Cohesion is shiny
Posting again. :D
But, guh! Words cannot express how absolutely full of glee I become when my readers actually get it. Seriously, it just makes my day. And then it makes me want to stay up all night writing. :D
I'll tell you what though: ff.net's ability to replace a chapter with something from the Document Manager has been getting a workout from me this week. I keep going back through all of my stories and finding errors and repetitive words and things that could just be better and... well, then I have to fix it, don't I?
This is also a lot because of my habit of rereading my in-progress fics, particularly multichapters. When I go back and reread a lot of fic that I read as they were posted, chapter by chapter, there's often a distinct lack of flow between each installment. A lot of this might be because, especially when completing a story takes years to do *guilty*, an author's style frequently changes and evolves over that time period. Also, details can be forgotten, things (not necessarily plot critical) that could be explored are forgotten, and each individual chapter is almost an end unto itself, etc.
I find that going back and revisiting the storyline as a whole helps with keeping continuity within the fic as a whole. When I reread my own stories, I want the feeling that I wrote each chapter immediately after the other - and, though I know otherwise, no hint that there were actually months if not years between installments.
This, of course, may be why it takes me forever to finish anything. That and a general lack of self-discipline.
(I'm also a perfectionist, and thus never satisfied. Hm.)
Long story short? Cohesive storylines. They're a beautiful thing.
But, guh! Words cannot express how absolutely full of glee I become when my readers actually get it. Seriously, it just makes my day. And then it makes me want to stay up all night writing. :D
I'll tell you what though: ff.net's ability to replace a chapter with something from the Document Manager has been getting a workout from me this week. I keep going back through all of my stories and finding errors and repetitive words and things that could just be better and... well, then I have to fix it, don't I?
This is also a lot because of my habit of rereading my in-progress fics, particularly multichapters. When I go back and reread a lot of fic that I read as they were posted, chapter by chapter, there's often a distinct lack of flow between each installment. A lot of this might be because, especially when completing a story takes years to do *guilty*, an author's style frequently changes and evolves over that time period. Also, details can be forgotten, things (not necessarily plot critical) that could be explored are forgotten, and each individual chapter is almost an end unto itself, etc.
I find that going back and revisiting the storyline as a whole helps with keeping continuity within the fic as a whole. When I reread my own stories, I want the feeling that I wrote each chapter immediately after the other - and, though I know otherwise, no hint that there were actually months if not years between installments.
This, of course, may be why it takes me forever to finish anything. That and a general lack of self-discipline.
(I'm also a perfectionist, and thus never satisfied. Hm.)
Long story short? Cohesive storylines. They're a beautiful thing.