WeBuiltThePyramids

Aaaaaaaaand I finally wrote a chapter, saved it, and then something weird happened with Word and it deleted everything I'd done the past 24 hours.

Clearly HP doesn't like the storyline I'm doing right now.

Cyclone139

Oh no!

FoxPhile

Your computer is a cruel critic.

WeBuiltThePyramids

If this is the price I must pay for writing a storyline I have wanted to write for four years, so be it

FoxPhile

Good writers do tell us to ignore the critics. Write what you feel.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Yeah but if my critic is my laptop it will just keep deleting it

WeBuiltThePyramids

I UPDATED *falls on floor like fish gasping for air*

It's sad that that feels like such a big accomplishment to me but here we are

Cyclone139

Well done!

I posted a new chapter of mine yesterday too!

WeBuiltThePyramids

LOOK AT US GO, TIFF

FoxPhile

Congratulations to you both. And special congrats to Nicole on 50 chapters!

WeBuiltThePyramids

What does it say about me that I didn't notice that

WeBuiltThePyramids

Tonight's struggle: palate cleansers.

My WIP is going to get about as dark as anything I've written has gotten, and I'm brainstorming a little oneshot to publish right after I publish that chapter so people can read something more fun as a pick-me-up after reading the chapter. My struggle is...what do I write?

It's not so much writer's block. It's more of, do I write the fluffiest idea I have? Do I write something that involves the same characters as the depressing stuff in the WIP does? Do I set it in the same universe, not set it in the same universe, or make it ambiguous? Most of my regular readers like smut, but people who read that fic that don't wouldn't get any use out of a smutty palate cleanser.

So I'm like WHAT DO I DO?

Cyclone139

That's a tough decision!

If I had to choose for you I'd choose something totally fluffy (non-smut), but I guess you have to decide what you think you'd enjoy writing the most. My advice is write for you, not for other people. We all write for different reasons and find it rewarding in different ways. So if you want to kill everyone off then do... just don't expect me to read it!

I'm struggling with my WIP because it's just so long and complex. I know I made it that way and I love writing it, but I'm finding it hard to write new chapters now because I know I'm still such a long way from the end and I'm starting to think I need to finish it because it's dragged on so long! Aside from the reviewers who just post a comment asking me to get on with it (!), I also get reviewers who say "I had to go back and read it all again because I'd forgotten what it was about" etc. and I feel kind of bad about that. I also feel bad about feeling bad because I still enjoy writing and I love the story I have planned out so maybe my reviewers should just be more patient? I think for me at the moment it's a combination of lack of time/opportunities to write and lack of enthusiasm. And real life is all a bit weird too at the moment, isn't it, so I'm sure that doesn't help!

In the meantime I'm writing short one-shots for another show and I've found it's actually reminded me how much I love writing this kind of stuff in general and therefore it's giving me the incentive to write new Scorpion chapters, so it's all good.

I have so many other Scorpion stories I'd love to write, but this epic WIP needs to be over and done with first! I think I'll avoid huge multi chapter works for a while after this.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Well, I'm not the one that's going to be the most bummed out when I get to this point in my fic, because I know it's coming and know what happens next! I want to write something, in terms of the palate cleanser, that will cheer everyone else up, not me.

Okay so I know who that is, because they also review me, and that's their passive aggressive way of being snarky about us not updating constantly. So don't let that person get to you.

Cyclone139

Then write smut, if that's what most of your readers enjoy.

And that particular reviewer never leaves helpful reviews anyway, so I do tend to ignore them! Those particular comments do serve to remind me how long it's been since my previous chapter, though and it must be frustrating for other readers too if they have to wait three or four weeks each time. It's not like I'm doing it on purpose though.