in which I proceed to try and sound thoughtful
So, this morning, I was completely caught off-guard. In the best way possible. And it made me decide to meta.
I was just rummaging around sn_exchange as I woke up when I came across the fic Mirror, Mirror. I currently don't know the author (it is an anonymous gift exchange) but I'm very excited for the reveal now because I want to read everything that person has written. Mirror, Mirror is one of the few experiences I've had reading a piece of fanfiction and thinking, "Well, damn. I should just give up now. I will never, ever be able to write something as spectacular as this in any aspect: characterization, plot, pacing, fitting in its respective universe, reading better than its respective universe, etc."
And for a whole minute, I pondered about it. Maybe I should just quit? If I can never be that good, why bother?
But then I remembered the more you write, the better you get.
I like to think my fanfiction is decent, or at least entertaining. I don't make horrendous grammatical or spelling errors in every sentence, I don't write characters with personalities completely opposite of what their canon stories have established for them, each story makes at least a little sense (hopefully?), and I've never named anything "Kawaii Tragic Forbidden Passion Rosebud" (and if I ever did or do, it would probably be only as a joke).
But there's always room for improvement, and there's already been some improvement.
I've improved from the not-even-a-full-year ago since I started writing for fandoms like Ouran and Naruto, and I've improved from the month ago that I stared writing for other fandoms like xxxHOLiC and Honeydew Syndrome.
I can still get better, and I will get better, because I won't stop writing. I'll just write more and more and more until everyone's sick of me, and then keep writing some more. I want to write until I am proud of everything I produce. I want to write until I'm confident enough to share my own universe and my own characters. I want to write until I get good enough that a person will read something I've shared and be inspired to write and write and write until they can inspire that same desire in someone else. Fanfiction, original, or whatever. I will keep writing, and keep sharing.
Because while there will always be boring, forgettable, poorly-written, and mind-rapingly awful fiction, of both the original and fan variety, out there, there will always be the rare gem that makes you stop and think, and there will never be an author who can't get better.
I was just rummaging around sn_exchange as I woke up when I came across the fic Mirror, Mirror. I currently don't know the author (it is an anonymous gift exchange) but I'm very excited for the reveal now because I want to read everything that person has written. Mirror, Mirror is one of the few experiences I've had reading a piece of fanfiction and thinking, "Well, damn. I should just give up now. I will never, ever be able to write something as spectacular as this in any aspect: characterization, plot, pacing, fitting in its respective universe, reading better than its respective universe, etc."
And for a whole minute, I pondered about it. Maybe I should just quit? If I can never be that good, why bother?
But then I remembered the more you write, the better you get.
I like to think my fanfiction is decent, or at least entertaining. I don't make horrendous grammatical or spelling errors in every sentence, I don't write characters with personalities completely opposite of what their canon stories have established for them, each story makes at least a little sense (hopefully?), and I've never named anything "Kawaii Tragic Forbidden Passion Rosebud" (and if I ever did or do, it would probably be only as a joke).
But there's always room for improvement, and there's already been some improvement.
I've improved from the not-even-a-full-year ago since I started writing for fandoms like Ouran and Naruto, and I've improved from the month ago that I stared writing for other fandoms like xxxHOLiC and Honeydew Syndrome.
I can still get better, and I will get better, because I won't stop writing. I'll just write more and more and more until everyone's sick of me, and then keep writing some more. I want to write until I am proud of everything I produce. I want to write until I'm confident enough to share my own universe and my own characters. I want to write until I get good enough that a person will read something I've shared and be inspired to write and write and write until they can inspire that same desire in someone else. Fanfiction, original, or whatever. I will keep writing, and keep sharing.
Because while there will always be boring, forgettable, poorly-written, and mind-rapingly awful fiction, of both the original and fan variety, out there, there will always be the rare gem that makes you stop and think, and there will never be an author who can't get better.