put into them, and I come across plot holes and typos in published fiction (seriously, Mercedes Lackey needs a MUCH BETTER EDITOR) and I think, "you know, maybe I don't have to work so hard or worry so much."

The question, I guess, is: if there's so much crap out there, and my story is already of a pretty decent quality, should I just post it and the minor quibbles that remain be damned?

Comments

[basslyoon.livejournal.com]

I feel like in these instances, looking around outside of yourself is actually thinning out your own experience.

You know the level of quality you respect in other authors, and you know what level of quality you are trying to acheive yourself. Wondering if you should water down that expectation isn't just settling in terms of the work itself, but I think it also waters down how you feel when creating it. The final product should be something you enjoy, regardless of if others would have enjoyed a slightly less perfect version.

There is such a thing as beating a dead horse, but you don't sound like that's what you're doing. You sound methodical and logical and exactly as someone should sound who is working out something important to them.

I guess what I'm saying is that at the end of the day, you should be asking yourself if you're happy with the work before you ever ask others.

I'm done rambling. LOVE!!

[leia131.livejournal.com]

I would never post something that didn't make me happy, or that I felt wasn't up to snuff, I just wonder if I'm getting too caught up in 'errors' that aren't really problems and trying to make it absolutely perfect, when it just isn't going to ever be.